New England, part 2 of 2

        Finally I've mostly caught up with myself after the 12 days away.  I have some more photos to share  -- and memories too.  I'm so grateful for all the support friends and family gave me along the way.

         Many magnificent trees are on the Smith campus.  Hardly anyone was around when I was there, in late July. I had hoped to see inside the new library, but it's not yet open to the public, as I explained last week.

     The broader view of the botanical gardens at Smith, and the back view of my dorm when I was a student.  (See the previous blog for two other photos.)

I spent the night in town with a dear friend, Maureen, who used to live in Kentucky.  The first of the next two photos is a tiny neighborhood library -- or book exchange -- which she oversees.

        It's based on the house where her apartment is, up the hill from the street.
Northampton has many such lovely old large houses.

    Maureen took me to see the Quaker Meeting in downtown Northampton, MA.  I asked her to sit on the bench as we would do for Quaker Meeting.  I love the smile she shared and the simplicity of the room and benches.

   Then it was back to Boothbay Harbour, Maine, for the first night's cousins meal.  My sister, Robin, the night's chef, in the hat, seems to have caused multiple cleaned plates.... totally tasty pesto with her own basil.
   

All is ready for the next night, same view

These are probably Canada geese, but we were hoping for some species of exotic water fowl.

Also in Maine:  I was able to stay a night with my second cousin, Doug, on our mother's side.  He and Holly and 4 of his brothers and families live in Wayne.  Doug and I stopped here while doing some errands "in town".

I liked the comment in the lower right hand of this poster in the store.

!

    To end, I will try as always for one or two short videos, the first along the street friends Judy and Gwen live on in Hamden, CT, near New Haven.  Flowers everywhere in the small yards of most of the homes!

        The other one will have to wait until I get brave again.  Could happen very soon.  In any case, I will be back in two weeks for some more sharing.  PLEASE STAY HEALTHY EVERYONE.  School will be starting very soon, and our kids deserve to go to school safely, and that logically includes everyone wearing a mask for the time being.  Don't get brain washed! Instead use the brain to see the reasons for the need now to be as careful as possible.   

an ever changing neighborhood

          I think our long cool spring has transitioned directly to the full warmth of summer. Fields are ready for the first mowing, and there are a variety of farm procedures in action.  Last night I even followed the setting sun and made some photos with a camera with few frames left --- definitely not my best professional behavior.  Even so, I enjoyed being out and about making photos. However, these first three photos are ones I meant to include two weeks ago.

revisiting a mayapple patch along the road -- I then used the patch I found hiding in the woods to take the up close mayapple photos now that they were in bloom.  I didn't want anyone driving by to wonder what I was looking for -- or hiding -- under the foliage.....

        

 

one blossom per plant

        
         Yesterday I got adventurous and took a back road off of a back road, and it was a bit more precarious than I had expected, with lots of storm damage to navigate as well.  Thank goodness at least there was not any traffic, just several other cows along the bottom of the hill.

 steep flower bank on the other side of the road

last night's evening sky, along Route 504

         

 

 

And now let's see if I can load up a video of the same views, and watch how my phone did what it could for its last filming before it needed to be recharged.  As usual, I'm so used to working by myself that I forgot to add any voice over or words of wisdom.    Ah, life's sweet challenges....

I return here around 9 pm tonight, and, if the video hasn't reloaded yet, I will try a redo. In the meantime, I went for a short walk in the cool of the day, as the Jean Ritchie song says that sings those words....  with thanks to George Ella for recognizing what I was trying to convey with the quote.

water falling, running, or frozen

         I have the idea of going wild about spring this year --- and starting with waterfalls.  This year there's a lot of work to be done to even get to the falls I have shown before, due to the damage caused by the recent ice storm. Getting to see those wild flower treasures we look forward to finding every April may be really hard to manage as well. The clean up priority has to be the nearby fire trail in order to assure access to it if need be. That's why I want to honor the creeks and the falls and the flowers that may be hidden to us this April while nature works to mend itself. I will show flowers in the next weeks.

        First I am going to try to load a vimeo of a creek on a normal day, several years ago. This can take awhile -- even overnight --  but it should work out in the end. I hope you will be able to listen to the water.

         

The creek continues, flowing toward the falls.

 Here's the top ledge of the second waterfall:

summer falls

winter artfulness

the big waterfalls, frozen and fallen

That day we heard the ice crash down just before we got there. Sometimes the top and the bottom touch in the middle!

summer view

        I can't resist leaving the forest's treasured spaces in order to share a long ago happy winter water moment at the pond.  It shows how you can't believe everything concerning water that you see.....

    There are so many more waterfall moods and photos, but these ones give a taste of the joy.

More of marvelous Melva's end of summer garden, part 2 of 2

post #511

        Here in northeastern Kentucky, we're having a wet, wet weekend, and, at last, the look of autumn. I'm honored and delighted to have the rest of my friend's garden photos (and her descriptions) to share with you! (I hope you have already seen last week's post..)

 Pokeweed, which I let grow because I love pokeweed's tender growth:

red cardinal vine, an annual which is worth seeding each year:

 

 red zinnia, another annual which is worth seeding every year:

butterfly weed with love-lies-bleeding in the background, upper right of the photo....every annual is worth seeding every year:

white marigolds, actually rather pale yellow, my first:

purple okra, for color and for savoring flavor:

green tomatoes, which have lost most of their leaves and so won't last much longer:

cosmos pink:

last of the leeks, a favorite for cooking:

potted sage, (bottom -- potted sage, /pineapple sage --mid-pot  / purple sage next to the pot, on the right); handy for tea!

LAST FIG RIPENING ON THE TREE -- which will have to be wrapped and kept over the winter in the garage once the leaves all drop.

             (note from me, Ann: How many of us would wish to spend the winter warmly wrapped and safely stashed in the garage?!?!?!   At times, this is a tempting thought....)

 

            Again, so many thanks, Melva, and congrats for your lifetime of learning from your love of working in gardens.  I do hope I didn't mislabel anything that's crucial!  

            Dear viewers, enjoy today's "seedy" post....

         

on the way, neither denying nor accepting

post #507
          I am so thrown by our nation's turmoil. I recently had a very cordial catching-up conversation with a neighbor who, when I asked, calmly stated that she wasn't so sure the coronavirus was any different than the flu. She was willing to wear her masks at work, but she didn't think they made any real difference.  Yet the family that lives almost at the end of my road has several members in quarantine because some are sick. And who knows how many Americans will defy the science and not be careful this Labor Day weekend.  They won't all get sick, but some will and some of those will die or they might pass the virus on. It's happening all over the world, it's confusing, it's hard on our kids, and it definitely collides with what some would call the American myth that our right to do anything we want is more important than looking out for each other.  
          I'm not complaining so much as disbelieving, but it means I am compelled to bring it up, because anything about anything else doesn't work without bringing up these concerns. It's just hard to accept that we aren't all --- every one of us --- speaking to the current fragile balancing of the personal and the political that faces us as citizens of our shared world.  (And, no surprise, I am sick that our president is going out of his way -- purely for his own selfish purposes -- to undermine the voting procedures the constitution guarantees and requires for the health of our democracy.) 

          OK, enough words. I'm glad Blogger, for this week again, at least, has returned to a saner blog posting operation. Since I'm not sure it will last, however, I remain basic in how I try to present a few photos. 

stopping on Sideway Road to take 2 photos..

My mini-bumper stickers, which -- LUCKILY -- mainly serve to stand out in the Kroger parking lot so that I can find my car after grocery shopping! Well, it is true that several times I have seen people taking photos like this one I made. There don't seem to be a lot of other stickers this year. These are at least non-partisan sentiments.

A BRIEF BRAGG: I have never been the one to be the fixer of anything, but this time, after early consults with J., I managed to get this bottom freezer to stop acting like a toddler.  So far, no more leaks!.

It's meadow time around here, soon to be mowed, so goodbye iron weed...

   The following photo is by my daughter, Rebecca, this weekend.  I think it's a really good photo, but it also shows the location for where the downy woodpecker family feeding photos happened -- in front of the upper window on the left.  I have added one of those earlier photos as a point of photography interest. I was inside that window, looking out, and the light was OK for being able to make it work. Nothing was planned. Thank you, Curiosity. That discovery moment went on for at least a half dozen feeding sessions.

Downy Dad dinner prep, while I'm looking out the window to the limb that's part of a trellis (see previous photo)

           Did I mention to please be kind, please be safe, please envision why and how we could -- with bravery -- restore democracy, and please VOTE?