Happy New Year!

Thank you for the Happy Birthday messages.

Happy New Year!
May 2024 be filled with love and laughter, good health, great adventures, and Peace.

 

My 2023 Calendars

My Calendars For Sale

1 available

$20. plus shipping

Currently Out of Stock

1 available

$20. plus shipping

1 available

$20. plus shipping

1 available

$20. plus shipping

Currently Out Of Stock

Currently Out Of Stock

1 available

$20. plus shipping

MY PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE THROUGH ELISECREATIONS.net

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Cardinals

Cardinal Taking A Stance Amongst New Leaves

Female Cardinal

Cardinal In Flight

MY PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE THROUGH ELISECREATIONS.ARTFIRE.COM

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Happy Winter Solstice!
Wishing I was in this spot right now.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Fragrance Free Respect

For those of you who wonder why I haven't attended many events or been around much, over the last decade or more, this is why.

 

Iberville Shale

These remind me of icebergs.

Iberville shale

The flat, dark gray stones streaked with unmistakable white lines on the shores of Lake Champlain are Iberville shale – a name that comes from the Quebec town where the shale was discovered by Western geologists. It’s a thinly layered, sedimentary rock that was formed from marine silt deposited roughly 500 to 440 million years ago. Iberville Shale was created during the Ordovician period, when almost all of the earth north of the tropics was ocean. The silt deposited deep in these ocean waters became shale as it hardened and compacted over time. It’s younger than most other sedimentary rocks in the Champlain Valley, which date back 600-500 million years. The tell-tale white stripes are veins of mineral calcite formed by powerful compressing forces that drove calcium carbonate in the water to coalesce into mineral calcite.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Indian Pipe Plant

Indian Pipe Plant, Ghost pipe, Ghost Plant, Corpse Plant, Dutchman's Pipe, Monotropa Uniflora

This unusual plant has no chlorophyll, so is not green. It therefore cannot make its own food, and is a parasite having a relationship with a fungus and a tree. It takes nutrients from both and so is found under American beech and pines along with types of mushrooms which include the Russula and Lactarius mushrooms. 

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Giving Thanks

We may come with different beliefs and backgrounds but our hearts all desire the same things - peace, love, security, connection, & joy. This is where we need to place our attention. Thank you for sharing kindness, caring, and compassion, and may we all cherish and protect the natural world.

 

Canada Anemone

Canada Anemone

Anemone canadensis is also known as windflower, meadow anemone, round-leaf thimbleweed. Tribal people used the roots and leaves of this plant medicinally. It’s a common sight in moist meadows or along streambanks. This wildflower can cause skin irritation, so wear gloves and long pants/long sleeves while pruning. It is toxic to humans in large doses.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Stone Walls Of Vermont

Stone Wall Glory!

Some of the most amazing stone art I've seen while working on our new project about Stone Walls and Sugar Houses of Vermont.

Natural Stone Walls

with reflections on Joiner Brook

Natural Stone Walls

with reflections on Joiner Brook

Rock Wall At The Intervale

Built by Thea Alvin

https://www.myearthwork.com/thea-alvin

Gotta love a Stone Wall with an antique tractor on a lovely country estate in Vermont.

Stone Wall at Rockledge historic summer estate in Swanton, Vermont. 

Architect Charles Saxe in 1918 designed alterations to an early 19th-century farmhouse, that is the principal surviving element of an early 20th-century gentleman's farm. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Natural Stone Wall in Westford

Stone Walls in Westford

Red Barn with a Stone Foundation

and a Great Stone House in South Hero.

Lovely Red Barn 

with a beautiful Stone Foundation in Hinesburg.

East Fairfield

South Hero

Garden Wall in Colchester

Arched Stone Wall At The Intervale

Built by Thea Alvin

https://www.myearthwork.com/thea-alvin

Stone Wall in Jeffersonville

Round Barn 

with a Stone Foundation at Shelburne Museum

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Nuthatch Parenting

Nuthatch Feeding It's Children

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

The Old Round Church In Richmond, Vermont

The Old Round Church In Richmond

The Old Round Church In Richmond, Vermont With Fall Afternoon Shadows

The Old Round Church, was built in 1812-13 under the direction of local craftsman William Rhodes to be the Town Meeting Hall and place of worship for members of five Protestant denominations. Significant for its rare design and well-preserved detail, it is perhaps the sole surviving example of an early 19th-century 16-sided wooden meetinghouse. Today it is open to the public during the summer and fall foliage seasons (10-4 daily) and is a venue for weddings and community programs.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

On The Rocks Or Ode To An Inchworm

On The Rocks or Ode To An Inchworm

As I sprawl in the sun on these rocks,

that echo the coolness of the icy water around them.

Like a lizard absorbing the heat,

Lazily watching a glowing green inchworm

traveling across this stoney surface,

Inching it's way around and over crisp autumn leaves,

Strewn in it's path. 

Like a tightrope walker balancing 

on the razors edge of a leaf.

Onward to the next surface,

Climbing the mossy slope,

to then dangle off the ledge.

Then turning and moving on,

To where?

I'm not sure that even the inchworm knows.

Perhaps the journey is fascinating,

Regardless of the destination.

Travel well

While I bask in the beauty of this sunny afternoon.

Lulled by the sound of water flowing by

On this lovely mountain stream.

As colorful leaves rain slowly down around me,

All I can think is, 

Can I live here?

Because I never want to leave.

By Elise T. Marks © 10-5-2023

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Painted Turtles

Painted On Green Shadow Of A Painted Turtle On Wood In A Pond Full Of Duckweed.

The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America. In the wild, painted turtles are omnivorous-they eat fish, insects, plants, fruit, carrion, and anything else they find. Painted turtles sleep underwater, buried in the sand or mud at the bottom of their habitat. They can breathe air and also absorb oxygen in water. Painted turtles do not have teeth. They have a hard beak that allows them to chew, but they prefer to swallow their food whole. A painted turtle shell is made of bone and is connected to the spine and ribs. The shell of a painted turtles is made up of 13 separate bone plates called scutes. When the turtle grows, it sheds the outermost layer of these scutes and grows new, larger plates underneath. The age of a turtle can be determined by counting the rings on the scutes; every time the turtle sheds an old scute, the new scute has another ring around its outer edge, giving it the same ringed look of a cross section of a tree. Turtles have no vocal chords, but they can sometimes make hissing sounds.
       Duckweed, or water lens, are flowering aquatic plants which float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as "bayroot", Duckweed is an important high-protein food source for waterfowl and also is eaten by humans in some parts of Southeast Asia. The tiny plants provide cover for many aquatic species. Duckweed is being touted as a miracle plant for many reasons including: Cost effective renewable energy, biofuel Water filter, Mosquito prevention, Prevents algae growth, Reduces evaporation on bodies of water, Virtually free animal feed, Food for humans.

Painted Turtle On Wood In A Pond Full Of Duckweed

Turtles and their reflections at Indian Brook Reservoir.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

Autumn In Vermont 2023

A Touch Of Fall reflections at Indian Brook Reservoir

Fall Flowers And A Lovely Barn
So this year, the most colorful fall foliage around here is these flowers. Perhaps fall is later than some people and flowers think it is.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.