Peri Phillips McQuay's Blog, page 2
December 3, 2014
The Table Land
On a bitter, wintry day I walked up onto the Tableland to have a look at the beginnings of things. Any day now, the snow would come. Already there was a dusting in crevices and on a few dark green … Continue reading
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November 21, 2014
Witch Hazel
At a time when none of autumn’s brightness remains, I’m loving our witch hazel. Although it’s only a common hamamelis virgininiana, this five foot shrub has history for me. The haunting, pure fragrance, unlike any other, has meant late autumn … Continue reading
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November 14, 2014
Dreamtime
Dreamtime. This is the welcome time, hovering between Autumn and Winter. The gardens have been put to bed under a blanket of leaves. Even the lingering golden asparagus fronds have been clipped and burned. Next week, with the end of … Continue reading
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October 30, 2014
Autumn’s Last Colour
Gradually, swiftly, we’ve watched the leaves flocking down, scattering mounds of yellow through the forest. Now, as we head towards November, nearly all autumn’s bonfires have drained, leaving the remaining scatterings of colour all the more precious. Only the occasional … Continue reading
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October 16, 2014
Thanksgiving
As Barry and I enjoy watching another generation learning to love Foley Mountain, we are deeply thankful.
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October 2, 2014
Shaw Woods
Shaw Woods, a majestic old growth forest near Cobden would be a magical place to visit on any day, but to walk its trails in autumn is unforgettable. Growing up, as I did in a small beloved woods, has meant that trees feel like family to me. Caring about them is a ground for everything else in my life. So spending a day exploring a small part of what this special place has to offer was a moving experience for me. Barry and I came to the Foley Mountain Conservation Area overlooking Westport, the ...
September 17, 2014
Signs of Autumn
Yesterday afternoon, both wanting and not wanting to find signs of autumn, I climbed the big hill beyond our valley and walked on through the woods to the nearest heron pond. When we first came here a decade ago, this very old pond was deep enough to float a canoe. Now I am dismayed to find that it is almost drained. Clearly this is a depression that is no longer maintained by the solitary beaver who once inhabited the meager lodge on the far shore. I was expecting to see the surrounding swamp m...
July 7, 2014
Counting Wildflowers
Counting wildflowers is a game we’ve been playing since we lived at the Foley Mountain Conservation Area where we used it as an excuse to visit a special wetland where the cardinal flowers bloom. Now we live at Singing Meadow we’ve made it a tradition to identify and count the number of wildflowers blooming on the trail which meanders through our wetland. This count takes place as close to July 1 as possible. In recent years we’ve been joined by our summer neighbors, Alison and Bob Ball. Spendin...
December 10, 2013
You Can’t Do it All
���We can only get rid of this anxiety by being content to miss something in almost everything we do. We cannot master everything, taste everything, understand everything, drain every experience to its last dregs.�� [Thomas Merton No Man is an Island, quoted in Stephen Cope���s The Great Work of Your Life] In passing, I loiter before exciting books I likely won���t read, apologize to my loom because the treadles rarely dance any more. I thought I would be learning Chinese, …
November 28, 2013
The Great Work of Your Life
Recently, my yoga teacher and friend, Tanya Deacove, gave me a wonderful gift when she loaned me Stephen Cope���s The Great Work of Your Life. It turns out that this is a book for all who face uncertainty about life’s true purpose. ���What is your biggest fear?��� Cope asks. His answer, ���I���m afraid that I���ll die without having lived fully��� surely resonates for many of us. If you bring forth what is within you, your sacred calling, he says, …
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