Nuisances

1631/15th October 2024

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A few years ago we moved this little maple from in front of the house where its roots had nowhere to grow.

We then watched anxiously to see how it would recover from the shock but it did well. Then, last spring the condition of its bark concerned us.

However, it seems a determined little tree and produced healthy foliage.

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Now I wait for the hazelnut to be transplanted.

It arrived by mail years ago, a mere twig. It came “free” for a donation to Arbor Day and we did not expect it to survive.

None of the accompanying stalks did.

But this one made it through the first winter and survived numerous beetle assaults, until finally it has outgrown the flower bed.

Grant plans to move it up to live in his original vegetable plot that he abandoned this year when deer ate his squashes.

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Tuesday afternoon was one of those that kept me periodically glancing out of the window.

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From moment to moment the scene changes and every frame has merit.

Which is why I take a ridiculous number of photographs.

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When I see this view, I am reminded of a scrim.

It has been very many years since I went to the opera, even longer since I saw a play.

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Last time I went to the theatre may have been to see the incomparable Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage.

She was brilliant, as ever, but of course what entertained me most was the live cat that sat in her lap in one scene.

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It was Tim my travel buddy, that used to take me regularly to The Met and Carnegie Hall and we attended some great concerts and the ballet.

Tim was not phased about driving into New York City although there were times when traffic was fairly diabolical. I cannot imagine how it must be now.

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It was hard sometimes, given that we worked early shifts, but I am so glad to have those memories.

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Once, we went to see the Bolshoi Ballet performing the Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet which was spectacular, although there was a notice in our program to say that there was a substitution, as the one of the key performers had defected.

So, I did not get to see Alexander Godunov dance, but that presentation was wonderful.

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Not quite full, but awfully pretty.

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Most of the nearby corn fields have been harvested.

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Last Fall, I could swear this tree was not this colour!

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It’s a bit late to start now, but I should have kept year-to-year photographs for comparison.

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Dark clouds scudded by briefly in the 16th.

Which simply made the trees more exuberant.

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Heading the other way, blue sky and green trees seem to deny the arrival of Fall.

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That train we missed the other day.

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Surprisingly, recently we had to wait at a railroad crossing in Cambridge, where trains are almost never seen.

There used to be a tourist train but I don’t think it runs anymore.

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What we do see now, are leaf-peeping tour busses.

And from what I read, leaf-peepers are becoming a problem, just as tourists are everywhere.

Perhaps the increased number would be less of a nuisance if they had not somehow abandoned whatever common sense such people used to have.

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And having written that, I shall let you off with a short post as it seems we are to join the ranks of said nuisances.

Though I hope we still retain some sense.

2 thoughts on “Nuisances

  1. I, too, saw Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage in New York, when Harry’s sculpture was in The Art Show at The Dog Show!! Alas, Harry had to miss the trip because of his then “real” job. He was more distraught about missing Lettice and Lovage than missing winning Best of Show for his bronze “Stumped”. The sculpture was described by The New Yorker as “two terriers writhing in the wilderness”. Thanks for resurrecting a memory!

  2. Your first photo is just beautiful Carolyn – I can just look at that one for hours! I love how the sun light up certain places, while it’s dark in the rest of your photo. I can’t remember the last time I went to see a play – it must have been years ago. Maybe I should look out for such an opportunity.

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