Peregrinations

Here's to the Oregon Country Fair!

The Grand Poobah wouldn't miss it for the world.

Legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail to Glastonbury and buried it at the purported entrance to the Underworld at the foot of Glastonbury Tor. Read more

I believe this is a willow, not a laurel. Still, this pairing of woman and tree in the Sissinghurst Castle Gardens cannot be other, to my mind, than the story of Daphne. If anyone reads another tale here, please tell it to me.

I don't know her name - the leaves look like beech to me. I saw her at Stourhead.

A couple of years ago, I flew to Boston, visited shrines right and left from Cape Cod to Burlington, VT. By the end of the journey, I had circled back with one more shrine on my list. The home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Cambridge, MA. Read more

When I was a child, I lived in the trees. Or I would have, if my mother hadn't made me come down for supper.

It's easy to take trees for granted. There they are, rising above the houses, making shade, blocking the view, hosting birds and squirrels, making us sneeze. They're part of the scenery, generally relegated to the backdrop, because trees in the foreground would block the action. There's no actual drama in the tree itself. Nobody actually sees trees. Read more

Tra la! For the last Friday in May, we travel home to my backyard - my backyard of 2008. When the Wisteria ripened like grapes in autumn. So luscious they looked juicy. The vine is coming back now, after a couple of hard years. Wisteria can crawl all over your house, plucking at the weak spots in the siding, loosening shingles, and twining around ornamental trees. But as long as it puts on this yearly show, you forgive it for all the work it's made necessary the rest of the year. Read more

Springtime on the Acropolis

I know it's the middle of May, but I can't help posting this picture from an October of a few years ago. I was visiting my best friend from high school, and she took me to visit Asticou Azalea Gardens on Mt. Desert Island near Acadia National Park.  Read more

It may be a cliche' about spring showers and their inevitable results. But that does nothing to diminish our delight.

Istanbul is known for tulips, but apparently I was too taken with the pansies to notice. These are just outside Topkapi Palace.