Friday, July 31, 2009

Farewell, July...

I will say that all the rain of late has certainly created a deep, tropic-like lushness in our yard. We won't mention that the weeds are thriving right along with the plants, right? But this close up is of the botom step into the backyard...the stone steps are peeking out like a narrow corridor through the green verge...
...laying on the grass in the backyard, and looking up those steps...they look like they've been there for 100 years, when it's only been since the mid-80's that we redid the backyard and these steps.

Lee planted this gorgeous hybiscus this spring in my mothers favorite planter. I LOVE this look, the brilliant yellow with the blue pottery.


We've had sun twice this week! This was yesterday...we never got rain from these gorgeous sky-galleons as they sailed on eastward, but they sure were gorgeous to look at.



Here's a closer image of one of those clouds. The "T" on the bottom left is an antenna on the roof of the house up the street from us. And the sky was such a deep intense blue....so nice to see blue skies instead of the gray we've become accustomed to this summer. What I couldn't capture was the small flock of chimney swifts that were stitching across the sky, darting back and forth, and reminding me of quilters needles flashing into and out of a quilt, lacing layers together.




Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Lissa's new 'do




After giving me much grief about finishing up, we took a break, and when we "reconvined" our wee lass cooperated nicely. Or maybe it was those ketchup flavored chips? (eeewwww!) The iced tea? Who knows, or cares, just so glad to have it done. Done in only an hour this time, yay!


Morning walks

I forget that blogger uploads these backwards from how I plug 'em in...so, come and walk backwards with me on my early a.m. rambles with the dog. We're "rambling" because it's too damned hot to "walk"....not that I'm complaining...I just wish the humidity would go away...but I digress. See the lovely purple bellflowers...a "weed" growing along the fences in the neighborhood. I love the bright purple bells with the bleached out fencing and brilliant green foliage....
This home around the corner has a S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G, incredible daylilly garden. It comes out from the front of their house at least 10 feet and runs along the front and sides of it. Oh, it's so lovely, so many different colors, so brilliant in the first light of day.


This is the sun broaching the treeline, 615 a.m eastern time. Those are not clouds, but the sky. Ugh. Somuch humidity, air quality sucks, but there is still such a beauty to be seen...

And here are some of the queen anne;s lace growing so prolifically around the phone pole across from the park...gilded by dawns early light.




Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Despite the rain....

Wild and cultivated flowers are flourishing! This Queen Anne's Lace is bigger than my hand...HUGE compared to it's usual size....and then...
...the hydrangea's are stunning this year. These are my neighbors, I'll post a pic of mine tomorrow. Mine are more purpley-blue, and my bush has had it's best year, ever. I usually get 2-3 flower heads, this year I have more than 15 and they're still coming!! Awesome!
Today is very hot and humid already. Walked the dog (into my 2nd week of morning walks as both the dog and I need to un-chub!) early to 'beat the heat'. The air quality sucks. We have music and movement class today, the little folks and I, and then we head to Friendlies for breakfast-for-lunch. We take a long winding backroad home, takes about 30 minutes, but we see all kinds of neat things. Last time we saw turkeys and the time before, a coyote at the edge of a plowed field.
Our community garden is doing well, despite the weather. We have 31 tomato plants up there, and some "Indian" corn. None of the squashes sprouted (no surprise as we had 12 consecutive days of rain). But the tomato's are doing well and I look forward to canning, likely sometime in September at this point! Huh. Last year at this time I'd done my first batches of salsa and stewed tomato's. One gardener and I joked that we'd be harvesting our first tomato's around Halloween!
I'm trying paste tomato's for the first time, have 5 or 6 plants of them, as well as several "eating" varieties (early girl, lol!) which also wind up in my spag. sauce. The heirloom's haven't got fruit on the vine as yet, but they are late producers anyway. If frost holds off late this year, I may have a chance of getting a few of them in. sigh. Well the garden looks good, anyway. I'll go up there tonight and hopefully remember the camera this time so you can see it.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Rest in Peace, Ken

"Grampa Ken" with KC Sept 2006 (KC and Grampa share a name, and Ken also bore the nickname KC as a youth) KC is 1.5 in this pic.

Ken was a retired Unitarian Universalist minster, an avid reader and passionate about religion , and it's role in the life of humankind.
You will be missed, but I know you're walking happy in the Summerlands, Ken.
Blessed Be.

More camping photo's

One "Must Stop" place we go to every time we come to Old Orchard Beach (Maine) is here at Len Libby's. They have a GIANT, life sized moose made entirely of chocolate, and in the last few years have added black bear cubs, ducks and I think, geese, again, entirely made of chocolate. I never got as far as that display this time, as KC has the "wierds" about statues, no matter what they're made of, and I had to stay with him as he searched out his favorite candy treat, to help "shield his eyes" so he wouldn't even catch a glimpse of the "scarey moosey".

Did I mention previously that this is the summer w/o a summer in Massachusetts/New England? I did? Perhaps I should add that yesterday, July 27, was the firstday, yes, I say the FIRST DAMN DAY that we were mid 80's for temps since late May. Yuppers, it's been 60's to 70's all summer. Not to mention all the rain, fog, drizzle and what have you since late May. And I won't. And now none of us are used to Hot Humid days. Although if you're reading from northern CA/WA/OR or Texas, Kansas, etc, you're laughing and calling me an idiot, right? 80's hot???Dammmmnn. I know you folks are ROASTING and I don't envy y'all a bit. But that explains the flanned shirt I'm wearing above. It was quite chilly while we were camping. Here I'm ready to head up to the sinks for dishwashing duty. Some chores never change. Just the location, lol!


Lee justly pointed out that I'd not put in a pic of Chet yesterday. So, here is the Chet-ster, also enjoying the campfire on day one.
Only was a 3-day trip, up on Friday, return on Sunday. It was a good thing as we had wicked Thunderstorms Friday night/Saturday a.m. and we were pretty damp. Finally got to head to the beach Sat late afternoon, and when we got home it was sunny and breezy and dry air (at last!). We opened the camper up, got it all cleaned out, opened the boys tent in the backyard, and by sundown, closed everything up, all clean, dry and tidy, and ready for our "bigger" campout in September.


Sunday, July 26, 2009

First '09 Camping Trip

Rob and KC toasting marshmallows. KC only likes to toast them, not eat 'em! That's the back
of Lee's head as she helps Lissa get her stick ready for the fire pit.


This takes a LOT of concentration, you know!

After the smores, the fire has burned down and bedtime is looming closer. Skeeters love KC and his freshly shorn head!


And this last pic, of cleome's blowing in the wind, is one KC took during a post-rain walk when we got home. Oh, wait...they've all be post-rain walks this summer-without-a-summer in Massachusetts!