breathing in and out

Yesterday, my friend Ellen and I spent the day prowling gardens and nurseries. The photo above was taken at Cady's Falls Nursery in Morrisville, VT. Converted from an old dairy farm, this nursery is amazing! Their plants are beautiful, and the strolling garden is full of ideas.
Some of their mini hens and chicks, planted in a muffin tin!

We also went to Arcana gardens and greenhouses, where everything is grown organically. Then we wended our way over to Crossview Gardens, where Ellen's friend Harold gave us a wonderful tour of his gardens. He specializes in daylilies and hostas. His gardens are open to the public four times a summer. I'm not sure which is more spectacular, his gardens or the view!

By the time we got home, it was about 5:30 and I was very tired. So much to see and process, I guess. I jotted notes down to keep track of all the ideas the trip inspired...both gardening and quilting!
Years ago, Peter's Mom gave us this bench. How I wish she could see it now, perched on the edge of the hill here in VT. She would have loved this place...endless projects! 

Sometimes I sit here with my morning cup of tea. On many a weekend evening, Batman and I end up here with a glass of wine. We watch the birds, the clouds, the setting sun and we still find it hard to believe that this gorgeous bit of earth is ours. We dream, we solve the world's problems, we hold hands. Perfection.

This week has finally brought us a string of sunny days, punctuated by late afternoon/evening thunderstorms. The ground trembles with the thunder, the sky cracks with lightening, the hair on the nape of my neck stands on end. And afterwards, the birds sing and the meadow sparkles with the raindrops.  

It's wonderful to have the windows open, with the breezes coming in the front windows and right on out the back ones! I've finally dried clothes out on the line, with the wind snapping them dry in no time at all.

The neighborhood has been humming with the sound of tractors, as the farmers play tag with Mother Nature's rain. They are trying so hard to get their haying done! And yesterday, we were caught on the road in between culvert repairs in one direction and the grader in the other!

The other night, I borrowed a movie from Ellen, called The Real Dirt on Farmer John. It's offbeat, fun and inspiring. She got it from Netflix. I recommend it.

I've been feeling very "unplugged" lately, and sometimes miss the time to read all your blogs. But it's nice to see the world thru the eyes of VPR, where the big news has been the quadracentennial  of the "discovery" of Lake Champlain, "eye on the sky" weather reports and daily doses of The Writer's Almanac. On Tuesday I felt a little cranky in the late afternoon and realized I was so engrossed in things that I had forgotten to eat lunch!

That's my slice of life. Hope you are all well...