Martha Andrews Donovan: One Writer's Excavation

Aside: The strong winds last night took me in my dreams back to Hurricane Ridge….

(Found) Aphorism #8

artifice does not improve upon nature
— John C. Donovan, Harpswell Notes, Summer 1980

The complete entry from JCD:
“Still another gorgeous Sunday morning and once again with that almost August-autumn touch in the air and again last night, one of those totally clear but moonless ones, the winds from the west rocked this ancient cottage. The winds took their toll. Last weekend the strong gust not only shook the shanty to its foundation, but also, sad to say, blew away the nest our little friend had built on the front porch. I rescued it twice, the second time with the help of Frank and Ruth, and at Bea’s suggestion even Scotch-taped the poor residue to the rafters. Unfortunately, artifice does not improve upon nature, and so our little friends no longer visit with us. I wonder if they engage in contingency planning so as to have a back-up nest elsewhere?”

Click on the link below to read my reminiscence of growing up on the coast of Maine (which found a home some years ago in Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, April/May 2006):

“Harpswell Notes”