Tag: Sanctuary
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Trepidation & Resolve
“Always do what you are afraid to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson I return this evening to an end of January post about facing fear. I envision a more reflective, more considered meditation on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words. I’m considering courage, a deliberate choice to eschew fear and anxiety, to plunge into a new adventure,…
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Eastern Milksnake
This morning we spotted another nonvenomous Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum). While gathering limestone for the small stone walls that will delineate sloped flowerbeds behind Rosslyn’s icehouse, Tony discovered this youngster under a pile of rocks. Startled but gentle, this colorfully mottled snake seemed as perplexed by the two of us — and the tractor…
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OG Bobcatting
Exciting update from one of Rosslyn’s wildlife cameras when I awoke this morning. Not sure why, but I always get especially enthused when we document a Bobcat. The sequence of three images captured at 2:29am appears to be the same bobcat we photographed a few months ago. Still healthy. Strong. Well fed. I’m struck by…
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River Otter
Exciting news to share. Today while reviewing images from one of our wildlife cameras, I came across this pair of River Otter photographs. Our first sighting ever! Better yet? As you can see, the date stamp is April 26, 2023, my birthday. So I’m choosing to see this rare encounter as a birthday gift from…
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The Art of Home
The art of home is a tidy title with an unpretentious posture. And yet it’s idealistic and evocative, ample and ambitious. Frankly, its restrained and self contained first impression is a little misleading. Maybe even a little ambiguous. What do I even mean? I’m not offering a catchy epithet for design and decor. Nor architecture. And…
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Pileated Woodpecker
Larger than life, or at least most of our avian life, the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a familiar plumage and percussive soundtrack in our Adirondack Coast forest. And often at our suet feeders, even trees in our yard. Freaky physics notwithstanding, the poise and drama of this sylvan neighbor stand out among our local…
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Busy Bobcat Byway
Kudos to John Davis (@wildwaystrekker), and Tony Foster (@anthonyfoster335) for mapping out and building Rosslyn’s newest nature trail. It’s become a bustling bobcat byway, well trafficked night and day by many wildlife including a population of wild felines. Hurrah! Just over one month ago I acknowledged the scarcity of native wildcat images on our wildlife cameras. It’s…
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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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Multipurpose Man Cave
In recent years, the terms “she shed” and “man cave” have wiggled their way into our everyday vocabulary. Maybe not ubiquitous, but both can be uttered without explanation. I’m generally disinclined to adopt these here-today, gone-tomorrow buzzwords. Too trendy. Too contrived. Too something, though I’m not 100% certain. Today I’ve decided it’s time to pop…
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Northern Cardinal
It’s fair to call it midwinter, I think, and yet snow has been intermittent and sparse. But it’s plenty cold, so we’ll trust the calendar. The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) photographed by one of our wildlife cameras tells a different story. It could be autumn. Or spring. The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for…
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Voyeuristic Glimpses & Mosaic Mirages
Before you shift uneasily in your seat and survey your surroundings nervously, I’d best prologue my post with an assurance that nothing unseemly is in store. Exhale. Voyeuristic glimpses, yes, but only as the subject of an overdue clarification. Voyeuristic Glimpses After bricks and mortar, land and lake, residents (human and canine), Rosslyn’s blog is…
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New Year’s Day: Writer’s Garret & Other Wonders
We survived 2022, friends, and in some fortunate cases, we even thrived. Cheers to surviving and thriving an occasionally challenging year! That means it’s time for a meandering year-ender… Retrospective I’d like to jumpstart my retrospective with a positive personal milestone. Yesterday’s post, “New Year’s Eve”, was my 153rd post in a row, completing a…