Kafka Meets the Rebbe

A little morsel from the annals of Jewish summer vacations: Kafka went to Marienbad on holiday, and there he had the opportunity, thanks to his chasidish (BT) friend Langer to "accompany" the Belzer Rebbe, Yissaschar Dov Rokeach.
Here's some of what he had to say about him:

Er sieht aus wie der Sultan, den ich als Kind in einem Doréee-Münchhausen oft gesehn habe. Aber keine Maskerade, wirklich der Sultan. Und nicht nur Sultan, sondern auch Vater, Volksschullehrer, Gymnasialprofessor u. s. f. 
Der Anblick seines Rückens, der Anblick der Hand, die auf der Hüfte liegt, der Anblick der Wendung dieses breiten Rückens - alles das gibt Vertrauen. Auch in den Augen der ganzen Gruppe ist dieses ruhige glückliche Vertrauen, das ich gut ahne.

"He looks like a Sultan, like I had often seen as a child in the stories of Baron Munchhausen. No joke! Really the Sultan. But not only a Sultan, but also a Father, a Teacher, a Professor, etc.  The sight of his back, the sight of his hand sitting on his hip, the sight of the turns of this wide back  - all of it inspired trust. Also I surmise in the eyes of the whole group that there is a calm, contented trust."

(from a letter to Max Brod, July 1916)

H/T Torah Musings via Bernard Wasserstein, On the Eve, 
The Jews of Europe before the Second World War.

Thuja occidentalis

Roots of the Northern White cedar.
Heart Lake, North Elba, NY. 

The roots are pretty shallow and this tree was exposed on the edge of the lake, so I imagine the tree was downed easily. In any case the wood of the cedar, even of the roots, is very resilient, that is resistant to decay by moisture and other elements. The "aged" roots are quite beautiful, so you'll see them as decorative pieces in homes throughout the U.S.

The Great Builder of the Mammalians, Castor canadensis

Beaver lodge, Sterling Forest, NY, February, 2013 

Stockbridge Shelter

The Stockbridge lean-to on Stockbridge Mtn. 1320' NY
(photo taken by N., January, 2013)

St. John's in the Wilderness Church, Memorial to Lost Love

Harriman State Park, January, 2013

"Even now, the church of Saint John's in the Wilderness stands in thickly wooded seclusion - a remnant of the countryside that first attracted Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Zimmerman to build this memorial to her late husband... In 1879 Mrs. Zimmerman purchased the land for the church from John A. Conklin also of New York. Margaret Zimmerman had originally intended to build a sturdy wooden church made of native timber. However Ralph Townsend, a New York architect suggested that the plentiful fieldstone of the area be utilized. Once the decision to use the native "hornblend" granite was made, Mrs. Zimmerman selected a design to compliment the feeling of such stone. The architecture was typical of Northern England. It had a decidedly "up-country" look reflective of Mrs. Zimmerman's English heritage and youthful travels."

- Bridget Leahy Ward

Canis latrans, Roaring dog, trickster par excellence

Coyote tracks in C.F.'s backyard

I saw the coyote in the afternoon snooping around for critters, he looked pretty scraggly and desperate so I didn't have the heart to go out and take a picture.

Winter Hike

View of the north end of Lake Nawahunta from the Menomine Trail

 Downed pines on the Menomine  Trail