Earth Day

Happy Passover and Earth Day!

Earth Day arrives in a season of renewal to remind us, one birdsong, one summit, one seed, one back yard to the next…
that we are all stewards of common ground.
Happy Earth Day

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He Is Risen

Buona Pasqua! May you all have a Blessed Easter….

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Mother Nature Strikes Again

Just when I thought all these nasty storms were behind us for one winter… she strikes again. Our fourth this winter.

Brutal high winds along with coastal flooding left many of us locals without power for the better part of yesterday here.. sigh. Now the cleanup begins again.. when they haven’t even done the necessary repairs yet from the last storm!

Still an hour to go before high tide yesterday.

Due to the high surf, seals are being found taking refuge out of the water today.

This young seal pup even managed to cross the road, just to get a rest on a front lawn across the street from our angry ocean.

Resting seal pup.

Maine Marine Mammals was notified and en route to check out this little guy to be sure he didn’t endure any injury. We locals know that this is normal behavior for our seals and pups during storms like this. They just need some rest! Please give the seals plenty of space while they are resting up.

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Sunshine!

Perfect sunrise this morning, before those skies turn red. Yuck!

Finally, a day of respite from these cloudy, rainy days we have been seeing. Unfortunately, more storming is due in this weekend. So I’m taking this gorgeous day for me! The problem is, I can’t decide just what to do with it! 😊

But grilling will be the finishing touch for certain. I have a beautiful swordfish steak just itching to be cooked. Yum! 😋

Many errands to run, then I may keep the economy going with some shopping, then meeting up with girlfriends for lunch… this could be a dangerous afternoon with this crew. LOL

I’ve been on the hunt for this past week, trying to re-locate a fave knife, that my cleaning lady threw out accidentally! Ugh!! I use it for all my crusty bread cutting, and now I’m lost without it ☹️ How hard can it be to replace a seven inch serrated offset bread knife? You’d be surprised when hunting for an old family favorite! Wish me luck.

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16 Days

… until Spring! Yippee 😊

It’s getting closer! Every day I see the changes going on.

After yesterday’s storm, the sun was shining today, and the first daffodils are in bloom in the woods around the farm. This marks something important, and I think deserves a celebration. Those beautiful spring flowers get full-to-bursting with their brilliant yellow heads. I thought yesterday would be the day they’d pop, but with the rains they held off until today. I like to think this sunny 60 degree day had a lot to do with it. In spite of 38 frosty degrees this morn, I woke to find those brave daffodil souls raising their open faces to the sun. Here in southern Maine, there are plenty of south facing spots where they first come into bloom here. And there are other spring flowers… the pussy willows, the crocus and snowdrops that were up a week ago!

But, I always feel when the daffodils bloom along the wood line at the farm, we have indeed survived a long, cold winter… and that’s got to be a good thing!

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Relieved

I seldom get stressed. I mean what’s the sense? What’s going to be, will be.. why stress over it. I say this in retrospect now. LOL

Yesterday I had to go into Boston for my post-op checkup, and found myself unable to sleep the night before, in anticipation I think, more than anything else. I’ve been feeling fairly well, since my surgery, considering all.

Crazy I know! I’ve been pretty good (that in itself a miracle) LOL… I’ve followed docs directions to a tee, continue with my P.T. (even on days when I just want to toss the walker right out the window!) Kicked myself in the patootey ( is that a word? LOL) because I forgot to bring said walker with me to Boston! Ugh! For that, doc gave me hell.. but then he smiled. The only concern he had with me was the weight loss ☹️.. 23#’s!

I was a little surprised myself. Though I’d never recommend this type of dieting to anyone! I told him, ‘ listen doc.. ice cream season is right around the corner.. watch me pack it back on then’ LOL Again he smiled. Otherwise he was pleased with his handiwork as well as my achievement to date. Whew! One other important post-op with the other surgeon in two weeks… then hopefully it’ll be clear sailing from there.

The days will be getting longer, this morning Punxatawny Pete announced we will have an early Spring this year! What a great announcement on this Groundhog Day. Yippee! I’m going to hold off a bit longer going out to purchase a new wardrobe.. in the event of ice cream season 😀.. but boy today I really couldn’t stop thinking and remembering a perfect sailing day last year and can’t wait to get back out on the water, once my ‘sea legs’ get a little stronger.

A great sailing day last summer. 😊

The next week it’s predicted unseasonable mild for us here with plenty of sunshine. 😊 The first of the seedlings are slowly popping up in the greenhouse. Today I’ll be sowing my onions, shallots and leeks. Seeds keep arriving daily here… some, I don’t even recall ordering! Darn drugs!

Love when the first seedlings emerge out of the darkness..

Tomorrow, friends are meeting up for a lunch date which will be fun to partake in.. though I’ve already made arrangements for a designated driver… LOL.. a crazy bunch of women that have a lot to catch up on! 😉😂 Enjoy your weekend, take a walk, start a new project for yourself and enjoy the day… or just relax.

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53 Days

….. until Spring! 👩‍🌾

Spring’s promise… violets

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Toasty Warm

Finally! After nearly a week of single digit temps here, this morning we woke to this toasty warm 32 degrees. Hooray! I’d had enough cabin fever being stuck (though a whole lot warmer) in the house this past week. For someone like me, pure torture! 😂 So, this morning I broke the rules and headed out for some fresh air this morn. And yes, the physical therapist nearly shot a clot when she found out LOL! Oh yeah, a direct hit! But it was needed, and I used great caution. I draw the line at snow and ice covered pathways… but still it was like a breath of fresh air to get out there. 😊

As I shuffled along so many thoughts came to mind. I laughed to myself thinking back on just three short years ago… when Grandma was game to do pretty much anything to please her grandboys. Yikes! What was I thinking?!

Once I arrived at my footbridge though, that was the extent of todays walk for me… just not ready yet to negotiate the snow covered pathway, so home I headed.

Most of my walking time was given to thoughts of this years garden… what I wanted to add to the farm this season, as well as what I want to cut back on. Hey, I’m a realist.. at some point I’ll need to slow down… I’ve even placed an ad in our local paper looking for a dependable farm assistant. 🙁 in my mind it’s like hiring a house cleaner.. no one does it like you, right? Some big shoes to fill. LOL But one can dream… and perhaps at this point in my life I’m hunting for a miracle.

Dreaming of miracles

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle… a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation that nurtures our dreams.”- anonymous

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60 Days

….. until Spring and I can’t wait! The last of my vegetable seed orders were placed last week, and some have already begun to arrive! If all goes as planned, this year I want to get into Boston to the flower show, that I missed last year. It’s always such a wonderful show with some pretty remarkable displays to give a gardener – new and old alike fresh ideas.

Seed ordering time 😊

The countdown begins… my fave time of winter… the planning & anticipation. 😊

This year I’ve ordered many seeds for the cut flower garden. I grow many and with all the rain we had here last spring into late June, we were surprised at how successfully they all grew. One that I enjoy growing are snapdragons… they last right up until early Autumn for me.

I was gifted for my birthday from a friend a hanging snap basket that was absolutely stunning… an array of multi colors, very hardy and extremely showy. I’d never seen these before, but they turned out so well, I’ve finally managed to find seed for them to grow myself. I also saved some seed pods from my one basket last year and will try planting these as well. Fingers crossed.

Have any of you given thought to what you’ll be growing this year?

Multi colored snapdragon hanging basket from 2023

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Good To Be Home

Storm and all! Slow going, but I finally made it back home to Maine yesterday. There is another storm brewing for tonight… and yet another for the weekend. You know what? I don’t even care if we get ten feet of snow… I’m just so happy to be back!

It’s been one heck of a ride for me these past two months I’ll tell ya though. What began with a trip to the local E.R. back in early November for what I thought was a bad bout of an eight day flu snowballed. Literally! One ambulance ride into Boston… three unplanned surgeries, a visit into the ICU, then three weeks in a re-hab hospital and last three weeks recovering at my daughter’s home. Still a little slow going for me, but with my trusty walker, I’m able to be fairly mobile.. in moderation. Stairs are still quite the challenge.. glad I have only a few here at home. They say things happen in threes, so I now should be all set for (god willing) years to come. 😊 Great to be home!

How I’ve been missing my beach and hearing the slapping of the waves as they crash… rocking you to sleep most nights. 😍

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