Words from the Heart

There has always been something about the autumn season that has lent itself to poetry for me.  I am not sure if it was because it seemed to be the time when poetry was introduced in the school, or because my mother would recite lines of Robert Frost poems as the days grew shorter, trees change color and nights became colder. We'd take a walk down the beach, the trees all red and gold. I would walk along to top of the seawall, as Mom would quote, " Before I built a wall I'd ask to know/What I was walling in or walling out,/And to whom I was like to give offense. " (Mending Wall) Or, " Heaven gives it glimpses only to those/Not in position to look too close, " (Passing Glimpse) would be recited when I called for her to come and see what treasure I had found. Poetry and autumn, for me, go hand in hand even more these days.  I will be taking the 30 Poems in November challenge to raise much needed funds for the Center for New Americans, a local non-profit...

October, with all its glorious autumn color here in New England , truly showcases the biodiversity of nature.  Trees that were every shade of green are now ablaze in various shades of orange, red and yellow.  No two look a like, which always amazes me. In my travels through the valley, I came upon two trees.  One had actually grown around the other.  One was a maple, resplendent in reds.  The other was a tall pole pine of deepest green.  I had to take a picture. When I got home, after uploading the picture to the computer I noticed that the way the maple had grown around the pine created the shape of a heart.  The picture below shows you what I see. This got me to thinking deeper thoughts.  If Nature in her wisdom can create an image of Love from the biodiversity of two completely different trees, then surely, we humans can find it in our hearts to love one another.   When you think about it, there couldn't be a better examp...

She was a little under eleven years old when Martin shared his dream with her. As with all children, she took it at face value, believing in the possibilities like she believed in pixies in the garden. While she was not the only one he had shared the dream with, somehow, she felt she held a special place in its becoming reality. As a child, she could talk of the dream in realistic terms without the practicality of the adult world raining on her. Then the unthinkable happened, her innocence was stolen by the crimes of adults who lived on fear. Martin’s dream was shattered by a hate so real she stopped sharing it. The dream became a secret she kept locked in her heart, only to be taken out when she felt safe, or most often, alone. Others did not understand the need to make the dream real. The few times she felt brave enough to even mention the possibilities of such a dream she met with ridicule. Childish sentiment, utopian imaginings, illusions of grandeur…all terms given for he...

A view of Mount Sugarloaf as we walk to end hunger It was the most perfect autumn weekend. The sun lighting up the maples in glorious sunrise/sunset splendor. The sky was that crystal blue that only appears in New England on crisp autumnal days. It was the weekend of the socially conscious, the activist, the tree-huggers, the dog-lovers and me! 350 Bell Ring at South Deerfield Congregational Church We started the weekend with our 350 Bell Ring for Climate Awareness. The evidence that the climate has gone to the dogs was apparent when a four-legged friend stopped by to ring the bell! Four-legged friend comes by to ring the bell At the finish of Crop Walk...tired but happy On Sunday, another gorgeous day, we held the Franklin County Crop Walk to End Hunger. I did the 2+ mile loop, others took the 5+ mile loop up and down the rolling hills of South Deerfield. The walk raised over $20,000. Resting in the arms of a friend, Miss Maple If you are interested and want to help end world hu...

There is something enchanting about autumn in New England. No place in the world do the trees have such a rich, multi-colored vibrancy, or the air that particular mixture of farm animals, pines, ocean, apples and pumpkins all blended together. As has become our family custom, the girls and I gather each year to pick apples. The crisp fall air, the smell of apples and the dark, lush earth are the elixir for a day of laughter, and light-heartedness. The following pictures were from this year's outing. What fun! Following the Middle Path You sure you know how to drive this thing? Look, Mom, Apples!!!! Nanilin and Apple Pixie Chillin with Mom Simon says, "Touch your nose!"