oh, vermont

red winged blackbirds+fields of lupine+passing 100,00 miles in my crv+breakfast at eaton's sugarhouse+watching the full moon wander across the sky+oh, oh, oh ...268 craftspeople and 236 open studios for the 18th annual open studio weekend! the choices that had to be made...details later!

magical

and under appreciated.

iris

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle.

Every cubic inch of space is a miracle.

-Walt Whitman

late may

making chive infused vinegar

inspired by thomas, over at a growing tradition.

our blast from the past iced tea jar out on the front doorstep.

can you feel the season shifting?

life's fullness

i am off to yale divinity school this morning.

a dear and wonderful friend will receive her MDiv.

it has been a journey and i look forward to helping her celebrate.

witnessing her discernment and commitment 

to her calling has been such a blessing and honor.

she's one of my heros.

and later, my best buddy franny will be here,

for a few days of catching up.

we live too far apart and so these visits are 

wicked fun.

hannah has promised to make dinner

while i am in new haven

(curried butternut squash and lentil soup, 

salad and naan bread).

everyone is growing up, all the time.
if we work at it and are lucky, we can

grow into our fullness, our potential, our dreams.

into ministers,

life long friends.
sometimes it's as sweetly simple as a 

daughter who steps up.

do you feel life's fullness on this monday morning?

will you share, here?

more blues

in the garden

in the cupboard

and underfoot.

pity party

our dear sweet henry has not been acting himself

these last few days.

we've been to the vet and he's had x-rays (!).

we think he has wrenched his back (!).

(doing what, i wonder?)

as the vet said, "wouldn't you just love to have a nanny cam

 to see what our pets are up to all day?" 

here he is, sleeping on the porch,

with some pain meds in him to help in his recovery.

and lucky me!

i am prepping for tomorrow's colonoscopy.

(i do not mention this to make you queasy...)

i have a family history in this department, 

and so i am very dutiful about my

more-often-than-usual procedures.

like with so many nasty things, the trick is early detection.

since i'll be under the influence,

i'll not be posting tomorrow. 

if you are of a certain age, 

please be tested.

it's important.

thank you.

asking

for a while now,

for many reasons,

in many parts of my life,

 i'm feeling like i've been spinning my wheels.

 i see where i want to go,

but stuff gets in the way.

i do have a game plan,

but it's going so s-l-o-w-l-y!

does this ever happen to you?

what do you do about it?

please share you wisdom, friends!

when i found this, it helped a little...

It doesn't happen all at once. 

You become. 

It takes a long time.

-Margery Williams

scents

last night i came home late from a meeting.

i noticed these lilacs on the buffet.

when i came downstairs this morning,

the fresh paint* smell was nearly gone

and the whole downstairs was filled with the fragrance of lilacs.

thank you batman. xo

isn't it amazing how fresh flowers can transform a space?

*the living room, front hallway, stairway, upstairs hallway and dining room are now natural cream, OC-14, Benjamin Moore.

monday blues

forget me nots

making do

Alas, there was no gentle, soaking rain last night. So, this morning, we pulled the rain barrel out of the shed, where it had spent the winter. We loaded it into the back of the truck, filled the barrel with water and attached a hose to the barrel spigot. We drove to the top of each row of seedlings, brought the hose to each tree and let gravity do its job. We would have preferred Mother Nature's methods, but sometimes we have to improvise! 

Then, my buddy Ellen and I went to Standing Stone Perennial Farm in South Royalton.  Another beautiful, off the beaten path spot in Vermont!

If you have a moment, pop over to Laina's blog, "Sustainable Laina. No trash. No meat. No idea how I'm gonna do it". She's a high school friend of our daughter, Gretta. I am getting a kick out of reading about her very interesting Senior Independent Study project!

planting seedlings, again!

this week, 100 balsam seedlings packed in damp newspaper shreds, 

in a large box, arrived on our porch at "a bit of earth".

(last year it was fraser firs)

we have spent the day planting, fertilizing  and mulching them.

we are hoping for a gentle and soaking rain tonight.

there will be more planting tomorrow, i suspect.

hannah's high school buddy, sarah, who just
graduated from nyu, came along to help.
it was one of her first ventures into rural life.
we teased her about our "forestry project".
here they are, taking a break.

hope you are enjoying the weekend!

wish i could be in la grange today

remembering...

2010

Today would have been our friend Erin's 19th birthday.

To see how Erin's family is celebrating her life, click here.

Remember friends, that "e"veryday is a blessing...
Reconnect with an old friend.
Patch up a misunderstanding.
Smile more.
Give strong hugs.
Cheer enthusiastically.
Take risks.
Hope.
LOVE DEEPLY.

still feeling the love

 on saturday, as we waited, in two long lines, side by side,
to process to the stage,
with the cold wind billowing our robes,
there was a moment when
 my heart swelled with love.

i sat on the stage, as an alum, as a parent and as a trustee.
being present on saturday is something i will hold dear
for the rest of my life.

my beloved earlham college is a special place.

 it is hard to put into words what earlham is really all about
(right jamie?)
but commencement provided a snapshot of the magic.
some folks in gorgeous african robes,
grandparents with eyes filled with pride,
 friends, some holding balloons,
people in wheelchairs,  parents grinning from ear to ear,
folks wrapped in blankets  and quilts against the cold wind.
babes in the arms of young men and women,
rocking gently at the edges of the audience.
the flags of many nations, flapping wildly in the gusts,
honoring our international students.
the grads, keenly aware that they were gathered together one last time...

and the music!

and the words!


especially these,
joanna "gypsy" swanger's
baccalaureate address.


and, oh, the silence....
deep and true.

clouded in

the painters are gone

and we are gradually putting furniture back... 

in new places to see how it looks.

(we've got to "mix it up" a bit or we'll turn into old farts.)

the forecast was for sleet.

it almost did, but not quite.

my antidote was a fragrant pot of stew simmering on the stove.

it's good to have hannah's company around the house.

she has a few summer jobs lined up,

and she will be teaching spanish 

at a friends' (quaker) boarding school in the fall.

salary, benefits, room and board.

she's a keeper.

{three down, one to go.}

bittersweet. 

what are you up to today?

too true

Half an hour's meditation is essential

except when you are very busy.

Then a full hour is needed.

-Francis de Sales

green gown

we are safely back home 

after a long car ride.

as i was hanging up hannah's graduation gown

i noticed the label stamped at the back of the neck.

"Oak Hall GreenWeaver. 

Made in the USA from 100% post-consumer plastic bottles".
check it out here.

WICKED COOL, eh?

catching my breath.
more soon.

and thanks for all of your lovely comments   :-)

my tender heart

hannah's graduation from earlham college

in richmond, indiana.
yesterday.

cloudy, very windy and 53 degrees.

we were bundled up, but oh, so warm in spirit.

from left to right...

me, earlham class of '78 and member of the board of trustees 

lindsey, earlham class of '06, in from boston

hannah, earlham class of '10

batman, earlham class of '78

gretta, in from knox college, class of '13

stewart, earlham class of '04 (and masters of arts in teaching from earlham,  '06!)

dawn, our daughter in law, earlham class of '04, both in from portland, OR

how can i keep from singing?

(and happy mother's day, mumsie!)

silly me

birch green at "a bit of earth" this past weekend

i need to take a break from

sew and sow life

this week.

my heart is tender and over full, if there is such a thing.

come back this weekend...

(we will be celebrating).

thanks for your understanding, dear readers.

p.s. you might like this.

bliss

harvested at our "bit of earth" in vermont this morning...

folded into a cheddar cheese omelette for supper 

here in connecticut tonight. 

happy may day!

henry is tending our virtual flock at "a bit of earth".

just working on the rural dream...

enjoy the day.