nothing new under the sun

I have collected beach glass and pottery shards which have tumbled in the waves, beautiful they are; and displayed with them on the mantel amid the pretty seashell is a Japanese net float. An orb of glass that lost at sea long ago. collected, bought, and sold finally made it's way here to the piney woods.

　

Having seen the reports about the masses of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean, some from the tsunami in Japan and much of it just plain garbage dumped there, out of sight and our of mind. Until we get a reminder like this.

A hermit crab has made a home in the neck or a screwcap wine bottle! The bottle is neatly broken and it would seem to be a perfect home for a dapper hermit crab. I wonder though if the crab had made a home in an ancient Roman vessel if it would have the same impact.

Julia Lennon knew too.

Though I have always been a follower of  John Lennon, today is the first time I ever saw this. 
I have always thought that being happy is a most important thing. or at least being contented.  When I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, what I wanted out of life, or in an interview asked what I wanted  from life; I would answer "to be happy" or "to be content" .   Now I understand the reactions I got.

Clear sky

Clear skys, and crisp nights, the sun is rich and golden, one of those days when you can see back in time and forward into the future.  The woods are still, except for a foraging chipmunk or chickadee.  It feels so good to sit on the deck,soaking in the weekening warth of the sun, and look out across the garden and into the woods.  Earth has settled down for it's long nap and as much as I try to fight it, I will soon be doing the same, I am getting weary also. There are still pears, apples and pumpkins to be put up, a few seeds need to be cleaned for planting next year.  A new pit needs to be dug for the pitiful amounts of compost that will be generated over the winter.   I think next year I just might plant  popcorn, and I have already started  to make a  large heap of earth and compost for the pumpkins.   Going over and over and over the list of things that need to be done in these last few days that outdoor work is comfortable.  It is pleasant to work in a gentle snowfall, but not the chilly rains of November.A few wisps of coal smoke, can  bring back memories, that I only surface at this time of year, giving me pause.  Reflection on what was and what I wished had been,  savoring the good and  saddened by the bad, I can get lost in thought.  I have heard my parents and others, people who I thought were old, but at the time were younger than I am now,  talk about how this time of year made them nostalgic.    Clocks have been turned back, and last night at this time it was still light out, all of a sudden the nights are longer.  Winter is erasing the colors of Spring, Summer and Autmn and clearing the land so it mends and replenishes itself, and it does the same for those of us who allow it to. 

Looking up at the cloudless sky and the waxing gibbous moon, I feel the wheel of the year turn, and know that this is just a time for rest and reflecting.