misty autumn in langrove

It had been a few weeks since Greg and I were able to get to Away (for the weekend)

So - last Friday as we crossed the state line into Vermont

- it was like - deep breath - ahhhh

It had also been a while since I had picked up my camera (bad, bad)

And then - Saturday turned out to be a rainy day - and it really didn't matter

- because - you know - that breathing thing...

- and besides, I kind of like the way the autumn leaves look in the mist

- and I had forgotten how much I like telling Greg to "Stop right here!"

because - you know - it's kind of fun to take photos of cows

 (and barns and fences) in the rain :-)

So - today I am heading out of town to celebrate the life of my

sister-in-law, Beth. Heaven gained a really special person last week.

I am joining Theresa at Run*A*Round Ranch for Good Fences

Have a wonderful weekend

good fences and pausing for red chairs

I don't know what it is about Adirondack chairs, but they always make me want to slow down.

Walking from one meeting to another, yesterday

- the red chairs on the other side of the fence made me pause -

and smile.

And - the sunshine didn't hurt, either.

I'm joining Theresa for Good Fences

I wish you a wonderful day!

see you in september

Oh wait - it is September
- my favorite month - and yet - where the heck did summer go?
Mine was a bit like a roller coaster ride - lots of ups and downs
- and I've been feeling a little bit dazed and a lot speechless.

One of the "ups" happened on a rainy day in July when Maggie and her friend, Greg,
 completed their hike of the Appalachian Trail.

Jubilation!

The clouds cleared just long enough for us to get a glimpse of Mt. Katahdin
and wonder where our hikers were...

We are so happy to have her home again!

And - she made it home in time for another summer highlight -

Laura and Jeff's engagement celebration.

the happy couple

This was one of many family celebrations in July which also included my mom's 80th birthday
 and my niece's (2nd from left) bridal shower.

Cousins

On another note - bird watching at Away is on hold until December.
As it turns out, this furry creature (caught more than once on our critter-cam) made his(her?)
way onto our deck.

Badbear

- and completely annihilated our bird feeders.

(Bad Bear!)

Okay -  we were warned - but seriously -

I never imagined he'd climb up to our second story deck!

Yeah - anyway - as much as I wish I had actually seen this happen

(how awesome would that have been?)

I probably shouldn't be inviting bears to picnics on our deck - 

so... we'll buy some new feeders after this stinker goes into hibernation - Bad Bear!

While I enjoy sharing our summer "ups", our "downs" aren't mine to share
 - but I surely would appreciate any kind thoughts, prayers, or well wishes you can send
for one of my family members.

Knowing that life isn't fair, sure doesn't make it hurt any less.

Thanks, so much.

And this has been my summer. 

I hope you've had a wonderful summer - I'd love to hear about your favorite summer memories

lazy saturdays

Our deck painting project seems to be putting a damper on our weekend adventures
- or rather, that would be Greg's deck painting project -
So far, I've managed to escape by heading to the farmer's market.

Anyway - last weekend after a morning of painting in the hot sun,
our Saturday afternoon conversation went something like:
"So - what would you like to do this afternoon>"

"I don't know - you?"

"I don't care - what do you have in mind?"

"Nothing, really - but I'll do something if you want to"

Sooooo... yeah... that went nowhere -

I started playing with the manual setting on my camera

and here is our lazy Saturday afternoon.

"Hello? Help? We have an uninvited visitor over here"

"What? Who - me?

Who says I'm not invited?

"hmmm Finches and Foxes -  Facebook update"

"Finches, Foxes, Facebook - whatever...

I found a sunny spot for my nap."

Yeah - I know - life on our side of the mountain is full of excitement.

Quick update at home:
Maggie has made it to Northern Maine and is somewhere in the "100 mile wilderness".
We hope she will make it to Mount Katahdin (end of the AT) sometime this week.
With any luck she'll be home by Friday - because
Laura and her fiance, Jeff, are having their engagement party next weekend.
And so, summer flies by.

How is your summer going so far?

fences and ramblings

So - I think I have a case of blogger's block -

which started when work got crazy, and all I did in the evening was veg 

- and pin...

Yeah, pinning is kind of mindless

- like - Ooooo, pretty picture (pin)

Well - except for having to choose a board to pin it on

Oh yeah, hard work, that...

Anyway, work is back to normal :-)
and I'm still pinning lots and lots of pretty pictures -

and I have blogger's block

So - I did manage to break away from Pinterest long enough for a bike ride with Greg

rolling through the Vermont countryside

hills, barns, fences, marble...

did I mention hills? - Yeah, lots of hills...

And - what is up with Feedly?
I logged in one day and my app didn't work.
- Nothing -
And then, since I'm so very patient with all things technical,
I deleted it and said -
well, it doesn't matter what I said -
So anyway, now I'm trying to get my feed set up on Bloglovin'
and I'm so very sorry if I haven't visited you in a while.
I should probably find a chapter of Pinner's Anonymous,
and free up some time to figure out this bloggy stuff.

Whew - and that's all my rambling for today.

I am joining Theresa for Good Fences
Have a great afternoon!

morning awakening

So - vacations are made for sleeping in
- unless -
you happen to be running an impromptu early morning shuttle for wayward-daughter-hikers...

But then - one morning after an early morning drop-off,
I managed to come out of my sleepy stupor to notice

Hmmmm - the world looks different in the morning.
Yeah - I'm really not a morning person...
(although - I'm normally up early preparing for work - ummm, not the same thing)

So - I managed to ignore my instinct to rush towards my nearest caffeine source,

and pulled out my trust Rebel -

and watched

as the Vermont countryside

slowly awoke

to greet what turned into

a most beautiful day.

And then - I drove home and made myself a pot of coffee
- where I caffeinated myself, gazing at the mountains from my deck
and marveled at how wonderful morning can be.

I am joining TexWis Girl for Good Fences

braking for hikers

I brake for vagabonds hikers.

We caught up with Maggie and her friend, Greg, last week in Bennington, Vermont
 - which was an adventure in itself. Let's just say that google maps and my little Subaru heartily disagree on the definition of a road!

I spent the next few days making early morning dropoffs and evening pickups at various trailheads in Vermont, as they enjoyed a few days of "slackpacking".

One day - equipped with bug spray, a water bottle and hiking boots,
 I got the brilliant idea that rather than waiting in the car, I'd meet them on the trail.
And so began my short little adventure into the forest -
- alone -
- with the bugs, and bears and sounds of critters unseen -

I was quickly rewarded with a little cluster of lady slippers,

and a lovely stream accompanied by the calming sound of rushing water and birds singing,

and my wild imagination - alone - with the bugs and bears and sounds of critters unseen
- and after 45 minutes, I came upon a muddy spot that I couldn't hike around -
- and I thought - nope, I'm done for the day.
Yeah - backpacker I am not.

This was our last pick up and evening together in Killington, Vermont.
We enjoyed dinner at a great little Inn with an Irish Pub.
Surrounded by croc-clad feet, I could see that this is a favorite spot among backpackers.
(Which - yep - I'm not)

So - fewer than 500 miles to Mount Katahdin for these intrepid hikers.
I'm looking forward to our next pickup which, God willing, will be in Baxter State Park.
Did I mention the forest is full of bugs and bears and who knows what all those other critters are?

It's back to work for me, tomorrow -
but I surely enjoyed a few evenings filled with stories and laughter.

open studios and small town fencery

Last weekend was Open Studio weekend throughout Vermont

and I enjoyed two days of visiting artist's studios,

chatting with the artists and learning a little about them, their art, and their creative process.

Oh my - so much talent out there - I am completely in awe!

Sunday brought us to the quaint village of Brandon.

Where we found an eclectic mix of old charm,

and whimsy - this guy was outside a shop of "Antiques and Found Objects"

Hmm - not sure - found object? 

and charming homes

 lots of marble...

Comedy? - yes, please!

and - yippee - we finally have flowers.

And as much as I enjoyed visiting the many studios and gazing at the variety of

stained glass, art quilts, furniture, paintings, jewelry...

we didn't walk away with any treasures this year -

and that's okay - I'm already looking forward to next year.

I'm joining TexWisGirl for Good Fences

serenity now!

Serenity now - remember that Seinfeld episode?

A couple of weeks ago, Greg and I visited Gale Meadows Pond

A deep breath and... 

 serenity

No need to shout it, here.

With any luck, we'll get our kayaks out this weekend.

It's a crazy time of year at work

-and I've been trying to get a jump on things so that I'll be able to take a few days off when 

the trail brings Maggie through Vermont sometime next month.

Appalachian Trail - Pennsylvania

I am sooooo looking forward to seeing her in person!

And - more exciting news in our family - our younger daughter in now engaged to her boyfriend of 6 years!

We're so happy for them and now look forward to wedding preparations - eeeek!

So - that's it for me - I suspect I'll continue to be a very sporadic blogger for the next few weeks

but hope to continue to visit you from time to time.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Please join me at The Run*A*Round Ranch Report for more Good Fences

smiling about...

Do you ever get that feeling that you're always running behind?

I have a backlog of posts -

but work has been crazy - mostly in a good way -

and when I get home at night, the introvert in me just wants to sit and read a book

- and maybe play a little candy crush...

Anyway - I'd like to share a few random things that made me smile this week

My niece, Molly, receiving her college diploma from her dad - my brother-in-law, Jim

Way to go, Molly!
(I stole borrowed this photo from my sister-in-law's facebook - Thanks, Deb - please don't sue me)

We had beautiful weather this week, and I traded the cacophony of treadmills

for a serenade of bird chirps - and gobble-gobble-gobble

The latest pic from Maggie - back in the North!

Yeah - she's pretty excited about the availability of

Dunkies iced coffee

wcvb

I sound like a broken record when I mention how much I despise my daily commute -

but, thank you to the Mass DOT for putting a smile on my face yesterday morning.

And - yes, I always use my blinkah - but only at the last possible second, because -

every Bostonian knows, that a blinker is really a signal to the drivers in the other lane to quickly fill in the gaps to prevent your lane change...

Tulips!! :-)

So - today is Mommy-daughter day with my youngest, and tomorrow I look forward to an afternoon with my Mom and sister and the MFA in Boston.

And - that's my week in a nutshell.

What has you smiling this week?

I'd like to wish a very happy Mother's day to all

mothers, aunts, and caregivers!!

misty mountain morning

It was a busy winter -

skiing, snowshoeing, enjoying a warm fire with a good book

(and maybe a glass of wine - or two...)

Then - it seemed that everyone was talking about Spring -

and I thought - Wait, what? Is it really time for Spring?

(which is probably a good thing - considering Spring is a late arrival here...)

But then - a couple of weeks ago, I woke up to the most beautiful misty morning.

I grabbed my camera, hoping to catch the light -

and stepped out on our deck to a balmy 40 degrees 

- yeah, I know - it's all relative.

But then I realized - hey, it is Spring.

Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I pulled up a chair and had a nice chat

 with my little feathered friend.

We both agree - it's definitely time to bid Old Man Winter a fond farewell.

computer crashes and weekends

It's confirmed -  my computer crashed

and we're going to have to start all over.

Darn those Microsoft updates! (to put it very nicely...)

It's a good thing Greg is very patient with this sort of thing-

because - if it was up to me, by the time I finished throwing my tantrum diligently working on fixing it,

there would be too many tiny jagged pieces to bother with.

Sigh

Anyway - it promises to be a beautiful Spring weekend in New England

- ending with the Boston Marathon on Monday

We'll be rebuilding my computer - which means I get to reload Photoshop all over again
 and organize my photos all . over . again.

So when I get to these,

I'll be filing them under "Things that keep me up at Night"

or maybe "Things that keep my hair stylist in business"

And it would seem that my
designer-loving-croc-loathing-city-girl-princess-turned-AT-through-hiker
is now somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley, having hiked more than 750 miles - so far.

And here I thought that the whole crocs-as-camp shoes thing would have her running home
 for a Tory Burch fix long before now.
It just goes to show you - Mom doesn't always know everything.
Please don't tell my kids I said that...

I hope you have a fun filled weekend planned!

boston fencery

So - I went out last weekend and took lots of photos

- downloaded them to my computer

-installed updates

- and -Crash!

Ummmm, yeah, my mistake was installing the updates...

Not good...

So anyway - I found this photo of a some Boston fencery on my iPhone

I took it while out walking earlier this week - can you see the signs of Spring?

-smile-

I've always liked these old brick apartment buildings

- and the way that in the midst of a busy city, you can find quiet tree-lined streets

and that whole computer thing? - yeah, we'll see - grrrr

random five - those blogging moments

As bloggers, we recognize that there are probably as many reasons to blog as there are bloggers.

Some blog about a topic they're passionate about, some are building their blog to become a source of income, and some have no real clue why the heck they're blogging.

I bet you can guess which category I fit into...

and when life gets hectic - as it often does - I think to myself

"time to throw in the towel"

but then - I remember those blogging moments.

We all have them - the things that keep us going.

Here are a few of mine

That moment when I got my first comment that wasn't from a family member.

Remember that rush?

That moment when someone I didn't know was following me, mentioned 

something in conversation that they only would have known from reading my blog.

- And that shy smile that follows with the comment "I love your blog, I check my feed every day"

That moment when it dawned on me that a blogger I had been following is following me back.

That moment that I realized that within the huge world of blogs,

there are friendly little neighborhoods of bloggers.

That moment when I found myself thinking about other bloggers as friends.

I hope she had nice weather for her son's wedding...

I wonder if her daughter had her baby...

I hope he has fun on his camping trip this weekend...

I hope his move goes well...

I wonder why she hasn't posted in a while - I hope she's well...

So - those are five of the aha moments that keep me from giving it up.

How about you? I'd love to hear your memorable aha blogging moments!

(Oh yeah, the photos have absolutely nothing to do with anything - they are from last month

 - Grafton, Vermont - a truly quaint little village!)

boston lunch break

So, I admit - I'm beginning to find the city a bit tiresome

- it's probably an age thing... shhhhh

- but -

some days, I really enjoy getting out for a lunchtime walk, and I find all that urban energy

well - ummm - energizing.

No city loves baseball quite like Boston does.
(If you have your doubts - check this out)

And since my office is a hop, skip, and a jump from Fenway Park,

I hopped on over to join the excitement of opening day.

There are quiet areas, too - but is it just me,

or does this tree make things look a bit creepy?

hmmm - I'm going to have to revisit in the summer...

And then - through a tall iron fence,

I spied this mural in a parking lot near Symphony Hall.
Pretty sure that's Seiji Ozawa staring me down.

How about you - city, country, or a little of both?