mumma yaga

sept 20/21 Yes, 'n' how many years can a mountain exist Before it is washed to the sea? Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free? Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn't see? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind. - B. Dylan I thought of this song because yesterday I asked myself: How many years, or hundreds of years does it take for an invasive species to become a native species? I was looking at these invasive plants [photo on left] who have taken over many roadside swamps from the bulrush [at right], a beautiful and sturdy reed that plays a valuable role in its environment. It helps to hold fast and support wetlands which are a key part of the water-earth cycle and has been a native long enough to connect to and work with the flora and fauna of its world. On these rushes the seed heads have burst open and the white fluffy s...

Morning sky (Sept. 19). Below, flowers at Rain and Tal's farm. Last year their dahlias took first prize. And a little trespasser: a skunk caterpillar. (not it's real name, I think).                  (sept 18) It was chilly all day with the wind from the north. Last night the dew froze on the deck table. But tonight it is calm and warm. The passing cars, the headlights and the rush, are people coming to a weekend haven, heaven, somehow comforting.  I am waiting for some stars to come out. Can't tell just yet if there's a haze of clouds or it's too early. In the city I miss the stars.The "lots" of stars (miriad?), the black dimensions that resolve, the Milky Way a ferris wheel spinning. How I have missed this. [I keep remembering a marvelous book that addresses the disappearance of stars, called Nightfall , written by Asimov and Silverberg, two of the great early sci-fi writers. I cannot find an e-copy, but there may be paper copies out th...

 sept 17   The world is too much with us: the words have been knocking at my brain since yesterday. I have been feeling that I want to shut out for now the wider world of newsmedia. We are already in our second week of holiday and we spent a lot of yesterday talking about that world. As the novelty of our surroundings wore off, we thoughtlessly let the work-a-day news back in. I could feel the the "uptick" (to use the covid news buzzword of the year) of stress, the increased adrenaline level. I want to return in mind to our physical place, this little house, and the circle of cedars that shelters us from the wind and frames the star-scape in the black sky at night. It is such a tonic for K and me to be together, no other person (except Fig) to distract us, to curtail our conversations and silences. On Wednesday we walked a trail into the forest: there was sometimes no sound but the wind in the trees and the running of a brook. Around us was bare forest floor as far as we coul...

           The maples that turn red are among the first trees to change as fall approaches. A load of firewood was delivered yesterday by a most friendly neighbour who keeps busy in retirement providing small services to residents and seasonal visitors. He owns and gets to drive this groovy tractor!! Sept. 16   [Mummayaga is currently in Quebec]   Several recent articles have given me hope. A Guardian piece today, by Mohammad El-Erian, describes some silver linings to the covid-19 crisis, among them cooperation between public and private sectors, between nations' scientists and corporations, renewed understanding and hope for climate change, among other things.* Meanwhile Prime Minister Trudeau is looking at going green, committing to leaving an oil-fueled (haha) energy platform to force Canada towards an end to carbon emissions. This remark ( from 2019) by Trudeau was quoted in an article by Michael Harris in The Tyee, September 14, 2020:   ...

 Sept. 13 Lac Memphremagog.                                          Water-plants.       Saturday morning was cold but it cleared up later and warmed. I like highways. Below, a baby cloud fell asleep on the mountain-side.               Below: It looks like I came to the right place! The charity shop has half-buried china plates for a garden border! I think they might love my mosaics. At right, Fig tries on his new (second-hand) spike collar. Wants to fit in with the other dogs, but his curly fur seems to give him away and hide his fierce spikes.     I spent Saturday and Sunday morning browsing charity shops with Rain. One sale was of jewelry donated to raise money for the youth centre (amazing place!), we attended both days! Such a treasure hunt and most things priced at 2 to 3 dollars - what fun and such nice people th...

 Lake Memphremagog, a yellow flower - these are everywhere, in every open space. I would welcome an identification! I will take a closer look this morning.             09/11     Where were you nineteen years ago, when the airplanes flew into the twin towers? I was in an office at 9:15, when a small TV was put on, showing the video footage of the crashes. I spent minutes believing, hoping it was a mock-up and not real, as more people gathered around the screen, while thousands were injured or killed in New York in one violent act of hatred. My father was 30 minutes out on a flight to California when its pilot turned back to Pearson Airport. That day and the next the sky was empty: no planes flew anywhere. ***********    It is six months since the Pandemic was declared. I remember that day like it was six months ago. Or a lifetime ago. B.C. : before covid-19. Our family has so far escaped infection. Many people have likewise...

    The lake, a flower, and our little gravel beach.    sept 9 Arrived safely at our rented chalet on Chemin du Lac, Potton, Quebec, yesterday at 3 pm. Traffic was light: we left at 6:45 and were out of Toronto via 401 in 25 minutes. A road trip with K is one of my favorite things. I started the drive but K took the rest of the trip from about 9 am. We don't hurry when we travel. We like the same things: trees, vultures, hawks, swamps, truck-watching, roadsigns, the miles of road. We stop whenever there is something to see, or a little adventure. Although yesterday we both seemed eager to get here, stopping only for gas and refreshing, on our journeys we have gone off the main highways to see caves and waterfalls, explored borrow pits, (in Alberta, where they "borrowed" surface gravel to build the roads) and washed-out bridges. We have taken roads less travelled to see lesser-known sights.     Chemin du Lac itself is such a road. Estrie, the Eastern To...

 Sept 7    On Friday I took Robin and Indre to the creek for the first time in weeks.* In the summer it was often crowded with people biking and playing, so we avoided it. But Friday we had the place almost to ourselves. The kids waded and splashed, got soaking wet, and Fig was in heaven, running in and out of the water, sniffing all over. I haven't seen him so excited in years. We played pooh sticks on the bridge and then went east along the path to find a giant tree fallen into the water and a new island formed between two rushing narrows. We explored the island and stood in the rapids to feel the water tugging at our legs. Indre, Robin and Fig explored while I searched for interesting stones. I think they would have stayed all day if they could. Fig has congestive heart failure from a murmur as well as some arthritis and I have been gentle with him recently but he was like an escaped puppy and played and played. Indre likes to practice skipping stones and Robin likes t...

Sept 6 Indre was stalled on her mosaic. For three or four days she didn't want to work on it. So I said to her, "It seems like you are reluctant to get on with your mosaic. Is there something about it that you don't like ? After a bit of back and forth she said - I paraphrase:  I didn't place the pieces in a pattern like you do - (see below). "But", I said, "the woman who wrote the book that I was inspired by didn't worry about lining pieces up like tiles." Indre replied, "Yes, but you said that wasn't good."  Snap snap steel trap. Little ears don't miss a thing. September 6th, covid day 180: this month feels like another universe again. The summer was quiet and subdued in most corners of the city. Did people travel? Many went to their cottages; that would have been nice. It might have felt more normal there, sanitizer and masks set aside for a few days. The nightly barbecues didn't happen. After a few evenings in early sum...