Tag: Katie Shepard
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Wild Turkey Nesting
This time of year Rosslyn’s wildlife cameras document a noticeable uptick in activity amongst our natural neighbors. Springtime spurs mating rituals of all flavors, but reviewing recent images (including the wild turkey below, one of *many* wild turkey photos lately) my mind turns to wild turkey nesting. Perhaps you recollect my June 27, 2013 update,…
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Kestrel at Rosslyn Boathouse
This evening I return to a nostalgic snapshot steeped in the sepia tones of yesteryear. An artifact from our Rosslyn collection, this old photo was featured on February 24, 2014 in the Essex Community blog by Katie Shepard. As often, the discourse generated by this visual time, capsule provided valuable insight to the Kestrel, a…
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Does Mystery Make a House a Home?
Today’s dispatch delves into a puzzling enigma, maybe even a genuine mystery. Shortly after purchasing Rosslyn in the summer of 2006 friends were touring the house with us when their young son blasted through a doorway. “Do you think this house is haunted?!” His optimism was palpable. He related in quick chronicle what he’d discovered…
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Where in the World is Rosslyn?
Where in the world is Rosslyn? If you’re not too terribly averse to a verse, here’s an introduction writ small (wrapped up in a tidy micropoem.) Up in the Adirondacks at the foot of the foothills, where Champlain’s sweet waters refresh, render respite, and sooth worldweary souls, a sanctuary sings welcoming melodies. (Source: Where’s Rosslyn?)…
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George O. Webster’s “Essex-on-Champlain”
Back in 2013, I wrote a series of posts on Rev. George Orlia Webster for the Essex on Lake Champlain community blog. I had become interested in this former Essex resident, pastor of the Federated Church in Essex, and prolific composer of liturgical music because of his hymn, “Essex-on-Champlain.” Today I’ve collected (with the able assistance of Katie…
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A Barnophile of Bygone Barns
Yesterday I meditated a minute on bygone barns. Ancient farm buildings. Tempered by time, tempted by gravity, and sowbacked beneath the burdens of generations, these rugged utility structures retain (and sometimes gain) a minimalist elegance long after design and construction and use fade into history. My meditation was meandering and inconclusive. In part this was…
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Bygone Barns
Swapping December for January signals that we’re four months into Rosslyn’s icehouse rehabilitation which, in turn, means that I’m four months overdue for a look at (or perhaps the first of several looks at) my love of barns. Truth be told, I’m a bit of a barnophile. And, given my weakness for wabi-sabi, I’m especially…