Quick Update, late summer

The days seem to be flying by, summer felt so short as kids around here had to make up snow days and it felt as if summer was cut short, especially since they start back at the end of August, not after Labor Day like when I was a kid, oh yeah, and fall sports begin two weeks before school starts! In addition, the weather continues to be odd, enough so that it seems as if it is messing with internal body clocks that expect a certain rhythm. We did get a couple of those perfect (in my opinion) days - cool, sunny, clear, bright blue sky; pure bliss! 

I love, love, love sunflowers, I even did one of those paint night classes with a friend and we did a sunflower painting. I'm no artist, but it was a lot of fun!My daughter pointed out it's clearly one of my favorite combinations, I also adore black eyed Susans and several other blooms of similar festive colors.

 This adorable little fella is Wrangler, our home was too empty without a dog. I had figured I'd wait a bit longer, but I just fell in love with this guy, he was THE one. We adore him, he is hilarious, and oh so cute. Lucky for us, he was born at a farm near by, so we got to visit the pups often. Just what a momma with growing human children needs!

Beautiful farm in SW NH

Wrangler
 the Kong keeps him busy, it's filled with canned dog food, kibble then frozen

found on a walk in the woods

we hiked a little mountain in drizzling rain
wish you could have seen him picking blueberries off the bushes!

I take a photo of this view each time we hike here

Summer Adventure

Ah summer, and the much anticipated annual girls get-a-way to Maine with my wonderful friend, Ann, whom I've known since kindergarten. This is the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, a beauty for sure! Also the same one found on the Maine state quarter, maybe you have one in your pocket! It is so close to Hotel Pemaquid, that you can't help but slip down there often for a peek. The whole area is pleasant, and so much to explore! I can't count, well I'm sure I could... but I won't, the number of photos I took in the area. I'm a technology failure, so this post is limited to photos on my phone, since they somehow link up with blogger! There are many more on my 35mm and pocket camera as well.

The views are good for the soul, same as most anyplace in nature I believe. The ocean waves, the ever changing sky, shore birds, the allure of an island in the distance, passing boats.
                                       
                                                           

Everything inside the fence is federal property, the rest of the park
belongs to the town.

Hotel Pemaquid
beautiful, restored inside and out

Breakfast at the Seagull Shop Restaurant
this was similar to eggs benedict, but with crab meat!

the region is quite dog friendly

Hardy Boat
glistening in the evening sun
we took this boat out to Monhegan Island

Island life is ruff

 From both Pemaquid Point and New Harbor, you can look out to sea to Monhegan Island. It's about 10 miles out. From shore it looks like a thin line on the horizon. At night you can see it's lighthouse and a few tiny points of light. There are roughly 60 year round residents, and seasonal people flock there to enjoy the beauty. It has long been popular with artists.

Church on Monhegan 

school house

 The village is picturesque and peaceful. Dirt roads wind around any place you need to go. Then there are 12 miles of trails to explore. This trip we didn't get too far, I can't wait to go again! We enjoyed lunch, went in a couple shops, visited the harbor and beach. Then tramped out to the end of the island where the rusty remains of a ship wrecked boat is lodged upon the rocks.Right in front of Monhegan Island is another small island, named Manana. It makes a protected little harbor for the Monhegan village. It is a private island, known for the small herd of goats that have the run of the place. I kept looking for them, and finally laid eyes on them as we waited to board the boat back to the main land. The boat trip itself was quite pleasant, the Captain described points of interest, and we were lucky enough to see porpoises, minke whales, seals, ocean sunfish and a few types of shore birds.

Below a few more views from Pemaquid Point. The rocky shore line was often dotted by people exploring the rock for the perfect spot to hang out and enjoy the views.

New Harbor
We enjoyed the deck and dinner at Shaw's Seafood 

The hotel has the best porch, it practically transports you to a more tranquil time. Life is better on a good porch! Another portion of our trip was dedicated to exploring some really fun quilt shops. Ann is an accomplished quilter, and found some great fabric to complete projects she has in the works. I love fabric, although I'm not much of a sewer, I have a fairly healthy stash, sometimes I just can't resist!

A Treasure in Every Way

 On a beautiful fall afternoon, I found this special pendant in my mailbox and I've only taken it off to shower since then, except for this little foray out into the woods. Something about this piece made me want to take a photo on a bed of moss, and I finally did it! I should have taken out the real camera, not just cell phone, but another day. Great fun to display elements and gem in natural settings, and as much as I like how it came out, can't hold a candle to the way the afternoon light complimented in real life.

This came straight off the workbench of a talented artist that has had a shop on historic Jeweler's Row in Philadelphia for many years. This particular piece was created just for me, silver, gold and opal configured in such a way to include elements of symbolism influenced by Celtic design. Over the years, I've been gifted special pieces from my parents and this jeweler, treasures that mean a lot to me; but a piece made for me was humbling somehow.

Of course this isn't a random artist, Jane Theis is my cousin. She has been metal smithing since at least high school, if not before. Her accomplishments are many, and to say she is talented is an understatement.

We all need to feel special sometimes, and to think about symbolism and be empowered by the thought, care and love that went into creating art. Where would we be without art as a way to create, a way to appreciate, a way to lift us up, move our spirits and feed our soul ~~

Thank you Cuz

Yay! The cold snap has broken!

Phew, I'm sure since a large portion of the US was experiencing a cold spell for the last two weeks  so it isn't news to most of you, and everyone must also be feeling the relief! Mount Washington, in NH was officially the coldest place on earth the other day!

Yesterday around 20 degrees felt great, and today's 36 feels balmy! Yesterday my goats and ducks were visibly relieved and people's spirits were noticeably lifted!

 I try not to complain about the cold, because I like to grumble about the heat (and I don't think it's fair to do both! haha) but two solid weeks of it hovering either side of zero was draining. Still, there is the bright side, there is always a bright side... We had an ice storm the Saturday before Christmas, and thankfully it wasn't heavy enough to knock out the power and it was incredibly beautiful. When the sun shone through, everything, every tree, twig or weed simply glistened. The night skies had a rich color and the light of the full moon also lit up the branches in a surreal way. The iced remained for longer than I ever recall. When the winds kicked up, the trees broke free and it sounded as if tiny shards of glass we falling all around.

Enjoy your week, I will be basking in January thaw as long as it lasts (we might even see 50)!

there was a flock of crows sunning themselves in these trees, but I scared them -
did you know a group of crows isn't a flock, it's called a murder - yikes!

finally some melting!

happiness, sunny and warm
Cowboy, Millie, Jake and Lily

they are so relieved, they haven't ventured out for days
they have still been laying eggs, what good girls,
unfortunately most of them froze and cracked before I got them

had a beautiful round bale delivered
really nice hay, and feels SO good to have feed on hand

on the "to do list"

this window is never frosted!

made my husband turn the car around for this one

in the valley

pictures didn't do justice to the beauty

Good Morning

While it is difficult to adjust to having less daylight, the beautiful way the light is cast across the landscape when the sun is low in the winter sky makes a fair compensation. Sunrise and sunset are often enfolded in a golden glow that isn't nearly as prominent in the summer alignment of the earth and sun.

For a short window, the timing is right so that a trip to school in the morning coincides with sunrise, and the trip home after practice pairs with sunset. Of course the evening commute becomes a delicate balance (or rush) to make it back to get the ducks and chickens safely to bed before a fox notices them. 

 This is the time to find bright red berries along the roadsides, I briefly considered gathering a few and adding them to this farm's front door, but perhaps that would be rather audacious, so I refrained!

 It seems quite easy to be drawn to the reflections and refractions of light against old windows. Can you imagine the life of this barn back when it was in full use? What grew up that trellis, old fashion roses, morning glories?

Building along back roads: here the well drilling rig is set up and ready to drill. Snow will fly before we know it, our views will shift again.