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.

A Little Excited

          In April I got a message from Linda at Crochet Today magazine
               inquiring if I might be interested in having one of my cards
               featured there in the future. 
               Of course I was happy to say yes!  I sent them
               some samples of the card and then kind of put it in the 
               back of my mind.              

               A couple of days ago I received an envelope containing the Sept/Oct issue

               of Crochet Today and there on page 9 was my little card, Yarn Ball Heaven!
               Not to mention some other very nice things I wouldn't mind having.
               Thank you Crochet Today!

               

Lettuce and Roses

I know I'm a bit of a dork when it comes to certain things, well, probably most things, but it seems that I'm in a state of constant amazement when it comes to the beauty I see outdoors in the garden. Today it's the beauty of a simple head of lettuce and a perfect rose, can you see what I mean?

Independence Day

Summer is on the move, I really wish I could slow it down a little...vegetables need weeding, strawberries need picking, lawn needs mowing, ect. ect.  Sometimes we all need a little time off though and one of the great things about living in the heart of 'Vacation Land' is that you can take a short day trip whenever you have a free afternoon. You can have  a mini vacation and be a tourist for a few hours!

This week was really the official start of the tourist season here in Maine. David and I watched the fireworks in the park over Camden Harbor on the 5th where he filmed this little video.

We had our first strawberry shortcake of the season, our first summer cookout, and we got to take a day trip to Boothbay Harbor to visit the galleries and shops and have lunch at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant called Baker's Way. The place is a bakery in the front and at the back, a small restaurant where the food is always good, great even. Sitting outdoors in their little courtyard garden, we ate under the big maple tree and enjoyed the summer breezes off the ocean. 
Of course no summer outing would be complete without ice cream, yes, we had that too...guess I'll be skipping supper tonight.

The cosplay costume I made and promised to show you in my last entry, modeled by my daughter.

Fireworks over Camden Harbor

Camden Harbor

A pretty B+B in Boothbay Harbor, the garden here is always impeccable.

More from Boothbay

Spring Rolls under the old maple tree.

A lovely place to have lunch and linger awhile.

 

Ice cream for dessert, the line was long but totally worth the wait!

 July in Maine

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.

 

Walking the Beach

When I was a kid I learned that a day at the beach was one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a day. Back then it was all about playing in the waves, building sandcastles and investigating the tide pools and seaweed-covered rocks. When the tide was low my sisters and I would spend hours lifting up slippery seaweed to see what might be living under there. We would be thrilled if we discovered a crab and would fearlessly collect it into a plastic bucket in which we had created what we thought was a crab's 'perfect world'. Sand, seaweed and seawater, hmmm...at the end of the day we would return our captives back to the rocks and head back to our grandmother's house, a bit sunburned and tired, but happy.

These days I wouldn't think of terrorizing the poor crabs, I know that the best place for them is undisturbed under that seaweed. But I love knowing that they are there... and I feel so grateful that I had the chance to roam and meet nature first hand when I was a child. I'm still fascinated with the natural world, it is truly an inspiration and comfort to me.

This past week I drove south to spend a week with family. How lucky I am that they are still living close to the beautiful beaches of southern Maine. We had a great time walking the beach.

We have this tree...

There are fruit trees blooming in the garden right now. Below is the pink blossom of the peach tree, so very small and delicate.

The two pear trees we have are young but the crop is looking hopeful this year, more blossoms than ever before.Wait a minute, I didn't notice that little bug in the picture until just now...

The plum tree looks lovely, but not as lovely as the plums that will come later with any luck.

But...my favorite tree of all is the old crab apple. It's been growing on this farm since long before I came here, probably the turn of the last century or even before.

The first spring we spent here, more than twenty years ago now, we were all amazed when this gnarled giant burst into blossom. Some years it only blooms partially.

Not this year though...

This year it has gone all out, the entire tree from top to bottom is covered in fragrant blossom.
The sun actually came out briefly to help celebrate it's blooming day!

To look up at it is an amazing sight and almost beyond words...wish I could really show you how big this old tree is.

You gorgeous, old thing!

Today we planted tomatoes, three long rows, one more row to go- but that's another story. I haven't had much time for sketching or painting lately, I'm missing it but there will be time later when the garden is all planted.  Oh! If you look back to the picture of the pear blossoms (and the bug) you can see the giant crab apple looming in the background! Hope you are having a lovely spring!