Jim Stahr has a Different Year

The moment you smell the cedar grove and the insects disappear. The sound of raindrops from under the canopy. Stumbling into the river, onto the stone wall, over the fallen branch. Turning back when the path becomes a cornfield.

 I  might   be  enamored  of  trees  and  clouds.

I took my dog to the local Field Trail area in hopes of taking some good sunset pictures. Though the clouds were perfect, there was little color. I stayed 5 minutes after sunset then drove of for some chores.  With the sun well below the horizon, the clouds suddenly turned hot pink. It lasted barely 5 minutes; I had no place to pull over.  I am now going through all my sunset pictures to see if there is any correlation with time +/- sunset and color. The photos show the sun in various stages of setting.  . It seems there are many other variables that create a fantastic sunset.

I recently adopted a 6 year old mutt that was listed as a   Bernese Mt / Border Collie mix, or a Rotti mix. She was abandoned, and has all the neurosis that might result, especially separation anxiety and inattentiveness.  Today I visited the Sugarbrook Field Trail Wildlife Management Area  with her.  While she is still very much getting used to her new family, she seemed very happy to be outside and off leash, more attentive because she was free to roam a touch further, and most importantly, unafraid. This may become our regular hangout.

Today I ended the summer with a short visit to  Barn Island Wildlife Management Area . There is a boat launch ramp here, with a smaller canoe launch aside it. The 60 parking spaces , large enough for pickups with boat trailers, were filled this Labor Day  and cars were parked on the road back to the entrance! It would, however, be difficult to feel crowded on this 1013 acre (409 hectare) coastal preserve . I did find one friend though.