virtualdavis

[virtualdavis]

Poetry of Earth

I missed my mark — Earth Day, April 22, 2023 — with this post extolling the poetry of earth. It was germinal then, and it remains germinal today (albeit marginally more mature?) Sometimes a seed germinates with exuberance, practically exploding into existence as if overcome with the glory of imminent bloom and fruit. Other times a seed lingers dormant — cautious or reticent or simply,…

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Blurry Beyond Boathouse

Blurry Beyond Boathouse as Lake Champlain evaporates “lake smoke” at 8:04 am on December 10, 2010 (Photo: Geo Davis)

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Pluviophile

[A rainy day post, perhaps titled “Pluviophilic Post”?! Or more accurately “Pluviophilic Poem for Ombrophobes” or “Pluviophilic Poem for Heliophiles” or…] XXX A pluviophile is someone who loves the rain… or someone that finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days… (Source: What is the meaning of…

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Meadow Meditation After Frost

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Farm-to-Table Dogfood

What to do when you run out of dog food but you still have fresh eggs from Full and By Farm and strawberries from the garden? Carley would say it’s an opportunity to celebrate country living with fresh, homemade, farm-to-table dog food! Carley Eagerly Anticipating Farm-to-Table Dogfood (Geo Davis) Over the last couple of years Carley has become an especially loyal fan of Shine Pet Food…

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Antique Chinese Armoire Reimagined

An overdue but super grateful shoutout to my nephew, Christoph, for troubleshooting, sourcing, and installing the optimal movie viewing solution for Rosslyn's icehouse.

As often, I’m overdue for an update on good news already more than a month past. Better late than never? I’d like to showcase (although that sounds a little oversold for a scrapbook story) my nephew, Christoph’s, icehouse entertainment solution. Sounds unnecessarily cryptic. Actually icehouse entertainment system might be a bit of a misnomer, at least in the eyes of Christoph who prefers far more…

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Courtyard After Rain

Today's tune of transformation of perseverance of mud-to-marvel of struggle to sanctuary of challenge-to-charm still resonates with the echoes of hauling and grinding stones reimagined and repurposed and remortared.

Good morning. Sunday morning. After Saturday night gathering for lawn games and s’mores. Good Sunday morning after Saturday night rain. Unanticipated rain. Wet morning, but barely, now that the sun is out. A reminder that we’ve come along way in one year. The photos in today’s post — imperfect snapshots book ending the difference that 365 days make — provide a couple of “now and then” comparisons…

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Driveway Resurfacing Complete

It’s time to revisit Rosslyn’s driveway tuneup. Bob and Phil initiated the first phase early last winter and completed the second phase three days ago. Since then we’ve endured a +2″ cloudburst (see “Tornado Watch“) that inundated us, but the tuneup faired remarkably well. A few minor washouts that we can easily repair, but considering the tragic damage inland and south of us, I’m incredibly…

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Orcas Sink Sailboat

Yes, you read that right. And if you’re a sailor, you’ve probably been rerunning this in your head again and again.  Orcas sink sailboat. A big sailboat. A 50 foot sailing yacht!  An orca swims close to the rudder of a boat taking part in a sailing race in the strait of Gibraltar in June 2023. Photograph: AP The prequel to this startling development has been playing out again and again for a…

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Complaints: Top 5

What do you complain about the most? Such a mysterious adventure story, this thing we call life. Plot twists around every corner. Characters waxing and waning. Textures tangling and untangling, melodies braiding and unbraiding, hues shifting and sifting so subtly we wonder if we’re imagining it,… A mesmerizing mystery so pure, so pulchritudinous as to humble our judgment and suspend our wisdom…

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Hibernal High

I almost preempted this evening’s post with an update on the rising, rising, rising lake levels. Given the alarming uptick — Lake Champlain has risen approximately 2’ in the last couple of days with waters currently approaching spring flood stage — our attention is focused on meteorological forecasts. But angsty fretting serves no one, so let’s instead honor the hibernal solstice with an exciting…

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Sail Sooner

In an interview with Jimmy Cornell about his recent update to the blue water cruising bible, Ocean Atlas, the effects of climate change feature prominently. Sail Sooner (Photo: Geo Davis) Cornell closes with ominous advice to would-be voyagers. There is no doubt that global weather conditions are changing: slower in some parts of the world, faster than expected in others. All I can say is that…

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Stumping

As political pundits’ newscycle turns to election stumping, our workcycle turns to ash stumping. The inevitable next step in our current homegrown lumber undertaking is to transform the stumps (leftover from five removed ash trees) into mulch and then prepare the ground for grass seeding in the spring. Ready for Stumping (Photo: Tony Foster) After felling five ash trees in the vicinity of…

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Apple Crisp

When autumn’s wintry turn coincides with apples passing their prime, it’s time to make an apple crisp! And so I did. A dairy free, gluten free, maple syrupy apple crisp. Join me? First I peeled, cored, wedged all of the softening fruit. Apple Peels and Cores (Photo: Geo Davis) The compost received this ready-to-ferment contribution with a just barely detectable, “Hurrah!” Apples Cored and…

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Enclosure

A mid morning meditation on enclosure inspired by ongoing deliberations on the height and porosity of the privacy fence that will screen the mechanicals, propane tank, etc. behind the carriage barn (south of the icehouse terrace). Enclosure: Steve Cooley improving fence height (Photo: R.P. Murphy) So muchdepends upona borderenfolding,a framedefining,a hedge ora tree linescreening,veiling,a…

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After Rowing, Retrieving

After almost two hours
reclining in a dory,
observing waterfowl
and falling foliage,
listening to slice, drip,
slice, drip of oar blades,
moaning, creaking oar locks,
yielding to the pulse —
swift acceleration
followed by gentle glide —
with paws chilled by hull chilled
by October water,
fur warmed with thirsty air,
the vanishing voices
of Canada geese high
above slippery skiff,…

After rowing, retrieving. A perfect pairing in the eyes of Carley, our Labrador retriever. After Rowing​, Retrieving (Photo: Geo Davis) Fall is upon us, but that’s no disincentive to man and beast from enjoying the still warmish waters of Lake Champlain. I find it challenging to capture in prose or images, but this autumn atmosphere and rhythm lend themselves to the braiding potential and…

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Sun Puddling

Sun puddling Labrador retriever…

Our Labrador retriever loves sun puddles. Ever since Carley was a pup, she has sought out the sunniest spots for her siestas. Sun puddling, we call it. Carley Sun Puddling in the Icehouse with Me (Photo: Susan Bacot-Davis) She’ll reposition herself around the house, the icehouse, the yard throughout the day to ensure that she is snoozing in the most optimal sun puddle possible. Bliss, shear…