I was on my daily pilgrimage to the ocean, driving north along the bluff above the water in Wellfleet. It was the dimming end of a silver-skied November day, and […]
On the Landscape
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Immersed in a Sea of Little Bluestem
Looking at the subtle beauty of a native grass becomes a form of meditation
There is a meadow in Eastham just off the side of the highway that pulls my attention every time I pass by. The field is the site of the old […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
In Summer’s Slow Nightfall, a Glimmer of a Reward
Lessons in letting nature keep the schedule
I should have known the chickens would not go into their coop until it was properly dusk. I had stopped in at my mom’s place to shut the chickens in […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Remembering That Last Bobwhite’s Song
After a meditation, listening differently for the peepers and the bees
When I think back to my childhood here, I remember days spent in the woods and fields and on the marshes and the dune tops. The memories have an enchanted […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
How the Beach Draws Us Back
Over and over again, the chance to see something no one has ever seen before
Something about the beach felt different that morning. The feeling was quiet but persistent — a background sound humming below louder thoughts. I’d walked an eighth of a mile before […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Ruled by the Low Angle of Autumn’s Light
The animal inside us knows to welcome winter’s stillness
Every year, around the middle of November, I feel sad. It is a gentle sort of sadness. It doesn’t inspire tears. It is not sharp or stinging. It is a […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
The Imperative of the Pond
Life among the giant puddles that tell the genesis story of this place
I was driving home from the ocean along a winding road, windows open, the air heavy with humidity. The dusk sky of a late summer evening was settling rich and […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
August’s Elegance in a Roadside Weed
Queen Anne’s finery is made of concentric whorls, repeated in perfect miniature
The rains that fell in spring and early summer have stopped by now, and most plants have plateaued in their upward movement. It is August; everything is resting for a […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
A Rose Among the Washashores
Following the Rosa rugosa’s sweet, spicy, buttery scent to the sea
There are days in early summer when the warm air smells gently sweet, almost peachy, and a little spicy. The scent is buttery soft; there is nothing brash about it. […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
In a Storm and a Book, a Glimpse of Geological Time
Witnessing the sculptural work of waves and wind
The wind blew all night. It rushed in from the northeast, breaking over the peaks and hollows of the Province Lands. It kept me awake with that quality of sound […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
The Leafhopper’s Leap of Faith
A bug provides perspective on a world of possible soft landings
It was a lie-in-the-grass type of day, so I listened and lay in the grass. If a day has this feeling, and you have a moment, it’s a good thing […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
The Astonishing Fact That Trees Flower
Wondering at blossoms on winter-hardened wood
I sit in front of the window to write. A small desk is built into its frame, made from an old slab of maple that was milled with a chain […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
On Pine Needle Paths
In the canopy, and on the ground, pine needles blanket our world
WELLFLEET — Moving down the path that runs along the southern edge of Dyer Pond, I felt the cold northeast air move over the pond and chill my windward side. […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
The Evanescence of a Spring Frost
On the lawn, meltwater awakens new growth
Snow dusted the grass only a few times this winter, and the birdbath stayed full of water, not ice, for most of the season. There were, however, morning frosts, hard […]
On the Landscape
The Foxes Watch Back
On feeling mutual curiosity in an animal’s gaze
I was driving up a sandy road on the ocean side the other day. I had been surfing in the early morning at a little sandbar. I was salty and […]
