3rd House Journal

Find Your Own Bit of Sanctuary

[At Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Belmont MA; 3/26/12]

I discovered Habitat, the Audubon sanctuary in Belmont, soon after I took on a full-time job here after having my own freelance business for 13 years. That first year, I commuted 45 miles each way from my condo in a semi-rural town, where I used to take long walks every day past acres of farm land and woods. Although Belmont is a lovely town with some well-appointed homes (Mitch Romney lived here when he was governor), most of the area, even in Belmont, is more densely packed and urban than where I was living. But after languishing as a single woman out in the hinterlands for so long, I craved the urban life with all its culture and activity. I soon grew tired of commuting and, after a year, the opportunity to move close to work arose and I emptied my condo, rented it out, and moved to the big city, or at least near the big city. Still, over the years, Habitat has offered an antidote to urban overload and has also provided a haven from the stress of my job, a place where I went to grieve my mother's passing and other heartbreaks, to delight in nature, and to ground myself in the natural world. Just a 20-minute walk from the office, its woods and meadows a hidden treasure.

[Bits of nature, at Habitat]

Habitat was the first place I went to on Monday after getting laid off from my job. Yup, although I have been looking to leave for a long time, they beat me to it and booted me along with six coworkers on Monday. Since then, I've been busy letting my former freelance clients know that I'm available again, updating my resume and LinkedIn profile, and fielding lots of emails from former colleagues, both those still there and others who have gone before me and find themselves happier than ever. I still have to go into the office tomorrow to bring back my keycard and sign paperwork, but otherwise it's over. I do feel freed, although of course there is the issue of money to worry about.

[Turtle Pond, at Habitat]

Walking around the trails on Monday afternoon, I realized I didn't have to rush. I could stay and enjoy it as long as I pleased. There was noplace I had to be. There was also a strange sense of having been uprooted from my home and deposited, or maybe chewed up and spit out, washed up on this strange shore, not sure where to go but at least with my feet under me again.

Spring Arrives

[Spring blossoms, Smith College Plant House Bulb Show; 3/17/12]

We drove out to Northampton for the Spring Bulb Show at the Lyman Plant House at my alma mater on Saturday. Even though crocuses, scilla, and even daffodils are already beginning to bloom on lawns outdoors in our continued unseasonal warmth, it was lovely to see (and smell!) all the beautiful flowers in the show. The drive out was dreary - gray skies and dull brown landscape all the way out, no sign of the predicted sunshine breaking through on the western horizon - so walking into the plant house was like walking into a candyland of color.

[Lilies, tulips, jonquils, and more]

The sun did finally come out later in the afternoon, and we enjoyed walking around campus and the shops in  town, along with a delicious mid-day meal at Viva Fresh Pasta, our favorite Northampton eaterie.

Yesterday, I'd planned to sort through and clean my spring/summer wardrobe and put away winter clothes, plus other spring cleaning, but another warm sunny day intervened. D and I went to Harvard Square and walked along the river and before I knew it, it was late afternoon before I got back to my apartment, too pooped to do all I'd hoped for. But I did get most of the clothes sorted, which will make getting ready for work (and packing up on weekends) easier. And yes, I did save some warmer layers for the inevitable cold snaps. But the forecast is for more record-breaking warmth - into the 80s this week - just so utterly wrong for March in New England. Not a good sign for the coming summer.

[Harvard crew team practices on the Charles River; 3/18/12]

It's been a busy few days - my group at work went out to lunch yesterday, then last night I met up with friends I haven't seen in a long time for dinner. Tonight I have to go the hair salon after work. I could use a rest. At least the daylight lasts longer into the evening - I may get home before dark.

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You can see more spring blooms from the Spring Bulb Show here. Happy Spring!

 

What I Did on My Day Off

[Dried hydrangea, Belmont MA; 1/19/12]

I did not get around to cleaning the house, athough I did spend the morning balancing my checkbook, paying bills, and other online odds and ends. Maybe I'll get to the house cleaning tomorrow. It really could use some feng shui-improving clutter clearing and cleaning.

I took a short drive over to Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, a sanctuary for my soul ever since starting my job 5 1/2 years ago, even before I moved here. I haven't been there much lately. Climbing the steep hill up from town during my lunch breaks was too much for my back this summer, and work demands got in the way this fall, so I opted for shorter, flatter walks in the pretty residential neighborhoods near the office. But with the day free, the woods and meadows called to me.

[Reeds, off the Highland Farm Loop]

While I did not want to waste my two precious days off from work spinning my wheels and accomplishing nothing, neither did I want to fill it up with chores and tasks. I wanted to recapture a bit of that relaxed freedom I used to feel when I worked from home and could choose how to spend the hours of my day. So I set no specific schedule, other than to get outside while the sun was still what counts for high in January in these northern parts. On the way back, I stopped at the grocery store and shopped, as I used to, among the elderly and the housewives with young kids instead of the harried after-work crowd. And I came home and puttered in my kitchen.

[Cone on a string, on the Red Maple Trail]

You can see a few more of my pics from today's visit to Habitat here.

I'm still trying to keep up with this month of Small Stones. This afternoon's tweet:

Day off. House no cleaner, but I saw the klatsch of paper birches at the edge of the meadow, their graceful ghostly limbs.

 

Beige

[Dry flower heads, Belmont; 12/5/12]

This winter, beige is the new white. That thought occurred to me while looking at Lorianne's post noting the rustle of dry leaves instead of the crunch of snow. She and a few others of my blogger friends are contributing "small stones" to Fiona Robyn's mindful writing challenge for January. I'm also writing them most days, but I'm posting them to my Twitter account instead of here (you can see them on the Twitter Updates feed just to the right of my blog posts). It's a wonderful exercise to open up your senses, notice something, and write it down. Even on days when the world seems kinda bland, maybe even more so on those days, you find the most extraordinary in the ordinary.

Dehiscence

[Dried flower or seed pod (?), Belmont, MA; 1/5/12]

Dehiscence is the opening, at maturity, in a predefined way, of a plant structure, most commonly fruits, anthers, and sporangia, to release its contents... A similar process to dehiscence occurs in some flower buds.

The years living and working from my condo in the country were quiet, especially so when work slowed down and my clients were laid off and scattered to the winds. But it was a germinating time. The work that did come in gave me knowledge and experience that turned out to be valuable in the long run. It led to a full-time position, a move near the city with all of its cultural riches, a more active social life, and my relationship with D. The change has been all for the good, but I'm still sifting through the harvest to weed out the excess and retain the valuable fruit.

I had lunch this week with a former colleague who mentored me through career growth in the distant past. He's survived the past few years of layoffs and unemployment and job changes, and he was kind enough to share his observations and advice. It was a real boost, just what I need right now as I look to make my next transition. Still, the amount of work yet to be done is daunting. Would that I could have a retreat to work through the transition process instead of continuing to work full-time while undertaking a job search. It's like the trees I saw this warm fall and winter putting out new buds while their foliage was still turning and dropping. Sometimes life is just spilling over.

Changing Season

[Flowering dogwood, near Belmont Center; 5/3/11]

Spring is a fast-moving season. The magnolias that were blooming two weekends ago had mostly wilted into brown mush on the sidewalks by last weekend. But the previously scant tulips took over, filling out the beds in the Public Garden like festive balloons, now properly vernalized and flowering.

[Public Garden, Boston; May 1, 2011]

Today after lunch I took a walk up the hill towards the local wildlife sanctuary and was thrilled to see some of my favorite Spring blooms by the side of the road: flowering dogwood, bellflowers, and trillium!

[White bellflowers, Belmont, MA; 5/3/11]

[Trillium, Belmont, MA; 5/3/11]

As if it weren't hard enough to sit at my desk all day slogging away at one of the least interesting projects I've had lately, the beautiful Spring outdoors beckons with its siren song, willing me to crash my dreary little raft on the rocks to join them in the meadow. Instead I eat snacks and drink coffee and steal peeks at my email, Facebook, Twitter, and especially LinkedIn account for new job possibilities. I am so ready for a change.

Budding

[Magnolia bud, Back Bay, Boston; 4/3/11]

Goodbye Winter!

[On the Commonwealth Ave Mall; 3/19/11]

Alas, snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow, accumulating 1 to 3 inches, and it looks like a chilly, if sunny, weekend coming. Last year this time, the warmth arrived early, as we were inspired to take a ride up the coast to Portsmouth where people were sitting outside in shirtsleeves. And a week later, the magnolias were already budding on Comm Ave, unseasonably early. This year, Spring is in less of a rush, patiently letting Winter slowly pack up its tired belongings before it leaves for another year.

Harbinger

The archaic root of the word harbinger means "one sent ahead to arrange lodgings." When I took this photo of one of the first crocuses in my front yard yesterday, I didn't see the little bee that found a home in this early blossom, supping at its provisions of nectar.

Since the switch to Daylight Savings Time last weekend, the day has afforded an extra hour of light at just the right time so that I can get home from work and take a walk before the sun sets. It makes all the difference in the world when you're on a 9-5:30 work schedule. To be able to slough off the workday's demands and explore the neighborhood again on foot in the waning daylight is a treat, a welcome transition time of carefree wandering before the evening's tasks.

This Sunday evening marks the official start of Spring here in the northern hemisphere. And for those of us who suffered through a tough winter here in New England, it's the start of a much more hospitable season.

October vs November

[October 28, 2010]

[November 8, 2010]