[OT from cottage renovations]
this afternoon I followed my steps back to the scene of yesterday's images to catch a different light.
it's a long way to Pad 39A down at the Cape, to Kourou or to the Baikonur Cosmodrome. but looking at this frail craft poised for launch, the difference seems one of scale rather than of kind.
(click through this thumbnail for higher resolution image)
[OT from cottage renovations]
in Japan a shimenawa is a straw rope with white zigzag paper strips (gohei), used to delimit boundaries of sacred objects or sites and can be seen on torii gates or around sacred trees and stones.
 (image gacked from hotweb.or.jp) |
much of Shinto is incomprehensible to gaijin but I've always thought this aspect to be worthy -- surely the Grove has no shortage of spots where they ought to be used.
(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)
in our woods it's a different story. Japanese wisteria has spread unchecked through stretches of the East Woods, posing the most serious invasive species threat we are facing. this images could have been taken in any number of spots but as it happens they are of the upper field hedgerow as seen from Ridge Road.
I'm so used to taking images of small things that the size of these tendrils may not be readily apparent: the vines making up these strands are each 1½-2 inches in diameter.
[OT from cottage renovations]
invasive species management: it's hard work. lots and lots of lots of clipping (off), cutting (down and up) and digging (up); and then the material has to be disposed of in a fashion such that it doesn't propagate further. mulch it is not recommended but the Dickerson incinerator burns hot enough to get the job done and even generates some electricity.
and while you do this there's always the realisation that eradication is impossible though control is not completely unattainable.
(click through this thumbnail for higher resolution image)
the good news is that now and then it is possible to make a contribution that's effortless and even enjoyable.
wineberries are everywhere around us: in the field, the woods, along the walkways, in our parks and our yards. they grow like, uh, weeds and have multiple ways of spreading. when a branch touches the ground suddenly a new plant is established. and the berries are attractive to birds and mammals, setting up a delivery mechanism that combines transport and fertilizer (no need to go into the details here, just think about it for a moment).
so when you're out for a walk and happen to see some of these berries: go ahead and pick them. they're delicious -- and your own consumption gets them out of circulation. unless you're in the habit of ... no need to go into those details either.
small steps on the margin might seem insignificant but this place needs all the help it can get. low effort, high yield and tasty to boot: it doesn't get any better than that. so please help. yourself.
[OT from cottage renovations]
out back of the ball field in Woodward Park stands this old stone fireplace. it's been there for as long as anybody can remember and though it's been unusable for many decades it isn't going anywhere, not any time soon.
from time to time it is proposed that we do something about getting it back in order. it is generally agreed that doing so would entail pointing the mortar, finding some way to straighten that curved grill (or was is meant to follow that elegant catenary curve?) and setting it back up in its place.
funds for this purpose make a ritual appearance in each year's budget but somehow the repairs never happen. something always comes along that's more important so the fireplace funds get redirected to serve higher and better ends. in giving our Town government a small operational margin that can be relied upon without having to dip into our reserves it has gone through a use transformation similar to what happens when the Navy scuttles unneeded warships to create fish havens and diving attractions.
(click through this thumbnail for higher resolution image)
the budgetary charade is certain to continue into the foreseeable future so I really don't think these repairs will ever happen. like so much else in and of the Grove, stone fireplaces are anachronistic, hopelessly out of fashion and completely unsuitable to contemporary lifestyles. their place has been taken by backyard grills and portable fire pits, readily available from the big box retail outlets that blight the suburbs that surround us.
one of these days I would love to see the fireplace get fixed up. it would such a delightfully Grovey thing to do that, even more so to make use of it. but like so many other things I know better than to hope for it.
the old stones are comforting even in their disuse. it might be too much work to fix it up, but that means it's also too much work to knock it down.
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