Posts Tagged ‘signs of autumn’
Mountain Road adventure
Last week, we decided to take a drive along Mountain Road. This is a trail extending from Mazerolle Settlement outside Fredericton, New Brunswick to Newmarket, near Harvey Station. We used to take it regularly when my husband and I first knew one another, over 30 years ago. In those days, it was a narrow road built along the side of Porcupine Mountain. It was overhung with hardwoods and crossed the upper part of the Woolastook Game Refuge. We decided it would make a good drive on an October afternoon.
The drive started with a sighting of White-tailed Deer near the road entrance.
Then we stopped briefly at an inlet of the St. John River, to watch a Blue Heron take off and circle the cove.
Although there are a few houses along the first part of the road, the area is generally uninhabited and the woods on either side of the road were still natural. The trees were beautiful – oak, maple and beech were all in various autumn hues.
It has rained recently, and as we went further along the road, its deteriorated condition became evident. Culverts were heaved at several points and we had to take our time as the waterholes in the road became deeper and deeper.
Although the road bed was generally solid, we could feel the tires slipping sideways in a couple of the puddles.
At last, unable to see through the muddy water, and wondering if there were any big rocks lurking there, ready to hang us up, my husband decided to turn back. It was foolish to proceed with summer tires and no winch to help us if we did get stuck. In the old days, we would have pressed on, willing to walk to the nearest main road, but arthritis interferes with foolish bravado!
Later, we’ll try the road from the other end. Perhaps we were through the worst, and pavement was just beyond the next big puddle.
Copyright Jane Tims 2012
www.nichepoetryandprose.wordpress.com
a pair of eagles
When we spend time at our lake property, we often see Bald Eagles. They nest in the large White Pines along the edge of the lake and I sometimes find their feathers near our arbour, suggesting they visit our place when we are not at home.
Today we watched a pair of them circle high in the sky, soaring effortlessly on the updrafts. They flew in sync with one another, so coordinated in their movements, they could have been dancing.
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fragments about wind
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the trees move as though branches flow from a bottle
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this morning I found
oak leaves on the sidewalk
and a young acorn with the nut missing
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a pair of eagles soars
wings lifted on
scant molecules of air
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Copyright Jane Tims 2012
one red tree
On a drive to see some covered bridges in York County, we took a logging road along the Pokiok and Little Pokiok Streams.
Years ago, on this road, we saw an albino deer. On this recent trip however, the only wildlife we saw were the Flickers. As we drove along the road, a Flicker would fly up and lead us a ways before veering into the woods on the roadside.
It was a good road, maintained by a local forest company. Along the way, we crossed a small metal bridge and I stopped to take a photo of a small stream winding its way through a bog.
It was a lovely stream, deep and tea-colored. Over in the corner of the bog was one red tree, reminding me that our summer is fading quickly.
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end of summer
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on the path along the brook
one leaf bleeds into water
in town the walks are stony
chaff of linden, seeds
dry ditches overflow with flowers
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I shrug
(no matter
summer is ended)
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yellow rattle
pods and grasses
rehearse an incantation
wind sulks in corners of the shed
warmth and sun
paint the orange of pumpkins
knit winter mittens
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I gather signs of autumn
asters, windfalls, flocks of red wings
frantic in the alders
acorns, hollow galls from oak
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Orion peeks above the trees
time forgotten, found
and summer with rain never ends
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I ask for rain
(arms loaded with everlasting)
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Previously published as ‘end of summer’, Sept. 19, 2011, http://www.nichepoetryandprose.wordpress.com
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© Jane Tims 2012
nichepoetryandprose 