Granville Daily Photo

What could be more perfect on a warm spring day in late April than watching a greenhouse/nursery in Granville get ready for the season? The greenhouses were bursting with color! The sentiment seems apprpriate! Van Riper's Greenhouse is a family-owned business. The owner (at back) and an employee get ready for next weekend's opening day. Red, white, pink, green. Hanging baskets and hard work. A symphony of color. I'm running out of words. The photos and the flowers speak for themselves. If you happen to be in Granville, New York, USA, on May 1, stop by Van Riper's Greenhouse for opening day! It's right past Telescope and across the street from the Price Chopper plaza.

These pictures are from a ramble yesterday at the West Rutland Marshes, another Important Bird Area (IBA), this time in Vermont. Unlike the complex of agrigultural lands and state-owned parcels at the Washington County Grasslands, this mix of freshwater marshes and forested swamps is presumably preserved for the future. If I had to guess, I'd say the sprawling Phragmites (aka Common Reed) and other invasives are probbly the biggest threat. West Rutland Marsh IBA from the boardwalk, Most of the photos here are from the Whipple Hollow Trail, which features a path through the forested swamplands.  Bloodroot flowers along the Whipple Hollow Trail. Spring green birch trees at the back end of the marsh. Are youi sick of green yet? False Hellibore in the swamp. Ending the day with a deep pink sunset. Among the many species of birds scene/heard included: Osprey, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Raven, Swamp Sparrow, and Brown Creeper. P.S. I mi...

On a blustery Thursday afternoon, I left work early and drove the 25 minutes from my house to look out on this scene: the Washington County Grasslands (also known as the Fort Edward Grasslands). For miles around, this area is agricultural land. The complex of grasslands themselves are believed to be the largest intact such habitat in the northeastern United States. For good reason, the area was designated in New York State as an "Important Bird Area," or "IBA." In winter it supports a population of Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) and Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius), and in breeding season one can find Boblink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna), and other grassland-obligate species. American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) are found year-round. Short-eared Owl has been declared an endangered species in the state; Northern Harrier is threatened. As I stood there and looked, a beautiful adult female harrier cruised over the fields. The owls ...

  Wells, Vermont, is another tiny town that borders Granville, New York. And when I say tiny, I mean it's population is barely 1,200 -- even smaller than the neighboring town of Pawlet, Vermont. It barely has a town center -- only some churches and a country store. I had an errand in Wells today and took these photos of a gazebo on a campground and the village school, which looks like it could have been a church or meeting house in a past life, but in fact was built as a school in 1899 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bennington College is a place for creatives. It was one of the first, if not the first college to make art a core part of the curriculum. A small exhibition of student work is in the hallway of my office building. These are a few of my favorite pieces. In the interest of giving credit where credit is due, here is the poster for the show. Nicely done, Bennington students!

Adirondack chairs, Bennington College campus, Bennington, Vermont