A refreshing day by the water

 

Yesterday we took an impulsive day trip to the Maine coast, a brief interlude between the busyness of May at TWNE and a busy summer catching up with things at home & camp as well as a potential road trip in July. 

Dunkin is often a day trip essential for us.  This time it was only a box of Munchkins which I didn't bother to photograph, choosing to use this older more classic photo instead.

 We got no photos at all of the beaches or lighthouse (we have plenty of those from other times and seasons) although we did go to both places.  The beach, though nowhere near as crowded as it will be in summer, was still much too crowded to enjoy walking on, so we were glad we knew of other walking options. 

And thus we got pictures of the lovely flowers along a favorite path, the Fisherman's Walk in York Harbor. 

This path winds along the ocean at the base of a hill and there are many lovely old plantings from the mansions situated above. These lilacs were especially beautiful and fragrant. 

Other photos are of pink bush honeysuckle,

  a yellow flowering bush or tree we couldn't identify,

and a deep purple lilac in the yard of a beautiful old home at the top of a side street. 

The deep purple lilacs are our favorites.

 
We had a refreshing day by the water.  I didn't realize until today how refreshed I feel.  We got home in time for a healthy supper, went to bed while it was still light out, and slept soundly.  Today I feel ready to tackle housework and other tasks with renewed energy.  So thankful for God's kindness in giving us this lovely day away.

A bit of springtime

 

We're super busy doing a lot of coming and going for our volunteer jobs at The Wilds of New England.  But I thought I'd share a few photos of spring's beauty.

These are at our house.  Primroses that come back each year.

These gorgeous tulips, along with the other flowers in this post, are at The Wilds of New England.

Magenta phlox setting off all the other colors.

Lastly, some glorious red and yellow tulips.

There you have it.  Just a short little post, but I'm sure readers agree that these photos speak volumes concerning God's creative handiwork and the intricacies of His design. 🌷

Mums, pumpkins, and more

 Just a few photos of the lovely outdoor fall decorations here at The Wilds of New England.  Above, one of the main buildings has a couple of porches.  The steps of this one boast mums and a pumpkin.  Below, the steps at the main entrance.  Love the look of the  bricks with the flowers and pumpkin.

On the steps to the Sweet Shoppe

More on the front porch steps

The gazebo in mellow morning light

The girls on the fall staff have been cleaning up the plantings in anticipation of frost.  One of them brought me this sweet bouquet.

And that's it for today! 🍁🍂

Friday five

 

Time for a Friday five!  I posted over on Instagram about these improvements at our little camp, so I will just share a little bit here as well for those who are not on IG.  Here we go!

1.  Getting two thresholds painted inside the camp.  The center section, because of its wheel wells from the when it was hauled from place to place as a lumber camp, is a step up from the kitchen on one end and the living area on the other end.  On the kitchen end, the threshold was a combination of an ugly black enamel with some unintentional green, white and gray spatters, and a piece of unfinished plywood.  On the living room end, it was an old, battered unfinished wood threshold.  I've been wanting to paint both of them gray for some time but had been dithering about paint.  Here's what I ended up using!  I did both thresholds with one 97¢ bottle!  I don't have a photo of the finished project, but will try and get one soon.

2.  Progress on the outdoor shower!  It's getting close!  Below is just a peek inside with a lot still to be done: hot water heater on the left, shower surround to the right.

 

A better look at the shower house itself:

3.  My hubby embedded these slate pieces in cement for a bottom step.  The slate pieces were in the ground in front of the door, along with the door rock partially seen at the top of the photo.  He took the middle step/set of stones from one of the many stone walls on the property.

4.  Flowers!  The plants our friend Charlotte gave us have taken hold well.  These are called Irish Eyes and I love them.

5.  (Trying not to squeal with delight over this one!)  Cold spring water piped to the kitchen sink ... courtesy of gravity and Yankee ingenuity!  What a difference it makes to have running water even if it is only cold.  Don't mind the measuring spoons in the sink.  I had been using a tablespoon to fill sachets with an herbal mixture and had placed the spoons in the sink to wash later.  They were still there when the clarion call came to turn on the faucet!

There's my simple Friday five.  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

A few photos from a tranquil spot up north

 

 Earlier this week we spent two days at our friend Charlotte's cabin up in Pittsburg.  I took a few photos of her gardens and grounds and thought I would share the peace and tranquility with readers.

A corner of the pond.

 

The pond is so tranquil.  

 Daisies at the edge of the pond.

 

 Love the red birdhouse and the red bee balm.  So pretty!

  

Hollyhocks at the left front.  I love hollyhocks.  They are such an old-fashioned flower.  My mother always had them. 

Below is another corner of the same garden.

 

Hope you've enjoyed this look at a quiet and peaceful spot.  It is always a blessing to spend time there with our dear friend.

From a North Country garden

 There's no time for a lengthy post today -- and probably not really time for this one.  But I wanted to share just a few photos of our friend Charlotte's glorious flowers.  We just got back from a quick two-day visit to her home in the Great North Woods.

One might think the growing season would be limited so far north, and one might be right.  But I have seen flowers blooming in Charlotte's gardens right into October.  

This visit I was extremely blessed in that Charlotte was in the midst of moving some of her plants around, and she gave me quite a number of them to bring home.  We hope to get them into the ground at our camp today.

 Most readers realize that I have a brown thumb.  I'm not good at keeping plants alive, especially houseplants.  But these will be outdoor perennials, so I'm hoping for better success.

The photo above may be my very favorite.  It looks down the slope of this hillside garden to the pond below.

 

I'm so thankful for the blessings of friendship and flowers!

Monday musings

 

 Even though I feel that I have less to share than usual -- the hot humid weather has likely addled my brain -- I wanted to pop in with a brief Monday musings post just to touch base with everyone.

Yes, it's hot and humid here these days.  Last week we had a couple of nice cool days that were just wonderful.  Sunny, but breezy and cool.  I really wouldn't mind if the rest of the summer turned out to be just like that.

My hubby and I stayed at our little camp again, to catch every available breeze and bit of coolness through the night.  This morning we enjoyed coffee and our quiet time by the campfire.  We hope to stay at our camp one or two nights each week, and to make one of the mornings a leisurely one like this.  (Photo below is from a previous summer in our own back yard.)

We always loved having our devotional times outdoors when we were camping, and tried to do so on some Saturday mornings at home, but often there wasn't time to build a campfire.  Now that we are retired, we can enjoy something like this more often -- maybe once a week or so, as life is still very busy. 

Last evening our daughter and the 4 kids came over (some walked, some biked) and we just enjoyed a nice visit outdoors where there was a bit of a breeze under the trees.   We've brought over some vintage wooden (and other) lawn chairs and and a wood glider from Tractor Supply that's been on our porch for years but was seldom used.  It will get a lot more use at the cottage.  Now we have outdoor seating for a crowd.

Anyone else finding it tiresome to cook on these hot humid evenings?  We are eating a lot of sandwiches and salads. Alfresco Bean Salad  is a wonderful healthy side for any sandwich.  

I recently made a large batch of this, along with a simple pasta salad, for my friend Jenn who just had a baby.  It was a hot week like this one, and she loved having cold foods all ready to eat.  You can find the recipe for the pasta salad in this post: Supper on the deck.

 Saturday we attended a graveside service for an extended family member.  We were blessed that the rain held off, the day stayed overcast (it was so hot and humid the sun would have been brutal), and that we could see so many of Mr. T's siblings and their families.  It was a blessing to see the outpouring of community support for the family.

Speaking of Mr. T, he has been working hard on the project of insulating and installing a ceiling of matched pine boards at our little camp.  I have no photos of this endeavor, though I think our daughter got a few with her phone the other day when Josiah was helping with the project.  It's looking good!  He plans to install a window in one end and also a floor and ladder.  This loft will be a fun and functional spot for the grandchildren to enjoy.  Below you see it as it was last summer:

I'll leave you with a view from one of our camp windows.  All of that green is so soothing ... and there is a green view from every window!