Innisfree in October

In autumn, Innisfree Garden, so lush with blooms in spring and summer, begins to reveal its bones.  The stands of yellow flag have been cut down, the bed from which peonies once spilled out has been returned to bare ground.

Birds Have Their Seasons

Birds have their seasons in the Hudson Valley, as everywhere else.

A Halo of Sound

When I began my exploration of contemporary classical music, I didn’t have the least idea what to expect.  For the most part, I suspected I’d find it hard to grasp and impossible to enjoy, but I was determined to give it a try.

Goodbye September, Month of Mosquitoes

September wasn't the best of months in the Hudson Valley.  We were grateful to have been spared the ravages Hurricane Irene and heavy rains wrought on nearby communities, but the weather has been sodden, bringing with it, as the proprietress of our local bakery is wont to say, “Mosquitoes the size of American bald eagles.”

de·scrip·tion

And every word written shall lift off
letter by letter, the backward text
read ever briefer, even more antic
in its effort to insist that nothing
shall be lost.
—Kay Ryan

The first time I read Edmund White’s comment on Rimbaud’s Antique, I wondered what he was on about: