The Garden of the Seasons: Cleaning Up Our Point of View -- Sky, Land, and We Four in the Berkshires

We cleaned up the Berkshires. Not the mountains, of course, which are cleaner than anything human beings get their hands on. And not the County of Berkshire (Massachusetts' comely west end), which gets along well without help or interference from visitors and summer types, who last as long as their cottages stay warm and the water still runs. That day of reckoning, by the way, is hard upon us.

No, I mean our own perspective on life in this autumn wonderland. Since windows are so essential, especially as plummeting temps continue to reduce our time spent outdoors staring at the scenery, we’ve put some hours, money and elbow grease into lightening the view.

         Windows are the eyes of our reading, thinking, eating, talking hours. Since we look at them so much, somebody was bound to notice that the frames needed a serious brightening up. Paint chips were brought to the hardware store. 

          Paint was mixed. Brushes and sandpaper acquired. Along with (note photo) gobs of blue tape. This was scientifically applied according to some geomancer’s notion of the perfect form of the rectangle.

          A thick white liquid was scientifically applied. Artists contemplated their work (same photo).

          Darkness fell. It was hanging around all day, and eventually it arrived. Nothing we did could hold it back.

         The moon rose. (See photo)

         Next day Saul and I visited Tyringham Cobble and found what we wanted, pretty much what everyone wants. Dramatic skies (see photos), bright and various foliage (photo), an enormous rock with the profile of a rabbit (photo of rock with holes), a summit from which to contemplate the idea of immortality in the lasting presence of a village cemetery (ditto), more clouds (more photos). 

          The following day promptly after breakfast, around noon, we walked down a scenic road as clouds rolled once more, leaves turned, and cute little dogs tried to jump on me, but missed. 

          These were some of our adventures. Now the time is drawing near to make like the final images at the end of the “Rocky and Bullwinkle” cartoons, bring out the brooms and clean the place up.

Back next year.