Leaning birch trees over Mill Pond 2020
Spring has arrived in the Upper Valley despite today's errant snowstorm. Last week I spent a delightful morning without so much as a snowflake in sight, sitting with Jim and Amelia Lantz in their backyard facing Mill Pond. For once, I just looked without a camera between me and the natural beauty. Ducks flew quacking overhead with their fast beating wings. A gorgeous cardinal sat perched above us in a tree with his red, red plumage contrasting with the blue, blue sky. Birds sang sweet songs. We could smell the soil and see thousands of tiny red buds high up in the trees.
Amelia told me that this time of year, many different kinds of birds visit the pond and many stop, and, in Amelia’s words, ‘interview’ the small pond and island for its suitability to raise a family. We were delighted to see a chickadee ‘interview’ a bird house perched by the water and hope she’ll decide to make a nest there.
A lively discussion about how much or little people should interfere with the land began. Amelia believes in letting Nature in her wisdom take care of most things. She talked about hiking through the woods with all manner of trees lying on the forest floor in what she described as a beautiful mess. What struck me was Amelia saying that after many years of growth, an axe can end a trees life in a matter of minutes. She talked about trees supporting different types of wildlife while the trees are alive, while they are dying, and after they have died.
Jim is a painter who wants to tinker with the land a little to add color and is considering planting blue bells. He talks with his neighbors on Mill Pond who discuss the chemistry and turbidity of the water. Mostly they talk about aesthetics. I found the definition of aesthetics as a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste as well as the philosophy of art. The Mill Pond neighborhood is a microcosm of the larger world. Each owner treats the land in what to them is aesthetically pleasing. Each differ, yet each is lovely in its own way. As the saying first appeared in the third century BC in Greece “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Spending some time in Jim and Amelia’s backyard is like going on a delightful vacation without the hassle of packing. Writing the blog has opened up many behind-the-scenes places for me to enjoy.
Thank you Amelia and Jim for warm coffee, yummy pecan toast, and a philosophical discussion in your little piece of paradise.
Amelia told me that this time of year, many different kinds of birds visit the pond and many stop, and, in Amelia’s words, ‘interview’ the small pond and island for its suitability to raise a family. We were delighted to see a chickadee ‘interview’ a bird house perched by the water and hope she’ll decide to make a nest there.
A lively discussion about how much or little people should interfere with the land began. Amelia believes in letting Nature in her wisdom take care of most things. She talked about hiking through the woods with all manner of trees lying on the forest floor in what she described as a beautiful mess. What struck me was Amelia saying that after many years of growth, an axe can end a trees life in a matter of minutes. She talked about trees supporting different types of wildlife while the trees are alive, while they are dying, and after they have died.
Jim is a painter who wants to tinker with the land a little to add color and is considering planting blue bells. He talks with his neighbors on Mill Pond who discuss the chemistry and turbidity of the water. Mostly they talk about aesthetics. I found the definition of aesthetics as a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste as well as the philosophy of art. The Mill Pond neighborhood is a microcosm of the larger world. Each owner treats the land in what to them is aesthetically pleasing. Each differ, yet each is lovely in its own way. As the saying first appeared in the third century BC in Greece “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Spending some time in Jim and Amelia’s backyard is like going on a delightful vacation without the hassle of packing. Writing the blog has opened up many behind-the-scenes places for me to enjoy.
Thank you Amelia and Jim for warm coffee, yummy pecan toast, and a philosophical discussion in your little piece of paradise.
Mill Pond photo taken in 2020