scene and story - june

Well.....

This wasn't exactly what I was going for

- but, then...

this was my June

- blurry, but pretty and colorful all the same

My month started out with crazy, busy work deadlines,

the birth of our first granddaughter

- yeah, she's pretty much the sweetest baby ever -

(I may be a teensy bit biased)

- and ended with a much needed week off -

and a celebration for Greg's career transition -

many changes ahead...

On this particular day, Greg and I hiked to Stratton Pond in Vermont

It was the perfect day to roam around the woods,

picnic by the pond, at catch a much needed breath.

With any luck, July will be a bit more focused

- and while June passed by in a blur, it was a pretty wonderful month

I'm joining Sarah and Leon for Scene and story

Have a wonderful, safe, 4th of July!

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

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.

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!!

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!

random 5 - going mobile

I'm always saying or thinking "I should try this" or "I should learn that"... So this week I'm tackling "I should learn how to mobile blog." All words, photos and editing done on my iPhone.

And - It's Friday - so time for a little randomness with Nancy

1) wow- my iPhone has a camera! - not that I ever use it - it mostly leaves me thinking that I need stronger glasses. But we had a good time clowning around - and the Waterlogue app is fun!

2) Last week I ran across an old quote from Steve Jobs  - 

"for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' and whenever the answer has been 'no' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something..."

Hmmmm

3) the blogging world never stops surprising me. Two weeks ago when I posted about Maggie's adventure on the AT, one of my blog friends (thank you Dorothy) contacted one of her blog friends who also has a daughter on the trail. Imagine my surprise when I was texted a photo of the two of them together!

4) we've adopted Maggie's cat, Johnny Bananas, for the next few months. The little pest prefers to drink straight from the faucet. - and then there's his need for adoration at 4am...

5) for family and friends following Maggie's adventures - she sent me this photo earlier this week from somewhere in North Carolina. Can't argue with that scenery!

That's it for me this week - and I won't even preview this post on the computer (the control freak in me is cringing!) let's hope it's not a garbled mess!

How about you - do you use a smartphone for photos, blogging - everything / nothing?

As always, I wish you a wonderful weekend!

Update - partial fail on the mobile blogging - my links didn't take. Should be all set now.

random five from a random week

Happy Friday - and you know what that means

- time for some randomness at A Rural Journal

:-)

1) Fortunately for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, this spot at the top of Bromley mountain will be much prettier (and warmer) when they start hiking through in July and August.

2) I made it through week #1 of this whole Appalachian Trail shin-dig.

Whew - this worrying thing is pretty darned tiring!

Maggie's latest text from somewhere in Georgia - "I'm having an amazing time"

That's good - right?

3) Completely random -

Everything is better with peanut butter...

Just putting it out there

4) Right now, I'm reading Wally Lamb's latest - We Are Water

I'm enjoying it so far - and am always looking for suggestions.

Have you read anything awesome lately?

5) So... Yeah... Candy Crush...

As if I needed one more thing to completely suck up my time.

Anyone else addicted to this incredibly obnoxious game?

I'm going on a Candy Crush detox...

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

five on friday - vacation randomness

So - this week it was back to work, again -

and while I'm slow to get back into the swing of things,

it only took one commute into the city to pretty much wipe out a week of r & r...

Ahhhh well - it is what it is...

My backlog of photos is starting to stress me out, 

so for this week's five, I am sharing random images from my random week.

Greg and Chicago-daughter - taking a short pause during a hike.

We met up with these Appalachian Trail thru hikers at the top of Bromley mountain.

They were high as a kite, but I do admire their moxie.

Massachusetts lighthouse in my mom's seaside town.

I'm calling this awkward cutie "Woodrina"

Okay - yeah, I welcome suggestions...

Jamaica, Vermont Old Home Day celebration.

So that was my week in a nutshell.
I hope you're enjoying a little summer down-time, as well.
Have a great weekend!

barn charm - hiding in the forest

Winter is shaping up to be a busy season at Away

We're in a good spot for skiing and snow sports and hosting weekend getaways.

Last weekend was unseasonably warm and foggy - 

which made for some pretty interesting skiing, and very cool views atop Bromley mountain.
The Appalachian Trail passes through here.

I didn't get out with my camera as I thought I might,
but then I remembered that a couple of weeks ago I had found this barn hidden among the trees.
The red door jumped out at me.

The barn is connected to a pretty white farmhouse,
as is fairly common in Northern New England.

And I love the way it's nestled in the mountain forest.

Next weekend I plan to do a little more exploring -
my archive of barns is nearly depleted (yikes!)

And - as always - Thanks for dropping in!

bromley mountain on the appalachian trail

Last July, Greg and I took a hike on the Appalachian Trail

- a teensy-weensy portion of it.

Our hike took us to the top of Bromley mountain.

Have you ever wondered what your favorite ski slope looks like without snow?



No? -  neither have I, really...

But,

now I know, and it's actually very pretty!

And, perhaps, a wee bit odd...

On our way back down the mountain, we crossed paths with two young women with heavy backpacks.

We asked them where they were headed.

"Maine", they replied.

They had started in Georgia, four months before.

We enjoyed chatting with them for a few minutes - you know - "Do you ever stay in a hotel? Eat at a restaurant? Get off the trail?"
Poor things have probably been asked the same questions hundreds of times.

Their spirit and enthusiasm was truly amazing!
I really wish I had asked to take their picture and hope they made it to the end of the trail without any complications!

I would also like to thank those who offered advice on my photography workshop dilemma. I've decided another class at another time would probably be best for me right now.

Thanks, again!

I am joining Nancy at A Rural Journal and Lisa at Two Bears Farm

Thanks for dropping in!