Jon Crispin's Notebook

Hello!

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Uncategorized by joncrispin on 02/09/2016

crocus

I am never sure why this happens, but this site is getting rather a lot of traffic today.  Usually, a link gets published somewhere which mentions me for one reason or another, and I start getting emails from WordPress telling me I have new followers.  So welcome everyone; happy to have you stop by from time to time.  Wishing you all a great weekend.

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Pink Lady’s Slipper / Red Eft

Posted in Animals, botany, Flowers, Nature, Orchids, Plants, Uncategorized, walking in the woods by joncrispin on 05/06/2016

lady slipperwp

There are hundreds of pink lady’s slippers around the house.  We are very lucky.

red eft

Red efts were out today as well, as it is a rainy, humid day.  These guys are tiny.

Crocus

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Plants, Uncategorized, Weather by joncrispin on 31/03/2016

crociwp

We are supposed to have snow this weekend along with very cold temperatures.  I didn’t want to lose these guys to the weather before I got the chance to take some pictures.  Nature!

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Green / Big Stick

greenwp

Now that the snow is all gone Olive and I have started spending more time in the woods.  It rained most of the day yesterday, so it was pretty wet.  Nice.

olivestickwp

She is a total stick (or should I say log) girl.  This could have been record size for her.  She carried it for about half a mile.

moregreenwp

I have been seeing a lot of green lately, and these fungi are just beautiful.  Can anyone out there tell me what they are?

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Olive Takes a Dip

Olive

I think I post a version of this photograph more than I probably should.  We have had a ton of rain in the past few days, and Olive and I had a lovely wet walk in the woods this afternoon.  But for some reason, the water, the leaves, and the dog make me feel quite happy and I wanted to share it.

Leaves / Ice

Posted in Nature, Plants, Seasons, Trees, Uncategorized, Weather by joncrispin on 28/01/2016

Acorn

Posted in autumn, Nature, Plants, Trees by joncrispin on 19/11/2015

acorn top

Olive and I had a nice walk in the woods today.  There are so many oak leaves on the ground, and lots of acorns.  It looks like rain later today, and then another sunny day tomorrow.

labrador in water

If there is water to be found, she will be in it.

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Happy New Year…

Posted in autumn, Nature, Seasons by joncrispin on 01/09/2015

…Well sort of.  I grew up in an academic family; my father taught at Allegheny College, and when I was in the 7th grade my mother began teaching at Meadville High School.  So for me, the Autumn is my favorite time of the year and a return to a routine in which I am most comfortable.  I have always viewed the 1st of September as my New Year’s Day.  (The difference being that I am rarely hung over.  I’ll leave that for the 1st of January.)

I was driving back from Boston on Sunday and saw these trees just off Route 202 in Pelham.  I went back last night to take this photograph.  For you lovers of Summer, I know this isn’t such welcome news, but for me it was nice to see some early color.  “For every season”, etc, etc.

I have always liked this XTC song.  Pretty much sums it up.

Paperwhites, Again

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Plants, Weather by joncrispin on 16/02/2015

This batch is just starting to blossom.  Five bulbs for less than 5 bucks.  It is simply the easiest and cheapest way to momentarily escape the winter.  A glass bowl, some small stones, a few bulbs, a bit of water, et voila!

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Big Stick and Chelle’s Kickstarter

Posted in Abandoned Buildings, Dogs, Labradors, Nature, sticks by joncrispin on 20/01/2015

When we are on our walks in the woods, Olive is in the habit of picking up a stick and dragging it back to the house.  She dug this one out of the snow the other day.  I was pretty sure she wouldn’t manage it, but to my amazement she succeeded.  Without any exaggeration, I would have to say it was at least 12 feet long and quite heavy.

One of my suitcase backers from Australia, Chelle Destefano, has just put up a kickstarter appeal, and it looks interesting.  I would encourage any of you who are interested in abandoned spaces to check it out here.