End of Summer Vermont Vacation
Last week, for the whole week, I caught the end of summer in southern Vermont. The days were warm and humid and at some point nearly every day, it rained. I was glad when the rain came at night, hammering the cottage roof as thunder and lightning rocked the night sky.
I laughed in spite of myself as my $40 “white noisemaker” (offering “thunder,” “brook,” “rain”) remained packed in my suitcase as the stream behind the house or the rain on the roof provided the natural drone that lulled me to sleep.
I often thought of Siddhartha as I sat on a rock in the stream and tried to quiet my mind and ride the “Om” as the cool water ran over and around my bare feet.
One day we hiked a trail that was easy for two-thirds of the way and we were rewarded for our efforts of the last third by the majesty of a waterfall. Another day, between rainfalls, we swam with the salamanders in a cool lake.
Throughout the backyard of the cottage and on the rocky banks of the running water, the wild flowers of summer’s end were in full bloom.
Jewelweed and Early Goldenrod announced the coming of fall.
(All photos by Mary McAvoy. If you’d like to see more of my nature photography, please visit SilverLining-MaryMcAvoy, my photo-blog about a small pond in New England that chronicles the four season over the course of five years.)
sublime days 