shining egg

saturday morning in the woods

 

bloom

a peek at my favorite dogwood tree over the last eight days.

green week, 1

and finally, it's march. my breath is a bit deeper. the light, these past two days, it seems brighter. and somehow the horizon seems a bit nearer. the time has come for me to celebrate all things green.

these photos were taken on sunday morning in the woods with my family, where we noticed green all around. such a joy, to be out in nature, watching the earth coming to life. we walked, and we walked. we left the trail and forged through the branches for a bit. and when we came back to the place where we began, we found this tiny patch of daffodils, ready to bloom. i am almost certain they weren't there when we began; they seem to have popped up out of nowhere. a reward, i'm sure, for our sunday morning walk in the woods, for our examination of nature, for our noticing.

i'm thrilled that all of these fine bloggers are planning to join me in this celebration of green. some may be posting green once this week; others, more often. please go visit them and see.

tracy

cathy

julia

michelle

dominique

jennifer

louise

heather

alicia

sarah

grace

erin

thistle downs

sarah

ani

angie

tracy

leslie

rachel

molly

liz

(of course, if i've missed anyone - or if there are any errors on the list - please let me know - in the comments or by email.)

and one last thing. i'm honored to be the guest photographer over at sea and sky for the next few days. i hope you'll stop by and see me.

i am in awe of the universe

i really am in awe of the universe.

it was cloudy here yesterday, all day. snowing, in fact. and then, last night, the clouds broke and the sky became clear - crystal clear, like the sky can only be on a cold night with snow on the ground. and we were treated to the most wonderful display of the universe in motion.

we even woke b. to show him. took him right out of his bed, fast asleep, wrapped in a blanket with bare feet, out onto the porch in the snow to see. (he wasn't happy about it last night, but this morning he was pretty pleased.)

and one of my photos (the second one) appeared as a thumbnail in the yahoo news story about the eclipse. not sure how that happened, but it was exciting.

so much to share this week, so little time. maybe tomorrow.

happy thursday, friends.

(and go see the eclipse photos over on amanda's blog - they're extraordinary.)

ETA: several people have mentioned copyright infringement - in the comments and in emails. yahoo news linked to my photo in their story - the thumbnail on their page linked directly to my photo in my flickr stream. so, according to my understanding, they did not violate my copyright. i appreciate your concern - for me, and for protection of copyright for all.

finally

little-miss-five-year-old-l. has been telling me for months - for many, many months - since the hottest days of july and august - that she couldn't wait for her birthday because there would be snow. and i have been responding for many, many months that even though your birthday is in january, there won't necessarily be snow at our house on that day.

ha!

(did i mention that she is forever teaching me?)

she spent the whole afternoon saying, "i got my wish." oh my. life.

about the necklace. i started talking with the boy about a birthday present for his sister last week. we talked about things he could make for her: a jewelry box, a picture frame, a book. he wanted to make her a seashell necklace. but i don't have a tool for drilling holes in seashells. a pity, because it's a brilliant idea. (note to self: add to the supply list.) he settled, in the end, for a beaded necklace.

we made a secret trip to the local bead store last weekend, where he picked out all of the beads by himself while i kept my big mama mouth (mostly) shut. i did make a few suggestions, but they were flatly rejected and i was encouraged to keep quiet.

the necklace was designed and constructed at night, after l. was tucked into her bed and sleeping. and i was astounded by what he put together. he was pretty proud of himself, too. (you might notice, in the picture, that a few of the beads are not completely symmetrical. that was by design. he felt that the necklace ought to have just a bit of "something.")

yeah.

and thanks - many, many thanks - for your birthday wishes. i read each one to the birthday girl and she was beaming.

thank you, too, for your kind words about my watercolor play. there's more where that came from. soon. today is all about birthday party preparations.

a wonderful weekend to you, friends!

grape stomping

saturday was a glorious day.  the sun was strong, the air was cool, it was the first fall day in our neck of the woods.  and we went to a grape stomp!

friends of our family have a little winery.  it started as a little hobby and, as hobbies tend to do in this particular family, turned into a mega-hobby.  there is a cellar for storing and for aging, there is a label for the bottles, even etched wine glasses!  and, every few years, there is a grape stomping party. 

this was my first time.  and i took the kids.  what fun. 

there were crates and crates and crates of grapes.  a giant tarp, buckets and tubs, an enormous food mill.  there was a bucket of betadine (i'm not clear about the hygenic implications of all of this, but since i was in it for the experience more than the output, i decided that the wine-maker-who-is-also-a-medical-doctor must know what he's doing) for cleaning feet, and another bucket for rinsing before stomping. 

after much preparation the grapes were poured into the tubs, the feet were disinfected and rinsed, and the stomping was begun.

guess who was the third person in line!?  after explaining to her carefully why she couldn't stomp the grapes with her shoes on - and no, not with her socks on, either, only barefoot - she took off her shoes and socks and stepped right in.  i'm not sure she loved it - she went straight for the hose for rinsing when we got out - and it was a wee bit wet and prickly, but i was so proud of her for trying. 

and of me, too.

signs of fall

i seriously do not know where to begin!  it seems like ages since i've written here - a sign, i suppose, of all that has happened in the last four days. 

our holiday was delicious - in time spent with family and friends and celebrating, and in food eaten.  thank you, thank you all for your thoughtful new year's wishes - your sentiments are so very much appreciated.

fall has arrived.  cool, crisp, lovely air.  the windows are open wide, we've been outside and outside some more. 

i've enjoyed several long walks over the weekend, collecting little bits of fall along the way.  yesterday morning, when i arrived home from my walk (late to meet my mother, having not yet eaten breakfast) i had to photograph these leaves (of course, i had to iron the linen first - it was stuck in my head that i had to photograph them on this particular piece of fabric that turned out to be, of course, terribly wrinkly - being linen, and all).  i was just struck by the forms, somehow.  and i'm so glad i did capture them when they were soft, fresh in my mind.

but wait, there's more.  there was a special party, a late-night session making invitations to a certain eight-year-old birthday celebration, some sewing, a much-needed garage clean-out (complete with a toad discovered in the corner!), and there was my pie (oh!  my pie...).  i can't wait to share all of this, and more.  but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  tonight, a favorite movie is calling my name.

(more signs of fall here)

elements (4)

day 4 - fire

we've shared two campfires with friends this summer - the same friends, in fact. the first was on our camping trip back in july when it seemed as though summer was still rolling in. and then, some weeks later, we shared a picnic on our porch and a campfire in a borrowed fire bowl on the grass in our back yard.

i loved these fires, both of them. the working-together to build them, the delight on the children's faces at the jumping flames, of course the melting s'mores, and even the smell of campfire smoke left over in my hair.

i'm hoping for one more before summer rolls on out of here.

(for shari's week of elements)

elements (1, 2, and 3)

i've tried to resist, but in the end, i can't.  i'm joining in on shari's week of elements.

i'm three days late and catching up.  here goes...

day 1 - water

my most favorite stream in one of my most favorite woods

day 2 - earth

early oregano in our garden

day 3 - air

the sky in between storms as seen from the car window (at a red light)

tomorrow, fire.

in bloom

we haven't spread the compost yet, thwarted by rain and trips to the pool and summertime do-little-ness, but my garden is growing nonetheless.

i remember, way back in the springtime, reading alicia's posts about wanting (and loving) her clothesline and thinking that's the way i feel about my vegetable garden.  i was longing for a patch of dirt in the backyard that would grow tomatoes and zucchini and herbs. 

it's been a fantastic family project this summer.  the planting and weeding and watering and tending.  we're loving it, all of us (even dave who went out in his dressed-for-work clothes at 7:30 this morning to tie a too-heavy tomato plant to the cage before heading to the office).

and yesterday, when i wandered down to the garden patch in the middle of the afternoon, just to see, i saw this!

i will confess that it took a lot of some restraint not to pick (and eat) these little tomatoes then and there.  but after doing a little happy dance (and running back to the house for my camera), i remembered to wait for the kids.  and then for dave to come home from work and see them, too, before picking.

last night after dinner, we made a family trip out to our little garden, we acknowledged the miracle and hard work that allowed these tomatoes to grow and ripen, and we picked and ate them.   

we shared two tiny tomatoes among the four of us.  even l., who doesn't like tomatoes (how is that possible!?) tried a bite.  they were the sweetest tomatoes i've ever tasted.

more things growing here.