I think I am a foul weather crafter (and blogger). Most of the Spring and all of the Summer, I had no desire to be crafty (or bloggy). But, as the summer comes to a close and the rose hips start to turn orange, I find myself reading craft blogs (current favorites: Angry Chicken and A Print a Day ) and lining up projects. It also helps the girls have headed back to school this week. While they were home, there was just no time to do things that require quiet and concentration.

We had a fantastic summer. Honestly- super. In previous summers- for various reasons- I think I went a little wacky and became desperate for some alone time. That didn’t happen this summer and the girls and I had some serious fun, mostly at the beach.

One reason my mental balance was more on this summer was that I managed to keep up with my running. I was able to do some trail running, too which I found I loved. One particular trail- it was amazing to run through the coast forest which in some places became quite dense and almost repressive and then burst out into the open with a take-your-breath-away view of the ocean.

The garden did really well this year. We had a fairly hot summer, so we have lots of tomatoes. This has never happened before, so I am enjoying it. I planted a lot of nasturtiums this year and I will now plant them every year! One, they are so pretty, smell wonderful and make cute, vibrant bouquets. And, two, they acted as a natural “trap” for the flea beetles. It seems that flea beetles would rather eat nasturtiums than anything, so they left our pole beans alone. While they did make the nasturiums look ragged for a while, they did not kill them and the nasturiums bounced back nicely.

Every since the switch to digital tv, we have essentially been without tv. Although we have a compatible tv and a big old antenna on the barn roof, we get basically no channels (none if you do not count the Christian channels). This sucks. Hubby and I decided long ago that we would not go the cable route and it really twists my knickers to think the only way I can watch tv is to pay for it! That’s just wrong! So now, Netflix is saving our ass.

Reading- lots of reading going on around here all summer! I recently finished Philippa Gregory’s new book The White Queen which I enjoyed back not as much as some of her others. A co-worker recommended that I read The Chamomile Lawn by Mary Wesley and it was great! I love her voice which is sharp and sexy and modern. Currently, I have three books out of the library( Snobs by Julian Fellows, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields and A Sensible Life by Mary Wesley) and I am casually dating them to see which ones I am going to get serious about. Heck, I might just read all of them. I don’t buy books very often but I just had to buy Amanda Blake Soule’s Handmade Home- it’s wonderful!

Ciao for now!

“Summer arrives with a length of lights
Summer blows away
And quietly gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave”

~Summersong by the Decemberists

and then the girls and I went back east (way back east) to visit my sisters and my parents. It was great to see them all and my daughters had a fantastic time. For me, it is always complex and a bit difficult. I love my home- I belong here- and it is always hard for me to be back where I grew up. I don’t really understand it because my family is loving and kind. It’s as if I can not really be myself there.

This year was the first time I have ever run while at my parent’s house. It was great! I found a perfect road and went almost everyday. One day was so humid I felt like I was running through hot water. But the little country road was soothing and the ancient rocks and the rich green and the beautiful 1880s barn were like old friends to me. The last run I took before we left a man who lived on the road stopped me and recommended I carry mace as there was a mother Black bear and two cubs in the area (they had been in the tree in his front yard the prior week). I finished my run- maybe a bit faster.

Now, home. In my garden. I am so happy there. There is much to be trimmed and tied up. The peas and spring greens need to be removed and the bed prepared for fall planting. One bed of garlic is ready to be harvested. The beans are producing yummy fruit. There are lots of green tomatoes- we’ll see if they ever ripen…

ornamental Oregano and red poppy

yarrow up close

lots of Nasturtiums in the garden this year

Happy high summer to you all!

Breath. Jog. Breath. Enjoy the show.

It’s Campanula time in the garden. There are several kinds in the garden and I love their varity and cheer. Other names for Campanulas include Harebell and Blue Bells of Scotland.My younger daughter loves the Flower Fairy poems of Cicely Mary Barker. We read some before bed almost every night. “Do we have this fairy in our garden?” she askes me. Or happily she will cry, “We have this one in our garden!”

The Song of
the Harebell Fairy

by Cicely Mary Barker

O bells, on stems so thin and fine!
No human ear
Your sound can hear,
O lightly chiming bells of mine!

When dim and dewy twilight falls,
Then comes the time
When harebells chime
For fairy feasts and fairy balls.

They tinkle while the fairies play,
With dance and song,
The whole night long,
Till daybreak wakens, cold and grey,
And elfin music fades away.

little birds, my sweets…

I was just sitting out side reading or relishing the silence as I looked down at the creek and the animals (ah, they are so much more quiet that children). I had a good book and a glass of wine- golden and delicious. I think- this is heaven. This is bliss. The boisterous dogwoods, the Mourning Doves calling, our handsome cat sitting with paws folded/eyes closes/ears on alert and the sheep with their natty dreads are all thrilling gifts to me on this sunny Friday afternoon.  Why can’t I stay in this moment of bliss?

We went to the coast this past weekend and holy cow the sun came out! Somehow the power of the ocean was subdued for me- maybe because so many people were with us. When it is just me and my girls, I can just feel the ocean- be open to it. It was a good, quick visit. A good rest before the days of rain and sick kiddo. All is well. Life is right here- enjoy!

I planted beans, sunflowers, nasturtiums, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers today! Cross your fingers for me. Is this a recession garden? I think it is. Devoting about twice as much space to veggies this year, but not just because there is a recession. There are other reasons: one, I have the energy to do it (thank you, sleep gods) and two, the new foundation on the barn has given me a new gardening spot. Just that nature abhores vacuum, I abhore an empty gardening spot. I must plant.

Happy gardening all.

It’s dark and rainy here, which should not seem that odd to me, but we have had a taste of Spring and sun and it is hard to go back. I am thinking wistfully of the veggies I could not plant today and of the run I could not take today- like Spring used to bring wistful thoughts of loves that were no more- of kisses shared and lost before the season could change.

We had some sun and all were leaping around like little lambs. Everything is growing so fast and the flowers are opening in wild abandon. Now is the time. The daffodils have treated us to there Spring time beauty and now we are greeting by the cheerful tulips and the sweetly sexy lilacs. The sides of the streets are lined with pink cheery blossom flowers- decadent confetti of a spring time parade.

The peas and greens are growing well. The buttercrisp lettuce is almost too pretty to eat! I have decided to grow a lot more veggies this year. I have about twice as much veggie area ready and waiting which is very exciting.

Across the creek the Dogwoods are blooming so lovely  (where there that many last year?). On sunny, peaceful moments it’s a treat to stand down on our dock and look out on the water. A big raptor of some sort (I still have not got a good look of it) has nested in one of the neighbors big fir trees. One evening my hubby and oldest daughter went for a row and brought me back a Dogwood branch- so lovely.

May Spring bring you the growth you have been waiting all winter for.

I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.

~ Pablo Neruda

There are some sweet signals that spring is coming our way- bulbs beginning to grow, swelling of buds on some shrubs, nettles growing with their dark green still soft leaves and grass growing with that fresh green color that gives you hope. The Hellebore win the honor of being the first blooms of the season. Right around Candlemas, the hennies began to lay eggs again. Hurrah!

The weather has been fine here for several days and I have been working on a new and improved composting area. It occurred to me that my neighbor has two horses that can supply me with free manure with which to make some very fine compost. After getting the book The Complete Compost Gardening Guide out of the library, I decided it was so good that I would buy a copy. It has wonderful and easy ideas of making and using compost. I plan to try vermicomposting again- I just found a local vermiculture business!

And, finally, because Neruda is so lusty- so full of the spirit of spring- another poem:

Sonnet XI

I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.

I hunger for your sleek laugh,
your hands the color of a savage harvest,
hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,
I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.

I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,
the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,
I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,

and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,
hunting for you, for your hot heart,
like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.

Pablo Neruda

Ahhh, back to the normal rain. I really think I was meant to live here. I don’t mind the rain and the grey clouds and the fog. Our house, in it’s hallow like the back of the earth’s knee, is often blanketed in fog. I think of this as my rest time behind the misty veil (romantic enough for you?).

So, I’ve been reading and being lazy. Yes, I’ve continued reading the Twilight series- quite happily (I thought Eclipse was quite fun) until I began Breaking Dawn and her plot twist totally turned me off. So- I put aside that book and started another (The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin). My husband always wonders how I can just leave off a book- shut and toss it aside without finishing it. As I always tell him, life is short and there are many, many books to read!

Running has been my only non-lazy activity. I’ve been loving some new music while I run: The Crane Wife by the Decemberists and Andorra by Caribou.  It is a goal of mine to bring more music into my life- to cultivate that elation that a good song can bring to your heart and soul. I will listen to more music this year. I will sing more this year. I will dance more. I will invite people to our home to play music and sing under the full moon! (For more on music and the effects of the body and mind, see here and here.)