Happy Birthday, Joan!

 There are some days we remember for no apparent reason. It could be a random encounter with someone where nothing very important happened but it sticks in our mind for some reason, such as the day I was standing in the ketchup aisle at the supermarket and a man I didn’t know engaged me in a conversation about meatloaf recipes and a dinner party he was hosting. It has no significance to me yet I remember it anyway. There is the day my daughter and I were shopping at a department store and I was mistaken for someone named Dot. There we were, looking at the costume jewelry display when a random woman said to me, “I thought you were my friend Dot, but she uses a cane and you don’t so you’re not her.” Then she walked away. We still laugh about that. Then there are days that had some significance at some point in our lives that we still remember long after they mean something to us. Like June 3rd, my childhood friend Joan’s birthday.

Joan and I met in the first grade and to be honest, I was a little afraid of her. She was a tomboy, loud, direct, and bold. She’d just ask you a question if she wanted to know something about you and you answered if for no other reason than you wanted her to move on to someone else. I was more timid, less sure of myself and I felt intimidated yet I liked her. She lived within walking distance, maybe 1/2 mile away if you cut through the school fields. We lived in an old cottage type house and she lived in a split level ranch in “the development” as we referred to those houses. That whole neighborhood and the elementary school used to be farmland. When I was very young my 2 older brothers and I used to walk across the street and watch the cows in the fields. I don’t actually remember that but was told by my mother. I was perhaps 4 when the school was built, and the houses as well I imagine. Joan and I remained good friends through graduation from high school.  We played together in elementary school, and in our tween years in middle school, when I was being bullied, she was supportive and protective of me to the point of fighting in my place when bullies ganged up on me, telling me to go home with 2 of our other friend group while she took care of things. For my 14th birthday she somehow talked my parents into letting her give me a puppy, which was my heart’s desire.  In high school we remained friends and added some new friends to our circle, one of whom, Cathy, I am still close to today even though physical distance separates us. Hanging out at Joan’s house listening to music and talking about life and goofing around took the place of sleepovers and late night tv movies once we were in our mid to late teens. Boyfriends and proms were all experiences we shared, culminating in graduation. Somehow after graduation we lost touch, and briefly communicated when email first became a thing nearly everyone did. We even had a reunion of our little trio, Joan and Cathy and me for an afternoon at my house. That was about 35 years ago, and we haven’t been in touch with Joan since. People do come and go throughout our lives, it’s just how it is. No animosity, fond memories, but we grow apart, our lives take different paths.

I don’t know why I always remember Joan’s birthday but I do. Every year I wish her a happy birthday. So, Happy Birthday Joan! Wherever you are.

Mothers Day 2025

 

I hear her in the birdsong

And the rustling of the leaves,

The tinkling of a windchime,

In the whispering of a breeze.

 

I see her in the flowers

Yellow faces in the sun,

Red petals of the tulips

That grow gracefully one by one.

 

I smell her in the perfume

Of a balmy summer day

In the scent of fresh washed laundry,

In fresh-baked bread always.

 

I feel her in the stitches

Of the mittens she once knit

With the warmth of loving fingers

In each and every stitch.

 

She is around me always,

(We can’t truly be apart),

Though she now resides in Heaven

She’s in my mind and in my heart.  

My first Mother’s Day as a new mother was in 1990, just about 6 weeks before my first baby’s first birthday.  I don’t really remember much about it, I’m sure we celebrated it with my mother and the rest of the family, my 3 brothers and my younger brother’s wife who is and has always been more like a sister to me as they became a couple in their early teen years while I was in my very late teens. At any rate, we would have all gathered at either my parents’  or brother’s house, bringing flowers to honor Mom and probably a potluck meal as we were not a family that went out for dinner much.  As we all aged and had more children we still gathered with Mom at the center of Mother’s Day although we rotated houses between me and my younger brother. I hope Mom felt the love we all held (and still hold) for her as we talked and laughed about nothing and everything as was, and still is, our custom when we gather together, although Mom has been gone for 20 years now. Things did change after she left us in that we no longer all get together on Mother’s Day but celebrate with our own children. Last year was difficult because it was the first year without our youngest, Hillary, and my husband and I started the day by going to church, then to the cemetery where she rests, then home to relax until our remaining daughter and her fiancée came over.  While the men went outside to plant some flowers for me, my daughter and I made door wreaths together, and we had a wonderful time. We went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant of my choice and to be honest, it wasn’t very good.  The service was slow and the food not the way it was described on the menu.  We came home and had some delicious ice cream, so the meal wasn’t a total loss.  We haven’t gone back to the restaurant since. This year will be different, as we are looking forward to the birth of our first grandchild in June.  It will be a much happier day and next year there will be 2 mothers to celebrate—me and my daughter. In my daughter’s face I see the echoes of the line of mothers she comes from, and I will see those same echoes in her child’s face because we carry a bit of every one of our ancestors, whether it’s the shape of our nose, our talent in music, or our love of gardening. When I look at myself I see my mother’s cheeks, and I have the love of writing my maternal grandmother had. My daughter has the musical talent my mother had, and the stubbornness that I exhibit from time to time.  I wonder what echoes her daughter will have, and look forward to finding out, one Mother’s Day celebration at a time.

              My daughter and me last year with the door wreaths we crafted together on Mother’s Day.

                 Me and my daughters many years ago on vacation in Alexandria Bay, New York.

                 Me and my daughter at her baby shower. My baby is having a baby!

 

Beautiful

 In trying to cope with our deep grief, we have been doing some traveling. We took a short road trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania first. It was a quiet trip as it was in February and the off season. Not everything was open, and there weren’t very many other tourists there. We saw many sights as we drove through Amish and Mennonite areas. Signs of a simpler way of life were there in everything from sharing the roads with horse and buggy, laundry gently swaying in lines in the breeze, to fields being plowed in the distance by horse drawn plows. There were also some beautiful sunsets, which I found soothing for my hurting heart.

Our next trip in March was to drive 1,500+ miles from New Jersey to Texas, with overnight stops in Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas then 8 days in Texas staying with family. We saw, along the way, the Smokey Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Cumberland Mountains, and signs of spring. We saw different varieties of trees and flowers beginning to bloom, and by the time we got to Texas most of the trees were full of leaves, quite different than the not even budding yet trees we left behind at home. I don’t think we will do such a long road trip again, as we are no longer young and 6 hours in a car 4 days in a row was rather exhausting, but we are glad we did it. If you ever get the chance to take a long road trip, I recommend doing so at least once. We saw many beautiful sights and did some interesting sight seeing while in Texas. Among other places we visited while there, such as the Ft. Worth Stockyards and the Bureau of Engraving (where paper money is printed), my favorite by far was the GW Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. It was interesting and well put together, and whatever your politics are it is well worth checking out. One of my favorite parts was a short video the president’s daughters made about their father. They focused on his humor and it gave a good sense of what kind of person he is. It is also in a beautiful setting as the SMU campus is lovely. We also had a chance to see family we don’t see because we all live so far away, which was very nice, and comforting to our grieving souls.

Our third, and final (for a little while) road trip was to the Adirondacks in NY to visit more family and view the eclipse. There we went back a half a season as they still had quite a bit of snow on the ground when we arrived. It’s a beautiful sight to see snow covered mountains in the distance as we did driving through the Catskills on the way. While we were there the weather warmed, spring arrived and snow melted. The day of the eclipse was sunny and warm enough that we were outside on the deck all afternoon to see the spectacular sight of the moon briefly covering the sun. We had our eclipse viewing glasses and snacks. We enjoyed very much our time staying with more family, again finding solace with loved ones in a beautiful setting.

Even though I have seen many beautiful sights, I think the most beautiful thing to see is family and friends, taking care of each other. How could anything possibly be more beautiful and breathtaking than that? Love wins and it’s a beautiful thing.

Constant State of Emergency

 

This has been a year when I feel that I’m nearly living in a constant state of emergency. We have had, in our house, some sort of virus affecting one of us almost every month. Add to that an accelerated date of retirement for my husband due to his job being eliminated at the beginning of the year, necessitating quickly figuring out health insurance for each of us, finances, and a huge change in routine all while dealing with illness. The washer broke and had to be replaced, the bathtub was rusting and had to be dealt with, the van needed work and our home health aide was in a motorcycle accident and is not expected to be back before October. It’s a lot of stuff to wade through, but we did it and do it because it’s just life. Through it all we try to maintain a positive attitude and keep moving forward. Sometimes, however, it’s tough when the world seems determined to focus on the negatives.so here are some good things that have happened. I have a brand new washer! It works really well and the man that delivered and installed it could not have been nicer, patiently explaining things and showing us how to set the controls, etc. My bathtub is now rust free and beautiful, and safer as we added safety bars. It’s such a pleasure using it! We had a man come and power wash the outside of our house, decks, and patio and seal all the wood. It looks brand new and we bought a new table and umbrella for the patio, and lovely annuals we put in pots and hanging baskets. We also have a patio garden on wheels that is yielding some zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers! The extra hot and humid sauna like weather really helped everything grow this year. The van, once repaired has been reliable and took us to visit family in another state for a few days. We had a nice visit in beautiful surroundings. We got home safely and have had some time to relax before resuming attending to the many appointments and responsibilities that are part of life.

So you see, there are many positives in life, and I try to focus on those to counter the negatives that come our way, and the ones that the news casters and social media seem to feel we need to be inundated with on a daily if not hourly basis. I wish you peace.

                                It was a steamy, cloudy morning in the mountains where we were.

   The new bathtub and safety bars.

Flowers on the patio.

          A beautiful sunset sky after a thunderstorm. I love the colors and the way the clouds are.

          The fire in the fire pit at my sister in law’s place, I think the log “ chimney” is so cool!

April Poems & Pictures

I’m making an effort this month to pen a few more poems. Pictures mostly are my writing prompts for these.

January Almost Gone!

     It's hard to believe that January is almost over already!  Although it has felt like an extremely long month, it has gone by so quickly that I am surprised to realize there are only a few days left.  I still have some Christmas decorations up!  I guess part of me must be stuck in the recent past or something.  I've been busy with filling out forms for applications for services for my daughter and myself, and helping my husband with some that he needs to do.  I guess the new year brings new forms to fill out!  I sure hope this trend does not continue throughout 2023 or I'm going to be one extremely cranky person as I truly hate filling out forms. I'm not sure which is worse, ones that give you barely any room to write your answer (unless you are a mouse using a mouse sized pen) or ones that give you multiple choice boxes to check but the options they give don't really apply to you, forcing you to decide which option is closest to the truth.  And honestly, who is really reading all these forms?  I think the answer is NOBODY and they just want them for your file in case there is some question about the validity of their actions so they can go back and say "but look what she wrote there", moving any blame squarely onto your shoulders and off of theirs.  Ok, rant over! haha! Just had to put that out there, in case anyone else feels the same.

Anyhow, lest you think I have only negative thoughts to begin the new year, I wrote a couple of short verses.  It's always a treat when I get up in time to watch the moon set while the sun is rising.  It most often happens when the moon is full and bright enough to overcome the light sky, it's a little bit like the universe saying "there is a balance to everything"--one light rises and another one goes down--another new chance to find balance in your life.

I seriously dislike watching or listening to news reports because there is so much yelling and arguing always leading the stories they report on.  As all the hollering and bickering is happening, we all have to just try and set that aside and keep doing the good things that we can do to bring something positive into every day.  It can be hard, I know,  but somehow we do manage to do that.  We need to celebrate that more.  That is what inspired this next verse.  The picture was just my shadow one day as I stood on the landing of my back deck looking at the sky and the lake in the distance.

May 2023 be kind to us all!

Wrapping Up 2022

 As the year ends I reflect on what I may have learned this trip around the sun we have all just completed. So, the most important thing I learned is that when push comes to shove we always figure it out together.  I always thought that if I were unable for some reason to care for our daughter it would mean she would have to be moved into a facility with 24 hour care instead of living in our home, the only one she has ever known, with us as her caregivers and me primarily doing the hands on tasks.  Well, I was injured and needed rotator cuff surgery so was unable for a time to do many of the hands on tasks.  My husband stepped seamlessly in to that role until we were able to find a qualified home care aide to come in for a few hours so that he could go to work.  It has all worked out well and I find that acting as a manager instead of the primary hands on person is not as difficult as I had feared.  I also learned that having patience with myself and healing is just as important as having patience with others.  I am amazed at how the body heals and compensates for muscles and tendons that are unable to be repaired completely so that most function is possible once again; at least enough to accomplish what I need and want to. I also learned that sharing my poems and thoughts seems to help some of my friends in some way and that it is a gift to be able to do so.  I'm sure there is much more but for me these were the most important lessons.

Happy New Year!  Let's see what 2023 teaches us!

Pictures and Poems

I try to post with some regularity on my little blog here, and every night I tell myself that tomorrow I will write a blog post but life just gets in the way and time goes by without it ever being "tomorrow", apparently.  Perhaps for the new year coming up in a few short weeks I will resolve to be a more regular poster!  It's not even that anything life shattering is going on, it's just the normal business of having family, friends, commitments, and things of that nature which we have.  Anyway, these are some pictures and short verse I have done in recent weeks, so I haven't been a total slouch! haha

We owe such a large amount of gratitude to our veterans.  We can never repay them for what they do.

This was a Sunday afternoon thought on an unseasonably warm summerlike November afternoon which found me enjoying sitting on the back deck with Hillary while my husband puttered in the yard.

These vultures were hanging out by the parking lot at my library the week before Halloween.  I took the picture not knowing what they were and got out my mother's Audubon book of birds to see what they might be.  I took that book when we were cleaning out her house after she moved into a nursing home. I like it better than searching the internet, as I prefer reading books I can riffle through and feel to reading on a tablet or electronic reader. Very old school.

The last rose blooms before we have frost that kills them and they sleep until next spring.

We do tend to rush past November headlong into December and the Christmas season.  Indeed, I have already begun shopping for Christmas gifts for my loved ones, even before I have solidified my Thanksgiving feast menu and coordinated with those who will bring dishes to the meal.  Probably I will still be doing things last minute for both events, it's just how it is!
 

Girlhood and Dreams

     When I was a young child I, like many other children, had a special friend that I took everywhere and loved very much.  For me it was Raggedy Anne.  We played together in my imagination, and at night I snuggled under the covers holding my cuddly friend in the crook of my arm. She had big black button eyes with eyebrows and lashes painted on as well as a painted on triangle for a nose and shy smile.  She had red yarn for hair, a flowered dress with a white pinafore over it, red and white striped stockings and black shoes.  I loved her then, and find that in looking back I identified more with her than with the Barbie fashion dolls and baby dolls I also played with. I can't believe I still have her!  When we cleared out my parents house at the end of  their lives, there were some boxes in the attic with toys that they had stored there.  There were a few of my dolls, (no Barbies), and my nap blanket that I used in kindergarten at rest time.  I guess my parents couldn't bear to part with a few things that their little girl held dear in her girlhood days.  Raggedy Anne's dress and face are a little dirty, there is a water stain at her hairline on one side of her face, half of her hair on the back of her head is worn off, and there are stiches in her shoes where my mother lovingly mended the worn spots.  She is well loved and I found her recently when clearing out some things around the house.  She is a reminder of the love and security I felt when I was very young. I don't think I can part with her.

    When I was growing up, I had a recurring dream about a witch chasing me.  I can still remember it, a witch was chasing me riding her broom as I ran through the neighbor's house chasing after a little black and white dog.  How very strange!  I don't remember having any other recurring dreams the rest of my life, funny I should remember that particular dream.  I do occasionally have odd dreams that leave me foggy headed and wondering what they were about when I'm waking up.  Like gossamer threads they float away and disappear, and the mist left behind dissipates as I stretch and get out of bed, although some impressions remain for a bit. Some are really perplexing, like dreaming that I am driving a bus or something that suddenly turns into a house that is my house, but not like any house I have ever lived in, or that I overslept but in reality I haven't and it's the weekend anyway so don't have to be up any specific time.  Dreams are funny things--I remember my father told me one time that he had a dream he was being run over by a lift truck when he was in the hospital and a medical machine down the hall was beeping. The unconscious mind is a mysterious thing!

    There are, of course other types of dreams, such as daydreams and what we dream of happening in our lives in the future such as dreams of being a famous author one day. Ha!  Well, a girl's gotta have a dream, as they say! Never say never.

                                  My Raggedy Anne. She was very loved.  

A Wrap Up of September Celebration

It seemed to me like September was just a blink of the eye.  It was an eventful month so maybe that's why it seems to have passed so quickly.  It started with Labor Day and the little cookout I hosted and was followed by a 30th birthday party for Hillary.  There was a lot of planning and preparation and hoping for nice weather.  It all paid off and the day was a huge success with beautiful weather which was warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze.  The birthday girl was very happy that day and fully enjoyed the festivities and attention from family and friends. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that!  She even kept her birthday crown on all day which was a surprise because generally she doesn't like anything on her head.  I was exhausted by the end of the day but it was such a good time had by all that it was a really nice kind of tired that made the bed feel so good that night when at last I fell into it.

The birthday girl surrounded by all her gifts.  Which one to open first?  Such a fun decision to make.

Since we were to be outside, and because there are still covid concerns I decided that cupcakes and individual ice cream cups was the way to go.  No I didn't make the cupcakes, but I arranged them in two tiers and it was quite a nice presentation.  They were delicious!

A chipmunk sits on my husbands car munching on the acorns the old oak tree litters our driveway with.
 

Back Fred's Demise

 

               Back Fred was a Wisteria which I bought and planted 17 years ago when my mother passed away.  When I bought it, I expected beautiful purple blooms as the one my mother had in our side yard.  Mine, however didn’t ever bloom.  It didn’t fail to grow, it was quite good at that and I planted it in what I came to realize was an ill-advised spot as it got quite large and top heavy.  I had my husband put a trellis behind it and we tied both to the deck so that strong winds wouldn’t pull it over. Over time I kept it trimmed back from the deck landing and the walkway into the back yard as well as I could.  It grew exponentially when we had lots of rain, and if we went away for a few days in the summer it began covering the deck requiring a severe cutting back.  Still, I enjoyed it and hoped every year for flowers on it; until we realized that it was leaning to one side so much that it was pulling the deck apart.  Even so, we kept it there and enjoyed the bit of shade it gave to the back yard and the bit of privacy to anyone sitting on the deck. 

               We spoke about moving Back Fred or cutting it down every year for the past few, but somehow just never got around to doing it.  We kind of liked his spirit and willingness to just keep growing no matter how much we cut back.  Winters full of ice and snow and strong winds out of the north did nothing to hurt it, even if the frozen stuff was so heavy that he bent almost to the ground he’d stand up again as soon as the sun did its job and melted the ice off the branches.  Yes, Back Fred was hardy, as wisteria tends to be.  We named it Back Fred because we already had a Front Fred which was old forsythia which predated our homeownership and we just didn’t have the heart to get rid of. He was in the middle of the front lawn and for a time we (well, my husband) kept it trimmed into the shape of some type of umbrella tree.  Eventually Front Fred became too tall and top heavy and didn’t fare as well in winter as Back Fred.  After one especially icy winter Front Fred no longer stood up once the ice melted and became an obstacle to efficient lawn mowing so a couple of years ago we had  landscapers come and remove and trim some trees and put poor Front Fred out of his misery.

               It was this past Saturday that we came home from a run to the market to get some things for a cookout we were having on Sunday to see that Back Fred was falling over.  Despite a valiant effort by my husband to trim enough off to stand him back up, the trellis had been pulled out of the ground and rusted and would need to be cut out of the plant.  We decided that it was best for poor Back Fred to be put out of his misery as well as save the deck from being pulled completely apart.  So now there is an empty space where there was lush greenery, but it does kind of give a more open feel to the patio and deck and back yard.  We also have lots of wood to burn in the chimenea if we ever get days that are cool enough without being frigid to enjoy a fire on the patio.  I know they’ll come but it feels as if the summer will never end this year as it’s been especially hot and dry.  It might be that the ground was too dry and helped Back Fred’s ultimate demise as he was too top heavy for the dry soil to hold the trellis in place any longer.

               So we had a fun time the next day with our gathering which began with my daughter’s boyfriend helping remove Back Fred’s remains.  We had a Yahtzee tournament, (I won!), good food, lots of laughs, and nice sunny weather.  We did miss Back Fred’s shade but we compensated by using various umbrellas as parasols.  We’re well versed in making do with what we have and moving on and umbrellas were the most obvious solution to our lack of shade for a little while until the sun was a little lower and the house cast enough shade for us to be comfortable once again.

               I will miss seeing Back Fred, but I won’t miss the work of keeping him trimmed and once the deck is repaired he will just be a fond memory. 

   On the right you can see where the deck is coming apart.  Poor Back Fred was touching the ground.

        This is when my husband tried trimming some off the top in an attempt to save poor Back Fred.

         Then he fell over and we realized that he was going to have to be removed completely.

Summer Vacation

     This year we travelled the 200+ miles again to visit and stay with family for a few days.  It was touch and go as to whether or not we'd actually be able to make the trip as when we took the van in for pre-trip check over there were some problems and one of them had to be fixed by another garage.  There was some concern that not all of the parts could be either found or fabricated in time to make our old van safe for the trip, but luckily the skilled mechanics at both garages were able to get us in fine shape for the journey north. Happily the traveling part of the trip was uneventful and we made good time, even stopping at a favorite restaurant for a fish sandwich that can only be gotten in the area where my husband grew up.  It has their own special chili sauce on it and I recommend stopping at Ted's Fish Fry if you ever travel in the area of Troy, New York.  Get the coleslaw and onion rings too--you won't be sorry!  It's where we stop for lunch on our yearly trek to the Adirondacks, and we look forward to that almost as much as seeing family.

    Once at our destination and unloaded we were able to settle in and be pampered a bit by our hostess, and very well fed over the duration of our stay.  The weather was very hot and humid which was a bit of a disappointment because we had hoped to escape that by travelling north into the mountains, but we made the best of it and enjoyed the peace and quiet, as well as the company.  There was some worry the first night that a predator of some sort such as a coyote may have gotten Flora, one of the kitties, who failed to return home for 24 hours, but the next morning there she was outside the door when I got up. (I was the first one up as I generally awaken at the same ridiculously early hour every day no matter where I am.) She is a little bit skittish of strangers and wouldn't come in when I opened the door to her, but she ran around to the glass sliders and I let her in that way.  She made a beeline for her food dish, so I guess aside from being hungry she was no worse for the wear and found a safe place outside to hide until she decided to come home.  Her sister, Luna, was sleeping curled up on the bed with my sister in law, but seemed happy to see her when they came down later in the morning.  Flora is quite the explorer and daredevil, also a bit of a brat but incredibly cute so you just have to love her when she comes and taps at you for pets and attention.  Luna is the homebody and likes belly rubs and cuddles with her mommy, and seems to look at her sister the way and older sister will react to a younger more gregarious sibling although they are the same age.  It's funny how each cat has her own distinct personality, it's not something I ever gave much thought to before.

    We mostly just relaxed over the course of our visit, I read a novel cover to cover while we were there, which was quite a treat for me to have so much uninterrupted reading time.  We took some walks and my sister in law took us by turns in her 4 wheeler or her Subaru to the little cabin she put down by the brook on her property where she sometimes camps out.  She loves nature and really it's wonderful that she is able to be living out her dreams now that she is retired.  There is something new every year because she keeps herself busy gardening and building little sitting areas around her property. She added an outdoor fireplace to a small flagstone patio she has, and new ornaments and a hammock swing to a grotto she built to the side of that patio. Her garden shed is new since we were there last year, although we knew she was building it from a kit with one of her sons. The vegetable garden is prolific with tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and some root vegetables.  She recently planted some fruit trees and her flower gardens are enviable.  In the winter she takes care of her houseplants which are also to be admired, especially her little lemon tree which she places outside in the summer and this year is heavy with fruits. My husband is quite jealous of the lemon tree as the cutting she gave him years ago just barely stays alive through the winter and has yet to  blossom or produce fruit.  She has a very green thumb which is handy because she is a Master Gardener.

    So we returned home refreshed and rested, driving through some much needed rain on the way home.  Naturally one of the first things I did after unpacking the van and getting Hillary freshened up was laundry and  packing away the suitcases for another year.  Although, since my husband is retiring in about 6 months perhaps we will take a trip for a few days before next summer. Hmmmm, that might be nice!

    Although our summer vacation was (and usually is) short, it was pleasant and relaxing. Can you really ask for much more than that from vacation?  I don't think so!

When we come up the driveway we are greeted by two beautiful hydrangeas.

Here's Luna relaxing in the heat of the afternoon in the shade under the hammock swing in the grotto,

I took this picture as I was walking up the small part of the trail we drove down to get to the little cabin by the brook.  I didn't walk very far down the hill because it was a bit rocky and uneven.

The gardening shed.  The curtain was made by her daughter in law and 2 of her granddaughters.

Flora jumped into the pantry looking for treats when I opened it.

We had a fire in the outdoor fireplace our last night there.  We also saw a few shooting stars which was a treat since where we live there's just a bit too much light pollution at night to see any.