I'm in New England again! I've come here to give three talks. It only took 700 miles and 12 hours in my faithful Subaru.
File under: Arrested Development
I got lost on the very last part of the trip. I took a detour to sign some books for an old friend, who has a cat named Bitsy with her own chair.
I got back in the car to drive to my sister's house, about ten miles away, and Siri routed me to the right street name in the wrong town. But I got magnificently lost. I found this place.
And this place. (Canton, CT).
It was a lights on-lights off kind of afternoon, the heavenly switches being thrown regularly.
I was arrested by the lichens. I'd never seen Cladonia like this growing on a stone. I'm told that lichens are indicators of good air quality.
I loved these lichens.
Then I looked closely at the inscription. Oh my. How can I decipher this? I could get the first line.
Praises on tombs are trifles
something spent
A man's good name is his
something something ent
So I'm playing with contrast and definition, eking out one letter after another, trying to see through the scrim of distractingly beautiful lichen colonies, and my brilliant sister Micky says, "Why don't you type in the first line in Google and see what comes up?" Which was an inscription on a stone at St. Botolph Aldersgate, London that read:
Praises on tombs are trifles
Vainly spent
A man's good name is his
Best monument.
She's not slow.
Basalt towers are a pretty good monument, too.
Talcott Mountain.
I needed that little climb, after two solid days of car. The fresh air was bracing. The views were freeing.
On Tuesday, December 6, I'll give the same talk at the Westerly Land Trust , 10 High Street in Westerly, Rhode Island, at 6 pm. Bonus there: Original art from the Baby Birds book in a pop-up show! Tickets are available at this link.
On Friday, December 9, at 7:45 pm, I'll be at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, Morse Auditorium, East India Square (161 Essex St) Salem, Massachusetts 01970. We'll have original paintings on display there as well.
I always put this stuff in the left sidebar of the blog, but I'm never sure people check it, so I'm presenting it here. I'd love to see you!
5 comments:
Siri knows we need new views in our lives of rushing here and yon...thanks for sharing.
Lovely places! Thank you for sharing. The PEM is a wonderful place and a beautiful venue for your exhibit. My folks lived in Beverly (next town over from Saem) and we had a family membership for years. If you're looking for cheap good lobsters, try The Anchor on the Beverly side of the new bridge.
It's a local haunt, bar and grill, no frills but the steamed lobsters are as good as it gets. The owner has her own lobster boat.
Sounds like a wonderful trip - a trusty Subaru Forester, a sometimes less reliable Siri, a dear sister, and a highlighted profession in one happy ball! Noticed your sister's long slender legs and had a Phoebe flash in my head. Kim in PA
Wouldn't that be a wonderful "Lifetime Achievement Award" - to have beautiful lichens such as those adorn one's tombstone!
It was great to get to meet you in Westerly this evening, Julie! What an amazing presentation! I'm so excited to have your new book!! I spent the rest of the evening telling my husband what he missed, as he was unable to go. Truly fascinating videos this evening, too!! Thanks for making the journey out to 'this part of the world'!!
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