On a sunny spring day

May 14, 2020May 3, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Not long ago, the old carriage road up the hill a few blocks from our house was still covered in ice and snow. Just wait another week, for the deciduous leaves to fill out.

Too tame to run

May 9, 2020May 3, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

These were grazing in a vacant lot right along a city street in Eastport, Maine – the first of many we encountered. No wonder gardens were surrounded by tall fences! We can’t wait to get back. (Photo by Rachel Williams)

School outing … a year ago

May 8, 2020May 1, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Middle school students ply the intertidal zone at Dover Point in search of an array of animal and plant life. Normally, such field trips are common as the academic year winds down into summer. So this is how it looked last May.

The falls downtown after a day of heavy rain

May 2, 2020May 1, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

The Cocheco River pours over the dam and waterfalls downtown yesterday. The pipe, far right, allows salmon and other migratory fish and eels to bypass the cataract on their way to the tidal waters below.

The latest buzz … or lack of it

May 1, 2020April 9, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

A local beekeeper group reports that 47 percent of its members’ hives died off over the winter, something largely blamed on a virus I’m dubbing Cobeed-18.

Alas, ours was one of the ones that didn’t make.

Uncertainties over the human Covid-19 outbreak, meanwhile, puts repopulating the hives in question. New colonies are trucked north from the Deep South, and who knows how long before things in that regard are back to normal.

Everything’s up in the air, except that some things aren’t.

On the old carriage road

April 28, 2020October 14, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

It’s now a fine trail to the city park at the top of Garrison Hill, for those of us who would rather walk than drive.

And it leads to this observation tower, for more climbing.

Here’s how the route looked in the late 1800s.

At the compost bin

April 26, 2020February 1, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

Every spring, once the compost thaws, I empty the bin to supply the garden. And then I refill it with leaves collected the previous autumn to start the whole process again.

Dreamed the goldfinches were back

March 21, 2020March 20, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

moving at the speed of youth

—

One day you look out the window and they’ve doffed their winter gray coats. How do they know how to do that?

What do you know about rocks?

March 17, 2020February 1, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

In my novel Nearly Canaan, their neighbor Todd is a geologist. You know, a rocks guy. The Ozarks is where he and his wife Lucy meet Joshua and Jaya.

The place is a mineral-rich geological wonder.

Here’s part of the attraction he’d have where they are in Arkansas.

~*~

Lead. The major ore that was mined. Still is.
Zinc. The other major ore.
Vanadium. Used in metal alloys.
Diamonds. Mostly of industrial grade.
Barite. The main source of barium.
Tripoli. Used mostly as an abrasive in polishing and buffing compounds and as a filler in a variety of products.
Quartz crystal. Used in electrical products, glassmaking, and for hardness in abrasives – in addition to its popularity in metaphysical healing circles.
Gypsum. Used in a number of construction products.
Chalk. Its range of uses include toothpaste.
Bauxite. Used in the chemical, steel, petroleum, and cement industries, it’s also the principal source of aluminum.

~*~

What do you know about rocks?

Truly New England

February 24, 2020 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

Here I am, running errands around town, realize I’m driving with my car window rolled down, the temperature is 56 degrees, Fahrenheit, and it’s still February. Look, the reading was only 20 degrees this morning, and the frost was heavy. Still, having the window open feels natural, and the fresh air’s wonderful.

At the next stoplight, I look around and realize half of the other drivers also have their car windows open. Makes me think of the joke about how the drivers in Florida would all have their heat turned on if it was ten degrees warmer than here.

As I move on, I start wondering about the drivers who still have their windows rolled up. Is it because they have their air conditioning on?

We still have March and the potential for some heavy snowfall ahead.