renewing our hellos

Last evening was full of freshness. 

A cold front came up and over the ridge here at our "bit of earth", and some news came out of Washington D.C. that might help shift the current situation there. We can hope.

The last few days here in Vermont have been marked by lower humidity and cooler temperatures, such a relief from the past few weeks of sultry and energy sapping days. 

The gardens have kicked into overdrive. The beets (three varieties!) are growing up and out of the dirt. I dug the onions this morning. Tomorrow I'll cut some herbs to dry in the breezeway. 

Things are beginning to look downright wild out there. The sunflowers are ready to open, the cherry tomatoes are falling off the vines faster than we can pick them (I'll be oven roasting them soon, and stashing them in the freezer for mid-winter vitamin C)! The indigo is thriving. The corn has tassels, the squash and pumpkins are growing and the chard is still coming on strong. And...oh, those carrots...such beauties. This weekend we'll clean out and prep the root cellar, making sure that all is ready for the bounty.

And do you see those sheets, hung out to dry in the sun? This weekend we had houseguests here to recharge their own batteries but they just could not resist a project. So...

 ...we pulled out the roto-tiller and cleared a space for a hoop house that will be finding its way up here sometime this fall. My brother Doug has once again led the charge on a project to enhance this sweet little homestead. He is the best. Stay tuned for more.

And look at these two. Wilma and Corazón. The best of friends.

I've got a bunch of links to share with you. Things that caught my interest, that you may enjoy too.

• Did you know that Batman played Ultimate Frisbee in college? The team even made it to the Nationals in Amherst, MA one year. By a fluke. But they were there. Many entertaining stories from those days. But I digress. Here's a link to a story about the "invention" of Ultimate Frisbee. So fun.
• Driving along I-89 last week, I heard a story about Che Apalache, a band playing Latin Bluegrass Fusion. Yup. Sounds crazy, but it is fun! You can hear the story here.
• Do you remember reading about Mister Finch here a long time ago? Well, he has become very well known and has a huge show in Leeds in the UK right now. (I wish I could just pop across the ocean to see it)! He has also self-published a book, which I splurged on. The Wish Post was a labor of love and it is a beautiful piece of work. It has become part of my survival kit for 2018, along with Mary Oliver's Devotions. To learn more about the magic of Mister Finch, click here to see a quick and delightful film about his work.

I really am not sure whether blogging is dead or not. This current fresh air has reinvigorated me, and so I look forward to sharing more bits and pieces here with anyone who wanders by. It's an all volunteer situation at sewandsowlife...both to post and to show up as a reader. I like that.

xo