The awkwardness of capitalism
“Why so large cost…” – William Shakespeare, Sonnet 146 Though it’s pretty clear that capitalism is here to stay, and I know it’s better than communism, there are certain people – and I’m certainly one of them – who don’t do all that well in a capitalist economy, either as a buyer or a...
Bully pulpit of the woods
When Jack-in-the-pulpit rises from the moist earth of the forest, we know that spring has arrived in full force. This native flower is so commonplace and familiar a sight in our woodlands at this time of year that few take more than passing notice of it. Its color, pale or darker green, with darker purplish...
Locking up our children
It’s the droning boring recitation of testimony in court cases that is the perfect accompaniment for me to oil paint by. Music is too evocative; so is the news. I half listen to Court TV while I paint. My mind gets absorbed in cadmium red and cerulean blue, while springtime flowers form on the canvas....
The cruel arithmetic of hydraulic fracturing
This morning, in New Paltz, I hear again the sweet pure song of the white-throated sparrow. “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody” is one attempt to capture the song’s melody in words, though you must hear it for yourself, preferably on a calm spring morning, to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of this bird’s voice, and its...
Enjoying the apocalypse
Is it just me, or does anyone else get annoyed when, on a day like today (Monday, April 16), when the high temperature in my town is supposed to top out at about 25 degrees above normal, everyone seems so happy about it? I feel like screaming, “It’s climate change, everybody, run for the Arctic,...
The first wave of spring wildflowers
It’s not too late to find the flowers of April in our woods and fields, but the mild winter and warm March weather has pushed the schedule of blooming two to three weeks ahead of normal, so get out soon if you hope to see them. Woodland wildflowers are often called “spring ephemerals” because they...
Paul Simon and me
In 1987, at the age of 44, I ran for town board in New Paltz, experiencing for the first time what it was like to be one of the standard-bearers for a political campaign. My running mates and I had gone into the race as underdogs, but as the election approached, I began to sense...
Ramps!
When the shadbush begins to bloom, and the flicker sounds his quick-wick-wick-wick-wick call throughout our woods, showing his white rump as he flies off, and sometimes flashing his gorgeous yellow underwings, it’s time to hunt for ramps. The northern flicker is a large woodpecker that usually overwinters in these parts, though the birds that spend...
Nature at your doorstep – Flight of the Timberdoodle
It usually takes sharp eyes, and a bit of luck, to find the American woodcock, also called “timberdoodle,” “bogsucker,” and “big eyes” (which is descriptive). Woodcocks have very effective camouflage, their rich brown plumage melting into the leaf litter of the wet woods they live in. If you do flush one from its cover, the...
An inspiration
“Florence Wolfson Howitt, whose lifelong dream of recognition as a writer eluded her until she was in her 90s, when the diary she had kept as a teenager was found in a Dumpster and became the subject of a newspaper article and a widely publicized book, died on Tuesday at her home in Pompano Beach,...
Time management
I have a problem with time management. I know I am not alone in this; in fact, I know I am not alone in practically any of the problems I have, except for the dilemma I experience each day when trying to decide whether to put on my right or left shoe first. But with...
Our kids and the internet
Yesterday I spent the entire day, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., listening to teenagers relate to each other. “Relate” is certainly the wrong word choice. Something was awry with the interactions, which although innocent enough, lacked any contact besides non-stop insubstantial and banal twitters tossed into the air, which no one seemed to notice,...