Gravity

Last night we saw the movie Gravity in 3D at a local theater. We rarely go out to movies anymore, relying mostly on streaming Netflix or picking up a movie from Redbox. Since we heard such good reviews of Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, especially in 3D, we splurged.

It is a fantastic movie, showing the vastness of space and the beauty of earth. Go see it in 3D in a good theater. The movie will enhance your appreciation of the skills and thrills of being an astronaut.

On a somewhat related note I launched a Twitter account last week (ellen_tsnne) as part of a new project called The Stewardship Network: New England that I am working on. I never much cared for Facebook, but Twitter, for me, seems to offer a steady stream of interesting tweets. I decided to follow Science Friday on NPR and it just happened that the host Ira Flato recently talked with Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield. Since space was on my mind after last night's movie, I was intrigued.

Hadfield has a new book, An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth, and a series of quick videos on how they do things in space, like brushing teeth. And check out this YouTube video of Hadfield singing a revised version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, recorded on the International Space Station. Then go see Gravity.

November Grays

Gray skies are expected on a November day in New England. This morning started out gray, but a lovely sun emerged late in the afternoon. Darkness will come early though, as we fell back an hour this morning with the end of daylight savings time.

A strong wind a few days back blew most of the leaves off the hardwoods, except for the oaks and beeches, which hold fast into winter. Many trees now stand bare, revealing their varied shapes--stately, gnarly, broken topped, many-branched, diseased, healthy--that were hidden by leaves all summer.

Even in the woods, where beech saplings have turned the forest understory into a golden color, the grays of November emerge. Giant, gray boulders seem even bigger today, as we walked through the Oaklands of Exeter.

A fallen hornet nest, ash gray in color, lay still and vivid against the copper beech leaves. The queen left the nest earlier in the fall to live underground or in a log through winter. The rest of the adults die as cold weather sets in. Peering into a hole in this nest I could see several adult hornets frozen in place, but they might still be alive so I let them be.

There is beauty in the gray calm of November. A cheerful thought as the days grow shorter and winter sets in. 

Trees at Winterberry Farm

While visiting my parents at Winterberry Farm in western Massachusetts, where we planted the garlic, I wandered around in the back forty. Songbirds flitted and chirped from fields and shrubby hedges as they searched for seeds and fruits. Frost coated the edges of fallen leaves.

Trees, now leafless, revealed their shape and seed, including more southern species that I rarely see in New Hampshire. See if you can identify these next four species of trees before I give away their identifications at the bottom of the post. Here is a little bit of information about each...

A tree with gray furrowed bark; 

a nut favored by humans and wildlife,

 is found inside a round husk that stains ones hand.

Note the stout twigs.

This is a scrappy tree, sometimes called an ash-leaved maple.

But what other common name does it go by?

This tree grows in my parents front yard; a tree that I grew up playing under and it still stands tall next to the honey locust tree just outside the front door. The leaves linger late into the fall and produce large leaves it does. I placed a large garlic clove on one such leaf to show proportion.

This next tree unfortunately is succumbing to a fungus canker across its range. But many lovely specimens still grow in my parents yard. Squirrels love the nuts. The sticky outer husks leave a mess in the yard and cause the lawn mower to spit out pieces in all directions. It is in the same family as the first species showcased.

Okay, so here is the tree list in order of their photos: black walnut, boxelder, catalpa, and butternut.

Garlic Planting 2013

We planted the garlic today at Winterberry Farm--500 cloves from the 2012 crop. 

My parents helped me. Dad had prepped the garden bed by discing and adding manure. Mom helped me break open the 100-plus garlic bulbs. Dad helped hoe the 4-inch deep rows, while Mom supervised as the QA/QC person. She thought the rows were slightly wavy, but otherwise a good planting. Did I mention that my Mom is 92 and my Dad is 91? They are awesome.

Here's a look at the five rows spaced 9 inches apart
and planted with 100 cloves each spaced 6 inches apart. 

And then covered with two inches of soil and finally about 4 inches of light straw. 

At the Beach

From October 1st to May 14th each year, non-residents have parking access to Seapoint and Crescent Beaches in Kittery, Maine. This is when we visit with our dogs; it is a popular beach for people with dogs. Today--a warm, clear blue-sky day--was Henna's first visit to a coastal beach since we adopted her last April 13th. She seemed intrigued by the smells and textures of seaweed and snails and other flotsam and jetsam on the beach. Kodi tried to engage her in play a few times, but she mostly wanted to comb the beach instead.

I tried to capture the sounds and textures of the beach

as the tidal waves rushed in and out across sand and stone.

On the walk back along the top of the steep pebbled beach, Kodi kept pace with Henna and Kodi eventually settled in to chew on a piece of driftwood.

The Life of a Leaf Blower

Steve Macone in the October 17th issue of The New Yorker online magazine has a short essay worth reading, especially if you are like me and despise leaf blowers.

Click on I am a Leaf Blower for the full story. Here is a brief excerpt:

"Do you have any idea how hard it used to be to pick up leaves, before I came along? Not very? Shut up. I exist."

Don't you think Kodi would be sad if we used a loud leaf blower instead of a rake....

Witchhazel Yellows

Beautiful fall days continue.

The yellow leaves of witchhazel light up the forest understory.