there are no tunnels where i live. underpasses yes. tunnels no. so i got pretty excited to see this one coming - especially from such a distance. it made me wonder why it was there. why the road didnt go up and over the hill instead of through it. and why our serpentine roads back home that wind through much higher mountains dont have one single tunnel.
on a three hour road trip with the girl and her family the high point was sitting with the baby girl. in the backwards facing carseat she sat next to me watching out the window and looking around. when she started to fuss id stroke her hair and talk softly and shed nod her little head and her eyelids would flutter and shed go to sleep. a nice way to travel for a grammie.
a few weeks ago in my reading i happened upon a passage about a labyrinth. i thought labyrinth was synonymous with maze. but mazes confuse with choices of direction and paths while labyrinths are orderly - one path only to the center and back out. since medieval times labyrinths have been used as a medium for reflection, a place to unwind, to meditate, to pray. something about the structure of a labyrinth purports to calm the mind and ease the soul. since reading all this ive been thinking about labyrinths and wishing i could walk one just to try it. and now someone has read my thoughts. for this morning on my mailbox was this invitation to a labyrinth right here at a local church.
here there are distinct patterns in nature not only as things grow but also as they go dormant or die. in this area sumac has the first leaf to turn. a few chilly august nights and the edges go suddenly scarlet. always one of the earliest signs of the season to come.
two monarchs atop two purple coneflowers in someone elses garden. not a favorite shot - too many washed out purples on a background of red. but i liked that the insects are positioned so similarly. dont they look like theyre traveling in the same direction and just pulled over for a rest?
at the base of a long stem of black-eyed susans this teeny tiny little flower. not even big enough for a wee little vase.
no. the g is not for girl. its for gdiaper this newfangled environmentally friendly way to dress your baby. the diaper is inside the red pants that velcro shut - no surprise there. its the diaper itself thats unique. holding the soiled diaper over the toilet you rip the long sides of it down. out tumble the insides of the diaper - all that soft absorbent stuff. then it all miraculously dissolves into nothingness leaving only cloudy looking water in the bowl. during the flush the remaining outer liner of the diaper goes in too. so theres no diaper left at all. its gone. gee - what will they think of next?
driving down the hill early this morning a great blue heron in flight passes in the sky just in front of me. i curse the fact that even though its on the seat next to me i cant get to the camera fast enough for a photo. so i just watch. the angle of the legs, the pointedness of the beak, the gracefulness of the wings pumping the air. lovely. the bird passes out of sight as serenely as it entered. and then i hear a slow rhythmic thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk on my hood, then my windshield, then my roof. as quietly as the heron passed through the air, i now pass through his descending poop. how serendipitous.
it takes most of the summer to grow tomatoes here. and just as they begin to ripen on the vine, some creature of the night has discovered them. this prized fruit dragged from the garden and left partially eaten in the field. i leave it in place hoping a returning visitor will continue his meal where he left off. others in varying shades of red i pick from the plants prematurely to ripen in the safety of a sunny kitchen windowsill.
rounding a bend on a bucolic back road i jumped when i caught sight of this tree. good grief! now i know how dorothy felt when she was skipping down the yellow brick road and all those trees started talking to her. faces belong on people and clocks and cliffs and cubes. but not on trees.
note this wee little sprout just this summer erupting from the trunk of an established maple on the hill out back. i wonder what it will grow up to be.
while her parents went off for a few hours to a matinee i stayed with the baby girl. my first babysitting job since 1972. we walked we talked we rocked and we did little dances. we read the same pop up book four times. i sang arlo guthrie and explained the basics of baseball. and the baby girl studied my face while she fed and fell asleep in my arms as i made a memory to hold deep within a grammies heart.
on my way to town this morning i glimpse with my peripheral vision a blur of gold by the side of the road. tansy i think. ill pick it on my way back. a bit later as i head for home i spot the towns mower trimming along the edge of the road. i beat it to the tansy spot and save it from sure ruin. and bring it home and plunk it in a little vase to enjoy.
this evening the heat and humidity of several days abruptly gave way to a cold front. the sky quickly darkened. wind whipped the trees. you could hear it coming, feel it in the air. grey clouds raced in from the west chased by the subtle pink of a cooler tomorrow. and the assurance of a good night for sleeping at last.
when i was a kid we had morning glories by our back door. i was fascinated with the heart shaped leaves and always thought the plant was magic the way the flowers unfurled with the sun and then closed up tightly later in the day. this summers plants climb an old ladder in a place where there is very little light. yet each morning i am greeted by bright blue trumpets scattered on the vine.
the blue gate and the blue fence at a blueberry establishment in northernmost new england. what these giant blueberries are fashioned from i do not know. but they circle the entire area with each gigantic berry linked to the next by chain. in contrast below is the real thing photographed at the point on a brilliantly clear beautiful maine morning.
buckets of fish for bait at the local lobster pound where we stopped to buy lobster for dinner. truly it was the best most tasty lobster weve ever had on our annual trips here. but then they tell me i make the same claim every summer.
through the woods through the fog and out to the point at low tide. wild blueberries and cranberries along the path and fresh scat from some animal that precedes me. at the paths end are mud flats and stoney outcroppings with sea lavender ready to bloom. and a sweet wild rose blooming fragrantly at the edge of the bank.
and were off to the outer reaches of new england to visit a friend who lives in a small fishing village. at the end of a very long ride is a lovely spot nestled in the woods by a salt water inlet. restful and calm with a porch and a hammock and blueberry pancakes and lobster. and the best part: wonderful company.
in midwinter i posted about the profusion of free cat figurines found in boxes of the tea i drink and bemoaned the fact that id never found the little rabbit one. so the other day a good friend found one in her tea box and gave it to me. and yesterday in an antique shop i found this display. tiger bear giraffe platypus and even a clown. all selling for $2.25 a piece. now notice anything missing? right! not one single cat!
while i was away the garden burst forth with blooms and color. more about that later perhaps. for now heres echinacea, purple coneflower, and some yellow flowers that came from a friends garden. both all webbed up in the early morning sunlight.
a container of clam chower brought home from the take out place at the beach. this is one of my favorite foods. but alas the taste is just not the same when served so far away from the sound and smell of the ocean.
these little birds flock along the waters edge scooting back and forth en masse. they take off as one and swoop back and forth around the shoreline like one huge sea bird marionette. every time i try to get close they fly. but this morning they waded long enough to get off a few photos. id like to be able to tell you what these birds are but im honestly not sure. they might be plovers. and they might not.
when i walk the beach in the early morning i leave my flip-flops in the sand by the stairs. this mornings walk must have taken longer than usual. by the time i returned the tide had come in just enough to send the shoes floating in this shallow pool.
an evening excursion to the center of the village provided beautiful little shops boutiques and galleries. tshirts and jewelry, trinkets and pottery, local jams and hand painted lampshades. and look - a wall the entire length of a store stocked with nothing but bottles of hot sauce.
once i read about this atmospheric phenomenon called the green flash. ive looked for it at the beach every summer since i first heard of it. for scientific reasons i dont understand at the precise instant the sun breaks over the horizon theres supposed to be a momentary flash of green that streaks into the morning sky. it lasts a split second ive read. blink and youve missed it. avert your eyes and its gone. and try as i might i have never seen it. but this is the reason i sleep facing the east at the beach. i am ever hopeful that one morning ill wake to see the flash over the ocean.
this found on the fence rail in the yard. i think it may be called 'british soldiers' although ive never seen it growing anywhere but in the woods. regardless its a startling bright red growing there on a bed of muted greens and greys.
middlesex is finshed and i needed new summer reading material. one of my purchases was a large print version of a book i wanted to read. and lo! i read it in record time. does it actually take less time to read a large print book than its small print counterpart? or does it make no difference? number of words would be constant, number of pages would not. more left to right eye sweeps but less words in a line. does bigger type size translate to less eye strain and increased speed? all i know for sure is its a lot easier to read large print when youre wearing dark glasses and facing the sun on the beach.
shells and rocks and beach glass collected by the girl on walks during her brief visit here. she has a keen eye for such finds. maybe shes her mothers daughter with regard to beach environs.
growing up the family was never too big on board games. but its becoming traditional on vacation to play at least one killer game of trivial pursuit. again this summer we all lost to my mother. small wonder since shes lived through all that history, geography, sports and leisure, entertainment. already we have demanded a rematch next summer.
including fresh herbs and produce. basil for tomatoes and sauce, dill to mix with butter for the corn, rosemary for pastas and potatoes, chives for the burgers. all these and more not in the garden but in a plastic cup on the kitchen windowsill overlooking the marsh.
a snail making its way to the water. human tracks in the sand as well this fine evening as part of the baby girls initiation to the beach. she was awake and alert seemingly taking in the sights and sounds and smells of the sea. a few more years and shell be a beach bum just like her grammie.
on a dreary grey day at the beach there are serendipitous moments still. sitting in the window i glance up from my book to watch the fog roll in and notice a multitude of webs between the posts of the deck. filmy webs everywhere - but no sign of the spiders who made them.
many years back i clerked at a store in our three season tourist area back home. to pass the time i used to study the visitors - their dress their mannerisms their speech - and try to imagine what they did in real life. the judge in birkenstocks, the teacher in a bikini top, the ceo in a motorcycle t-shirt taking his kids to breakfast. i was reminded of this game when i caught my reflection in the car on my way in from the store. uncombed hair pulled back, oversized shirt, no makeup. i looked positively wretched. never would i appear in public like this at home. but with vacation comes relaxed habits and blessed anonymity. looking at me now no one would ever guess im queen of a small island nation off the coast of portugal.
being at the ocean is paradise for a collector of rocks. time was when i would gather up all that looked appealing to me. but in years past my rock collecting strategy has changed. now i choose one rock only to bring back from the beach. the best rock. and take the entire vacation to find it. as i walk the waters edge i am constantly on the look out. when i spot an interesting rock i compare it to the previous find. then i pocket the better rock and return the lesser one to the sea. now see that round orange one on the right? right now that rock is the front runner. thats the rock to beat.
today was the travel day of a long awaited vacation. lots of traffic and wild thunderstorms all the way to the destination. but as i arrived the clouds parted and there was a beautiful sunset over the salt marsh. red sun at night, sailor's delight...
one of my amigas bought a new car. same model as mine only obviously newer. strange to see such familiar interior in a car thats not my own. when i rode in it this morning i chose to sit in the back behind the driver. that way id have the same perspective i always have when driving. things beyond the windshield would look familiar too. just a couple of feet farther away thats all.
outside my window this single leaf foreshadows the impending autumn. i am seriously contemplating climbing up there and yanking it down.
on my way from the compost pile i stop by the garden to pull some weeds and grasses. i get carried away and weed more than i expected to. just as i finish i turn to see this lovely delicate little vine on a small plant with tiny yellow flowers and leaves fringed with light. it isnt until later when i download the picture that i even notice the diminutive fruit of the plant - the beginnings of a cucumber.
found in todays mail a gift from the family of a young friend. is this a nifty baby present or what? when she was an infant, the girl was subjected to all the broadcasted games. but this baby could potentially be a much bigger fan for having had this book read to her over and over and over again during her formative years. in season and off season. so i dont know whos going to enjoy this present more - the baby girl or me! thanks m de-b!
that off centered upright vine is bittersweet growing again in the old compost place just like it did last year. its a beautiful plant in the fall but it climbs and it spreads and its invasive and i dont want it growing here. so it was cut to the ground again this year as it was last. but before it was cut and pulled i studied - and photographed - the vine. i cant figure out how it got from the ground to the tree at least six feet above it. did the vine stand there vertically just growing til it reached the branch and then held on? that doesnt seem possible. in any event im really sorry i never even noticed it until today.
cutting up cantaloupe listening to npr and thinking about the ball game and wham! out of no where comes a long forgotten memory. when the girl was small she loved to eat melons of all sorts. not in little-kid chunks though. she preferred them in this sliced form - cantaloupe smiles we called them. jeesh. this grammie business is bringing out all sorts of old memories. that i promise ill try not to blog about too much.
they tell me that in the old days homeowners opened windows and threw trash out into the yard. i cant rationalize why anyone would do that but the yard here certainly supports that theory. digging in the garden yields pottery shards and pieces of china and ornate glass. scraps of metal and old silverware. clay marbles and once a thin old coin from the 1800s. the latest find is shown. looks to be part of a salt shaker dont you think?
looking through the raindrops to your right we pass by the field where until two days ago milkweed used to be prolific. see blog entry below. i wonder if it continued to smell sweetly as it was mowed to the ground.
on the afternoon of independence day the raspberries growing at the edge of the yard are starting to ripen. looks like someone else has found them too.
plans are underway for a long awaited sewing project. a quilt for the baby girl. if i start now perhaps i can finish before shes out of a crib.
this sphere of pink is a cluster of flowers of a milkweed plant. last fall i blogged the seed pod. most tend to think of the plant in its late autumn state with seeds releasing from the split pod and traveling out on the wind. but in my mind its summer thats the best time for milkweed. the plant is nondescript, the flower unremarkable. but the scent is one of the best smells of summer. on my road is a field where milkweed is prolific. pass that spot on a warm summers day and the smell will envelope you with its sweetness. so every year i leave some milkweed to grow in the yard. the tall gangly plant is not at all pretty and looks very much out of place. but theres nothing better than waking up to that smell wafting in my window.
