As the ice (or “iron rind”) starts dissolving from the ponds, we may dream of “ferns and flowers and new leaves unfolding.” But the transition from winter to spring is a much grittier affair, characterized less by sweetness and more by lurid smells emerging from chilling mud. The real harbinger of spring may not be the bluebird but the skunk cabbage, celebrated by Mary Oliver in a powerful poem.
Tag Archives: Nature
With Aging, Abundant Recompense
In a follow-up to yesterday’s post where I talked about my cancer-ridden friend Alan, I examine another passage from The Brothers Karamazov. This one is focused on aging generally, not just death. If you ever find yourself getting depressed about getting old, check it out. And check out as well William Wordsworth’s Intimations […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aging, Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Intimations of Immortality, Tintern Abbey, William Wordsworth Comments closed
A Tiny Seed Can Save a Church
Spiritual Sunday Like many mainline Protestant churches, our little Episcopalian congregation in St. Mary’s City, Maryland is having money difficulties. The expense of aging buildings plus a recession that wiped out much of our endowment has forced us to hold fairly continuous fundraisers to balance the budget. People have become testy and […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Brothers Karamazov, Church, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Religion, Spirituality Comments closed
Moments of Perfect Being Lie All about Us
2010 in Review The 1981 film science fiction film Escape from New York shows an entire city transformed into a maximum security prison from which no one can leave. Kurt Russell, of course, tries. The 1990 Bill Murray film Quick Change has three bank robbers successfully pulling off a heist in New York and then […]
A Roc for Christmas (Annual Bird Count)
Sports Saturday I don’t know whether bird watching is officially considered a sport but, what with Christmas falling on a “Sports Saturday,” let’s say it is. That way I have an excuse for writing about the annual Christmas bird count. Every year, between the middle of December and the first week in January, bird watchers […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Roc for Christmas", Birds, Christmas, Scott Bates Comments closed
Midwinter Transformation: A Poem
A cold snap has hit the American east coast, including Maryland, and we are experiencing what Christina Rossetti calls “bleak midwinter,” with temperatures moving down into the teens. To cheer myself up, I turn to one of my father’s Christmas poems. My father has been writing these poems annually for years. He sends them out […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Bird Watcher's Christmas Dinner", Christmas, Scott Bates Comments closed
Fixing the House that Jefferson Built
I offer my apologies to my regular readers for having written a series of very long posts this week. To give you some relief, I offer up a political poem by my father, who is a master of light verse. As he did in a poem that I ran in a previous post (you can […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "House that Jefferson Built", Environmentalism, politics, Scott Bates Comments closed
