Around Palm Island Nature Preserve Bermuda
grrrrtttttttche
tttttsssssschhheee
How do you spell the sound your bicycle tires make as they skid to a halt on a gravelly path? That is the sound I would like to spell now. This onomatopoeia is the sound my sister and the tour guides heard as I braked to a sudden stop on my rented mountain bike on a rail trail in Bermuda. “Don’t worry”, my sister said to the guide, “she will catch up, she probably found a plant.”
I have been on a couple cruises in the past. My trip to Alaska and one to Belgium and Holland were aboard smaller ships. This was my first cruise on an enormous ship (though the smallest in this company’s fleet) and our destination was Bermuda.
This five day August cruise had us out on the open Atlantic for 2 days out and 2 days back and just over one day in Bermuda. This included sleeping time. So we had about 16 hours of time on the island.
In this time my sister and I managed a bike ride along the Bermuda Railway Trail National Park and enjoyed the aquatic wonders of a kayak excursion, to do some window shopping and a eat nice meal off-ship. Not bad for a few short hours.
Find plants I did. This is the one that had me screeching my tires:
The incredible fading bloom of a night blooming cereus
Continue reading →
A honey bee forages for nectar in a dandelion while gathering pollen.
A man told me a story about his friend, a new homeowner with a yard for the first time. He said his friend called him to ask some help with lawn maintenance. He asked about the yellow flowers popping up throughout the grass. They are dandelions the man told his friend. They chatted about options and pros and cons of not doing anything about them at all. The following week, his friend called again. He tells the man he didn’t do anything and all of the yellow flowers disappeared! But now he says there are white puffball plants all over the place!
I am not sure this isn’t an urban legend being repeated to me, but it is a good story and not completely implausible.
This got me thinking about transformation. In a past post I explored transition, the process of changing, but here I am thinking about the actual change.
Continue reading →
The Dumplings in the West River in Jamaica State Park VT
![]()
Welcome to Jamaica. Jamaica, Vermont. No Caribbean for me, but that is just fine. I am happy to be where the days are cool and the evenings cooler. While spring sprinted by in what felt like just a few short days at home in southeast Pennsylvania, happily it is still spring here. 43 degree evenings, days in the mid-70s. Heaven to me.
I am house sitting in this area, the southwest corner of the state, near where Vermont, New York and Massachusetts all come together and attempting to make this an inexpensive bit of time away. Spending lots of time writing and exploring and not spending money. I brought all the ingredients to make my meals and stayed away from places designed to separate me from my money opting for hiking and other botanical explorations.
If you ever find yourself in the area, plan some time to explore (botanize?) Jamaica State Park.
Continue reading →
HORT travels 