serendipitous

sitting out

2012-02-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

a late night tonight at work and i arrived home well after dark. the evening was starlit and cold, the still, brisk sort of cold that permeates lungs, clears the mind, and eases the soul. so instead of making dinner, instead of checking email and voicemail, instead of starting homework or housework or coursework, i stayed outside. i sat outside, in the night. and for a good long time.

better late than never

2012-02-06T22:30:00.000-05:00

there must be something truly magical about this spot by the window. it's the very same place where my cactus bloomed last year. and now look! my poinsettia from december 2010 is not only still alive (which in itself is nothing short of amazing), but now it's turning it's lovely flowery shade of pink - and all by itself. never has this happened to me and i don't even care that it's all taking place two months too late. i'll take it when i can get it!

candlemas

2012-02-02T05:31:00.000-05:00

if candlemas day is clear and bright
winter will have another bite.
if candlemas day brings cloud and rain,
winter is gone and will not come again.

hoping the groundhog does not see his shadow.

evening light

2012-02-01T18:07:00.001-05:00

looking out the window, february 1st, 5:18 in the evening. and even though it's dark enough for the solar lights to come on, it's light enough to still see outside.

loraine's birds

2012-01-28T13:19:00.002-05:00

my old friend and neighbor, loraine, moved away many years ago. i'm not sure what she fed them when she lived here but she always had the best birds at her feeders. when she left, i expected her birds would just migrate on over to my house. i eventually got her chickadees, her finches, and her titmice. but what i really wanted was her cardinals. and that was not to be. over the years, i would hear one in the woods, i could glimpse one in the treetops, i would see one streaking red in flight. but none ever came to feed. none ever came close enough to the house to photograph. until this week, that is! loraine, i think i finally have all your birds!

even a female!

ice twice

2012-01-27T19:53:00.001-05:00

for the second time in the same week, freezing rain. it can be treacherous to walk on and nerve-wracking to drive in, but there's no denying it's beautiful...

on a lilac bud, poised and waiting for spring,

in frozen drips running the length of the clothesline,

when bending birch trees right down to the ground,

even coating the antenna atop my car!

the ones that g̶o̶t̶ flew away

2012-01-26T23:25:00.004-05:00

because the winter's been so mild and snowless, i've been lax about feeding the birds. i'm paying for it now, in chickadees and titmice and little else. don't misunderstand, i love those tiny birds but also revel in the variety that normally comes to the feeder in winter. so imagine my delight this morning to see robins at the holly, four birds that fled before i could fetch my camera. the same thing happened this afternoon with the woodpecker who flew from the suet block when he saw my telephoto lens. and the female cardinal, a rarity around here, who was ground feeding in the garden as i passed by the window. out came my camera and away she flew. this jay is the only fine feathered friend who sat still long enough to be snapped. perhaps i just caught him resting up for the impending storm.

winter glory

2012-01-23T17:12:00.001-05:00

morning glory vines, encased in a sheath of ice from this afternoon's freezing rain. sights like this one make me happy i decided not to be so meticulous with garden clean up last fall. i was hoping for some winter interest - and here it is.

waxing & waning

2012-01-19T21:32:00.000-05:00

as a kid a long, long time ago, i remember a fascination with the moon. how did it change shape. why was it not consistently orange or yellow, large or small. and how could it follow us at night on rides home from my grandparents.

the fascination continues still. on full moon nights, i stand in the window, mesmerized, reluctant to give up the luminosity and go to bed. i check the moon phases on calendars and in almanacs. i sometimes watch and wait for moonrise.

but with all this attention to the moon, i still get confused with the terminology. i know that gibbous is the opposite phase of crescent - but when is the moon waning? when is it waxing? this part i just can't seem to keep straight, no matter how hard i try. but recently i found this little rhyme written by blogger susan branch:

when the moon is a sliver...

horns to the east, soon to be increased

horns to the west, soon to rest

so using this saying as a guide, i'm going to start paying more attention to the names of the phases the moon goes through each month. i really want to understand and get it right. now all i have to do is remember which way is east and which way's west.

ultimate cookies

2012-01-18T22:55:00.000-05:00

on the heels of the great gingerbread triumph, i have been trying to duplicate a colleague's toll house cookie recipe. it's on the bag of chocolate chips, she tells me, the generic kind not the nestlé ones. the recipes are practically identical; i tried them once over the holidays. but tonight i adjust the ratio of white sugar to brown, i plop down bigger scoops than i normally do, and i use parchment paper on the cookie sheet, something the girl has taught me to do. and i think it worked! now, what to do with all these perfect cookies...

overlook

2012-01-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

looking out over the river, up to the north, and beyond to the snow covered mountains on the horizon. this is where i live.

winter flowers

2012-01-14T21:45:00.000-05:00

mid-january and we've finally had our first appreciable snowstorm. it's finally freezing. it's finally time to buy myself some flowers to ward off the winter woes. this weekend i bought stock. if ever i could blog a smell, this would be the one. it's pungent, spicy, smells a bit like cloves. heavenly. all day long, as i walk around in layers and fleece for the first time this winter, i wander by the stock, stick my nose in it, and inhale deeply. smells like winter!

almost midnight

2012-01-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

almost light outside with the full moon-after-yule.

just a dusting

2012-01-07T14:44:00.000-05:00

it snowed yesterday, but not real winter snow. here we are in january, with virtually nothing on the ground. although i feel like a new england traitor, i'm sort of liking this winter. it's been unusually mild and i've not missed the snow, at least not yet. i like being able to walk outside without boots, to drive worry-free on clear pavement, to see still-green lawns and fields. at some point soon, i know i'll begin to worry about global warming and the environment. but right now, winter's feeling pretty good.

best laid plans

2012-01-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

the older i get, the more i try to approach important events with no expectations, because i know better. generally speaking, the recent holidays were wonderful, but still, there were aspects that were a bit disappointing. in an effort to move on, i've been working this week to focus on the positive and just get over it. but now i'm wondering if other letdowns may be following me into the new year. which, by the way, has nothing at all to do with this photo. i just pass this abandoned vehicle often and i wonder about it.

missed opportunities of the galactic kind

2012-01-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

tonight, the waxing gibbous moon shines directly overhead

with jupiter bright below it.

wednesday early, the quadrantid meteor showers in the east.

this month, saturn, venus, mars visible in the night sky...

i really need to get my telescope fixed!

have a little faith

2012-01-01T07:38:00.000-05:00

recently, i read a blog that suggested that, in lieu of making new year's resolutions, one might focus on a single word as a guide throughout the coming year. i've been rolling this idea around in my mind for days now, wondering what my word might be, and i keep coming back to this one: faith.

in 2011, i watched two friends, one actual and one virtual, step out into uncertain territory, personal uncharted waters. not only did they both survive their ordeals, they are both unscathed and happy. they both relied heavily on their faith in God that things would work out as they should. and they did. it was powerful to watch.

for the first time in memory, there is so much uncertainty surrounding me as this new year begins - a question of executive leadership, a lagging economy, citizen protest, loved ones in afghanistan, changes in local funding, looming life decisions. it's a lot to think about, and a lot feels out of my control. although my religion is vitally important to me, faith in God is only a small part of what i'm hoping for this year. i hope for faith in rational people who will make good decisions in the best interest of the many, not the few. i want faith in our leaders to keep our country strong and proud and safe. i want faith that those i love can make it through any tough times and come out stronger on the other side. i want the security of knowing wherever life leads me or whatever choices i make, i'll be okay in the end.

on my 16th birthday, my mother gave me a gold charm bracelet with a single charm: a mustard seed, encased in an acrylic dome. on the back, tiny writing; a verse from Matthew - if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed...nothing shall be impossible unto you. as a new year begins, i find comfort in this, a message of faith and hope from so long ago. to keep faith at the forefront of this year, i'm wearing the charm as a necklace, always.

ringing out the old...

2011-12-31T22:56:00.000-05:00

ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

the flying cloud, the frosty light;

the year is dying in the night;

ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

ring out the old, ring in the new,

ring, happy bells, across the snow:

the year is going, let him go;

ring out the false, ring in the true.

ring out the grief that saps the mind,

for those that here we see no more,

ring out the feud of rich and poor,

ring in redress to all mankind.

ring out a slowly dying cause,

and ancient forms of party strife;

ring in the nobler modes of life,

with sweeter manners, purer laws.

ring out the want, the care, the sin,

the faithless coldness of the times;

ring out, ring out thy mournful rhymes,

but ring the fuller minstrel in.

ring out false pride in place and blood,

the civic slander and the spite;

ring in the love of truth and right,

ring in the common love of good.

ring out old shapes of foul disease,

ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

ring out the thousand wars of old,

ring in the thousand years of peace.

ring in the valiant man and free,

the larger heart the kindlier hand;

ring out the darkness of the land,

ring in the Christ that is to be.

alfred, lord tennyson, 1850.

the winter sun

2011-12-29T12:24:00.003-05:00

this post is more for my reference than for your viewing pleasure, and i hope no one is too disappointed. this is a picture of the sun, taken a few minutes after noontime, when it's at its highest point in the sky. i'm so surprised it's that low and i've never noticed in winters past.

down time

2011-12-27T22:35:00.003-05:00

feeling a bit lazy and nonproductive these post-christmas days. pajamas or sweats and no makeup, taking the time to sleep, sit, watch, read, discover, ponder, dream. and i don't yet feel guilty.

merry christmas to all!

2011-12-25T20:32:00.003-05:00

and to all a good night!

i hope your christmases have all been magical!

solstice 2011

2011-12-22T00:45:00.012-05:00

sleepless on the longest night of the year. in the sky no stars, no moon, just adding to the darkness. i light a candle to acknowledge the brief moment when earth begins its journey back towards light, and when i go back to sleep, i leave a single window candle lit to shine on through the rest of the dark night.

ice storm

2011-12-21T15:42:00.002-05:00

the second best place to be during a surprise ice storm is behind a sander. the first best place to be during such a storm is home, which is where i now am and am happy to be.

holidaze

2011-12-20T21:57:00.009-05:00

time is flying and christmas is nigh. i envy those who are all decorated and wrapped, and the folks who are christmas baking this week. if i bake at all, it will be in a furry on christmas eve day. i still have movies to watch, music to listen to, presents to wrap, and stockings to stuff. but in the meantime, i'm having fun with small people, watching their eyes light up and their voices raise as they talk about christmas with excitement and wonder. even if everything's not all done, it's still all good. hope it is the same for you.

all that glitter

2011-12-16T22:25:00.042-05:00

an impromptu craft session this evening led to a veritable explosion of glitter all over the dining area and kitchen. with great abandon, we glittered gold and silver, the little girl and i, and then tried to clean it up. truly, i had forgotten how persistently clingy glitter can be. to clean our hands, we wiped, we soaked, and we scrubbed, finally resorting to the sticky side of tape to remove the last offending speckles. later tonight, cleaning the table and vacuuming the floor, i chase bright specks, trying to capture them with my cleaning cloths. finally i give up. just for tonight. in the morning, i will try again. but i am pretty sure we're still going to be finding glitter around here well into the new year.

small visitor

2011-12-13T23:02:00.034-05:00

although she lives not far from here, normally i do not see the little girl during the week. my schedule, hers, her parents - all make a weekday visit difficult to arrange. but suddenly this evening she is at the door with her father, a quick stop to put the finishing touches on a carpentry project. in she marches, sheds her coat and hat, and fetches her slippers. she examines everything new since her last visit of four days ago, she gives a detailed update of the goings-on at school, she borrows a few christmas books, and then, she is gone, just as quickly as she came. back to her own home for supper and bedtime, with a promise of a return visit this weekend to help me finish decorating the tree. like a meteor on a dark night, a brief flash of exuberance on an otherwise ordinary weekday evening.

december 12 of 12: illumination

2011-12-12T21:44:00.230-05:00

since we are days away from the longest night of the year, and since light is such an important part of our holiday celebrations, this month i attempted to focus the 12 of 12 on aspects of light, on illumination in the darkness.

the moon, though waning, is still bright in the sky all night long and illuminates the landscape in the hours before dawn. here's the moon, still looking full and still hanging in the sky, early in the morning as i head in to work.

and by the time i am coming home, the first-star-tonight is out, shining brightly in a darkly blue sky. i'm pretty sure it's a planet, venus or saturn maybe, but i wish on it anyway.

the tree on our town common. i can see it from far down the road, towering over the houses in the village. this tree is too big, it's too tacky, and it's just too beautiful.

this is a neighbor's yard, decorated for christmas. a single pine amongst the birches, lit with a million tiny lights. in the distance, a homey cabin complete with chimney smoke. i slow down every time i pass this peaceful scene. to me, it looks just like a christmas card.

candles on all the windowsills this time of year. i light them all, then turn off the rooms' lamps. even if they are electric lights, their warm glow gladdens me.

this windowsill candle spreads its dim light over the kitchen and the spicy rosehips in the holder, a miniature redware plate, and a special santa the girl made me many years ago. small things i love go on this tiny windowsill because it's the window i look out the most.

the golden lights of this tiny artificial tree in the kitchen reflect in the windows behind it and spread some light in an otherwise dark corner of the house. the little girl and i decided the animals in the woods up back might like to see a little christmas, too.

and here's the "big" tree in the living room, still small by most standards. for years we've had a set of glasses, worn only at christmastime, to bend and shape the many light sources, turning them into explosions of color, a psychedelic experience for one's vision. but i've never taken a photo through them until now!

a crystal hanging in the window seems to have absorbed all the light in its proximity and, at night, fairly glows with reflected light.

and candles. everywhere candles. i light a few every night all year long, but at christmastime, i light them all. sometimes i even light one in the morning because it's still dark.

here are my new favorite candles. they're plastic and they run on batteries, yet they flicker and glow, and, to my mind, look real. i have many more of these than i ever imagined i would and it surprises me so that i like them as much as i do. a dimly lit room, a few of these candles flickering, and carols playing softly is heavenly on a dark night like tonight.

one last trip outside before bed to experience the moonlight illuminating the yard and up into the woods. again the moon shines, this night with a faint halo all the way around it. maybe it will snow for christmas.

billions of buds

2011-12-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

just look at the buds on these supermarket christmas cactuses! how can they do that!! my plant is ten times that size and i'm lucky if it gets one blossom every year! i had to fight the urge to buy one of these. i figured the minute i got it into the house, all those buds would fall right off!

the end of gingerbreadmania

2011-12-09T22:58:00.067-05:00

each december, for a few weeks, i go into a bit of a frenzy trying to replicate the recipe for the best gingerbread i have ever tasted. the gingerbread i have every first saturday in december when i go to the same ladies' aid christmas luncheon. the secret recipe gingerbread, made by sweet but closed-mouthed little church ladies in a remote village town.

i have blogged about it in decembers past - the backstory, if you want it, is here and here. today my quest came to an end thanks to elizabeth (whose name, of course, has been changed), a genial and warm member of the ladies' aid, who mailed me the recipe in her own hand after i gave her my name and address at this year's christmas luncheon. i made it today - spicy, warm, delicious. surprisingly simple - and, after all that, there isn't even a secret ingredient.

inside & out

2011-12-07T20:25:00.003-05:00

holly inside.

holly outside.

it's starting to look like christmas!

someone else's santa

2011-12-04T21:24:00.040-05:00

look what i found at a consignment shop, priced at only five dollars. isn't it pretty? when i see a handmade item like this one in a resale shop or antique store, it saddens me a bit and i wonder about its history. i know what goes into cross-stitch and how long it takes. someone spent time making this, probably to give to a loved one or a special friend. so how did it end up here? did no one want it? certainly, i do not need another santa, and my walls are full of cross-stitch pieces. but i turned over my five dollar bill and bought this because i couldn't just leave it in the store, on the shelf. so JR '92, wherever you are, thanks for the cute little santa!

a little surprise

2011-11-30T21:43:00.003-05:00

when I was a kid, my father used to travel a lot. when he returned home, he always had small surprises in his suitcase. what I remember most was hotel soap - those tiny lovely bars of ivory and camay, smelling perfumey even through the wrappers. using them in the bath, the bars always lathered so richly and fit so easily in little girl hands.

when she was small, i continued this same tradition for the girl. but i'm thinking about tweaking it a bit for the little girl.

conference

2011-11-29T20:38:00.001-05:00

i am away at a professional conference for three days. i know other attendees go to workshops all day, then party all night. i just can't do that. by the end of the day, my brain is fried. there's so much i don't know, it's just overwhelming. btw, one of the things i don't know how to do is mobile blog. so i'm trying it now!

guest photographer

2011-11-25T20:01:00.004-05:00

imagine my horror at realizing, too late last night, that i had taken not even one picture of the thanksgiving festivities! me, who documents everything! but i laughed when i found this just now on the camera: the little girl snapped this picture of the traditional fruit bowl soon after she was finished assembling it. our thankgiving tableau. note lowly worm, taking it all in from his perch high atop the centerpiece.

thankful

2011-11-24T19:13:00.009-05:00

dinner is over, dishes are done, kitchen is dark, and turkey stock simmers on the back of the wood stove. i sit with the last of the holiday wine and heart full of gratitude, so thankful for all i have. i hope it is the same for you.

snow for thanksgiving

2011-11-23T14:36:00.001-05:00

not just a snowstorm, but a day off from work - and spent doing thanksgiving preparations with the little girl. blessings abound!

t-day prep

2011-11-21T23:11:00.010-05:00

i start in august, i really do. all the cleaning and organizing needs to be done by thanksgiving, so that i can enjoy all the things i love about this holiday. i try to plan ahead, even bake ahead, but i am never quite where i want to be this, the week of thanksgiving. curtains hang in the windows, covering them, waiting for me to hang new hooks to pull them back. windows are washed inside and out - but not the bedroom ones. i have a cabinet yet to paint and then fill with the contents of the old cabinet, which are piled haphazardly in, of all places, the guest room. to add to the stress, i am in week four of a six week online course.

in the end, all i can do is laugh, pin back the curtains with twine, close the bedroom doors, and get my homework done. i'm so excited that thanksgiving's coming.

week end

2011-11-18T23:52:00.002-05:00

i leave work as color in the western sky fades. opposite, where the sun had risen, now shines venus, brightly splendid in a tangle of black branches and jagged limbs. the air is cold in my nostrils. my fingers grow numb as i take this shot. my heart is light knowing i'll see the little girl tonight. tgif.

november 12 of 12: shades of brown

2011-11-13T20:53:00.009-05:00

fall's blinding colors have been gone for weeks now. except for the flat green of pines and hemlock, the rest of the november landscape goes to a profusion of browns. time was when i thought it so drab but now i see there's something quiet and calming and restful about this color in all its glorious shades.

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by november, the wood is in. oak, maple, birch, beech. it's sat for a year to dry out and is seasoned now and ready to burn. it sits stacked outside the door, a wall of brown, ready to be called upon to take the fall chill off and keep this old house warm well into the winter.

the forest floor is covered in browns, nature's november carpet, stretching far, far into the woods, just as far as the eye can see.

after they fall, most leaves dry up and their edges curl into themselves. not so with oaks. their umber leaves hang on to their branches longer and, when they finally do fall, they are broad and flat against the ground, a ragged piece of brown paper, blowing along end over end in the wind.

beech leaves have turned a uniform, muted brown but will not fall. they stay on the tree for much of the winter making a dry chattering sound when the winds blow fierce and the snowflakes whirl.

so many pods are dry and opening in november, dropping seeds that will settle into the earth with the hopes of rebirth in the spring. these are the bean pods remaining on the poles after the little girl collected a basketful to split open. she has the purple mottled seeds packed away in their round cardboard box for replanting in the spring, just as she has done for most of the novembers of her life.

the once vibrant morning glory plants are now spent. i should unwind them from their trellis. but i love seeing the way the brown weaves in and around itself and how the pods are plump with seed. i'll leave them for the winter, hoping that they not only add interest to the snowy landscape in february, but that they also may reseed themselves in the spring. i can hope, can't i?

weeds are lovely and so interesting this time of year. i have no idea what this is but it represents so many common plants that line the roadsides and the edges of the woods. hundreds of tiny brown seeds ready to burst forth airborne when they catch the winds.

and here's another...

look at these maple pods. you can see that the double pod has split, leaving the seeds on either side ready to root themselves firmly in the grass where they will no doubt be run down by the lawnmower in may. good thing there are hundreds of these winged pods on the ground, everywhere.

once a gorgeous blue, the hydrangea are now lifeless brown on the bush. but look at the intricacies in the oval petals now that the color is not there to blind the observer.

i'm not sure these are pods. i wonder if they may be seeds or even spores. i know they're from a fern that grows in the woods around here. i gather bunches of these in november and scatter arrangements in places where i can admire the stoic shiny brown all winter long.

finally, so many special fall drinks are brown. apple cider. pumpkin spice coffee. hot chocolate. cocoa chai. warm soothing drinks to sip by the fire and chase away the november chill.

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11-11-11

2011-11-11T08:38:00.003-05:00

thanks dad.

and rick and mark and billy & tommy and both larrys and mike and bruce and john and austin's mom.

and so, so many others.

this old table

2011-11-09T22:26:00.032-05:00

early november brings the ritual of readying the kitchen table for the holidays and for the winter season beyond. it gets a good cleaning, then a few deep coats of lemon oil. some dark scratch cover is a futile attempt at making the surface uniform in color. and when the job is finished, this table is still in awful shape.

forty years ago, the oval table was bought brand new in an intentionally distressed condition. new pine, but beaten and gouged to simulate age and wear. the thinking then was that we wanted folks to be comfortable sitting at it, feel at home, and not worry about bangs or dents or coffee rings.

now all these years later, its finish is old and worn, the wood beneath barely protected. i know it's dried out. i know it needs refinishing. but the mars and dings, the scrapes and gouges all represent the activity that's gone on at this table. the holiday dinners and saturday suppers, the candyland and gin rummy games, the homework and the coursework, the cookie decorating and the quilt-making and the letter writing. almost every person i have ever loved has sat at this table. my mother's signature has been here, and the backwards letters of the girl's early attempts at writing. the square patch where the little girl stuck on tape and lifted the dark color. the small stain from spilled wine. the table's finish, or lack of it, speaks to its history and i cannot bear to sand it away. so every fall i clean and oil and cover the year's scratches with stain stick. i strategically place the runner over the matchbox truck scrape. and i ready the table for another season of celebration.

look to the woods

2011-11-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

here's another of november's amazing features: you can see clear into the woods. leaves in spring and summer on shorter trees and bushes block the view. winter snow mounds and shifts with the wind. but in november, the leaves have fallen to the forest floor, they uniformly carpet it, and you can see places you've never noticed before. the horizon shows clear across your view. you can see trickling streams and wide rivers. crumbled foundations and meandering rock walls. and, if you're lucky, you can see animals.

this is not the best of photos. it was taken at twilight, right after i watched a deer leap across the road and saunter into the forest. i watched him 'til he disappeared.

frosted oaks

2011-11-02T22:36:00.004-04:00

this is what november should be. cold crisp mornings. days warm enough for jackets only. clear calm starlit nights. now if the snow would only melt away...just for a few more weeks...

samhain

2011-10-31T22:27:00.008-04:00

although it makes me feel like an out-of-season grinch, i admit that hallowe'en is not my favorite holiday. so i keep things very low-key around here. plain pumpkins. striped hallowe'en socks hidden away under my pant leg. a few candles that would be lit any on other october night, too. there were no trick-or-treaters again this year, save for a little pirate girl whose arrival was greatly anticipated. i am always happy when all the hallowe'en fuss is over and done with and we can get on with the business of november. that said, if hallowe'en is important to you and yours, i hope your celebration was spooktacular.

late night snowstorm

2011-10-30T01:10:00.006-04:00

tonight i am up late, writing for online assignments, answering emails, checking the news and weather, watching a few shows. as i sit here, the snow falls thick outside the windows. the lights flicker off and on. it looks like january with snow piled high on the rock walls and the wood pile. but first snow is so early this year that its also laying heavy on branches which have not yet released their leaves. never have i seen this much snow before thanksgiving.

today was a frenzy of cleaning up outside and packing away for winter. i finished up the flower beds, emptied the window boxes, and planted the mints to overwinter in the corner of the compost pile. i packed up gardening tools and exchanged them for scrapers and shovels. sitting one last time in the adirondack chair with tea in hand, i tipped my face skyward and smelled snow. as the clouds grew thicker, i collected a little of this and some of that from my garden cuttings and made a hasty arrangement for the door basket, just as the first flakes began to fall.

no-vember

2011-10-29T07:50:00.000-04:00

here in new england, we are in the throes of our first-of-the-season winter storm warning - and it's not even time for the season to begin. if you've been reading these ramblings for any length of time, you know i have a love/hate relationship with snow. normally i anticipate the first flakes with glee and, when it arrives, i am wonderstruck all over again. but this year feels different already. i think it's because i haven't had november yet. i need time to linger in the garden, bedding plants down for the cold, to collect the spent seeds and package them up for spring. time to tidy up the yard and pile away the adirondack chairs and push the little girl one more time before the swing comes down. time to take a last walk in the woods in the quiet, leafless sunshine to collect greens and twigs and vines for the winter window box. i need time to pause, quietly, and wait for winter to begin. i need my november and, if the forecasts are indeed correct, this may be the year november doesn't happen.

first snow

2011-10-27T19:58:00.000-04:00

i haven't cut back the gardens.

i haven't brought in the herbs.

i still have screens in the windows.

not ready for this - yet.

in the pockets

2011-10-25T20:12:00.006-04:00

thank goodness for pockets! today's contents include, from the top, counterclockwise -

a hastily scribbled note to myself. this year's beach rock from summer vacation. a wad of bills held together by a gold paper clip. two calcium pills i forgot to take yesterday and will no doubt forget to take again today. three, count 'em, three flash drives. the end of a roll of antacids. a house key in case i lock myself out again. microfiber cloth because someone keeps getting smudges all over my glasses. hand sanitizer - you can never be too careful. lip balm for preventative reasons. my cellphone - yes, the one i still haven't upgraded. a set of tweezers i was moving from suitcase to bathroom but they haven't gotten there yet. not shown: the spare sugarless gum chiclet i always carry in case i run out.

blue!

2011-10-23T22:19:00.012-04:00

this is what you get when you ask for a band-aid at the front desk of a hotel on your way to church. it lasted for all of ten minutes before i just couldn't take the color any more and i took it off!

eureka

2011-10-20T06:47:00.049-04:00

yesterday after work i spent much too much time going from one store to the next in search of a new coffee pot. i thought i knew what i wanted but i couldn't find it. i ended up tired and cold and caught in the rain. by the time i got home, i was miserable - and had no coffee pot. as i drifted off to sleep very early last night, it dawned on me to look online. so this morning, between hair and makeup, i bought the perfect coffee pot for less than i would have paid in the store, even with the discount. free shipping, and it's being delivered to my door on monday. i don't understand why i didn't think of shopping online in the first place. i could have saved myself a whole lot of time.

saturday morning sunshine

2011-10-15T10:24:00.013-04:00

i love the angle of the light this time of year and how

sunlight slides in the window this early saturday morning.

october 12 of 12: autumn in new england

2011-10-12T19:27:00.077-04:00

admitting up front that i have taken great liberties with this month's 12 of 12 photos. i have long known that this month would feature autumn in all its splendor. it was the natural (no pun intended!) choice. but the forecast for midweek was for more rain and i was concerned the 12th would be soggy, wet, and dull. so i went out earlier this week, on a perfect indian summer afternoon when it was too glorious to be inside, and i took these twelve photos to depict this month. forgive me this indiscretion. i promise i'll follow the rules in november.

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a field of cornstalks yet to be cut down.

i see this large maple most days, surrounded by evergreens, which makes the color even more brilliant.

maple leaves in the afternoon sun.

a maple standing solitary in a bog, shot with a telephoto lens.

lots of folks decorate with pumpkins from their gardens. i love these gracing an old stone wall.

golden-yellow oak leaves.

a marshy area nearby. this is one of my favorite shots. i like how muted the yellows, golds, and browns are and how the red and even the green contrasts.

looking up the river, wishing i could see farther around the bend.

horses basking in the autumn sunshine. man and beast enjoy this last hurrah of summer, knowing that very soon the air will change.

a meadow nearby. i often see deer up the slope, but i think it's too early today.

looking to the north

not a great shot - i was trying to capture the leaves in the breeze as they cascaded to the ground.

this is fall!

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old meets new

2011-10-09T21:23:00.004-04:00

at one time, this was a window in this old house. now the window frame holds hanging pots in my kitchen. i removed it today to wash the wall behind it. when i rehung it, it looked a tad crooked so i went in search of a level to check. i had to laugh at this meeting of old and new. there's an app for everything!

8am saturday

2011-10-08T08:55:00.006-04:00

stumbling to the clothesline before i even had coffee, this is the sight that jarred me awake. still in pjs, i marveled at the beauty of this saturday morning.

of all the long weekends in the year, this one's my favorite. summer's tasks are done but it's not yet time to begin the winter ones. today i'll shop for apples at the farm stand and woolen socks at the craft fair. tomorrow i'll bake and paint. i may begin to clean up the flower garden this weekend in anticipation of putting it to bed next month. but at some point, i'll be sure to go barefoot to the adirondack chair to read or doze or just daydream. it's that kind of weekend. it's that time of year.

what's in a name?

2011-10-04T21:45:00.013-04:00

the last time i served beef stew to the little girl, she turned up her nose, pushed it away, and told me she didn't like it. and she wouldn't eat it. after a few month's time, i tried again tonight, only this time i called it beef wonderful. and, no kidding, she ate the whole bowl. maybe her tastes have changed. or maybe beef wonderful was just too wonderful not to love.

freaky fungi

2011-10-02T21:49:00.009-04:00

this weekend, we've had some very damp and chilly weather, the kind where you finally pull on socks and get out the windbreaker. more of the same is predicted for the next several days. imagine my horror (and fascination!) when i looked out the window this morning to check the conditions and i saw this: the lawn has become a mushroom field. the place is covered with all these little drab flat-topped mushrooms. i have no idea what kind they are or when they grew or why they are so prolific. it's almost scary. i imagine this aberration speaks not only to the state of the weather but also to the condition of the topsoil and the grass itself. will these things spread even more? will they ever go away? if they do, will they reoccur? and what do i do about them now?

here comes color!

2011-09-28T22:05:00.001-04:00

and so it begins, quietly, in the wet and boggy places...

clone clothes

2011-09-26T20:19:00.020-04:00

here are four shirts, all new within the last few weeks, all identical, except for color. when i find something i like (the brown one), then i buy another (the orange one). when i wear them and find how comfortable and utilitarian they are, how they can be worn under jackets or dressed up with scarves, i go back and buy two more (the maroon and the green). only by now, they're on sale! even better!

i so hate to shop. buying duplicates is one of the shopping strategies that gets me through one season after the next. but i think this is the first time i've ever bought four of the same item. four! better get out the scarves!

car talk

2011-09-24T07:59:00.013-04:00

sometimes, when i'm driving alone, i talk to myself. yes, out loud. usually it's replays of insignificant conversations i've had in the recent past, interactions i've had where i've said the wrong thing, given bad advice, made the foolish comment, been too tongue-tied to say anything at all. but in the car, i get it right. i am insightful. i am witty. i am astute.

i know how pathetic this must sound. but it's not the reworking of the conversations that bothers me. it's the fact that i do it at all. am i destined to become one of those old ladies who carries on a conversation with herself, even when she's not alone in the car? this is what concerns me the most!

for a change

2011-09-22T06:35:00.022-04:00

a while back, when one or another of the seasons were changing, someone commented that it seems we are unhappy with the season we have and are always looking forward to the one that's not yet here. i've been pondering this as summer changes to autumn. i do love summer and i hate to see it ending - but the anticipation of cool air, clear nights, vibrant colors, and all things fall is still somehow exciting yet comforting to me. i love to get ready for fall - and i'm almost there.

my favorite socks

2011-09-18T13:29:00.003-04:00

oh darn.

close call

2011-09-17T10:42:00.000-04:00

here we are, only in the midst of september and last night we had our first frost advisory! there's another posted for tonight but since we escaped it last night, it's unlikely it will happen tonight either. phew! i adore fall - but i'm not sure i'm ready to totally give up summer just yet!

september 12 of 12: small joys

2011-09-12T22:10:00.026-04:00

after being so melancholy yesterday, i woke up this morning happy to find a new day before me. i had no real plan for the 12 of 12 for the month, and just began taking pictures of things that made me smile and feel happy again.

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morning fog. truly, it doesn't happen often enough in these parts for me. but when it does, i love walking outside and into it, knowing that it's just a big cloud all around me. fog always makes the world feel so ethereal and magical.

commuter coffee. it still feels like an indulgence after all these years of drinking my second cup of the day in the car.

light up sneakers. i laugh watching kids run in these, with their toes all blinking and flashing off and on. i wonder about how the shoe is made to do such amazing things. and i secretly wish someone would manufacture them in adult sizes.

missing teeth. always good for a big smile. from me and from the small friend.

prepaid gift cards. cleaning the dashboard cubby and finding there's the price of a few coffees still left on them.

late summer on one side of the road...

and early fall on the other!

crisp white architecture. i have passed this house at least five times a week for the last thirty years. and i never really noticed the wondrous detail in it until today, when i stopped the car to photograph something else!

bare feet in the cool grass. after a long day of standing on them, i'm very happy it's still warm enough to do this!

the last black-eyed susan of the summer. even though it's pretty scraggily, it was a big decision whether to pick it and bring it into the house. i ended up leaving it in the yard, thinking it might last a little longer that way.

tree silhouettes against an evening sky. any time of year, these amaze me. so detailed and intricate, they make me wish i could draw them with pen and ink.

the almost-full harvest moon. it lights up the night and makes the landscape almost as ethereal as the morning fog did.

a decade later

2011-09-11T21:20:00.053-04:00

today was a hard day, much tougher than i ever imagined it would be, full of memories of the 9-11 attack on this country ten years ago. even a decade later, i cannot bear to see the photographs, watch the video, hear the accounts of that day. this week i've tried to watch some of the tributes that have emerged but even they are still too jarring, too surreal. today i found myself silently crying at times and unconsciously praying at others - and i was full of restless energy. so i created a baking frenzy in the kitchen this morning, my default activity when i am upset. later i cleaned and scrubbed and organized, trying to create order. outside, i marveled at the sunshine and the bright blue sky, so reminiscent of that tragic day. at the end of the day, i went out to find the perfect photo to represent my feelings about today. and i just couldn't.

ticket to ride

2011-09-09T20:51:00.019-04:00

brilliant sunshine after a week of rain, driving home earlyish on a friday afternoon, singing along to twenty-nine of the beatles greatest hits on the ipod. what could be better?

time for mums

2011-09-05T21:20:00.001-04:00

normally i don't buy chrysanthemums this early. but i couldn't bypass this vibrant color, new to me, and was afraid if i waited, it would be gone. so bring on fall. i have mums and i'm ready.

labor day laundry

2011-09-04T20:08:00.016-04:00

here it is, a day from labor day, and i still have not replaced my defunct clothes dryer, gone now for over ninety days. not a great clothesline day today so here i am at the laundromat, drying my clothes with quarters. i wonder if this may become the norm as i return to work - and i'm not looking forward to those prospects. when will i make the time in my busy life to do this? what will i give up? yet as i watch my wardrobe tumble, i reflect on times past, when there were no electric dryers and no laundromats and i wonder how families managed to clean clothes then. clearly, their laboring must have been very different from mine. i'll try to be mindful of that when i next feel like complaining about my situation. and i'm going to keep looking at dryer sales.

late summer's eve

2011-09-01T20:42:00.005-04:00

evenings seem to come earlier and earlier these days. as the daylight dims, the air cools quicker and there's a faint anticipation of fall to the air. biting insects are just about gone now and the yard becomes an outdoor extension of the house - quiet spots to read or work or dream. birdsong in the evening has ceased, sadly, but has been replaced by a chorale of crickets singing well into the night, an end-of-summer lullaby drifting through the still-open windows.

oh, what a beautiful morning

2011-08-29T19:29:00.008-04:00

this is the tune i whistled well into the afternoon! have you noticed how the day after a storm is always spectacular? bright blue sky, clean invigorating air? the kind of day when all's right with the world? today was such a day. not much to write about - but a magnificent end to my summer.

hurricane

2011-08-28T12:19:00.002-04:00

squash blossom in the compost pile - through the window, through the rain, through the tropical storm winds. so far, power is holding. hope the trees do, too.

battening down the hatches

2011-08-27T08:01:00.015-04:00

hurricane preparedness this calm saturday morning - so serene and peaceful it's hard to believe threatening weather's even coming. you know me by now - i love a good storm! but this one has me jumpy and nervous, pacing like an animal. perhaps my latent sense of doom-and-gloom kicking in. lessons learned in all this already: text messages can still be transmitted when cell networks become bogged down. and if power goes out, a bowl of ice cubes in the freezer are an indicator of the condition of frozen food. who knew? if you're an east coast reader, be safe and keep in touch. for myself, i plan to read and sleep and, god willing, blog on monday.

color's coming

2011-08-24T23:38:00.000-04:00

reds amongst the green.

just in time for cool clear nights and back to school days.

what are the chances?

2011-08-22T22:41:00.062-04:00

barely awake this morning, sitting in my dentist's office waiting for my 7:30 a.m. appointment, i turned to part III of my current book and began to read. and was astounded to find myself reading about, of all things, snail's teeth!

...My snail possessed 2,640 teeth...the teeth point inward so as to give the snail a firm grasp on its food; with about 33 teeth per row and maybe eighty or so rows, they form a multi-toothed ribbon called a radula, which works much like a rasp.
what are the chances of reading about teeth while in a dentist's office?? so entertained was i by this bit of happenstance, i had to share the humor with the hygienist. i also left a photocopy of the pages in question with the assistant who checked me out before i left. you must give it to the dentist, i said, because he told me before he was a dentist, he was a biologist! and i left hoping she would share the pages with him. i also left really glad i was not a snail with 2,640 teeth for him to examine and the hygienist to clean!

imagine that

2011-08-19T22:18:00.031-04:00

marching across the yard yesterday, carrying her creation, after deciding she needed to make this sign that reads stop. i have no idea where she comes up with these things.

today she asks if i noticed any animals stopping overnight.

these are the times i'll remember when i think back to this summer.

the promise of poppies

2011-08-17T23:01:00.005-04:00

well, i don't know how it happened, but apparently i've had more than just that one poor pitiful poppy i wrote about a few weeks back. here i am with four pods, each filled with seed, i trust. imagine the potential for next year's flowers! now, the question is this: should i harvest the seed and save it to scatter in spring? or just let the pods open naturally and self-seed?

august 12 of 12: tasks left undone

2011-08-12T22:52:00.166-04:00

last night i sat down and made a list of all the chores and projects i wanted to finish this summer. suffice it to say, there is much left to do and precious little time in which to do it! here's a pictorial representation of only a dozen tasks that i really wanted to have accomplished before school kicks in again next week!

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i bought these impatiens in june because they were so unusual. i loved the yellow petals and the pinky centers and had planned to have them grace the step by the back door. they're at the back door, all right - still in their original nursery pots and looking terribly leggy.

this spring i broke down and finally bought a good scanner. i have so many photos of my own family and recently acquired many more from my childhood. best to have them in digital format, i rationalized, so they can be identified, shared and preserved. yet the only photo i've scanned so far is one of my mother that i posted as a profile picture for mother's day. perhaps it will be a better winter project...

i have to get a new cellphone. in the great cellphone scheme of things, this one does nothing. i was going to make the switch this summer, actually walked into a store to do it. but it was crowded and overwhelming and i left. that was weeks ago. i'm embarrassed to say i am two years out of contract. two. so neither my cellphone nor i is very smart.

i love the tv show the big bang theory but came late to the party and missed the first two seasons. i so wanted to get caught up this summer. episodes are 30 minutes - only 25 without the commercials. and i still have a whole disk left to go. or maybe it's two.

my desk is a mess. i think i'm organized and it ends up looking like this. those are all the important papers i need to save. not bills, mind you - those i have filed carefully. these are warranties and yearly notices and cds of the girl's wedding five years ago. i need to organize this space. if not, it will only get worse. much worse.

i'm pretty short for a grown-up and for years i've used this old oak school chair as a step-stool. the finish has always been ratty but now it's spattered with every color paint in the house. this was the summer i was going to paint it mustard yellow to match my decor and put it in the kitchen for the little girl to sit on - and for me to continue stepping on. if i wait another year, the little girl may be too big for it!

this is one of my five gmail accounts. i use gmail because you can archive your messages out of (your) sight but they're still searchable because they're on google's servers. all i have to do is remember to read/delete/archive on a regular basis. and i don't. i need to clean up these accounts for the same reason i need to clean up my desk (see above).

months ago, an old friend left this on my doorstep filled with my favorite flowers. i leave this on my kitchen counter to remind me to call. and i have not. of all the things i've not done this summer, this is the one that nags at me the most.

this collection represents about a third of the baskets i own. before i buy any more, i need to find a purpose for these or give them away. but i love them all.....

and if that's not bad enough, i need to get rid of this piece of furniture. i have no room or use for it. i've shuffled it from room to room for three summers now, procrastinating because it's so near and dear to my heart. it's the first piece of furniture i ever finished, forty years ago this summer. and i love those tombstone doors as much today as i did then.

see the fading on these curtains? the others in the room are worse. i've been throwing different color and pattern dishtowels and cloth napkins over the curtain rods all summer trying to find something i like as much as what i already have. time to decide - and hope i can live with the decision!

and look. i haven't even gotten my june pedicure yet. maybe i could get a september one instead!

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lest you think i'm a pitiful, whiny so-and-so, know that, in my own right, my summer has been quite productive. and i will keep working on this list. maybe i'll be able to complete everything by the first day of fall!

impatiens and basket. check!

signs along the way

2011-08-10T21:57:00.005-04:00

some people are so clever. i saw lots of signs that made me smile or laugh out loud while i was off on my end-of-summer adventure. my favorites:

and this one that's not only funny, it's true...

away time

2011-08-09T21:46:00.005-04:00

the top ten ways you can tell a vacation is perfect:

#10: you love the audiobook you listen to for 12 hours in the car

#9: a side trip off the beaten path yields a fabulous new shop that's just your style

#8: the sound of gulls mixes with the drone of the engines of lobster boats

#7: the red sox beat the yankees - twice!

#6: crabmeat rolls for lunch and lobster rolls for dinner

#5: you wake up in the early morning light, smile out the window at the boats and the fog, read a little bit, then go back to sleep - and dream

#4: goose grass greens and pretzel m&ms

#3: the hostess with the mostess may not understand the desire for quiet and solitude, but she sure does honor it!

#2: great finds at flea markets

and the number one way you can tell a vacation is perfect:

already, you can't wait to go back next summer!

august morning

2011-08-03T09:29:00.009-04:00

mornings like this one, i want to wrap up and tuck away for a winter's day. bottle a day like today in a mason jar and take it out and drink it when it's cold and snowy. fold it tightly into the pages of a book so it will burst forth as i read by the woodstove in early darkness. stick it in a shaker box and put it on a shelf til january so i can take it down and marvel at its light and hold its warmth to my cheek. but the best i can do is to still my heart, and watch and listen, then breathe deeply of august before i depress the shutter release, and hope the resulting photo will capture the essence of this splendid summer morning.

line up

2011-07-31T09:49:00.004-04:00

new this summer - i've wanted one for a long time. i love putting the laundry out in the morning, love that it dries so quickly, love the smell and feel of the clothes, and love that i'm saving money and consuming less energy. see? it doesn't take much to make me happy!

yellows

2011-07-30T10:02:00.040-04:00

here is a fine example of the yellows and golds i was going to try to eradicate from my garden. i transplanted some, pulled a lot, gave bunches away, and tried hard to leave the cool pinks and blues and whites i'd loved in the spring. but no - the golds dominate right now and perhaps will for a while. as i sit with a second cup of coffee on the last weekend in july, i better appreciate these colors than i did back in june.

the beauty of trees

2011-07-26T21:53:00.155-04:00

today, i've found myself thinking a lot about trees. becky, a talented blogger i follow, has relocated from the midwest to the east coast and has written about the abundance of trees in her new town and its impact on the direct sunlight that she's always loved. this really struck me and made me wonder if i might take my northeast surroundings for granted. so i've been very aware our trees today, especially the way the leaves and branches filter the sunlight and dapple the earth. it's beautiful. i can't imagine not seeing that.

later in the day, there's rain. a torrential downpour that lasts and lasts. just when i think it will never end, it lets up and the clouds begin to part. i step outside and immediately, i hear the trees, water dripping from rain-soaked leaves of oak, poplar, and maple up on the hill and from pine needles at the edge of the yard. a rapid, percussive woodland chorus, unrelenting, a song to the breaking sun. i listen hard, mesmerized, and i silently hope becky hears this sound soon. it may help her come to know and love trees as i do.

christmas in july

2011-07-25T19:09:00.004-04:00

for all the photos i take of flowers and gardens and all things natural, i'm just awful with house plants. sunny windows at work help some and i try to have a few plants around on bookcases and windowsills, even though many don't make it. this is a poinsettia i bought in december at a fund-raiser. it was tiny but it had a variegated leaf that was really pretty. it'd be good for the christmas month, i thought. surprisingly, here it is in july, three times the size and covered in green leaves. and thriving, i'm afraid, on neglect. i wonder what will happen to it as summer turns to fall and fall to winter. might it turn back to variegated red, do you think? or with my luck, it may die yet!

ebook

2011-07-21T10:22:00.027-04:00

due to the heat wave that's upon us, i was looking today for a quiet indoor activity for the little girl. something she could sit in front of the fan and do. out of curiosity, i downloaded my first children's ebook to my ipad, then watched the little girl interact with it. this is the first time she's used my ipad and, with very little direction, she was able to figure out the interactive features of the story and work her way through the book. she even managed to find her way back to favorite pages and the accompanying activities. as an educator, it was amazing to watch. i truly regret that this photo is not a video. she was so engaged, so exuberant. and her laughter and excitement were contagious. now, tonight, i just can't stop puzzling over the educational merits of this sort of technology with young children.

the long-awaited poppy

2011-07-19T06:53:00.001-04:00

if i could grow only one flower, i'd want poppies. the ruffly foliage, the delicate petals, the ornate pods, the minuscule seeds, the colors. even the name: poppies. there's nothing about poppies that i don't love!

i've tried to grow poppies and have failed more times than i can count. seeds, plants, seed pods from friends' gardens - nothing works. i thought i finally had a winner here, just one plant, and have been watching it closely all summer. last evening i photographed it beginning to unfurl. then i left the camera and lens on the table so i could run out first thing this morning to catch it wide open and in all its splendor. and here it is. beautiful still, but obviously, sadly, gone by.

poppy: last evening :-)

poppy: this morning :-(

herbed butter

2011-07-17T22:38:00.007-04:00

this weekend, while buying vegetables and bread at the local farm stand, i inquired about the availability of corn. next weekend, they said. seven more days. time to make dill butter.

it's easy. softened butter, mixed with lots of snipped dill leaves from the garden. the dill butter is packed into tiny ramekins wrapped in foil. after a day in the freezer, the foil is removed, and the inverted ramekins are run under hot water. in a moment, out slides the frozen molded butter. quickly, it is wrapped back in the same foil and popped back into the freezer.

until the corn arrives. next weekend. my mouth waters already, thinking of the herbed butter melting on fresh-picked, steaming ears of corn. seven more days!

glorious morning

2011-07-14T07:38:00.011-04:00

a single morning glory, greeting the early sun. shot from the front...

and from the back.

i like them both.

relief

2011-07-13T21:02:00.010-04:00

thunder, lightning, then rain tonight, with the promise of cooler weather tomorrow. intriguing the way this open sign looks through my rainy windshield as i wait in the dark for an order.

july 12 of 12: how to beat the heat

2011-07-12T19:40:00.037-04:00

i love summer. lazy warm days, starry cool nights, refreshing air, light clothes, color everywhere i look. but it's days like today when summer is tough to take. it's hot, and for the third consecutive day. i can't sleep. i can't work. all i can do is think about how hot it is. today, i spring into action to try to beat the humidity. this month's 12 of 12 shows my attempts!

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fans, strategically placed everywhere. they were on all night, blowing cooler air into the rooms. when i wake up too early all clammy and sticky, i breathe in the morning air. and i can tell it's going to be hot again.

it hasn't rained in days and the gardens and pots need daily watering. it's easier and better for the plants to do it in the morning before the sun gets too high. i make sure i'm barefoot when i water so i can drag my toes through the wet grass.

a shower, the first of three i take today. i keep the water tepid at best. nothing hot for me today - not even water.

minimal clothes. today's outfit - a t-shirt and the necessary undergarments. bare feet. i'm not going anywhere. i have shorts handy in case someone comes to the door.

combs and barrettes and headbands. i let my hair air dry and it takes a good long time. i don't bother with curling or styling or spraying. there's no way my hair would do anything but frizz up in this humidity. may as well keep it as contained as i possibly can. besides, there will be more showers, remember?

quiet, stay-put work. no housework today, nothing strenuous. i set up in the living room on the couch, directly in front of the fan. the speed of the fan increases as the morning goes on.

lots of water. i love my britta water filter, especially when it's warm. i empty its chilled contents into another container in the morning and refill it. by midday, the water's cold again. some cracked ice, a little crystal lite, and i'm good for the heat of the afternoon.

hand-washed laundry. just a few items. hey, it's an opportunity to play in water! with bubbles!

another fan, the old fashioned, non-electric kind. the day wears on and the sun comes in the windows. it's hot in the house, hotter still outside. i work for a bit, then sit back and fan myself for a bit. i think i doze off for a bit, too.

more water. my mother taught me this and i do it all the time. i run cold water over the insides of my wrists. it's instantly cooling. (as an aside, doesn't that stream of water from the faucet look just like an icicle?? i don't know why that surprises me so much, but it does.)

body sprays, cold from the refrigerator. there they are, right next to the mayonaise. a spritz in the middle of the day takes away the sticky feeling and leaves a lingering floral scent. i'll spritz my pillow as well, later before i go to sleep.

and tonight, ice cream. on a hot july day like this one, nothing beats the heat like its creamy, cold goodness.

but note - i did not go out for it. it's not exotic chocolate chip or fruity black raspberry. it's vanilla from the freezer. because i stayed home. it was just too hot to do anything else.

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recycling

2011-07-11T14:47:00.000-04:00

i know how important it is to recycle, even when you're off on vacation. but is it ethical to transport recyclable items across state lines??? i'd been turning that around in my mind today... but fortunately the attendants at my transfer station did not care. as i was driving away, it occurred to me they probably thought i drank all those beverages myself!

at low tide

2011-07-09T19:46:00.002-04:00

found in a tide pool

a crab, a whelk, seastars, and barnicles

a little girl

and a ten dollar bill, now drying on the counter!

blue water iris

2011-07-06T21:54:00.002-04:00

such a vibrant blue, growing along the path to the ocean.

the view from the sand chair

2011-07-05T20:48:00.002-04:00

normally i walk the beach, pick up rocks, investigate shells. but today, i just sat. my sister says the definition of vacation is the opportunity to be lazy! and i am.

keepsake

2011-07-02T11:44:00.004-04:00

every year, during the summer, i spend some time at the ocean. every year, as i walk, i comb the beach, looking for the perfect rock. every year, i bring one home. one only. and every year, every day, i carry it in my pocket until i can get back there again.

this is last year's rock. i'm leaving it behind as i go off to find a new one.

july elderflower

2011-07-01T21:41:00.002-04:00

this is elderflower. rub it between your fingers and they will feel wonderfully soft and smell delightful. every year elderflower blooms in mid-june, right around the time that school lets out. this year, here it is in full bloom on july first. quirk of nature? or something to worry about?

the new guy in town

2011-06-30T15:09:00.016-04:00

and the little girl thinks he's wonderful! he has only been in existence since mid-morning, only stood in the garden since noontime. but i swear he's startled me at least three times as i've glanced out a window or come around a corner. in time i imagine i'll get used to him standing there, keeping watch over the carrots and the tomatoes and the beans.

picnic

2011-06-29T21:24:00.001-04:00

an old quilt, a wide basket filled with fruit and yogurt, some cheese and crackers, and a strawberry granola bar. all laid out at midday in the shade of the maple tree. we studied clouds and contemplated insects. we marveled at the dappled sunlight coming through the leaves and were surprised by a pileated woodpecker speeding by overhead. so lovely was the lunch, i had to fight the very real urge to just stay there for nap time.

summer's day

2011-06-27T21:59:00.004-04:00

still i am finishing up work. but today was too beautiful a day to do anything but be outside in the sunshine with the little girl. some of the day's discoveries: an earthworm on the biggest rock in the path, a lone butterfly wing, and some rogue lettuce sprouting in the grass far, far from the garden.

and the perfect afternoon for a swing in the shade.

research

2011-06-24T08:01:00.003-04:00

still at work, three days with colleagues and in a new location. interesting and satisfying work, and there's a stipend and free lunches to boot! the view here of the ceiling in this great room with a tower. a gorgeous space in which to work. i'm still so looking forward to being finished, though. this weekend, perhaps. wish me luck!

hello, summer!

2011-06-21T06:02:00.004-04:00

the summer solstice was yesterday.

summer's here on the calendar.

and it's almost here for me, too.