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Shades of grey and brown.

Submitted entry: Okay, maybe it only snowed enough that we only had to run the windshield wipers once or twice but it was lovely nonetheless. Perhaps more importantly, weatherwise, is that it rained, and quite a lot at that. Enough that the formerly dry creek here is running a little.

Paul and I have been having really wonderful walks these past couple of days. Since the rain came the forest seems magical and more of a full sensory experience. While most of the leaves are gone, the trees, rocks and leaves make a landscape of hundreds of shades of grey and brown. After the rain the lichens and mosses have turned a brighter green and everything glistens. Probably the most noticable thing to me is that the forest smells again. For a long time it just smelled a little faintly of dust. Now the air is full of brown and green smells, the leaf mold, lichens, and probably not a few molds and mildews. I think it could be overwhelming if I were more perceptive. I think having lived in even a small city for so long I am no longer as sensitive. Think of it, if I noticed every single car honk, conversation, radio, television, etc. I’d be nuts, and in fact the one time we went to the nearby city that was just what we noticed - too much stimulation.

Our walk yesterday started with a hangout in the then-dry creekbed. At one point I looked out and saw what had to be one of the last persimmons of the season - a small blue smudge in a bunch of dead leaves. Paul and I shared it then I looked for more. There were none on the ground but looking up I noticed three more in the tree. Leaving Paul on the ground I climbed up a few feet into the tree and shook it bringing them all down and sharing them with him. It was a lovely time and was followed by a great walk around hanging out and wandering through the forest.

I then spent a little time on the conputer, finishing up the Teeter Creek Herbs redesign. They’re a big fixture in our town and (not to be too commercial in this entry) make wonderful herb extracts that have saved me from several colds and saved Karma from Cytauxzoonosis. I encourage you to check them out. The owner, Bob Liebert is extremely knowlegeable and the herbs are all from right around here.

I also did a bit of work on the gallery - this next exhibitor is a local musician - a little change of pace. I spent some time editing sound clips and making them into mp3’s. Her stuff should be up soon.

In the woodstove department, we’ve been learning a ton. This stove seems just the right size for the yurt if we were to tend it frequently and only use hot-burning woods like hickory in it. So we found another stove that we’ll need to do some work on (and also haul out here - it’s quite a bit bigger and heavier) but it will hold some big logs and if we can close it down well could get us through much more of the night. As it is now I have to feed the stove every 2 hours or it goes completely out.

Well, as much as I’d like to write a long entry it’s almost 9:00 and I just finished a big bowl of tomato soup (made with heavy cream!), the fire’s roaring and we have to get to sleep.

© 1999 QN Podcast (formerly Quirky Nomads).