Slow Week at Home Base

A little bit of smoke in the air...

We didn't get a good picture, so here is UMaine's "Bananas the Bear" on my banjo case.

Today the air is a little better than it has been.  I can look up to the ledges on Rattlesnake Mountain and the haze is less obvious.  Still, you can tell there are forest fires in Canada. It feels like an annual event.  The local government reminds us that breathing is a risk right now.  We do it anyway. Yesterday every other person I saw looked like they had just wrapped up an hour-long crying jag. Thank you, particulates! Conservatives seem to think that by making Climate Change illegal it will go away.  Thoughts and prayers can't change the weather no matter how hard one tries.

There is plenty of evidence this summer of nature's presence intersecting with ours. A couple days ago an adult black bear walked by the back deck and out to the front driveway before heading north toward the mountain. I think we were just part of its commute.  The bear was massive. We had to delay dinner as Allison waited in the car until it had moved on. 

It has been a long time since I saw one.  I am not sure I have ever seen a bear in this particular context.  We live on a fairly dense street.  However, it is a dead end and there is forest all around us.  Hiking in Maine and New Hampshire we see them but not as close.  We stay away from them and they from us. We definitely do not feed them!  A bear that sees people as sources of food does not fear humanity. Then they are a danger and sometimes have to be relocated or killed. It is another sad story of human encroachment and human ignorance when it comes to the natural world.  The cops said we only have to call them if they get into the garbage. Otherwise, we are all trying our best in the space we have been given.

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I didn't understand Tarzan-vines until I moved here. Tucked into the chaos is this venerable oak that we are trying to save.

The Bridge of Flowers, which is taking baby steps to what it once was.

In other news, I managed to do something to my back on the journey to getting a new fridge.  As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, we got the smallest full-sized refrigerator we could find.  This necessitated removing the outside door to get it into our  vintage 1970's pocket-kitchen.  Our house has good bones but the idea that people would socialize where the food is made was foreign to the builders.  The kitchen was definitely an after-thought. One theory is that they had servants when the house was built in the 1890's. Anyway, I blame the door for a certain awkwardness in my moving about this week. We have a composter that needs assembly...but it will have to wait.

Yesterday As a rehab walk, I braved the hideous air and went over to Energy Park to check out the native plant garden.  It is a short stroll from my office.  I am still thinking meadow thoughts for next year and find it helpful to see some actual plants in the ground.  One can only get so far with the description on the tag; "heavy spreader, reaches 3'-6' tall." The park has a little exhibit that helps explain what I am looking at as well. This weekend we managed to get to the "Bridge of Flowers" which is rehabbing as well.  They had labels, too.  It was our first drive west of Greenfield since we moved.

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​Other than that, there are small tasks that I think I can handle.  The yard-demolition continues.  When I can manage it, I cut vines here and there. Some of them are like tree trunks themselves.  It has been a long time since an attempt was made.

There is not much more to say.  Life in summer moves fast then it moves slow, even if you aren't on vacation.  Hopefully next week I will be able to report on a hike or two.  However...I do hear the heat is coming back...

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These sorts of public displays--this one at Energy Park--have so much information on them. I am finding them more helpful than I ever expected!