The great backyard

I awoke in the middle of the night to an intense storm passing through, one with almost constant lightning (would this be considered an electric storm?) and unusually strong winds. Either the wind or the extremely loud rain battering my bedroom skylight woke me up, but something about the noise and the intensely swaying trees outside my window clued me in that it was a little stronger than what typically rolls through. Turned out my feeling was right; there are trees down all over this morning, and a large percentage of the area was without power for a while, and still may be.

First, the damage:



Luckily for us, the biggest tree that went down was in the woods, affecting only other trees. As for the rest of our little street, large branches came down, but no one seems to have had any serious damage.



I used this turn of events to get outside again, into one of my favorite places on earth: my parents' back yard. After a rain is my favorite time to enjoy it because everything is outrageously lush and green, and it's the sort of back yard where some effort is put into keeping plants at bay, and managing certain areas of particular plants. But it also has a tendency to get wild, and that might be what I love about it the most. So in photographing the downed trees this morning, I decided to make a point to capture just a couple of the things about the natural life here that I love so much.

(Can you tell I'm starting to think about not being here for much longer?) ;)



Someone (ahem, dad) let Porter out of the house again. We had a small standoff, but I eventually caught him and put him back inside.



One of my favorites:




Perhaps because they are easy to take care of, or more likely that they're just awesome, succulents are everywhere here. It's always been this way, but as the years go by, they spread and multiply, and varieties are added to create a sort of mosaic of succulent carpet in some areas, dotted with little potted varieties that are pulled into the house in the winter.




Little ant just escaped my lens. I like to imagine what it must be like to see everything from his perspective. The stone wall would be more like a cave, and Mr. Spider in there somewhere would probably be the equivalent of a grizzly bear. The more I thought about it, the more I like the idea of the stone walls outside being a series of little caverns.




No four-leaf clovers today. :(



And Duncan, of course, joined me for a few moments before wanting to be let back inside the house.





Days to Edinburgh move-in: 31

A little trip into spring.

“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.”
― Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel

If you're even remotely interested in the philosophy of travel, I recommend Alain de Botton's book, quoted above. In fact, I recommend just about all of his books, not all of which I have read (most of them, though!), but I'll hazard a guess that I'd recommend even the ones I haven't. His writing style is enjoyable to read, and his subject matter is diverse. The Art of Travel expounds on everything from the peculiar significance and even beauty of motorway service stations and airports to the impact of art on travel and vice versa. 

I think some of the best trips can be the least fancy. This could be a special trip to the country for that must-have meal at particular far-flung restaurant, a day trip to another part of the state, or, like today, a simple walk in the back yard. No matter whether the trip involves two weeks in Europe or a stroll down the sidewalk on the street I grew up on, the difference between a good trip (or stroll) and a crap trip is one thing: the spirit of discovery.

It's absolutely, 100% possible to walk down a street I've lived on for the better part of a quarter century (give and take a few years here and there for college, or living nearby), and see something new every time. Little Peter Cottontail isn't ever going to be as exciting or awe-inspiring as the Trevi Fountain or Stonehenge, but it's the mindset that counts, and I tried to get myself into that mindset this afternoon.

We're almost a week into May, and much of the landscape is still brown in Wisconsin, although rain the last couple of days has really given the grass something to work with. It's insanely green! So while the big oak trees in the woods behind my house are only just starting to bud, homeowners are tackling insta-thick green lawns. 

Today was a gorgeous day, so rather than dwelling on the as-yet mostly-leafless trees, I thought I would take a trip into my own back yard to see just what was happening. Spring has finally sprung.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Days to Edinburgh Move-In: 125