Fall 2022 - Post COVID, Nature is Just as Beautiful!
COVID, believe it or not, had positive outcomes as well
I share this batch of pictures as an exercise in personal introspection of the not-so-traumatic side of the recent years. COVID’s behind us now, or so we think. As terrible as the experience was for most of the world, there were some very positive outcomes. We must celebrate those positive outcomes, both at the individual and social levels.
For one, individuals (particularly, those that were lucky and managed to fend off the monster virus) were forced into an unplanned, but welcome downtime. This downtime helped many to re-connect with their hitherto forgotten talents and hobbies — cooking, sketching, painting, music, reading, writing, photography and the like. Many produced their masterpieces. I personally spent much time with my photo gear and regaled my family with my culinary creations — not to mention the countless hours of binge watching new and old movies and shows.
At the collective social levels there were many benefits. The environment appeared to clean up even as humans stayed shuttered in their dwellings. Fewer cars and trucks resulted in cleaner air. Despite the larger COVID pandemic, other annual endemic events like the flu abated. Zoom.com, virtually unknown to many before the pandemic, became a household word - 40 minutes of togetherness for free — for long-lost family and friends to connect and catch up. Over Zoom, folks even prayed together; grandchildren read books to their grandparents. For fun, Smule allowed folks to have online karaoke parties. Amazon reigned supreme as it delivered every consumable — perishables and non-perishables — to our door step and crushed the brick and mortar stores. Teachers learned how to teach over the internet. And, on and on, humanity learned new ways to live.
The geo-political fracases too appeared to take a pause, at least for a while, because COVID did not allow peoples to engage at any level. Emigrating and immigrating populations across the world were forced into a moratorium. All told, it appeared that people considered themselves safer in their familiar environs. Could all this have contributed to a temporary worldwide semblance of peace? Perhaps.
The Lure of Seascapes
I can gaze at the sea for hours on end. Having lived inland most of my life, the ocean always mystified me. The enigma of what lies beyond the horizon and how the sun appears and disappears yonder at dawn and dusk fascinated me as a child, even as it does today. The rocks on the shore, some polished by the waves to a smooth patina, while others adorned with moss and bathing in the sun always appeared to add a touch of happy green in contrast to the turquoise blue of the sea. As a youngster, my summer vacation evenings at Chennai were often spent walking to the sandy white Marina beach and hanging out there watching tides crash to the shore washing up shells and sea-weed from afar. The pleasant smell of the sea air and the distant mewing of the gulls – purring, grunting, squawking, crooning, squealing, hooting, and cooing – always helped to calm and put one into a meditative state. The occasional toots of the ocean-going ships and barges were the only sounds that punctured the tranquility and made me wake up from my daydreams. My fascination with the mysticism of the sea has now grown into a desire to capture and share the evocative feelings by way of pictures. Please keep checking back as I will add to this collection of seascapes frequently.
Winter Blues (Not Really!)
I’ve lived in wintry and snowy places for the last thirty-plus years. Yet, until a few years ago, I did not like the winter season much, and cared even less for snow. After all, what was there to like? Short days, big heating bills, intolerable snow delays, tire-chains to fuss over, snow shoveling, the dirty slush at the curb by the driveway from reckless plows, damaged lawns, dry skin, chapped lips, layer upon layer of clothing to get on and off, … and so went the list of gripes. But all that has started to change and give way to the rightful place winter occupies in my heart now. Tranquility descends at winter time even as flakes of snow settle in to blanket the ground on overcast days. On bright days, the stark nakedness of the tree branches, bereft of their leaves, let in more sunshine to come through, it seems. This new-found appreciation for winter has got me wanting to get out into the woods more often and look for picturesque stories to tell on how unrestrained and beautiful winter-scape can be in high key shots. Snow events this season have been few and far between, but the last one was friendly enough for me to get about and be trigger happy. As I present below the pictures I took, John Steinbeck’s words come to mind. How profound?!
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?” - John Steinbeck in “Travels with Charley: In Search of America”
More Than Just Colors
Even as we sadly say goodbye to another autumn season, I do not cease to marvel at nature’s intelligence. Nowhere is this intelligence more readily evident than in the annual transformation of the color of deciduous tree leaves. The leaves appear at first in spring, then turn shades of vivid green through summer, and go on to sport the vibrant autumnal hues from yellow to orange to red, we call fall colors. Eventually, as nights grow longer and days grow shorter, the wind and the rain do their part to take down the leaves and have them cover and protect the earth from impending frost. This cycle starts all over again after winter is through and spring recurs.
As if the esthetics of leaf color transformation is not already a grand spectacle, the underlying science is even more prodigious. The timing of the appearance of greens of the chlorophyll, the yellows of the flavonoid, the oranges of the carotenoid and ultimately the reds of the anthocyanin is choreographed intricately by the changing duration of daily sunlight and numerous other influencers. And, to think that this is just an annual parade of colors would be profoundly discounting the deliberate process of co-evolution of deciduous leaves and many other dependent species, insects in particular, over millions of years. All this, can you believe, to survive the onslaught of time and fit in better?!
John Keats expressed this confluence of what we see and what we must comprehend in the last two lines of his famous “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” It reads thus:
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” — that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Hiking Up Talcott Mountain
We have lived in Simsbury, Connecticut for the last ten years, and we love it here. We’ve walked or hiked all over, and as wooded as the terrain is in town, the one activity we never engaged in as a family until earlier this summer was to hike up Talcott Mountain to the Heublein Tower and view the Farmington Valley down below. We trekked up two more times since, the most recent one undertaken this weekend to savor the spectacular sights of turning autumn leaves. The vibrant fall colors didn’t disappoint as these pictures will show.
There are a number of interesting factoids about the tower that I urge you to read here. We learned that the top of the mountain once was home to three other towers before Heublein and that the mountain is part of the Metacomet mountain ridge system nearly 200 million years in the making. For the keen photographer, the place also apparently offers an opportunity to lie in wait to picture migratory raptors frequenting the elevations. On earlier occasions we witnessed hang-glider enthusiasts launching from one of the cliffs overlooking the floodplain. All in all, a nice short hike – for the averagely fit, 40 minutes up, 20 down on the popular main trail is all it takes. Sport a mask in these pandemic times – the crowds appeared to swell up on the trail on our last climb.
Art and Senior Well-Being
I wanted to post this piece which has languished on my list of subjects to write about for over a year. My mom turned 86 not too long ago. I am still amazed at her relentless focus on perfection and completion of anything she undertakes. Many that know her would concur. She’s exceptionally creative and gifted with many talents. The one craft very dear to her heart is needlework. She can spend hours on end knitting, sewing or embroidering. We are thankful and proud that she occupies herself thusly. In fact, for seniors engaging in art of one kind or the other the natural benefit is good health, physical and mental well-being (you can read more about it here). I thought I’d showcase some of her recent work – bags and purses mainly – for the benefit of family and friends that don’t get to see her or her work during this pandemic. She wants to give them all away (as usual, to family and friends). If you fancy any one of these bags or clutches, give me a call, we will figure out a way to get it to you – perhaps even talk you into donating to a charity that supports seniors in your area!
Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season)
I can’t believe we are already headed for autumn. It feels like we just counted down to the descent of the Times Square Ball and the birthing of 2020. This afternoon we went on a leisurely stroll along a paved loop of the Farmington (Connecticut) Reservoir on Route 4 — three-plus miles of spectacular views of the woods and the crystal clear waters they surround. Turning my attention to the upper-reaches of the hills, it dawned on me that the leaf colors were turning already! I can’t but think that while much of this year passed us by as we experienced a horrid pandemic, and at times even witnessed our lives come to a standstill, the world around us went by its business as usual. I couldn’t but find myself humming The Byrd’s famous 60s hit “Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season).” The following scapes reinforce the faith in me that despite this pandemic, life has to go on. And it does, spectacularly so!
Stoic
There is something about old barns, whether they are still in use or abandoned for good. Regardless, when I walk by them, they inspire me with their silence having weathered countless seasons with dignity and calm. Connecticut countryside is full of them, and each appears to have a character of its own. Many are overrun by vines almost as if they have embraced the barn and are saying to them, “I will care for you.” Next time you drive or walk by one, please stop to admire it. If you are like me, you may be flooded with a range of feelings — from sadness to admiration, but most of all, wonderment at how they continue to stand stoically while everything around them changes continually.
