On this Sunday morning, great water filled gray clouds cross the patchy blue sky. Bee Balm is growing four feet tall with maroon flowers in gardens along the way. It is 80 degrees and very humid. Girls in bright summer dresses walk to church in a ray of sunlight.
There is a wide green field with Canadian geese scattered across it. And there are pastures where the cows are lying down under the clouds. An archaeologist at Topper once told me that it is a good time to fish when it is cloudy and the cows are lying down in the fields.
I pass the store where one day the owner, Janette, told the shopper, Nanette, that they had the same father. "He was a rounder", my friend said.
Today I took the 3 mile Battleground loop because the woodland and forest trails are extremely muddy from this year's spring and summer of monsoons. The loop is a paved road with a bike and hike shoulder. You can buy a CD to play as you walk or drive which recounts the history of the battle of January 17, 1781 in which the British were routed by Daniel Morgan and his troops.
This is a lovely 3 mile walk winding through shady forests and meadows blooming with wild flowers. Cicadas are humming: "tsku, tsku, boshi". Elk Horn Sumac grows in the sunny spots. (Sumac is used in Greek cooking as the spice, sumaki. There are many varieties of sumac and one is poisonous, I believe it is the one with white berries, not the one with horn shaped brown-red berries.)
A few runners pass by, several people on bikes and a large family with children, one carrying their dog.
When I return to the car, it begins to rain heavily. The family is going to be soaked.
No comments:
Post a Comment