COLD COAST

December 22, 2014October 14, 2014 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

Waves pound the rocks at Sohier Park in York, Maine.

The New England coastline can be impressive anytime of the year. While most visitors see it only from midsummer into early autumn, it is unmasked much the rest of the year.

Pools of sea spray are frozen tight in the crevices of boulders overlooking the water.

The ocean seems especially restless every winter.

TURKEYS IN THE WOODS

November 26, 2014October 14, 2014 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 5 Comments

I pulled over to photograph some ducks on a pond, or so I thought. When I turned around, this is what I found.

Wild turkeys have made a remarkable comeback in New England. The other day, I had to stop behind a stopped car on the road. That’s when I saw the gobbler stroll off the pavement. There was even one in our yard, we’ve been told.

BUTTERY BARN WINDOW

November 14, 2014November 12, 2014 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

Some of our fall foliage is lingering well into November. Here's the view through one window in the loft of the Red Barn. — Some of our fall foliage is lingering well into November. Here’s the view through one window in the loft of the Red Barn.

YES, IT’S A SUNSET

November 12, 2014November 11, 2014 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

When I lived on the hill in Manchester, I often trotted down the lane to a spot where I could catch the sunset. It was a unique setting, the highest point in the city, one overlooking the Monadnock mountains to the west, a vantage long since obliterated by new housing. At the time, though, it gave me an opportunity to savor the phenomenon of shifting light between the closing day and approaching night.

A dazzling sunset, as I concluded, depends on a variety of chance interactions. Clouds are important, but they need to open to the setting sun, usually from beneath. It’s all quite fleeting, maybe five minutes in all. And it means nothing. Forget interpretations. This is as ephemeral and spectacular as life gets. If you’re not there, you missed it.

Since moving to Dover, I rarely catch this. We just don’t have that view to our west, and I’m no longer living on a summit. Now that I have a camera, I rarely have the opportunities I had then.

Returning from a weekend retreat, though, as I crossed the Bellamy Reservoir, I had to stop and snap a picture. Here’s what I saw maybe a dozen minutes before its full glory.