Things I've Found in the Woods

"Woven Birch"

The slow, silent, unsexy killer

 (this photo has nothing to do with anything here, it's just a pretty picture of a recent misty morning)

This past saturday was World Diabetes Day. Don't worry, this isn't turning into a d-blog (that's a new phrase I just learned. There's a whole community of diabetes bloggers I didn't even know existed. So exciting for me! But since I rarely talk about The Big D here, probably less exciting for you.) I just wanted to share my thoughts on the impact—actually, lack of impact—of World Diabetes Day. I watched the trending topic (which carried the promise of 1 cent donated to diabetes research for every single mention) slide further and further down on Twitter until it, depressingly, was gone. And yes, I admit it, I get my news from Twitter and The Daily Show. I'm one of those people.

Diabetes is really the invisible (and totally, totally un-sexy) killer.  I found this quote from Dr. José Oberholzer, an endocrinologist who's working on islet transplantation: "When I go to donors to raise money, I always say that it is the silent disease. It's not spectacular like AIDS, where people panic, and it's not like cancer—everyone is afraid of cancer. It's not like a spectacular heart attack. It's a very slow killer. Most people think it's your fault if you have diabetes. They think you ate too much and you didn't move enough. They're not differentiating between type 1 and type 2, that's my impression. Even if they do know the difference, they think that there are not very many people affected by type 1. But as you know, that is totally not true. Not everyone who eats a lot and doesn't move has diabetes. And you can move a lot and not eat much and still become type 2." [Go here for an explanation of the differences in types.]

Food for thought (sorry, pun intended.) And, hey, if you're reading this blog, you do know someone with Type 1. So, you know, just spare some love for the folks with "the sugar." And if you want to learn a little bit more about what it's like to live with the disease, visit Six Until Me, a great blog by a type 1 diabetic, with links for exploring deeper in the d-blogosphere.

Things I've Found in the Woods

"Wind blown"

Dreaming of Big Sky

I've been dreaming of bigger skies than these. Don't get me wrong, these skies are gorgeous. But I want to go out west. The Great American West. I feel its pull. I'll be heading to Vegas and the Mojave with friends for a few days in late December; I've been daydreaming of ditching the flight home and wandering around the desert and mountains. Have you seen Jena of Modish's pix of her recent road trip from Minnesota to Portland? Amazing. And Kate of For Me, For You has some pix of a recent trip to Arizona on the blog. I just want to be there, now.

Things I've Found in the Woods

"Moss Cake"

Painting Faces

Halloween was sorta sad this year: nothing ruins a good trick-or-treat like a drenching rain. I went to Elmer's hoping to get some great pix of kids in costume, getting their faces painted by Nan (small town business owner/New Orleans Jazz Fest Art Director). I left having only taken about 5 pictures total—mostly because I felt weird taking pictures of other people's children. Am I the only one who feels creepy doing that?


I also wanted to share this short film that won our town's 3rd annual film festival this year. Set at Elmer's, it stars several of my coworkers and involves a music scene (featuring several local singer/songwriters, see if you know 'em) that was filmed one day while I was working. Fun! It's a pretty dang cute and funny short, I think you'll enjoy it. Plus, now you'll have a mental image of where I work every Sunday (and where, despite my promises, I did not greet each new customer with a menu and a "Welcome to Autumn, F*ckheads!" yesterday).

Things I've Found in the Woods

"About face"

Summit House, Mount Holyoke

Here's a view of what awaits at the top of Mount Holyoke (the hill, not the college). The Summit House was once a hotel, one of several "mountaintop hotels" in New England... and, trust me, they're using "mountain" in the East Coast sense; elevation=900-something feet. But the base is almost at sea level, I'll give 'em that. There was once a funicular that carried visitors up the (verrrry steep) hill from the Halfway House. You can see the red roof of the HH at the bottom of the photo below.


From the DCR website comes this very Ken Burns-esque notion of Mt. Holyoke:

From the early 1800s, Mt. Holyoke played a significant role in the cultural identity of the United States. The view from the summit – cultivated farm fields, framed by rugged mountain and impenetrable forest – told the story of a young nation transforming itself from wilderness into a civilized landscape. It was this vista that made Mount Holyoke an important tourist destination in those days, second only to Niagara Falls.

I chose an overcast day to make the hike up Mt. Holyoke. And since it was after Columbus Day, the Summit House was closed for the season. But the ladybugs hadn't gotten—or hadn't bothered to heed—their eviction notice. A closer look reveals that every little black speck in all these other photos is actually a ladybug. The place was covered in them.


It was so strange to imagine vacationing up there, once upon a time, at the "top of a mountain" that's actually at a lower elevation than the house in which I live (at 1700 feet or so, for those who like to know those things.) But the view—yes, the view was quite expansive.

Things I've Found in the Woods

"Thorned sides"

Hard frost

It seems rather silly to be posting these photos of last week's hard frost now that it's SNOWING here. That's right, snowing. All. Day. Long. Sunday. Like that, the growing season has ended. Nothing left to do but cut down the blackened remnants of another ethereal, ephemeral season. *sigh*. I'm not ready for you, yet, Winter.

Things I've Found In the Woods

"Whorled"

Greylock Summit

It's a little after the fact, but I wanted to share these photos of the incredible cloud masses and fall color my friend Mary and I found at the summit of Mt. Greylock last week. It was a fantastic hike. I made Mary go waaaaaaay farther than she'd anticipated, but the reward? An incredible view from Stony Ledge, which the last photo only hints at. I love Western Mass in the fall. (plus, how cool is that ceiling in the war memorial tower??)

Things I've Found In the Woods

"Beauty and the Beast"

...which also begat "Beauties and the Beast"


(So, clearly, the Japanese Anemone are not from the woods. But that moldy, phallic mushroom? Straight from the depths of the forest. I certainly did not grow that.)

Things I've Found In the Woods

I'm a collector. In in the woods or in the fields, I'll often pick things up off the ground and stick them in my pocket. There was one hike in particular, I remember I walked home with a dozen large rocks filling every pocket.

Inspired by Mrs. French's new flickr group, I've decided to start documenting the various things I find and feel compelled to keep. Join me here every week to see what new thing or things have caught my eye. And as always, click to enlarge. :)


"Time devours all things" —Ovid

Scintillating Dog Videos

Just because I can, I made some videos of everyone's favorite chocolate lab at his preferred swimming spot. The first two are of Zeke trying to encourage me to WALK FASTER AND GET THERE ALREADY (PREFERABLY WITH A STICK OR TWO). The second two are, unfortunately, totally backlit, but you'll get the general idea of dog + sticks + water. Oh, and you'll get to hear me yammering at him (and breathing and grunting--sorry!), as I generally do. See if you can hear the cute wheezing noise Zeke makes while doing the doggie paddle.