Mind the Rain
Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
Langston Hughes
10/26/22 - Rain clinging to a limb, reflecting the trees.
The tree in autumn
I feel
cold water
sliding
over my bare skin,
clinging briefly
to my outstretched limbs,
then falling -
soaking the earth
beneath me.
Nourishing
my roots.
I drink
deeply,
drunkenly,
falling asleep.
10/26/22 - Bare trees held by a raindrop.
All winter long
I rest,
naked and cold -
dreaming
of beautiful green garments
i will wear
in spring.
10/26/22 Clinging
The evergreen clings to the raindrops in its needles.
10/17/22 - Rain falling in the stream
Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
John Updike
10/26/22 - Acorn Cap
If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.
Loren Eiseley
I stopped for the sky this morning. It was raining but the sun was shining in the east and the light was golden. Parked my car on the shoulder. to look and get a picture. The wet pavement reflected the whole sky - doubling the magic.
When I turned back to get in my truck - to the west - this is what I saw:
Unpredictable October
Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
- E. B. White
October 10, 2022 - Reaching out to the Hunter’s Moon
in the dark before sunrise,
in the cool october morning,
the hunter's moon is lowering.
i try to catch it in my hand-
but it falls into the lake
as first light breaks
and the hunters’ rifles rise
October 11, 2022 - Dusk
Sunsets are earlier and dusk light is softer. The dried, wispy grass brushes the sky … sigh…
October 13, 2022 - Lake Michigan is roaring
In just a few days, the weather has turned cold, and the lake is roaring.
October 17, 2022 - storm blown leaf
October 18, 2022 - Came home to a wild storm after a weekend away. Wind whistling. Trees creaking and bending. Lake Roaring. Terrifying and Exhilarating at the same time.
The power went out around 9 and I woke up at three a.m. worrying. Found a single leaf clinging to the front glass door. A sassafras leaf: like a three fingered hand pressed against the pane.
October 14, 2022 - The wild spread of leaves after the storm.
October 20, 2022 - Trees down and deer worried on the Pier Cove Trail.
October 20, 2022 - The colors of Pier Cove
In the aftermath of the storm, some things are so much more beautiful, like the trees and fallen leaves darkened by rainfall along the dark dirt road to the Pier Cove Ravine Trail. And here, away from the open air - the wind is a little quieter…
October 20, 2022- Morning Moon
The moon is just a sliver now, and in a few days it will disappear completely, but today i got to see it early in the morning. I remembered why i love mornings outdoors. Darkness. Just me and the trees and the moon, and all the wild animals i can’t see.
Consider the Fallen Leaf
How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days. - John Burroughs
October 3, 2022 - A fallen maple leaf in the evening sun
Consider the Fallen Leaf
i saw the leaf before me
full of holes,
curling in upon itself
turning brown
fragile
disintegrating
i saw its veins
darkened by sunlight -
its stem caught
in the crack of a stair
i saw its long shadow
stretching
curling in upon itself
full of holes
i saw the leaf before me
October 3, 2022 - Gathered Leaves and needles from Pier Cove Ravine Trail
October 3, 2022 - Gathering leaves on the trail today, I realized I didn’t really know much about leaves. What do they do for the tree, why do they change colors this time of year, why do they fall off, or if they don’t fall off, why not? Here’s what I learned:
Leaves use water, air and sunlight along with the chlorophyll they already contain to make food (sugar - sucrose) (for the tree. In the fall, when light changes, the chlorophyll starts to break down and whatever color is left in the leaf; depending on its particular chemistry is the color you see. The leaves help the tree grow as long as there is sunlight and available water; but in the winter, when there is less sunlight, and the hard ground makes it difficult for the tree to absorb water, the leaves need to fall off in order for the tree to conserve water. The reason evergreens don’t lose all of their leaves is that their needles or leaves are coated and don’t cause the tree to lose water, so they don’t need to be shed. In warm climates, some trees that are not traditionally considered evergreen also don’t lose their leaves; because they have more available sunlight, and the ground doesn’t freeze. Once leaves fall, of course, they still feed and protect the tree by covering the ground and then breaking down into compost. Birth life - death - rebirth - over and over again every year. It’s amazing.
October 4, 2022 - Fall. Falling. Fallen.
October 4, 2022. We’ve experienced a bluff collapse on Lake Michigan the past few years… it makes for striking images on the beach. The land slid down, trees slid down with it, some falling and dying, some managing to survive in a new location. They are all here; the fallen, the falling and the living - going through fall transition.
October 4, 2022. Sentinels
October 4, 2022. I saw a group of red pines standing next to a house on my run Tuesday night. Evergreens. Tall and regal. Soldiers standing at attention.