WINTER SAUNTER AT SAPSUCKER WOODS

MESSAGES- SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

MESSAGES

Words transmitted quick as thought
Understanding by others sought,
A moment clear in poet's mind,
Words, echo, re-echo and unwind
Around, around inside anothers head,
Until all meaning's mixed instead.

Brief moment froze in poet's mind,
Becomes to another an insightful find,
Insightful meaning with each read,
In reader's mind reflects indeed,
The many moody moments found,
Deep, deep within the reader bound.

................RDS

WINTER'S RESTLESS SOUL

Restless is the night,
Darkness haunts my weary soul.
Wandering beauty with insight,
Offers only brief respite
From the demons of the night.

Darkness fills with restless dread,
As silence echoes in cavernous head,
So much so often left unsaid,
As silence speaks too loud instead.

Last week moon light glances
Danced upon the snow,
Tonight only darkness dances,
Dances until morning glow.

......RDS

DISTANT ROMANCE ONE SINGLE IMPRESSION # 8o

DISTANT ROMANCE

Two heart’s begin to beat as one,
As innocent love’s journey has begun,
Though heart and soul are one to see,
Love’s heat and passion cannot be.

Although time has lost it’s sway
And great distance melts away
And even with love’s bond today
Love’s heat and passion must delay.

Lover’s eyes will forever search
Into each soul themselves to see,
Reflecting delight in lover’s sun,
Blinding their sight of everyone.

On soft shoulders lovers rest,
Wrapped arm in arm lovers play
At dream’s love imagined best
As great distance melts away.

.............................................RDS

SAUNTERING SEPTEMBER MORNING NATURE NOTES # 25

Sauntering September Morning

Sauntering a September morning at Sapsucker Woods at the break of day and beyond, armed with a thermos full of coffee and a camera, the morning was full of promise. It did not disappoint.

The big surprise of the morning was talking to a beaver out strolling the path ahead. He didn’t say much, left in a hurry, told me his presence then splashed in the pond. Swimming under the surface, seen only by a trail of bubbles lasting but four feet, soon he was gone.

The first glimpse of sun through the trees reflected gold and glory off the Fuller wetlands pond and water lilies. First light is magic but fleeting, a lot like my buddy the beaver.
It is surprising how quickly the sun moves at the horizon. When trying to align and compose a photo time is of the essence. What catches your eye is not static and may soon not be there. Gold of sun lasts not long.


Reflections are nice in the late summer light.

The inevitable creep of water lilies will choke out the reflection of this landmark barn at Sapsucker Woods.

But the morning stillness perfects the illusion that the world looks upside down

















An hour later the sun spotlights the woods, giving accent to normally obscure scenes. A simple fern frond appears dramatic.

Lit only by a shaft of morning sun and framed by shadow, mushrooms, the fungus “flowers” of the fall woodland, give color in dark woods.

















A cup of coffee later, the sun is not golden but silver, giving a new look to the very same spot.

Hiding the sun’s globe behind water lily leaf edges sparkles the water’s surface.

The lateness of the summer, accented by lower sunshine angle, shows dramatic in the occasional, premature coloring of some tree branches. Stressed by too much or too little summer moisture, fall colors spot the woods and fresh, dried leaves speckle the ground.

Muskrat trails part the weeds like spokes of a wagon’s wheel. The shortest way across a circle is through the center, even a muskrat figures that.

Soon the sun is high and shadows shorten,

time for lunch and camera packing,

and so I go home.

.....................................................................RDS

BOXCAR-LOADING DOCK RESTAURANT

BOXCAR-LOADING DOCK RESTAURANT
circa 1986

ITHACA, NY LANDMARK FOR OVER 30 YEARS

Built in the 1960's by TV personality GARY MOORE'S son after graduating from the Cornell Hotel School. This was his first "theme" restaurant and was very successful as a noted bar and restaurant.

Behind the restaurant was the famous Warehouse bar, a sheet metal building that was one of the largest drinking establishments in the state, those were the days of 18 year old baby boomer drinkers!!

Currently the property is an orchid growing facility with only the Loading Dock section of the restaurant left. The original Boxcars were torn down in 2004!
.........................................................................................................................RDS

BLUE MOOD RISING ONE SINGLE IMPRESSION

BLUE MOON RISING

Protect a very secret, special spot,
One's vulnerable and secret heart,
And almost always come to rue
Allowing anyone at all to view.

Vulnerability but seems a curse you see.
Angst begets a sorrow not meant to be,
Painfully, one's emotions swing rapidly,
Events spiral out of control, helplessly.

Love's journey looks to be catastrophe,
Not heart's blissfulness it's meant to be,
Surrender, release your heart, be free,
Suffer not angst's misbegotten tyranny,
Surrender yourself, Love is meant to be.

...................................RDS

POETRY MUSE : SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS "POETRY"

POETRY MUSE


Before rising morning sun
A pleasant walk was begun
To my quiet, special place
Nature's beauty to embrace.

Vicissitude does not intrude
A walk in morning solitude,
Living life with beatitude,
All becomes good attitude.

Soon golden rays of sunny day
Brought company from far away
To enchant and even beguile me.
Alone in solitude was not to be.

For in a sunlit leaf I would see
Your charm and femininity,
Golden sunlit glow on pines
Is inspiring in my designs.

So on this pleasant sojourn,
You will be glad to learn,
Even though you never went
Morning together we had spent.

...............................................RDS

ALLOW ME TIME ONE SINGLE IMPRESSION #78

ALLOW ME TIME

Would you take a walk with me,
A quiet, simple walk with me,
Discover quiet, simple things,
The quiet joys of life with me,
A special, quiet brook with me,
A ray of light, a leaf with me,
A morning song of bird with me,
A meadow flower and bees with me,
And especially,
A quiet in dappled sunshine with me?

........................................................RDS

EVENING AT SAPSUCKER WOODS WATERY WEDNESDAY

EARLY EVENING AT SAPSUCKER WOODS

Early August usually means that the streams around here are running fairly quiet, but excess rain has given them a rage.

Quiet summer thoughts seem out of place standing near a maddening stream, but a calm pond filled to the brink, on a pleasant summer evening, a perfect, soul reflecting spot.

August sun slants the horizon more each day as the days shorten, the march towards the solstice quickens.

The deep-blue reflected sky on the pond is deceiving, from a different angle the pond is brown from the heavy rains. With camera in hand perspective is everything, poetic photography!!

Quiet along the pond a few details.

The late sun gives sustenance to a small beech struggling on the shady forest floor for its moment in the sun.

Along the waters edge wild bergamot blooms, less showy than it's cousin beebalm's brilliant red but I like it's fragrant foliage better.

And what would summer be without the ubiquitous Queen Anne's Lace. This flower head caught my eye by facing sideways, not flat, and catching the back-lit sky, it's fabled tiny purple bloom so clear in the center.



The final photo is just my back yard, where I like to dance in the morning dew!
.........................................................RDS

SAUNTERING TREMAN LAKE NATURE NOTES

Picnicing and Sauntering Upper Buttermilk Falls

Buttermilk Falls State Park in Ithaca, NY is probably the most crowed of the local parks because it is at the city's edge. Yet the Upper Buttermilk section is almost always quite, a great picnic and sauntering spot.

This small waterfalls and stream is actually the outlet of Treman Lake, a man-made lake formed by damming one side of a pinnacle of land that was the original stream bed.

It's always amazing that in a fast moving stream back eddies are formed that seem to catch and hold so much floating debris. The story of the stream can often be read in this floating mosaic.

The Treman Lake dam is deceptively high. The lake laps at the top and must be nearly 40ft. deep. No hand- railings on the water side, vertigo on the other! The old gorge and pinnacle makes a perfect dam site.

In the Finger Lakes gorges it must be said there is never a shortage of stairs. Built mainly in the Depresion era they have taken on a natural patina and even seem part of the geology now.

Sauntering around the lake, half the time was cloudy, then late in the day the sun broke out, then with a sunny backside, the reflections and gorge walls became painted with color.

And then its time to go home! RDS

DREAMS ONE SINGLE IMPRESSION

DREAMS

Stormy waves of passion,
Released by ocean's fury,
Exists only as a dream,
In morning's gentle calm.

Dreams, inner soul's reality,
Heart's truth so contained,
Reveal desire long restrained
In the morning's gentle calm.

Gentle sea, shore waves silent lapping,
Quiet moment, humbled in solitude,
Inner soul's reality certain to intrude,
Humbled by the endless calm.

.............................................RDS

A NEW BIRTH --- SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

A NEW BIRTH

All character is etched,
Upon our very being
By life's beginning,
When we started seeing,
Seeing truth of ourselves,
Seeing truth of all others,
When first light of ourselves
Begins to glow awareness of whom we are.

Retreat we cannot, for who is there
Who starts not blank.
Develops into what?
We grow from our earth,
Though unknown in worth
Until too late in life.
When what we are is
Whom we seem to be.

What seems but destiny,
Doesn't have to be.
Take charge,
Become the one whom you want to be.
Pain is not all that life is meant to be.

Reject, reject, reject early reality
Then accept only as allegory.
For the story that you write
Is the right story meant to be.

Attack, attack, attack the past
Until it has no sway,
For then and only then will home
Be home, not just a place too far away
From which your life to stray.

Release its painful hold,
That painful past to which you have surrendered,
For until released by you, life will be rendered
Sad, not joyous, potentially forever lost,
Love never tendered,
Life's beginning love may never be remembered.

Free, free, free yourself
To love yourself unfettered,
To love yourself for the truth
That to yourself you are!!

............................................RDS

TREES ON STILTS

TREES ON STILTS


At Sapsucker Woods there seems to be quite a few trees that look like they are growing on stilts.
In reality they are trees whose seeds sprouted on punky stumps or fallen boles of long dead trees. The moist punky wood provides an ideal seed germination site.



Also I think that existing living trees, especially the prolific beech trees at Sapsucker Woods, inhibit seed germination in the soil by new tree seedlings. There are very few seedling trees in the large beech tree areas unless they are on "stilts" .


One unique individual looks like a tree but in reality is a platyphant. This is unique to Sapsucker Woods. It is a cross between a platypus and an elephant, a platyphant.
It is very secretive and not much is known about it. I think it lays eggs under tufts of sedge, then quickly runs away so as not to be seen. As protection at egg laying time it covers itself with mosses and looks like mossy logs. This is very effective. As far as I know these are the only known pictures of a platyphant at egg laying time.

.........................................RDS

SUMMER VISIT TO LIME HOLLOW

SUMMER VISIT TO LIME HOLLOW

LIME HOLLOW CENTERFOR ENVIRONMENT & CULTURE is located in Cortland County, NY.

A new visitor center is located off the McLean Rd near Cortlandville and is quite informative.

The area is second growth woodland, with some mature fields and ponds. A large spring in the woods feeds ponds and a brook which is used as a source of water for a fish hatchery.

One of the ponds near the hatchery is where the two water photos were taken.

This gray bark birch root is neat because the tree seedling sprouted on a punky stump many years ago. At the very top you can see where the original trunk was, a black line is visible. The lower section is actually roots that have "barked" with exposure to air as the old, punky stump rotted away.

Summertime is algae time even in a relatively "clean" pond. Nutrients from the surrounding woods still leach out to support the algae. Between the large algae mats the water is crystal clear.

Along this part of pond's edge a few aquatic insects are seen, but not many, and very few tadpoles. There are some small blue-colored damselflies flying here. Near the "swampy" part of the pond there are more insects.

Calm water is always so visually interesting, great for photos!

The vegetation above water, below water and reflected in water all have differing colors.

The water's surface tension gives great shadow effects on the pond's bottom. The multi-dimensional look is mesmerizing.

Visit Lime Hollow, it's always fun!! RDS