Last Friday of October

Welcome to our house.  We woke up this morning to a frosty world and the pumpkins pondering what next?  Today will be clear, cold and lovely.  Tomorrow?  Sounds like it might be time to get out my cross country skis :}>  Oh Yeah!

The Day before Columbus Day

A string of beautiful autumn days.......the most brilliant fall colors that I have seen.......are right here--looking south east off the porch. 

Music Mountain Gothic

Here we are--the two of us--standing tall in front our our still unpainted gothic fence.  Today we should be celebrating Doris and Keith's wedding that was to take place on the hill behind our house.  Doris should be celebrating her wedding day and her birthday today here in Vermont.  The Flood of Eleven changed many lives in many ways.  For now, our lives are pretty much the same and for that, we count our blessings.  

Monday 19 September 2011

 

 Rich came in to the kitchen  while I was cooking supper and said,  "Come out  on the porch and look at the sky.'' 

Buds, Blooms and Rose Hips

Some flowers give up early on  summer  but not Rosa Rugosa.  Rosa continues to produce buds and blooms even while a bountiful crop of rose hips have formed on her lower branches. What a woman!

Stilll Life Summer's End

 

Remember last April when Geranium yearned to be outside?  Now it's September.  Petunia hugs the kitchen window and begs to come inside.  

Synchronicity

The spiders have been working for weeks to decorate each spruce and balsam in our Christmas Tree Plantation.  This morning they caught the morning mist and Rich had a nice surprise when he took an early  morning walk up there.  

Tick Tock Hollyhock

September is a time to remember 

When the hollyhock was not so high

Just last July

Now that the flowers have reached the top,

they are saying to summer

It's time to stop.

Music Mountain Mushrooms

Recent rains  provided a moist environment for all kinds of mushrooms. 

I have always wanted to see a fairy ring of fungi.  Voila!  Wish granted. 

"Supersize Me," said Mother Nature

It is almost as if Mother Nature said  "SUPER SIZE ME" in 2011.  The hydrangea in my yard produced so many big blossoms that some of its branches broke.  Behind it, the old  apple tree is burdened with fruit.  And then on August ,  it started to rain and we called her  "IRENE"

Remember When...

Remember when Josie said "Look, Mommy, the clouds fell from the sky!"

I do every time I look down in the valley and see this sight.  

A McMess

Even the detritus of MCD looks good tossed out on Music Mountain Road. Honestly, I don't think that a person who eats a McDonald's salad;  has water to drink;  then puts all the stuff neatly back in the bag meant to do this.  So I am going right now to pick it up. 

Invitation

Drops of morning dew highlight hand-sized spider webs that litter the lawn on this foggy morning. Unsuspecting insects are cordially invited to visit the vortex.

Summer

One of the pleasures of summer is watching the hollyhock flowers climb slowly up the stem.

Still Life with Boots BIG & itty bitty

Itty bitty boots, hand-painted with flowers and inscribed --Harper Louise--wait patiently (with Mimi's big  boots) for her to return to Music Mountain.  

A Rose Named Marie Louise Yvonne Juliette Perron

Memories of our loved ones often live on in the plants that they cherished and shared. This hardy, sweet smelling, beautiful rose will always evoke memories of ma belle mere,  Louise Lunna. Who lives in your garden?

Two Moose Meander

No matter how many times we see moose in our field, we are always amazed by these creatures.

Peonies on the Porch

Misty Gray Morning   

Pale Pink Peonies 

Make a Marvelous Pair 

 How about a cup of tea?

Planting the Pumpkin Patch

Here is Rich sitting in his pumpkin patch and hoping for a REALLY BIG pumpkin next fall.

Flower Ensemble

A dazzling red Poppy sings the blues, Johnson Blue Geraniums play piano and May Night's Salvia keeps the beat in the rhythm section. Sweet music for an almost summer day.  It's what flowers do on Music Mountain!

Baby Bluebirds

Here are five baby bluebirds in their nestbox. It is a happy occasion and a first! It looks like one of them is especially hungry or maybe she is just plain LOUD.

War on Music Mountain

The damn-delions and the daffy-dils are battling it out under the birch tree. The annual weed war is beginning now.

Fathers and Sons

Good Friends and Neighbors pose for a moment in time on a spring day in May. Erik and Rich Lunna; Paul and Pav Mollomo.  Sal and I thought they looked like a group of Irish Peat Diggers.  

Homegrown

I have always wished that I had flowers in the spring. Last fall I planted a bunch of bulbs and this spring I have them. Here is a small bouquet over my kitchen sink.

A Froggy Morning

 A tiny frog clings briefly to my kitchen window on this foggy rainy morning. That's what I love about living here. If you keep your eyes open, there is something special to see every single day--even if it's only for a moment-- but just enough time for me to find a quarter!

Bloodroot closed for the night

Wildflowers remind me of when I was growing up. My friend Janet and I spent many happy hours searching the woods and pastures for violets, bloodroot, Dutchmans-breeches, trillium, and trout lilies to name only a few. They were the ephemeral friends of our youth and I love meeting them again each spring. The little beauties above bloom beside the road where they are are dusted by passing cars, dumped on by the grader and/or the snowplow in season, salted, sanded and still they grow! They look fragile. Pick them and they bleed. Breathe on them and the petals fall off. But year after year they survive and thrive.

Easter Sunday

Woke up this morning to no snow! That's how it is at this time of year. Getting ready for my family to come for brunch. The wood frogs have been croaking all week; now it is warm enough for the peepers to start peeping and the Coltsfoot blossom to open and that finally happened today! Yay!!!!!

Day Before Easter

We woke up on Saturday to light snow on the ground. Then, it kept snowing all morning and now we have a cozy white blanket.

Craters of the Moon--Music Mountain Style

A robin takes a break from hunting and gathering to inspect the damage done by the moles last winter. I overheard him saying "Cheer Up Cheer Up." While the wind broke up all the ice in the big pond, it also took out our power for the whole afternoon. Tentacles of ice still cling to the sides of the fields and underneath the eaves, but they are doomed. The weatherman says it is going to warm up soon.

On Becoming Spring

The buds on the lilac bush are swelling; chickadees and juncos dance among the branches; daffodils push themselves out of the frozen dirt. Spring is ready to burst forth but the ice in the pond resists--wanting to stay the ice queen for a few more days.

Twin Windows with Geraniums

Two second floor windows in Randolph are filled with geraniums. Maybe next year my geraniums will look like this.

A Becky Sandwich

The space between Rebecca's bus up from South Station late Friday afternoon and her midday return bus down to Logan Airport was filled with the best of times; a five mile mother-daughter walk, getting ice cream cones at the cafe in Rochester, going mudding in the truck, seeing a Great Horned Owl at EMS sports, buying tiny pink boots and a boat tote at LLBean, great cuisine and conversation.

Brandy Snaps

Everything is assembled to make brandy snaps--something that I have never made before. After a few tries, they came out lacy and I rolled them on the handle of a wooden spoon. It was fun and they are delicious.

Geranium in the window

Geranium leans toward the sunny southern window and finally produces a flower after a barren winter. Its leaves turn their faces away from the warmth of the house and long to be outdoors. Time for a 180 degree spin and growth in a new direction.

Ancient Apple Tree

The ancient apple tree behind our house is covered with tiny buds. They are silver and fuzzy like a pussy willow on the outside. Inside the bud there are beautiful shades of granny smith green, macintosh red and early transparent yellow.

Sunday Lunch in Mendon

We had a lovely lunch with Dr. Richard and his daughter, Jerree. They gave Rich this bouquet of roses to celebrate almost five weeks out of surgery with instructions to share a couple with the physical therapist who has helped him make such great progress.

Chickadee at the feeder

Note to self: In the future, leave Vermont for the month of March. Just because the chickadee stays here all year does not mean that I have to!!

New hairdo, new apron

I have always loved aprons and they must be making a comeback because I bought this one at TJMAXX.