Early Morning in Manchester

I don't often get up at 6:00am these days, I'm more of a sleeper-inner type whenever events allow. But I do love the feeling of the early morning, and driving down the mountain into Manchester, Vermont at that hour in the autumn, when the mist is rising and the sun coming up slowly illuminates the colors of the trees - incredible. There are no other words.

#200

Sign seen on my drive home from Syracuse this past weekend:


A message I fully support. Now if only I could remember to make it over to the farmer's market...!

New Taste of Stowe Arts Festival!

This weekend all the work of the last seven months starts to pay off - our first Art Festival of the Season! If you are local, please do come by, there are some really amazing artists and artisans selling their work, and the food is going to be simply incredible. The show is in Stowe, Vermont, a top-quality resort town for those unfamiliar with the area, and several of said resorts will be attending the show, offering spa treatments and gourmet menu samples. If you are in the area, you can visit craftproducers.com for details.

We are so hoping for these crazy thunderstorms to pass on by!

'Round and About

I saw this in the park a couple days ago and it made me smile.

Best wishes for the weekend!

Summer Wealth

Tuesday afternoon I made a stop at the Charlotte Berry Farm, a truly wonderful place. This was my first visit, my first berry farm experience ever actually. I will go back.


I felt so rich coming home with my boxes of fruit, so glistening and ripe and such amazing colors.


All that was not eaten up that evening went into the freezer for smoothy making and waffle toppings. I'm not going to say they will last until this winter, because most likely they will not. We tested the frozen fruit smoothies this evening, and I must say, they were amazing.


What do you put in your smoothies? I used a random mixture of the strawberries, blackraspberries and blueberries, some plain yoghurt and a bit of orange juice. They were so creamy and a particularly incredible shade of red-purple.


I do believe another round of berry-picking must happen sooner rather than later!

Prehistoric

This ancient looking guy was on the driveway at my office the other day. Yikes!


We decided s/he is a snapping turtle, but I actually have no idea. Any experts out there?

The First of June

Wishing You a Very Joyful June!

Household Safety

I am working from home today. Officially working, not working on projects and doodahs and such; I have my office setup on the kitchen table (its brighter here, and the tea kettle is nearby). This means I get to keep Ramona (she's the pup) company, as she does whatever it is that she does during the day. So far, this mostly seems to be sleep.


I have the back door standing open. Its a bit chilly, but worth it for the fresh spring air and the nice sounds of birds and windchimes and street traffic that drift in. Ramona sprawls on the floor at my feet, keeping my toes warm and, assumedly, dreaming of wonderful things.


A moment ago a neighborhood cat came by, apparently intrigued by the open door. He stuck his pointy little nose in, but saw me right away, and perhaps the large bundle of fur at my feet, and scampered off. Ramona slumbered on. Then the smell of "something unknown" must have reached her nostrils, because she leapt to her feet and with a throaty grr made for the door. She bravely snuck around the corner, her back legs shaking a bit, and peered outside. The cat was, of course, long gone. Emboldened, Ramona barked a little, she has a quiet bark that is nearly never heard, and set out to investigate. She ran the length of the yard, checked the front gate, and came back in to make sure the house was safe as well. One more check around the yard and she determined that all was well and returned to her position on the floor.

I am so glad I have such a brave, alert watchdog. Makes me feel very secure!

Friday Afternoon Walk

May Blossoms

Tiny hidden babies

On the balcony of C.'s grandparents in Virginia, tiny baby birds living in a plant basket.

Spring!

Spring has now unwrapped the flowers!
Day is fast reviving!
Life in all her growing powers...
Toward the light is striving!
All the world with beauty fills,
All the world with beauty fills,
Gold the green enhancing....
Flowers make glee among the hills
and set the meadows dancing!

Cherry blossoms, warm breezes, tulips and daffodils! Spring in the North is almost enough to erase the memories of the long, cold Winter past. Almost.

I am back from a week long vacation to the extra sunny south, and once I get my house back into order, I have so many projects itching to be made! Plus a few that are horribly overdue. I'll be back soon!

Daily Exercise

Except, not quite. Let me explain.

A couple weeks ago, as I was driving home, I came upon a man on his bike. First off, I should explain that there are pretty much three roads that come into Burlington, and if you happen to work outside of town, as I do, you don't have much choice but to tackle the traffic on these bottlenecks. This man on his bike, however, was sailing past us all, peddling away as I practiced the arts of coasting slowly and keeping calm. The light changed and I passed the man by. Ha, thought I, your bike leaves you in the dust. But soon I was stuck at another red light and the biker man was in the lead again. It went on like this until we got to the last intersection into town. While I sat at the stop sign, the man on his bike peddled freely past, winning by a breath. But winning. This got me thinking.


I drive about 15 miles to work. Not something I am happy about, but for a short time the learning process of the job is worth it to me. I did have to think about this quite a bit; for the last few years I have walked wherever I needed to go, and none of my jobs were over 5 blocks away.

15 miles is a bit far for me to bike, right off that is. I am very out of shape and have not been on my bike for a good year. But I was determined.


So last week I pumped up my tires and stuffed the bike in the trunk of my car. I drove out to the country and biked the last 5-6 miles. And it was amazing. And fairly excruciating. Except the ride home was so much better I could see how things could look up. So I did it again the next day. Much easier. But then I decided sleep was necessary too, so the next day I slept in. And then it was the weekend, and now it looks like rain. Do you think I will have the nerve to try again?


I certainly intend to.

The wee little ones

Baby mint poking its way up through the dead leaves.

Aaaah, summer sun

We aren't quite at this point yet, but I do believe we're on our way!

Can it be true?

This picture means two things. First, that it seems Spring has finally made an honest appearance. And second, that my poor root-bound all winter plant has finally been granted another chance. Will either make it? Hard to say, though I do feel that Spring has a good chance of complete victory at some point.

Here's to warm weather and renewed life!

In search of small metal objects

Or ones made of wood. For the very heavy new toy, um I mean tool, that is still unfortunately residing in the trunk of my car. The suspense is killing me.

Today the sun came out after a sudden and brief downpour, and I think I began to thaw out along with the inches-deep ice that still covers much of my neighborhood. Hooray for Spring!

Homecoming

I have so much to share - one big and exciting (and incredibly heavy) new project, some recent creations, and a few new ideas. But those will have to wait, because tonight I am dead tired after an overnight flight across this whole darn country (we are quite big!), and trying to recover from the shock of leaving this:






For something more like this:

An Icy Covering

Big Storm for Real!

So after my pish-poshing of the Big Winter Storm last evening, I woke up to discover that it, well, it was real after all. More than six inches overnight, and falling steadily. Did I take that opportunity to stay warm in my little house and play with my crazy dog and generally get things done? I should say not! I am, lets not forget, a Northerner. And that means I am not a sissy!


I braved the elements and the longish, unplowed driveway at my work, and was Responsible and Professional all day. It is my belief that if one is going to live in the North, one must learn to not be frightened by the snow. Nothing would Get Done. That said, I think I am ready for a warmer climate.





(more paper doll postcards are on the way. I am very excited!!!)

Oscar Night

I really have nothing to say about it though. Fun to watch - I especially love Jon Stewart and the clips of past winners. And thats about that for that. I'd like to thank the academy...

While I'm here, this was the sunset over Lake Champlain this evening. So nice.

A Covered Bridge and Cold, Cold Water

And the pup. She sure does love the snow!

I Love Mountains

This is the winning view on my drive to work.


Amazing, right? And it was actually taken a bit ago, so now with all the snow we have been having, I can't wait to see what appears when the clouds part! These are the Adirondacks, visible over Lake Champlain from Vermont.

Today I visited the Vermont mountains - the Green Mountains - for a skiing day. We go to Stowe, which is the big one on Mt. Mansfield, because if we are going to spend the money, we might as well make sure its worth our while! Today was just gorgeous, and after I argued with my boots for a while they settled down and stopped torturing my feet and I enjoyed the runs immensely. Nothing like pitting yourself against Nature at incredible speeds on two little sticks! Wow!

Happy Tuesday to you!

October gold

In October there is treasure in Vermont. Gold and copper fall from the trees and drift across the grass. The mountains glow.


I laugh at the leaf-peepers, but honestly, they come to see a magnificent show!

Oh what a beautiful day!

or is it another manifestation of global warming?


I would imagine the fight to curb global warming and climate change would have a lot more momentum if the short term effects were not so wonderfully appealing! Here it is, in Northern Vermont, the middle of October and - what, 65-70 degrees? It feels wrong, terribly wrong, but oh so horribly fine!

Fresh Basil!

I picked my basil plants clean a couple days ago. It has been unseasonably warm here, but at some point reality is bound to return and the frosts will come - this is Vermont after all! So no more fresh basil. It is now nicely dried and crushed in a jar in my pantry. I think I will be set for quite a while!


It makes me feel good to dry things. Like I am honestly settling in for the winter, although at this point all I have is dried basil and dried carrots. They probably wouldn't last me long in dire need, but its a gesture..



(and I also posted a new painting in my etsy shop - have a look?)

A Season for Soup

Happy Michaelmas (a few days late, oops)

We went for a long walk along the beach (puppy's first sand experience - funny!) and into the woods yesterday. It was a perfect day, and the perfect way to spend it. And the Michaelmas daisies were in bloom, reminding me of the festivals we had in grade school, honoring St. Michael and celebrating light and valor as the days officially become darker and shorter heading into the long winter.


One of my main reasons for loving Autumn is the return to soup - tomato based soup with barley and beans, chicken broth/ milk based soup with split peas and lentils and carrots, pureed carrot soup with ginger and cream - soup season is my all-time favorite.

I have a pot boiling away on the stove right now, and I think while I wait I will head up to the drawing board and see what happens...

Autumn leaves

I think that Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love Spring as well, but who doesn't like Spring who lives in a cold climate? Spring is a celebration of making it through the long Winter, Autumn has the edge of excitement and danger of knowing that Winter is just around the corner. Desperation, one could say, except that the days are just too perfect to complain about.



Part of having a puppy is getting up early and going for walks. Its a bit difficult for a chronic late-sleeper like myself to roust at the early hours, but since it is completely necessary I do it, and once I am up and out it is actually really enjoyable. This morning was perfect, a warm wind coming off the Lake and an empty park with scattered leaves blowing and dancing.



The walk was especially nice today because I could go home and back to sleep. Yay for weekends!

Seashore beauty

I realize that these shells are hardly rare, but for a midwestern girl they are still so special! These were picked up along a beach somewhere close to Boston, a sort of random beach along a busy road. Not the sort of beach one would choose as a destination. But I was determined to put my feet in the ocean, so I walked along (the water was cold) and found some shells. I also found a little hermit crab and a deceased other-type-of-crab. That was about all the wildlife this particular beach supported, but it was enough to satisfy me, for a while at least!

And I just love the colors of these shells, no matter if they are prized specimens or not.

Rainy evening

It was a rainy evening, and cold too. I ventured outdoors in the spirit of picture taking, trying to photograph the rain.



Let me tell you, people, that is a very difficult thing to do! I settled for capturing my sweet little mind leaves and their happy gleam.



A wee pepper, and a pretty pepper flower signalling more to come...



Then I returned indoors and busied myself with sewing pants. I was actually rather successful - possibly even managing to fix the disaster of the other night. When I figure out how to take successful pictures of my own legs, I will share more!

Green is good

Sometimes I feel that soaking up as much green as possible is what gets me through the winter. As soon as the leaves start to bud, its as if I am suddenly aware of being parched and must quench that deep deep thirst. That intense green of later Spring, when the leaves are fully open but not yet dark richness of Summer, is my very favorite. That is the green I crave with more than just my eyes.



Can you see the four leafed clover? Actually, there are three.







I hope you are filled with Spring!

When it was Spring...

Once upon a time, winter ended and glorious Spring arrived in Vermont! The days were warm, and I got all excited and grilled fresh asparagus and mushrooms and salmon in my backyard.







But then, a dark cloud blew over the land. Heavy rains came, and time turned around! All of a sudden, the Northeast headed back into winter - out came the coats and mittens and flannel sheets, hot pots of tea replaced mike's hard lemonade, and the ashed charcoal in the grill was a bittersweet memory of happy days past.

Only the lilacs remained, a delicious reminder that Spring will come again.

Enjoying My Freedom!!!

It's Spring in the North!





I had my birthday and my final presentation on the same weekend, and now I am free! Pretty nice. Now, I can concentrate on the hundreds of my own projects that I have been itching for over the past few months. Catch up on work work, and have some fun!

I have been creating some designs and graphics, and have put together a selection of gear for sale at CafePress. I intend to change the designs around as I make new ones, so check back!

This is Spring?

It's just absolutely miserable here. There's just no other way to say it. This is the view from my back window...





Particularly, I want to draw your attention to the snow that is covering the rooftops. Last year at this time the temperature was in the 70s. We were having classes outdoors. It was actually Spring. This year, Im just not convinced.

The good part in all this nastiness is that the overwhelming desire to be outside soaking up the sun and the warmth and the infant green-ness is not here and is therefore not playing its devilish role in the procrastination process. To be sure, I do not need any other procrastination temptations, I have plenty and am doing my darnedest to ignore their siren calls.

So, since I cannot chase the clouds away and bring back the Spring goodness that seemed so close a week ago, I am taking the view that this is all for the best, and am dedicating myself to finishing all the papers and projects that have been piling high. Things are going good. And when I need a lift, I sit and stare at the fishes and soak up some of their tropical cheerfulness.

Reflections of the Sky

Went for a walk this afternoon and saw this in a puddle:



Maybe it doesn't look like so much in the photograph, but I really liked the reflections.

Ofcourse, the strange thing is that the picture was taken just today, the 8 of January, in Northern Vermont... and the water in the shallow puddle is rippling gently in the breeze. The day before, I sat comfortably outdoors in a t-shirt for a good half hour; and when we wondered if we would be able to put a coat of paint on an outside wall, we worried it might rain. Rain. Not snow, or hail, or even sleet. Sure, it's kinda nice, but really!