Brrr, It’s the Tropical Season

Have you ever seen the movie The New World? It’s about Captain John Smith meeting Pocahontas in Virginia in the 1600s, when the land was a lush wilderness. The movie is terribly historically inaccurate, but the cinematography is stunning. It reminded me of Upstate New York in late summer. After a very cool summer evening, every green plant of the forest wakes up in the morning and heaves out its respiration, forming a heavy white mist. Sometimes it is so damp that the mist bursts into rain droplets and the smell of warm earth rises into your nostrils. It’s kind of like a tropical rain forest without the tropics. The occasional crow cawing in the background is enough to give the atmosphere a touch of hollow loneliness.

I woke up this morning– freezing at 50 degrees– and looked out my window. The scene reminded me of that movie. I slipped on my husband’s gigantic slippers (heheh) and ventured out to my “Secret Garden.” As I walked through the wet grass, I noticed that my English ivy is finally growing over the rocks and on the footpath, this after years of coaxing.

The rain makes the wood a deep brown. It looks so rich with the lush green plants. Here’s my vegetable garden.

My son joined me and we slogged to the back of the property, which is heavily forested. A small bunny spotted us and leaped into the bushes. I love how the raindrops are clinging to the berries.

A few trees have fallen down into the yard; we’ll have to remove them. It’s pretty soggy in the backyard here! I think I soaked my husband’s slippers. Oops. I peeled off the slippers and my socks to minimalize the damage. I spotted something squirming around my feet and peered closer. A SNAKE! A little snake!

It was squirming into the grass. It’s body had a kink in it; had it just eaten? The snake was as small as an earthworm; what could it have possibly eaten? My son was absolutely delighted about the snake. He ran back to the house and got his “critter carrier.” We managed to get the squirmy little creature into the carrier. It kept opening it’s mouth and spitting at us. Anyone know what kind of snake this is?

Right now we have a severe thunderstorm raging around us. The power has been flickering and it did finally go out briefly– three times this morning! (thank God for the “auto-save” feature!). Some strikes were so close, the house shuddered and the windows rattled. The windows always rattle– they are over 100 years old and the glass shakes when the neighbor slams his car door– but it was a little scary to feel the house shake like that. Now the fire siren at the Fire Department down the street is blasting. A tree fell, perhaps? Oops, I’m out of power now… I’m typing to a dead browser…

Yesterday, a nearby town reported golf-ball sized hail. One lady said she thought it was snow at first, only mildly surprised. We’ve been known to get snow in July sometimes. There’s a flood watch for today, so my eyes are on the sump well.

So it’s a rainy day. And a cold day. Perfect for lots of pots of steaming hot coffee, baking pie and banana bread, and company. But I don’t have any company coming today. Guess it will have to be “virtual.” So leave a comment. Creamer and sugar in your coffee?