Lovely Summer

Wow, it's been quite a month, I apologize for my absence here on the blog but things have been busy!
There is so much going on in the garden these days, planting, weeding, watering, as well as keeping the more invasive plants in check to allow room for others to grow. As always, keeping up with things out there is a challenge, but my garden loving husband and I do enjoy these summer days in the garden.


I took these pictures two or three weeks ago because June is my absolute favorite time in the flower garden. The perennials are beginning to bloom but are still young and fresh. If only I could figure out how to prolong this stage a little longer!

The luna moth above was discovered on our back porch one morning a couple of weeks ago, I'm always in total awe when I encounter one of these beautiful moths.

The pink flowers you see here are polygonum bistorta superbum. (knotweed)  I love this plant for it's cheerful beauty, versatility and hardiness. It is a June bloomer here in Maine, though there are a few still blooming now in July. It seems to thrive in this spot at the edge of the woods, receiving both sun and shade and in moist soil. In fact, it seems to thrive in any situation it finds itself in here at our place, a real survivor!

Here you see the flowers in early stages to full size.

June was also graduation month for a very special girl in my life, youngest daughter, Lydia.  Such a happy day for all. You can see it on her face, I wonder if you can pick her out of the crowd? (lower right!) 
A small gathering of family and friends followed with games, late dinner, ice cream sundaes, a campfire and fireworks!

Loving life on the deck this summer, morning tea, a cold beer at the end of the day, can't beat it. Talk soon!

Some Thoughts On Pantries

I've been having a pleasant time cleaning and restocking our family pantry this week. The online course I've been taking at Whole Food Kitchen has me thinking of ways to improve the way I cook and the importance of having healthy food options on hand ... well-stocked pantries are a step in this direction for sure!

 We were lucky this year to have had a great tomato year in our vegetable garden and I tried to can as many quarts of tomatoes as I could. I just knew how much we would appreciate having our own garden tomatoes through the coming months!

I guess it's kind of a family tradition, canning the summer bounty, and I grew up hearing stories about the wonders of my grandmother's pantry and how she would can enough for a whole year's provision. This industriousness must have come from home-pride as well as necessity during the hard years of the Depression, when she was a young wife. 
When I was growing up I remember seeing my own mother 'putting up' tomatoes, pickles, salted soup herbs and root beer. When autumn came Mom would buy bushels of local apples and have us kids wrap each one in newspaper to be stored in a wooden barrel in our low - ceilinged root-cellar . Each time we wanted an apple, which was often, we'd go down to that little room in the cellar and rifle through the newspapers to find one. They kept well down there!
I think it was always recognized by everyone in our family that fresh vegetables from our own garden, or locally-grown, were the best to be had.


My Mom still likes to get her hand in on canning day at my sister's house. Many hands make light work!

                                                                                                                                             *photo by Cecile
                                                                                                                                         

My youngest sister keeps a large vegetable garden and grows beautiful vegetables and flowers. Her pantry is a work of art in my mind.

                                                                                                                        *photo by Cecile

 After thinking about pantries this week I've come to the conclusion that keeping a pantry is more than just bringing in a supply of food. It becomes a holding place for blending the traditions of the past, present and future, creating memory links from those who have passed to those who are just coming along in life. I will always feel grateful to have known the women who showed me a few things about life and living well. Here's to good eating on the way!

These ladies were four sisters who kept beautiful pantries in their time. They were my great aunts and my Memere, (grandmother) third from the left.

dining out...walking...home again

It's been a nice first week of January, no complaints. We have managed to make it this far into the depths of winter without any snow to speak of, which I like, and even better, temperatures have been mild in comparison to other years. 
I've been sticking pretty close to home these past two weeks so it was quite exciting when our daughter, Alex, called to invite us to lunch at Long Grain, a favorite local restaurant. Six for lunch and everything was superb, only wish that I had remembered to get a picture of my ramen bowl before it disappeared! Such a nice afternoon it was!

This time of year always finds me making to-do lists and visiting the library more than usual for inspiring reading material. I've been getting some new ideas about how to make exercising a bit more fun and varied in this book and like one of the suggestions for winter walking. The idea involves an occasional visit to the local shopping mall for indoor walking on the coldest of days. The only problem, in my case, is that the closest mall is over an hour and a half away, ah well.

I bundled up this afternoon and headed out to our neighborhood for a walk. Instead of mall shoppers I ran into quite a different sort of throng, you can begin to see them on the crest of the hill in the above picture.

Wild Turkeys!

 I don't think that they were as happy to see me as I was to see them!

In moments they had all disappeared into the woods and I was left alone in a silent field.

I love these little adventures but it's always good to return home afterwards.

Home again!

making ready

Last night I was up late baking cookies and adding just a few more finishing touches to the tree. Things have been so busy around here in recent days, Christmas is almost here and I've yet to feel the quiet beauty of the season.

Before bed I began a walk around the house to turn down the lights but found myself just wandering from room to room, enjoying the sights of Christmas and taking in the peaceful quiet.

Many of the things we've gathered throughout the years are gifts from dear friends or handmade projects made when our children were younger.

So many happy memories and many more to come.

...and then...

...we woke this morning to find that snow had fallen during the night, big, fluffy snowflakes, the kind that stick to everything and make the world all white.

... so quiet and peaceful...

Best wishes to all, may winter work its mysterious, calming magic and may you all be snug and warm tonight!

Clouds

The sky was so beautiful and unusual that day, thank you Cecile for taking these beautiful pictures and to Carol for the lovely stone arrangement. Love the little hearts in the lower part of the picture.

summer

When I decided to start this blog I made a vow to try to update often, but life has been pretty busy around here lately, hope you'll forgive my scattered posting this month. 
This week I'm working under a deadline, sewing cosplay costumes for my daughter and her friend, not to mention work in the garden with my husband, a  Father's Day celebration, a family visit and transporting youngest daughter back and forth to her new job in town. It's only the general mayhem that usually goes on during early summer.
Please check back again for costume updates, but for now, some pictures I took around the house and garden this week.