Category Archives: outdoors
New House: Foundation
Winter has socked us a good one this year — nowhere near as dramatic as what’s been happening in Boston and points west, but still it’s been weeks since I could plan my walking routes without thinking about how high … Continue reading
New House: Lot Clearing
Several new houses have gone up in my neighborhood in the last year or two. What do I consider “my neighborhood”? Mostly it’s the area within about a half mile of my apartment that Travvy walk through at least once … Continue reading
Just a Dusting
Tuesday afternoon and evening it snowed and snowed and snowed, but it was snow-globe snow. When Trav and I walked past the school in the dark, we heard the scraping of what sounded like a plow. There was nowhere near … Continue reading
Sign of the Salamander
Last May 4 a brushfire burned through a patch of woods that Trav and I often pass on our walks, between Island Children’s School and the school bus parking lot behind the West Tisbury School. Six weeks later, I blogged … Continue reading
Blaze Orange
Deer Week every year starts the Monday after Thanksgiving. “Deer Week” these days lasts almost two weeks (no hunting on Sundays), and it’s not the only time hunters can hunt deer, but it’s the only time hunters can hunt deer … Continue reading
Of Ice Disks and Statistics
Winter made a brief appearance this past weekend. When I got up, it was minus 6 Celsius, aka 21 Fahrenheit. (For a few months now, I’ve had a desktop widget that tells me the temperature in Celsius. I can now tell … Continue reading
Season of the Risk
Fall on Martha’s Vineyard: The days grow shorter, the leaves turn — and deer ticks make a comeback. Ticks are part of the seasonal cycle here. The big ones, called dog ticks or wood ticks, are much in evidence from … Continue reading
Old Boots, New Boots
Old boots passed their prime at least a year ago. They leaked. Duct tape didn’t stick. They needed to be replaced, but other needs were more pressing. All winter I wore my higher, warmer boots. They don’t leak. Long about … Continue reading
Little Changes
Travvy and I walk the same paths and dirt roads regularly so we notice the small changes missed by those who pass less often or at faster speeds. For Travvy the world seems to create itself anew every night. Each … Continue reading
Resilience
In early May — on the afternoon of Sunday, May 4, to be precise — a brushfire scorched some woods that Travvy and I often walk by. Firefighters from several towns put the fire out PDQ, before it could spread … Continue reading
From the Seasonally Occupied Territories . . . 