yes

first batch, cut before the drenching rain. garlic scapes. fresh and local and so, so satisfying. and beautiful.

love

the human condition all boils down to this...

fear vs love.

choose love, every time.

thank you, supreme court.

june musings

The internet and snail mail collided earlier this spring. My friend Sharon who keeps the blog SallyMomSprouts kindly sent me a packet of spinach seeds she had saved from her gardens in Wisconsin. We planted them here in Vermont. Last week we enjoyed a delicious spinach salad, and I marveled at the connections we create with one another these days. I've never met Sharon in person, (in fact, I "met" her via real life friend Judy) but there we were, eating a fresh salad due to Sharon's thoughtfulness.  I follow her daughter Anne's blog as well. You can find Anne's lovely artwork and musings at My Giant Strawberry.

Instagram is another fun way to build a sense of community (with folks you may never meet!) Last night three consecutive photos in my feed were of the same gorgeous sunset here in Vermont, taken from three different vantage points all over the state. It was quite wonderful.

Real life here at a bit of earth is certainly full these days, with plenty of wedding prep going on. Last night we looked for the Northern Lights, but did not see them. Instead, the brilliant Milky Way arched over the sky as lightning bugs danced in the meadows. Wrapped in a quilt against the midnight breeze, I was again filled with gratitude for this dream-come-true, this magic, this life of ours. 

Sending you midsummer light and love, dear friends.

sewing buttercup meadows

sometimes the news is filled with soul-sucking sadness

and the best prescription for the numbing pain

is some sewing therapy.

thank you vermont meadows,
thank you buttercups,

thank you lotta jansdotter fabric,

thank you bernina,
for this perfect collision.

(do you remember princess buttercup

 from the princess bride?)

our summer table has eight new napkins,

four of each print.

remember the old story that if you held a buttercup under
someone's chin you could see if they liked butter?

Love don't care

if you're wrong or right

Love don't know if

you're black or white

Love ain't looking

for perfection

Love's the answer,

love's the question.

-from The Horseshoe Man

by Neil Young

sending some light and love to charleston

triptych 19

rhubarb from the gardens.

fresh mint from the co-op.

dried rose buds from mountain rose herbs.

raw honey from northwoods apiary.

recipe from amy chaplin's amazing book.

exquisite rhubarb rose infusion.

i wish this was a "scratch and sniff" post.

we were lucky enough to have birthday girl lindsey and her guy scott

with us here in vermont last night and part of today.

she sparkles these days,

'cause she is on the brink of a new adventure.

31.

such an age.

so much to offer the world.

blessed to be her marmie.

xo

reading and stitching in june

That was the way mauma had lived her whole life.

She used to say, you got to figure out which end of

the needle you're gon be, the one that's fastened to the

thread or the end that pierces the cloth.

-"Handful"

from The Invention of Wings

by Sue Monk Kidd

(a very wonderful read)

P.S. Submitting my laurel wreath applique to the umbrellaprints 

trimmings challenge was tricky business for me, requiring courage.

I was surprised and quite tickled to discover that it scored an

honorable mention from the judge.

You may read about it here.

travels there and back

Last week I traveled to Indiana.  After serving three consecutive three year terms, I have followed best practices, embraced term limits and retired from the board of trustees of a small liberal arts college. Bittersweet indeed. The folks I've had the honor of working with are some of the finest I know. My life has been deepened and enriched by the work we did together.  LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION may be a dying tradition in this country, but I believe our survival depends on her embrace.  Time will tell.

A classmate of mine from that very same school works at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, and over the years, I had been meaning to visit. I travelled out to Indiana a day early and had lunch and a very fine tour with Martha. How wonderful it was to reconnect with an old friend and to discover a gem of a museum as well!

Bark, beads, feathers, claws, bones and rushes...such ordinary things, transformed into such beauty. The galleries at the Eiteljorg are filled with a subtle spirit...hard to capture in words, but I could feel it in the darkened spaces holding these sacred pieces. 

in the midst of life, as at the beginning, we are blessed

birch grove, isle royale national park, michigan

10 day backpacking trip, summer 1981

our talisman tree, even back near the beginning

Karen, Peter, may you weave out of love a greater strength to aid
and comfort one another and all those you know.

Let the stranger find welcome at the door of your home and friends
be at ease in the warmth of your love.

May the work that one does and the work that you share bring wholeness
to each and fulfillment to both.

May love and blessing from this gathering of friends rest upon, abide
with and assist you in this new venture.

May the union that we celebrate here this day be worthy of continued
celebration tomorrow and forever.

-The blessing given by the Rev. Ken Phifer at our wedding on June 9th, 1979.

Happy 36th anniversary, dearest batman. xo

a sentimental triptych

triptych 18

• at the nursery this morning.
• in the compost bin today.
• in the kitchen this morning.

Thanks for the laurel wreath love. xo