Friday's Flowers: almost too busy to stop and smell the roses

Shew! It's been a hectic week! (Thus the disappearance since Saturday. Sorry about that.) I feel like I haven't stopped moving since we returned from vacation. Lucy and I picked a lovely bouquet for our first meal back, but it died on the dining room table before we sat down there again (and before I took a photo!) The week hurried by so quickly, I didn't pick any more until this evening. Out in the garden, I found we have very little blooming right now. So here's my mini bouquet, in the dying light of the evening, snapped quickly before we dashed out the door again (more on that tomorrow).


Check out other "Friday's Flowers" participants here at FIMBY.

Treasure, revisited

What happens to all our treasure once it comes back from the beach?

Mama sorts it on the ledge of the cottage's front porch.

And re-sorts, and re-organizes, every night.

(It's kind of like therapy.)

Lucy un-sorts it all each day. And dumps. And pours. And throws, and drops, and scatters. And delivers some to us as gifts.

And re-sorts.

And examines.

And shares the joy with Mama all over again.

Friday's Flowers: lupines in Maine

We're on vacation on Mount Desert Island, Maine this week, and the lupines are blooming! We come each year at this time, but haven't seen them yet; I heard on the radio this morning that the flowers are three weeks ahead here this year. (Bad news for bees and blueberries, though good news for early tourists.) One thing that fascinates us about this area is how all the flowers seem to bloom at once--things that each have their own season at home bloom here all together. Right now, there are:
lupines, everywhere!
lilacs
beach roses
irises
daisies
buttercups
tulips
day lillies
and so many others!

This bunch of lupines has graced our table in the cottage all week. I'll be sad to leave them behind; the roadsides are full of them here, and it's such a glorious sight.

Check out all the other Friday's Flowers here at FIMBY.

(p.s. It's my birthday today. 41! It just doesn't sound right!)

Hiking with toddlers 101

Choose a beautiful place with intriguing terrain (thanks, Julie, for the recommendation!)

If you come to a bridge, be sure to trip-trap over it both ways, again and again, before moving on.

Go slowly. Very slowly. Have no expectations in mind other than having fun.

Take a rest whenever you need one. Maybe a nap on a rock step.

Stop to admire the view (remember that the toddler's view is smaller and lower than your own).

Be prepared to give a boost when needed.

(We hiked some portion of the Emery Path in Acadia this morning. It was perfect for Lucy right now--almost all stairs!)

Treasure pocket

(Lucy and I looking for treasure at the pier in Bar Harbor, Maine.)

I finally made something crafty again...and I've been dying to show you! But we're on vacation with a lousy internet connection so it had to wait until today.

Lucy takes after me when it comes to picking up "treasures" on her journeys. Both of us stop frequently to pick up a special stone, an acorn, a feather, a stick... And just recently, Lucy discovered pockets. What a wonderful thing--a place to keep your treasures! But most of her clothes don't have any pockets. So I wanted to sew her a "pocket" she could wear at the beach (I knew we'd be doing lots of beach combing!)

Two days before we left--when I should have been packing or cleaning before our trip--I quickly sewed her a pocket. I used recycled linens for the bag (pinky-red ticking for the outside; orange and pink paisley for the lining) and a scrap of lace from an old pillowcase for the edging. The luckiest accident was the strap; I'd wanted something wide so the weight wouldn't dig into her shoulder, and when I sewed on this wide twill tape to this tiny bag, it made the bag stay open when hanging on her shoulder--perfect for a little hand to reach in easily.


Lucy loves it! Now if I ask her "do you want to look for treasures on the beach?" She says "Yeah. Poc" (pocket) and puts her hand down where her pocket should be.

(The best picture I got of the inside, as she's always on the go!)

(Looking for the perfect rock.)

(Tucking something into her pocket for safekeeping.)

(A collection of her treasures.)

I really can't imagine anything quite so wonderful as sharing this passion of mine with my equally passionate daughter. Now...what am I doing writing?? There's beachcombing to be done!

Independence Days Challenge: planning ahead

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge:

(Lucy checks out the lavender, Meyer lemon tree, and beach roses)

1. Plant something:
I haven't planted anything, but I dug out lots of compost and used it to prepare a square-foot-gardening-type potting mix for an old feeding trough (?) I'm going to use as a raised bed atop our driveway. Will plant after vacation. Also, I've been pacing the gardens every day, checking for progress, and realized that I'd given up on my "dead" thimbleberry, salmonberry, and elderberry bushes too soon. Most of them are showing signs of growth. Yay!

2. Harvest something:
Eggs. Lettuce, lovage, thyme, parsley, sorrel, chive blossoms.

3. Preserve something:
We've begun drying the greens of carrots and radishes from the farmer's market, which will be added to the chicken's winter feed.

4. Waste not:
Please help us out here. This time of year, our freezer is nearly bare. But it's still got bags and bags of frozen peppers (green, red, yellow). I guess those winter stews and chillis we thought they'd go into just never happened. What should I do with all of them? I need a good idea that doesn't involve cheese, and I haven't got a clue.

I prepared a lot of food ahead for our vacation, to help us cut back on driving, purchasing, and packaging while there.

5. Preparation and storage:
We store a lot of dried beans. Yep, store them. Never eat them, because that takes forethought. Soaking. Long cooking. We never do it. We've got to be the least-bean-eating vegetarians around. So I'm proud to say that I soaked, cooked, and froze 4 pints of black beans this week, so maybe we'll actually eat some! We brought some on vacation with us, because they're such an easy, happy meal for Lucy.

6. Build community food systems:
Nothing.

7. Eat the food:
Salad with fresh herb dressing (mayo, lemon juice, lovage, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper). Maple-parsnip soup from this cookbook (so good!). Amazing roasted carrots from the farmer's market (didn't realize how much I'd missed carrots, and these were especially sweet...). Pumpkin bread with the last of the frozen pumpkin puree.

Friday's Flowers: a child's bouquet

Renee, at FIMBY, is hosting Friday's Flowers, a gathering of the summer's bouquets. I love the idea, as a reminder to keep refreshing those bouquets that I love to have but sometimes forget to gather, and as a challenge to improve my photography (is that even possible with the falling-apart piece of garbage camera I'm using?).

Earlier this week, we took a walk past some farm fields that are bordered by long grass and wildflowers along the road. It was a very slow walk, as you can imagine, as the children had to keep stopping to add to their bouquets (does anyone else sing "kum kwa kee wa, kum kwa kee wa" as they pick? Or is that just me? It's from a story my mother told us when we were little...The Gunnywulf.)

Back in the studio, some of the kids decided to draw their bouquets...

To see the other participants, or to join in yourself, go here.