Heritage Gardens

My last few days on Cape Cod this trip took me a few drives away. In 2021, I had arranged to meet a longtime friend but a ferocious storm blew in (Nor’easter) upending any plans. This time, we met in Duxbury for lunch, a town between the Cape and her home near Boston. Rowers wereContinue reading “Heritage Gardens”

Ode to a tree

My home is perched on the side of a mountain, at the edge of town. In an earlier essay (Thoughts for the new year), after a devastating fire near Boulder, I wrote about fire danger in my mountain neighborhood. There are a few houses above mine, but only a few. The landscape and a rockyContinue reading “Ode to a tree”

Canadian respite

My flight was mid-morning. I live an hour and a half from the airport, planned for another half hour to park and take the shuttle to the terminal, and, of course, it’s best to arrive two to three hours in advance of an international flight. So I left in full darkness. A bright crescent moonContinue reading “Canadian respite”

Lotus of Ueno Park, Tokyo

The Zen of lotus leaves: graceful, reaching, curling, budding, nurturing, blossoming, caressing, open and welcoming, hiding, labyrinthine, blanketing. Sprawling Ueno Park erupts in an explosion of pastel pink during sakura season, the iconic cherry trees in bloom. People gather in small groups on blue tarps to picnic and photograph. Soon after, a shower of pinkContinue reading “Lotus of Ueno Park, Tokyo”