Denise Goldberg's blog

Sunday, April 30, 2017

garden walk

I took time this morning to wander through springtime at Chanticleer, a garden in Wayne, PA. My previous visits were always later in the year; today's visit showed me spring flowers in various states of bloom and decay.

There were daffodils, tulips, a few peonies, flowers large and small.

sculpture, at Chanticleer Garden

peony. at Chanticleer Garden

Chanticleer is a garden that calls for many repeat visits.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

growing seasons

I find it interesting to see the difference in the seasons between eastern Massachusetts and southeastern Pennsylvania. As I drove between the two locations and approached the Philadelphia area it was clear that the trees were wearing more green than those at home. It seems that there is a several week difference in the early growing seasons.

dogwood

Dogwoods here are showing beautiful flowers, some edged in pink.

Friday, April 28, 2017

not quite open

Tiny flowers wearing a wonderful shade of violet are about to open.

tiny flowers about to open

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

rainy days

Rain has been falling for two days. While I'm ready for a dry walking window, the flowers like the water. I love visiting the garden to see tulips in an almost fully open state.

tulips

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

tipped

Daffodils come in many shapes. This one is a Narcissus poeticus, also known as a poet's daffodil. Its pose with the flower tipped toward the ground caught my eye.

poet's daffodil

Monday, April 24, 2017

spring green

Some trees are still wearing bare branches while others show emerging leaves in a light shade of green.

leaves in spring green

Sunday, April 23, 2017

greenhouse color

I walked into the greenhouse at Stevens-Coolidge Place late this afternoon, curious to check the plugs we planted not too long ago. Some are showing only leaves, others are bursting with color.

flowers in bloom

Friday, April 21, 2017

in the rain

The air is chilly, water is falling from the sky.

Tulips wearing raindrops create a bright spot in a gray day.

tulips, standing in the rain

separation

It appears that the attorney general of the United States doesn't understand the separation of powers specified by the Constitution. He also doesn't seem to know the names of our states.

"I really am amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the president of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power", Sessions said.

Don't we have 3 branches of government as a balance, a protection for all? And shouldn't the attorney general of the country understand the law of the land and respect participants in other branches of the federal government?

I love Tim Kaine's Twitter response to Jeff Session's ridiculous statement.

Tim Kaine response to Jeff Sessions statement

Isn't that perfect?

Thursday, April 20, 2017

reaching

The stamen of this tiny flower appear to be reaching for the sun. Isn't spring a wonderful season?

tiny flowers, stamen reaching for the sun

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

curved

It's a good time of year; each visit to the garden brings a new surprise. Today, a tulip preparing to open shows a lightly curved petal.

tulip, almost open

carpet of periwinkle

As I was walking in the woods I came across a carpet of periwinkle, a tapestry of green mixed with flowers in a light blue violet color.

Monday, April 17, 2017

early

I was walking in Maudslay State Park this afternoon when a flash of pale pink pulled me off the trail. It's early; I suspect the warmth triggered an early bloom.

early azalea in pink

Maudslay is the former Moseley family estate. There are azalea and rhododendron spread through the property that usually bloom in May and June. I treasure today's preview and look forward to more color in the weeks to come.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

surprise!

I stopped by Stevens-Coolidge Place late this afternoon to find a surprise, a single bed of early-blooming tulips.

tulips

a powerful letter

I find it hard to believe that the head of the EPA is someone who denies the accepted science of climate change, someone who is determined to undo protections that are already in place.

The article EPA staff "openly mocking" Trump's "arrogant and callous" policies, says retiree references a letter written to Administrator Pruitt by Michael Cox as he retired from the agency. The article is short and interesting.

Cox called Pruitt’s claim on national TV that CO2 is not a primary contributor to recent global warming “shocking” — and directly compared it to the congressional hearing with the CEOs of the major tobacco companies where “all of the CEOs categorically denied that smoking causes lung cancer.”

What’s the result of this denial? “You will continue to undermine your credibility and integrity with EPA staff, and the majority of the public,” Cox wrote, “if you continue to question this basic science of climate change.”

from the ThinkProgess article

The letter is longer and very powerful. Read it!

Saturday, April 15, 2017

low tide

It was a few hours past low tide when I arrived at Kittery Point this morning for a walk in Fort Foster Park.

I walked, stopping to absorb the vistas, to chat with other walkers, and to laugh at the dogs who were enjoying a romp between the water and dry land.

at Fort Foster Park, Kittery Point, Maine

Friday, April 14, 2017

early daffodil

Standing among the crocus, a few early daffodils are beginning to bloom.

daffodil

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

dreamy

Wednesday mornings are gardening mornings at Stevens-Coolidge Place. While we were working my eyes kept looking to the carpet of crocus blooming beneath a tree.

Work done, I headed back with my camera to spend some time soaking in the beauty.

crocus

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

a different view

The entire 6+ miles of beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is closed for the piping plover nesting season. It closes each year on April 1st and reopens when the birds are done with it, often in late August or early September.

Today I walked a bit in the refuge away from the beach.

Parker River is a special place; visiting there always leaves me with a feeling of calm.

at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Monday, April 10, 2017

in a sea of crocus

Warmth!

Today's temperature triggered a need to visit Maudslay State Park for a wander in the woods, a search for early blooming flowers. There have been enough dry days since last week's snow and rain to provide reasonably dry trails in the park although I did need to walk around some very muddy spots. It was a good day for walking.

My favorite spot in the park today was a grassy knoll that was covered in crocus and chionodoxa luciliae (also know as "glory of the snow"). I sat there for a quite a while absorbing the beauty of the tiny flowers.

a sea of crocus

a pair of crocus wearing white

For more flowers from today's wander, jump to the gallery wandering Maudslay :: 2017.

WBUR Listen

I always listened to public radio on my commute to work. Now that I'm not working I don't spend a dedicated morning and afternoon time slot in the car, and that means I'm missing some of the shows I enjoy. Yes, I know, I can listen at home - but that doesn't always happen.

At the end of my volunteer stint at WBUR last week I stayed for a tour of the studio. It was quite interesting to see where some of the shows are produced.

Our tour guide mentioned that an updated version of the WBUR Listen app was available; I made a mental note to check it out. I've installed it on my phone, giving me the option of listening to my favorite shows either live or at a later time when (I'm away from radio and computer and) I feel the need to listen. I'm happy.

WBUR Listen

Saturday, April 08, 2017

emerging

Early spring has graced us with snow, rain, and chilly air, all contributing to early flowers.

Knowing that there is a field at The Steven-Coolidge Place where crocus and daffodil bloom, I headed to the garden this morning looking for early flowers. Several varieties of small early spring flowers have started to push color across the landscape. Crocus wearing purple and white is a favorite of mine.

crocus

Friday, April 07, 2017

spicy guacamole

On Wednesday afternoon I volunteered for a couple of hours at the WBUR Marathon, a 26.2 hour fundraiser with the goal of raising $1,000,000 for the NPR news station. And yes, the goal was met and exceeded!

It was a good experience; I'll happily volunteer there again.

Food was provided for the volunteers and station staff. A late afternoon snack of chips and guacamole was supplied with a huge supply of guacamole; I assume it was donated by the (local) creator. At one point a staff member went through the event room handing out tubs of Chica de Gallo Spicy Guacamole to be taken home. I like guacamole and luckily I like spice as well since this variation was made with ghost peppers. It was a good taste treat!

chica de gallo spicy guacamole

Thursday, April 06, 2017

rain

Heavy rain fell in waves throughout the day. I'm hoping that the combination of the rain and predicted warmer days to come will trigger spring flowers to visit.

While I dream of this year's color to come, a flower from last spring brings a smile.

pink peonies decorated by raindrops

Tuesday, April 04, 2017

a lighthouse

Yesterday's sky was blue with increasing wisps of clouds. It was a good day to visit the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Portland Head Light

Sunday, April 02, 2017

a blue poppy

The delicacy of poppies is simply amazing. I was lucky to visit Longwood Gardens when blue poppies were in bloom; Himalyan Blue poppies are forced to flower every year in March.

blue poppy

dishonest

Today's editorial in the Los Angeles Times titled "Our Dishonest President" is an introduction to a 4-part editorial to be published this week. The words are powerful; they make me realize I am far from alone in being concerned about the behavior and policies of this president.

I plan to read the rest of the series scheduled for publication over the next 3 days.

It was no secret during the campaign that Donald Trump was a narcissist and a demagogue who used fear and dishonesty to appeal to the worst in American voters. The Times called him unprepared and unsuited for the job he was seeking, and said his election would be a "catastrophe".

Still, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this train wreck.

from the Los Angeles Time editorial:
Our Dishonest President

Read the editorial. What do you think?

Saturday, April 01, 2017

wet and white

Wet snow fell for much of the day leaving white on the grass and deep slush on the roads. I'm very glad this wasn't a repeat of the massive April Fool's blizzard from 20 years ago.

a snowy April Fools Day

It looks like we will have two clear (and warmer) days before predicted rain appears on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to flowers soon.