Category: living simply

Winter Meditation

Zen inspired elements enhance my winter garden.

Zen inspired landscaping offers opportunities for meditation and contemplation in my winter garden. Bamboo is one of the loveliest and most recognizable features.
An invitation to sit is provided by a worn stair step. Below it are smooth hand chosen stones from the Atlantic Ocean.
Rocks suggest mountains, stability…
…and sculptures.
The aged laurel bush, worn by time and weather, is a favorite shelter for native and migrating birds.
A weathered bird feeder ornament intrigues our feathered visitors.

Big Birds

Lilac Hedge Farm, Rutland, MA

In New England, emus and ostriches are rare and exotic. A recent visit to Lilac Hedge Farm provided an extraordinary opportunity to see them close up. This stately emu strutted casually through its enclosure.
Oftentimes, emus display graceful ballerina moves.
These birds are easily identified by patches of blue on their heads.
Nearby, ostriches were protected in their own enclosure. Their feathers look soft and fluffy when seen close-up.
This imposing male ostrich had a a thin coating of white feathers on its head.
Two delightful juvenile ostriches regarded visitors with quiet intensity and great curiosity.
Lilac Hedge Farm is the former site of a Heifer International Educational Center. Its many acres provide ample space for both local and exotic creatures to roam.

First Snow, Part Two

The view driving away from the Town Common on Barre Road, Hardwick, MA.
“Meadowbrook” was part of a former dairy.
A typical colonial home of the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Thick, winding stone walls can be viewed throughout the town.
A traditional style Cape Cod home on Ridge Road.
A view of the Town Common, from the left to right: the First Universalist Church, the Historical Society and the Town Hall.
The bell tower of the Town Hall.
The Paige Memorial Fountain with fields beyond, which are used for showing sheep during the Hardwick Fair.
Paige Memorial Fountain with the Congregational Church and a Coffeehouse behind it. (The Coffeehouse was formerly the general store.)
The coffeehouse also includes the Hardwick Post Office.
An historical cemetery abuts the Town Hall.
Holiday decorations on the First Universalist Church capture the imagination.