Entries tagged with nature

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New Photos! Trees! Rocks! Turtle!

Two new sets of photos from two different nature preserves run by the Lancaster Conservancy are posted over on Flickr.

Yesterday, we were at Tucquan Glen ~ that set starts here (and move away from the photos of the LGT's headlights to see the rest of the set!).

Today's set from Belleaire Woods starts immediately after the Tucquan Glen set, right here.

Photos of the kids in both sets, photos of me in the Belleaire set.

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GME Feeds...

Did you know...

... that there's a feed on DreamWidth for GreenManEnvy?

... that there's also one on LiveJournal?

The one on DW looks purtier in the whole (at the above links), but they look pretty much the same when you view them on your reading page/friends page.

Also, the one thing LJ seems to do better than DW is handle the share. I've been trickling down posts from DW -> LJ -> FB, but DW's share feature just opens up a dialog to email the post to someone, while LJ's allows me to share to my blog, making it look pretty much like I want it to, with very little effort. Unfortunately, DW's feed got updated right away, while LJ's takes a while. Might just have been the timing of the post, and they both might only update every 12 or 24 hours or something. To avoid duplication of posts on FB (i.e. I post it, then DW -> LJ -> FB cascades down), I'm going to just do the share on LJ -> FB of the poems.

Also also, if you have mythic/natural type content you'd like to promote or share, let me know; I want GreenManEnvy to host the works of others, to the point that I'd love to have a post of my content be a rare event. I'm not opposed to hosting interviews or reviews of music, books, or art that hits on the focus of GreenManEnvy, and excerpts or entire (short) works (such as poems) would also be very welcome.

Entry tags:

nature,
photographs

Defiance, Demonstrated

Current Mood: good

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A Salamander

( Big picture under the cut... )

Click on a picture to see a few more over on Flickr.

Current Mood: good

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Trying to Catch Up...

I think all these pictures were taken this calendar year, at least... =)

You can hover over these for a title, or click on them to head over to Flickr and see more/other sizes/so on...

( More under the cut... )

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and the rain falls down

and the rain falls down
By Everett A Warren
May 1, 2009

and the rain falls down
again
it has that tendency
you know
bit clumsy
all in all
trips on a cloud
and down it comes
tears washing down
if it scrapes its knee
maybe whimpering a little
its eyes misty
if it can cushion the blow
angry and cursing
a temper tantrum
when it lands flat
on its face

for all that
it picks itself up again
brushes off the dust
and wanders off whistling

and the rain falls down

again

Entry tags:

nature,
poetry

buried in green

buried in green
By Everett A Warren
May 1, 2009

With thanks to tamnonlinear for the final line...

we think it
permanence
when we create it
pave it
build it
and it all comes crashing down
with a single seed

a shoot of green
rising
writhing
tendrils wrapping
rooted teeth chewing
spitting it out
hiding the evidence
with a tapestry
leaves arching
flowers fountaining
pollen clinging
seeds spreading
vines wrapping
gripping
strangling
shoots of green rising

it looks so beautiful in its devouring

Entry tags:

nature,
poetry

wet

wet
By Everett A Warren
May 1, 2009

glisten

a drop

upon a leaf
for a sprite to sip

upon a rock
reflecting pool
where an ant
might stop
and stare

upon the ground
slipping between the grains
like so many of us
looking for the roots

the ties
between here
and
there

shaken from our feathers
as we fly
as we leave the ground
to soar

scattered to the winds
in a mist cascading

to fall upon a blade of grass

through the heart

a drop

from the heavens to the earth

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the lake

the lake
By Everett A Warren
August 15, 1992

cool breeze from the water
as the sun hides in the trees
a path of golden light drawn from afar
to end by my feet
waves rushing endless to come to their end
against the stone i perch upon

melodies of ancient song shimmer in sylvan twilight
rising from the woodlands at my back
and so i wander by the side of a stream
to a patch where berries abound
where the trees stand scarred by mighty claws
and quickly i move on with a thought
to what might carve grooves in the birches above my arms reach

through the ferns and over fallen limbs
to a cut in the trees made by man to string his power
there in the twilight
growth on fallen trees and the rocks glows with preternatural strength
homage to the might of Wilderness

and then through the darknening sky
soar the cries of the loon and the whipporwill
haunting
eerie
calling from the water

and so to the shore i return
to watch the sun descend
leaving moon and stars above
to shine and reflect
on the surface
of pocomoonshine

Current Mood: okay

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A Little Later in the Season...

For the most part, these shots were taken along the same trail(s) as the earlier LGNC set ... the LNE and the Prairie Grass Loop, this time without the D&L and with the Chestnut Oak trail.

We also had first-time hiker and mountaineer Mr. B along with us... so we fell behind the group quite a lot, and most of the shots were taken one handed while trying to hang on to a four year old with the other... =)

( More under the cut, some largish... )

Click on any picture to go over to Flickr for more and - if you're a Flickr member - other sizes. Some photos are available as prints on Zazzle - and any that aren't there yet can be, if there's interest! =)

Semi-cross posted with some different pics to

naturesbeauty

Current Mood: good

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Lehigh Gap Nature Center

Took the kids on a hike along the trail we had worked on a few times this year (the Prairie Grass Loop at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center - my first time on the trail when I could stop and really enjoy the scenery.

Here are some of the results:

( More, some larger, hiding under this rock... )

As always, click on a picture to go to Flickr - there's lots more new ones there!

Semi cross-posted to

naturesbeauty (mostly different pictures!)

Current Mood: good

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Wildflower Survey

Bee & New England Aster #3
Originally uploaded by ellyssian

I took

aequitaslevitas and Rachel on a select group of the wildflowers in our yard (i.e. those currently in bloom, minus the goldenrod), some (such as the St. John's wort & New England Aster) are appearing for the first time this year, as the two meadows - the Rachel River/Brandon Canyon area and the Meadow itself - are in their third and second years of growth.

That the roadside River/Canyon area is developing as slow as the main Meadow is, I suspect, due to a couple major factors: 1) rough environment (road, washouts from the river, etc.); and 2) mown down in its prime last year by parties unknown.

I have both of the older kids working on reports of their findings - just a simple collection describing the basics of each of the 8 species we identified, as well as an extra bit describing the nastiness that is the spotted knapweed (would that be knastikness?)

aequitaslevitas complained that 11 paragraphs (intro, 8 species, 1 extra bit on invasives, and wrap-up) was a Lot Of Work, so Mr. Takes College Courses In High School and Wants to do Biology (Marine, to be sure, but it's the spirit of it...) When He Grows Up will also be including an extra bit describing each of the four stingity insects we came across on our adventures. I also had to threaten to have him identify the umpteen types of goldenrod, some of which probably need a microscope to ID...

Alas, I am cruel, forcing my children to learn on a Saturday...

Current Mood: good

Entry tags:

nature,
waterfalls

Glen Onoko Falls

Click through for many more, taken at Glen Onoko in the Lehigh River Gorge state park. Which is not quite in my backyard, but is closer than the nearest supermarket... =)

Current Mood: good

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Great Green America Fest

Not sure who pointed this out to me - I suddenly found myself on PA Ren Faire's mailing list, and I suddenly found myself receiving an email about the Great Green America Fest.

I am considering attending - and bringing the truck. It will provide some visibility. Unfortunately, there are only two levels of official sponsorship, and both are above and beyond my resources - not just for the dollar amount, which is out of my budget on its own, but the sponsorships involve display space and banner space, and that would involve creating displays and banners, and those, on their own, are also out of range of the current budget! =)

At the least, I can help promote the festival!

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Homelands

Homelands
by Everett A Warren
August 7, 1991

Dream awhile in the meadow,
Lonely child curled up in your blanket of stars.
The constellations dance around you
And the sounds of the woods sing a soothing lullaby.

And when you wake in the morning,
With the mists slowly rising, cleansed in the gentle dew,
Can you see the horizon where yesterday you sang of purple mountains,
Can you see the cold gray concrete spires that scrape the sky?

Unwrap the serpentine dreams that coil about destiny,
Wring sorrow free of tears and hope free of fears,
Unleash the elephantine thoughts that dance through time.

Dream awhile in the gutter,
Foolish man curled up in your blanket of yesterdays news.
The world-as-you-know-it dances around you
And the sounds of the street intone their cold nightmares.

And if you wake at the dawning,
With the machines slowly grinding, cleansed in the sweepers stream
Can you see the peaks of the cold gray concrete spires that surround you,
Can you escape from the maze and find the horizon and find the mountains of old?
Can you find your way home?

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to the abyss breath is taken...

to the abyss breath is taken...
by Everett A Warren
June 19, 1994

cloven hooves of ivory-brine
white stallions surge

manes flying wildly cold salt-spray
riding allied with Wind and the Stars

array upon array flanks muscled rolling
under deepest blue-green byrnie

within depths from mysteries fathomless
arise Tsunami-Lords

foam-froth rearing immortal majesty
voices neighing vapourous rallying-call

Her children not calm in Her embrace
Earth-Mother trembles

crashing thunderous strong upon sand and stone
foundations trampled under flailing hooves

proud castle-rock carven 'neath ceaseless grace
immovable Mountain-King bows low

tide-borne warriors mighty storm-cloud sons
yielding to none save Lord-master the Moon

{ to the abyss
breath is taken
stand witness I
to the grandeur
of the waves }

Current Mood: busy

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Saturday Updatia

Saturday, Justin and I spent the morning forking around with over-ripe compost and seed mix - maybe fifteen to twenty wheelbarrows worth. And this wheelbarrow, we joked, was bigger than the other crew's pickup truck...

...not quite, but it was 8 cubic feet of heavy crap (pretty much literally) and mushrooms. Very heavy. After about eight or ten trips, we were joined by one of the members of the board. This made it much easier to get up the steep, soft bank to where we were spreading the stuff. Thankfully, we had two wheel drive - a single-wheel wheelbarrow would have bogged and flipped with what we were putting it through. Of course, the fun part was the scent of amonia that steamed out when you ripped into the stuff to load it.

We wrapped up with a single load of wood chips, to assist the singing wheelbarrow, split between a garden bed at the Osprey House and a bench overlooking the pond. Then it was pizza, donated by one of the other members who was volunteering, and we were done.

After that, we headed over to deliver and review the three detailed designs with the customers. We added a few things to one of the design, and should get approval mid-week.

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Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point
By Everett A Warren
September 12, 1991

Whispers cry through the grey and lonely forests of barren trees
Who have long shed the burden of their life-giving leaves,
One more time I cry to the moon as the armies gather in the darkness.

All the hopes of war's ending fly away on Summer's Wings,
All the hostile dreams float on a cool Winter's breeze,
And now I stand defiant and bold to fight off the changing seasons.

There beyond the rise I hear the heavy breathing,
A mist that rises in the cold evening air with each rise and fall,
And rasping in the still light lies the enemy of reason.

There beyond the rise I hear the snow crush beneath the tread,
The pine needles crackle softly as the stranger puts them to the fire,
And my comrades in arms withdraw to wait for darkness once more.

Who has succumbed to sleep so easily since invading my lands,
Who are you who curls up to the heat to find warmth.

Circle beyond, lads, and wait for the darkness,
When the flames are to embers, as the sun to a distant star, we will strike,
Circle beyond and be still and the enemy will be ours.

There beyond the rise I hear the sighing of the flames expire,
A fire untended weaves its ending in concordance with our desire,
And my comrades in arms attack in darkness once more.

And after the blood has been shed and runs in steaming rivers,
After the silence falls and snow falls from the sky we move into the night.

Circle beyond, lads, and hide in darkness,
Across the plains, across the mountains, a new home awaits,
Circle beyond mankind and find peace for awhile.

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rusalka

rusalka
by Everett A Warren

August 24, 2000

walk with the river
along the shore
safe and dry
while she tumbles by

roots of old willow
twisted down the banks
drinking deep of darkness and the flood
decay for a soul and wisdom for blood

warnings he speaks
in the shakings of his leaves
if it’s hope she whispers, be wary of that lie
false words she speaks while she tumbles by

long strands of hair
tangled amidst the roots of old willow
her laughter like a rainbow, moist and full of light
rather be wary, says she, of a rotten willow’s soul dark as night

sing with the running water
hopes and worries wash over branch and stone
lost with all the tears you cry
while she tumbles by

the face beneath the flow
promising eternity
grasping cold, wet, and alone
to chill the heart that dreams of home

dance with the river
caught in her torrents and carried to the sea
past outstretched hands and many a tear-filled eye
helpless as you tumble by

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Yee-ouch!

Saturday, I broke in a new pair of boots by hiking for two hours over loose stone, somewhat rocky terrain, and nice flat stuff. Got a blister *and* managed to rip it open so all the raw stuff was exposed. Sunday, I think it had a minor infection, getting steadily worse all day. Had to soak it for too long to get the gauze to release from it. Treated it with some Neosporin - would have done that earlier, but for some reason it had evaded me on my AM search. Think that worked. Early this AM I couldn't put any weight on it, a few hours later I could walk normally after a short "break-in" time. Trying to keep weight off it for as long as possible today, so hopefully it will be OK for tonight.

Tonight: Provided I can get a shoe on, I'll be heading up to Williamsport to hear

yuki_onna read,

s00j play, and

shadesong roadie. Or something like that. =)