#MonthlyPhotoChallenge

THE CHANGING SEASONS, DECEMBER 2019 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 19 Comments

The Changing Seasons, December 2019

The weather has definitely become an issue around here. We got some snow at the end of November and then again at the beginning of December. That appears to have been winter.

Since then, we’ve had heavy rain, a week of bitterly cold days, a few light dustings of snow, a lot of days so warm we had to put flea and tick collars back on the dogs because the moment the temperature goes into the 50s and 60s, the fleas and ticks pop up as if summer never ended.

For those who are waiting for climate change to show up, I have a flash for them. It’s here.

Many of us already live in hotspots where the temperature has met or exceeded the 2 degree Celsius level. The seasons are changing. Autumn is vanishing … and apparently, so is winter. The bugs are going to have a real field day this year since they’ve never died off.

Taking off
Winter’s dawn
Downy Woodpecker
Pretty sure it’s a Chipping Sparrow
Waiting to a place at the feeder
I’m pretty sure this one is the bigger Hairy Woodpecker — but I’m not sure.
Up a tree, thinking about seeds
No one starves in our yard!
Madame Cardinal
Junco in a bird’s winter
Sharing on the feeder
Bluebird
I think it’s two birds having a little tiff. Hard to tell but that’s my best guess.
Pretty sure this one is a Hairy Woodpecker because he is much bigger than the Downy
My Lady Cardinal
Another Downy Woodpecker
What’s over there?
Getting wings ready to fly
Chipping Sparrow
Blue Jay
Red Bellied Woodpecker and a Junco
Home sweet home with our mailbox and our across the street neighbor’s mailbox
Home. With snow.
Unitarian Church (empty) on the Common.
Sharing!
Blue Jay on the railing
Staring me down
The Episcopal rectory on the Common.
Bluebird and Chickadee
Bluebird on the fence – the perfect blue and orange combination!
Woodpecker
Goldfinch and Chickadee
Taking off

Most large American cities are hotspots. All of Australia and Tasmania are in trouble. I suspect most major cities on every continent are already at, over, or approaching the tipping point. Between the fires, mudslides, giant storms, floods, polar ice melting … it’s here. Now. We are in it. Some places more obviously than others. I do not think we have a decade or two to fix our climate problems and I don’t see any evidence that we are doing anything positive to deal with the changing climate or our planetary ecology.

I’m trying to find something about which to be optimistic, but I’m not having much success.

Nuthatch and incoming Bluebird

Frozen woods

Carolina Wren

A huge Tufted Titmice!

Ice everywhere

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

  • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su Leslie’s original post, I can update it with links to all of yours.

 

THE CHANGING SEASONS NOVEMBER 2019 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 38 Comments

THE CHANGING SEASONS – NOVEMBER 2019

This is one of the big change months of our calendar. We go from warm late fall days to bitter cold and sometimes snow. We didn’t (praise be!) get snow, but we got a lot of rain. We had one perfect week of Autumn. We used to get a month of it, but times are changing. It arrived late and departed in one night. A lot of trees just dropped their leaves without them even changing color.

But we got Cardinals and our very first Bluebirds. A triumph!

Bluebird and Chickadee

Very pretty Bluebird

Like Su Leslie, I’ve largely retreated emotionally to home and things I have some control over. I try to keep in touch with the world because maybe big things are coming and I hope I’m still here to participate. Meanwhile, I feed the birds — a small thing to help beleaguered creatures — and simultaneously am growing the fattest squirrels in North America.

From the front of the Bluebird

And one day, we had bluebirds!

It’s supposed to snow tomorrow and the news has been full of it. But when they talk about huge snowstorms, they mean nine inches to a foot. I am meanwhile thinking two to three feet or, as you folks say, a meter or more. What we are actually supposed to get is one to three inches, which isn’t snow. It’s a dusting.

It does mean winter really is here. I hope it isn’t really awful. A mild winter would be easier for everyone!

Bluebird on the fence – the perfect blue and orange combination!
All the pink buds
Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Scarlet buds
Finally finished front door
Photo: Garry Armstrong — Finished new wall
A quiet place to sit and maybe a place for a computer, too
A little broader look
Cardinal in full regalia
Titmouse in early (very early!) sunset
A good look at the beak and head. This is a small, tough bird!
Mourning Dove
Two Titmice

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

  • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su Leslie’s original post, I can update it with links to all of yours.

THE CHANGING SEASONS – SEPTEMBER 2019 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 26 Comments

The Changing Seasons, September 2019

It’s the last day of September. In New England, that’s Autumn. It’s sort of Autumn out there, but not a lot. It may get better, but a lot has to do with rain and if it gets very warm again.

One all my flowers die, this is what takes over.
Sunset by the stone fence
Calf by the river
Ignore the chickens!
But this beauty sat nice and peacefully for me. A happy cat on a happy farm!
Purple and very orchid
There’s something for every taste
Carve this one into something special
Overview
Photo-Garry Armstrong
Pick your favorite
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Shooting through a wire fence, these are impressionist chickens. Need eggs?
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Garry at River Bend
Double docks

It’s been very up and down. Moreover, climate change has made our erratic weather even more erratic than it was before, so it’s very hard to figure out what happening. Or will happen.

Nuthatch
Nuthatch
Chickadee
Hairy Woodpecker
Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker

The trees are mostly green with large patches of bright yellow and in a few places, some red and orange. But the color is very slow in coming and if the rain starts before the color shows up, fall will wash away with the rain. As it did last year and the year before.

The barn and corral and our car, tucked in the corner. happy weather watching.

The farm road. Follow it if you want to see the horses.

We have taken some nice pictures, so even if we aren’t getting that golden red fall feeling, it certainly is lovely outside.

I’d hate to lose a whole season, especially Autumn.

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

      • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
      • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
      • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

      • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
      • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
      • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to this post, Su-Leslie can update her post with links to all of your posts.

THE CHANGING SEASONS – AUGUST 2019 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 21 Comments
The Changing Seasons, August 2019

It’s official. This has been the hottest and wettest summer more than a hundred years. The hottest days and hottest nights. Until it cooled off a week ago — and we went critical on E.E.E. (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) mosquitoes, so now that the weather is decent, we can’t go out anyway.

Not a great summer.

Meanwhile, one side of our house is rotting. It’s the south side. Somehow, during one or more of the storms that we’ve had, water got in under the siding and turned the underpinnings to muck and mold. We have to find a way to fix it. It is unlikely the insurance company will do anything. As the adjuster pointed out, they don’t actually fix anything unless your house burns down.

They don’t do it for you. It’s to protect your mortgage holder.

So, we haven’t been outside much. We did take some pictures, but mostly, we have stayed inside. My current entire mentality is trying to figure out how to come up with a few thousand dollars to fix the wall. It’s ironic, really. I was just reading about somebody who spent more than a million dollars to redesign his garden and I was thinking “There really isn’t any justice, is there.” I commented to the adjuster we would be better off burning the place down.

He agreed.

Photos are by Garry and Marilyn Armstrong.

With a very special pepper!
Water plants along the river
Little arch

When we were young, we took each other in if someone got into trouble. We just did it. Of course, we had parents who could help us if we really got desperate. Now, we are the parents. Hell, we’re the grandparents.

There’s nowhere to go. Our kids don’t have houses, our parents have passed on. C’est la vie, eh?

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

    • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
    • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
    • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

    • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
    • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
    • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su-Leslie’s post, she can update it with links to all of yours.

THE CHANGING SEASONS – JULY 2019 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 12 Comments
The Changing Seasons, July 2019 – Our Hottest July Ever!

It’s official. This has been the hottest July in recorded weather history … 140 years worth. Not only have these been the hottest days, but they have also been the hottest nights with temperatures rarely dropping below the 80s.

I haven’t been outside much. For an asthmatic, this is bad karma. The hot, wet air makes it difficult to breathe and lacking inhalers (because I can’t afford them), being inside is a lot safer.

I did take a few pictures in the garden and of the newly repainted deck, but this hasn’t been much of a photographic month. If someone turns down the thermostat and the humidity, maybe we’ll have some breathable air. Right now, it’s like trying to inhale hot soup. Whatever that stuff is, it isn’t real air.

The newly refinished deck — which is also why there are no birds. It was time to take in the feeders until the fall. I miss my birds!

The Garden – Daylily Central!

A pair of daylilies
A perfect pair of Daylilies
Daylilies
A few more daylilies
Backyard Daylilies!
One and a half daylilies
More asters
Lots and lots of daylilies
A clump of daylilies
Asters growing amidst the daylilies

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

    • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
    • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
    • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

    • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
    • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
    • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su-Leslie’s post, she can update it with links to all of yours.

THE CHANGING SEASONS: MAY 2019 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 45 Comments

The Changing Seasons, May 2019

Photography: Garry and Marilyn Armstrong

It has been a weird month of May. A lot of rain, a lot of cold days with and without rain, then a couple of hot muggy days. Immediately followed by cooler dry days and then wet, quite cold days. It’s only in the low 50s right now and will be in the mid-40s tonight. That is cold for this time of year.

Flowers – Marilyn Armstrong
Solomon’s Seal

Weather forecasts these days are closer to guesses than they used to be. There’s so much very bad, dangerous weather rolling across the continent. Tornadoes, flooding, violent thunderstorms only a few miles south of here. As long as the winds don’t change, all we are going to get is drenching rain.

Mumford Dam and River – Garry and Marilyn Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Another memorial along the river
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong

The gardens look pretty sad. There are flowers, but everything, even the Hosta, is droopy and no really fully developed. Except for Solomon’s Seal — which is happy in gray rainy weather — everything else looks like it wishes it could have stayed in the ground.

The Village – Garry Armstrong
Springtime on the Commons
Our brand spanking new crossing sign! Isn’t this exciting?

There were a few good days and we went out for one, and Garry for another. Otherwise, it was some of the flowers and of course, the birds.

Boys and the River – Garry and Marilyn Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
What IS that?
Photo: Garry Armstrong
What is that on my foot?
Swimming and jumping in the river
Getting in is easier than getting out!

The pictures make it look like we’ve had a lovely, sunny month. The truth is that all of the pictures were taken over a period of five sunny days. The rest of the months was gray, rainy, and mostly, cold.

The following pictures of the birds may tell more of the story because the birds get really hungry when the weather is cold and rainy. When it’s bright and sunny, they tend to ignore us. Also, they aren’t happy with us right now because we bought cheaper food. It’s not bad food, but it has less of the more expensive components because rain or not, there’s real, live food all over the woods. There are bugs and fruit and nuts to eat and they don’t need to depend on our buffet.

Birds – Marilyn Armstrong
Cardinal and Cowbird. The Cowbirds are only afraid of the big woodpecker — ever since he pecked him in the head!
Cowbird with Hairy Woodpecker – sharing!
A beak and a half
One Cowbird and a Hairy Woodpecker
Lady Brown-headed Cowbird showing off her dark tail!
Black-capped Chickadee – our Massachusetts official state bird
Mrs. Cowbird and Mr. Chickadee, sharing a light snack
Brown-headed Cowbirds
One Goldfinch
Goldfinch in the rain
A little Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker — and you can actually see his red belly!
Eating well!
A pair of doves
Lady Cardinal
Downy Woodpecker
Looking down Dove
Hairy or Downy?
A common Mourning Dove discussing life with a stone Frog.
Peek-a-boo!
It’s a woodpecker, but I can’t see enough of him to know which one.

Except for the squirrels. They have completely given up finding their own food. As far as they are concerned, they own us and expect a good, solid meal every single day. They ate ALL the food in two days this week. I mean down to the last few seeds at the very bottom of the hanging feeder. And they did it while we weren’t looking.

The Red Christmas Cactus – Marilyn Armstrong

Macro red cactus

Murderer’s Row – Marilyn Armstrong

They have figured out when we are around — and when we aren’t. They are smarter than people think!

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

      • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
      • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
      • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

      • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
      • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
      • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a pingback to Su-Leslie’s post, she will update it with links to your post.

THE CHANGING SEASONS: APRIL 2019 – THE RAINIEST APRIL SINCE 1872 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 21 Comments

The Changing Seasons, April 2019
The Rainiest April in 140 Years

Photography: Garry and Marilyn Armstrong

It wasn’t just my imagination. Of the 29 days of this past, April 2019, twenty of them were rainy. And for the final day, tomorrow, it will also rain which will bring the total to 21 days of rain for the month of April.

Not surprisingly, we didn’t get out to take a lot of pictures this month. If it weren’t were the bird feeders on our deck, there might not be any pictures at all.

Trout fishing
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo, Garry Armstrong
Photo, Garry Armstrong

Most of the time, it has been chilly and wet. We got some daffodils and a few crocuses. We even got a few sad-looking Forsythias. Meanwhile, although we got a whole set of brand new young Rhododendrons while the mature bushes all died. I don’t know if the rain drowned them or maybe they were just ready to move on and that’s why they sent up the new shoots.

Harbinger of spring – our purple crocuses
One Tulip
More yellow daffodils

My son is going to cut them all down — the dead ones and the young ones and all of the rose bushes. They will grow back, or at least the living ones will. I guarantee that by August, the young Rhododendrons and the barbed-wire roses will be taller than me.

House Finch
The Goldfinch turning bright yellow for mating season.
More bright Goldfinch
Ah, romance … Doves
Nuthatch

Owen says they cut down their bushes every year and by mid-summer, they stand more than seven feet high. Meantime, there are a lot of shoots for upcoming daylilies. Bless you, daylilies. When everything else fails, I can count on you!

Double trouble

Brown-headed Cowbirds

The rain killed most everything else. We got two tulips and a bunch of bright yellow daffodils. I’m hoping we will see some Columbine and Spiderwort, too.

When I look into the woods, I can see that there is green there. The maples are beginning to show fat buds. The young pine trees have new growth, too.

Despite having several large trees fall on it, the lilac has a full growth of new leaves. I am surprised. I was sure it was going to give up at long last, but somehow, it keeps coming back. It doesn’t bloom much anymore. There isn’t enough sunshine back at the edge of the woods. And this is not a bush anymore. It hasn’t been a bush in more than 18 years. It is old growth and almost as tall as a maple tree.

It’s baseball season again!

Whether or not it will flower? Your guess is as good as mine. It’s too early for blooming. It won’t flower until the middle of May if it flowers at all. Sunshine would help.

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

      • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
      • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
      • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

      • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
      • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
      • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su-Leslie’s post, she will update it with links to of yours.

THE CHANGING SEASONS AND CHANGING FAST – JANUARY 2019 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 24 Comments
The Changing Seasons: January 2019

I can truly say that this entire month has been about birds. There have been a few more pictures here and there, but effectively? Birds. All birds all the time.

The birds help keep me sane in an insane world.

Cardinal, well-fed!
And the inevitable chickadee because there are so many here …
Upside down pointy
Diving Chickadee
Titmouse in the air and Chickadee on the feeder

And there are so many MORE bird pictures. Buy a couple of feeders, get a good lens and a camera and you don’t have to worry about the world. You just have to worry about catching a picture of a chickadee diving off the feeder.

One Mourning Dove

And there are many woodpeckers, either a lot of Goldfinches or Warblers or both (take your pick, I personally have given up identifying anything) … and a new bird, the “house finch” — a little red finch that came from Texas via a whole lot of pet stores who weren’t allowed to sell wild birds in cages, so they just let them go and now, they live here.

House Finch

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month — and show how the weather has changed. Right now, there’s a lot of weather changing because this thing called “climate change” is affecting many countries all over the world.

You can call it whatever you want, but it’s here and it’s going to get a lot worse. If we can do nothing else, we can take pictures and talk about … the weather. Because the weather matter and it’s going to matter more and more as we ignore the problems this planet faces.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

  • Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to SuLeslie’s post at the following link:

https://zimmerbitch.wordpress.com/2019/01/26/the-changing-seasons-january-2019/

she can update your post with links to everyone else’s.

THE CHANGING SEASONS: NOVEMBER 2018 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 29 Comments

The Changing Seasons, November 2018

Photos by Marilyn & Garry Armstrong

If you don’t think climate change is real, this has been a good month to check your sense of reality. Autumn started September 20th this year and since then, we’ve had 18 inches of rain, 9 of those inches in this month. November. Not generally a particularly wet month for rain or snow.

This is the autumnal part. Some of these were shot by Garry Armstrong, the rest by me.

Home
Photo: Garry Armstrong – The last of autumn in early November
Our leaf-covered driveway.

And we’ve had both, as well as a bit of brilliant autumn. We were in Connecticut when the first snow came down. We came home to snow, then the temperature rose. It rained and then the snow melted.

First snow of the season!

At the beginning of the month, we still had fresh roses growing in the garden.

Photo: Garry Armstrong – The last of autumn in early November
Curves also have a vanishing point

And then, the plants came down from their hooks and the bird feeders went up … and suddenly, the world was full of hungry birds!

My Christmas Cactus is blooming, my bird feeder is attracting literally flocks of birds. The rivers have risen to their peak and any significant additional rain will cause at least minimal flooding.

It’s been a wild and crazy month with icy cold, warm rain, heavy wind, snow and usually one sunny day at some point in the week. Or at least half a day, or a few hours.

We’re not supposed to get more rain — or snow — until Sunday, by which time it will already be December. Crazy month!

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

  1 – Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month

2 – Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

3 – Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

   1 – Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month

  2 – Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

  3 – Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su-Leslie’s post, she will update it to include your links.

THE CHANGING SEASONS, October 2018 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 34 Comments

The Changing Seasons: October 2018

Photographs: Marilyn & Garry Armstrong and The Blackstone Valley

Today I ordered “Milestones & Guideposts of Massachusetts and Southeastern New Hampshire.” I know I’m an eclectic reader, but sometimes I’m so eclectic I surprise even me. The worst part of my passion for odd yet historic books is they are expensive. There are no bargains on the only book ever written on this subject. The pictures are all black and white — and not very sharp. You can’t get it for Kindle, either. Not that it would make much sense as an e-book.

Photo: Garry Armstrong

No, this is one you need to hold in your hand as you walk through a strange alley in Boston or the edge of a woods in the Valley.

Still, I couldn’t help myself. New England was one of the first places on the continent infested with Europeans. Being of a practical turn of mind, instead of building new roads, they followed Native American trails and set up milestones and guideposts to point the way to the first couple of “cities” in the area: Boston and its harbor (aka “the Bay”) and Springfield.

Marilyn’s October

Very closeup of our tiny roses
Maple leaves

Once you passed through Springfield, you were in the wilds of Connecticut … or whatever it was called back then. After you got to Boston or the Bay, you stopped … or got on a sailing ship.

I’m hoping to track down some of these spots. There are quite a few milestones nearby. I know there is one in Uxbridge — I found it quite by accident one day while getting lost. I never found it again. There is another in Mendon and a bunch various parts of Worcester County and of course, Boston. Some of these are now alongside major roads.

The Native American paths originally marked eventually became roads and later, highways. Some are in an alley in Boston. Others are hidden in a woods or in someone’s yard. Not all are mapped. For all I know, there might be one buried in our woods.

Photo: Marilyn Armstrong

On days like this, I muse on what the history of this area would be had Europeans not invaded it in the 1500s. If, instead of conquest, societies had melded and produced a decent world for all of us.

It’s a forlorn hope, I know, but it didn’t have to be this way.

Garry’s October

Photo: Garry Armstrong

October has been too warm and rain for the first couple of weeks, wet and windy since then. We had some pretty colors yesterday and today, but for the end of October, there’s a lot of green on the trees.

After the storm hits us tomorrow (and Sunday, Monday and maybe Tuesday), I’d be surprised if there are enough leaves left on the trees. Not every fall is a great one.

Photo: Marilyn Armstrong

It has been pretty, but we never really hit our stride. Nonetheless, we did take a lot of pictures of the Mumford in Uxbridge and the Blackstone everywhere.

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

  1 – Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month

2 – Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

3 – Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

   1 – Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month

  2 – Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

  3 – Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su-Leslie’s post, she will update it to include your links.

THE CHANGING SEASONS – SEPTEMBER 2018 – Marilyn Armstrong

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 20 Comments

The Changing Seasons, September 2018

Painted falls …

Rocks at Manchaug

It’s the very end of September here in New England, so it’s the middle of our best season, Autumn.

Except it isn’t Autumn.

The stone mill

The trees are entirely green without even a hint of red. A few yellow leaves on a few trees, but none of the colors we are supposed to have. We went and we sought for fall, but we could not find it. I was not by the river, which is the first place you usually find it … nor by the dam. Nor in the woods.

The dam at Manchaug was full this year. Lots of rain this spring and summer.

Lily pads. Not Monet,. Just me.

And we went down to another part of the valley, too. It wasn’t just Manchaug!

Photo: Garry Armstrong

And me, too – Photo: Garry Armstrong

The pond at Manchaug …. right before the dam. Photo: Garry Armstrong

Softly falling water – Photo Garry Armstrong

Graphic stone and falls – Marilyn Armstrong