News from the meadows and other places

The wildflower meadow on a rainy day.

Little things seem nothing, but they give peace, like those meadow flowers which individually seem odorless but all together perfume the air.

~ Georges Bernanos

The first few photos for this series were taken on Tuesday during heavy rain.  I think it’s the rain and distance from the meadow (I had to zoom in) that give them a painting-like effect.  You can even see the rain in the background of the picture just above (it looks like a blue-ish wall).

What looks like stars or glitter in the meadow are raindrops shimmering.

There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks.  Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough to pay attention to the story.

~ Linda Hogan

It is warm and tropical here in the Bogs today.  The air is THICK.  Isaac must be somewhere nearby, driving in the warm, moist air.  We’ve had some rumbles of thunder and a couple of good downpours this afternoon.  Hopefully we’ll get enough to bring up the water level in the pond although part of me thinks it would be better to go into winter with it already low in hopes that the cold will kill off some of the weeds.  (We have purposely drained the pond in the past — called a draw down — to do just that.  It’s better than having to spray and much less work than muckraking.)

Ohio has been making the news.  The first death linked to the new swine flu is an Ohioan.  The West Nile virus risk is going up in Ohio.  Fifteen cases have been reported, and one person has died.  When I went out for my walk this morning I was under orders not to get bitten by a mosquito.  I’ll have to make sure I dress appropriately and spray with the dreaded insect repellent from now on.  I’m not too worried about swine flu just yet since I haven’t been associating with swine.  We didn’t make our annual trip to the county fair this year because we went to the Medina Raptor Center instead.  The birds there have received vaccinations for West Nile, but even that doesn’t always work.

Pond meditations

Earlier this week, M and I noticed that surveyors and other road crew type people had put up flags and ribbons along two major roads in our community.  They were the little bright orange flags that are used for marking buried utility lines (water, sewage, gas, etc.).  We puzzled over it as there had been no announcements of road work or water line work.  Most people out this way have wells and septic systems so water isn’t piped in and sewage isn’t piped out.  What could it be?

Leaf transformations

Yesterday, on my way to the Towpath Trail, the answer appeared in the form of temporary road sign declaring “Seismic Cable Ahead.”  All along the side of the road ran a cable, crossing over intersections (hence the warning, I suppose).  On my way home there was a flag person directing traffic as a line of “thumper trucks” came towards us.  Apparently some company from Texas is doing seismic testing to look for natural gas reserves in northeast Ohio, and the testing locations were chosen by geophysicists who are not making the locations known to the news organizations for some reason.  I’m guessing the “F” word is the reason.  We already have one fracking site not too far from us.  (I found a story about the seismic test here, but it involves another community.  I can’t find anything about it going on here in my neck of the woods although that other community isn’t all that far from us either.)

Asters on a humid day

It worries me.  I hope they don’t find anything significant, but I’m not optimistic enough to maintain that hope on a high level.  I wonder if we should think about moving, but then… where would we move to?  They say it will create jobs (others say that’s untrue and at best, the jobs are temporary).  I’ve already seen evidence of one business springing up as a result of the interest in fracking locally:  Water testing.  They charge an arm, a leg, and your first born to test your well water before the fracking starts.  I imagine that’s so you’ll have a basis for a law suit if your water ends up labeled “not potable.”  It’s always good to plan ahead.  Just in case.

Well, this was a bit of a rambly post, wasn’t it?  I try not to worry about things that haven’t happened yet, but sometimes I worry that if I don’t worry, it will be too late.  The things will happen and then I can’t go back and change it.  There are some things, of course, that it would be impossible for me to change.  Those are the worries I need to let go.  Others, well, I don’t want to regret not trying to make a change when I had the opportunity to do so.

The thick air today really brings out the colors in the purple asters.

I hope I didn’t natter on too much, and that this wasn’t a complete downer.  Just some thoughts on a humid Saturday when it feels too hot to be outdoors.  Even the birds seem to feel it.  They’re almost as still as the air.  The chorus of cicadas and crickets, on the other hand, is quite loud.  They must be enjoying the tropical-like weather.

Autumn approaches, marching through the meadows and into the woods.

Thank you for dropping by.  I hope the photos make up for the worries.  And I hope you’re having a wonderful day, evening, or night, wherever and whenever you are on the spectrum of time.  🙂

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