magical little houses

a tiny rock and birch bark hideaway

many years ago, a couple of trees fell during a january snowstorm. by the time we got to cutting them up, pieces of bark were peeling off the trunks. i saved some of it and made these little houses to put in the garden. when hannah was little, dressing up in fairy costumes and flying around in fairy wings was a fun pastime for her and her friends. she loved to make little houses out of sculpy, too. at some point, these little homes all turned into fairy homes.


i still have them today. it is fun to visit other people's fairy house creations. they are located on monhegan island, squirrel island, mackworth island, and in boothbay at the botanical gardens.

a fairy house at the botanical gardens. photo by robert mitchell.

a good little book with great photos is fairy houses of the maine coast by maureen heffernan. it is interesting to see how tiny, ordinary, bits of bark, sticks, leaves, moss, pinecones, acorns, rocks, sea glass and seashells can be combined to make these quite unique creations. i think i'll gather up some birch bark, acorns, pinecones and sea glass and make another one someday soon....perhaps a rainy day project.....

orangey fall

to me, shades of orange, along with shades of red and yellow, feel like fall. orangey leaves and pumpkins and squash.....but i have to say that i love the color orange anytime, fall or not. alex's summer wedding featured some pops of orange: orange roses and gerbera daisies in her bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets and on the tables, along with some yellow and white flowers also. i like blue and orange together, too. i also love greens and blues side by side. in the house i noticed i have collected various hues of yellow, blue and red (wicker, cushions, chairs). quite primary. hmmm....looks like i have a fondness for all colors....

those are actually clementines, not oranges, in the picture. i bought a bunch of clementines yesterday, ate a bunch of clementines, and then took a bunch of pictures of the juicy, orange lovelies.

what colors do you love? and in case you didn't realize it, it's friday and the weekend is upon us....have a good one!

windy harpswell

looking out at whaleboat island.

maine, if you haven't already guessed, is a place i love. i have traveled quite a bit, and i enjoy visiting new places, but there is nothing like coming home to this state. the woods, the ocean, the mountains, the change of seasons, the people, all of it, makes me happy to call this place home. i was born in boston and lived on the northshore until i got married. beck pond will always be a special place to me. but maine is the most special place of all. recently, ed decided he dislikes the cold, and would love to be down south for part of the winter. but i, on the other hand, enjoy the variety the seasons bring. from sweaters, starting now, to heavy coats, mittens, hats and uggs before we know it, bring it on! sure, after winter's cold, i look forward to the warmth and renewal of spring and summer with enthusiasm. but that's just it....give me the incredible transformation that takes place in the garden and the woods behind the house as the seasons march on. never a dull moment....

harpswell on this chilly, windy, late afternoon/evening was compelling. there were no people out on the little, pebbly beach. the water was lined and streaked and ruffled by the puffing breeze. the wind whipped in toward me and blew some sand in my eyes as i took this snap. ah, maine....

good bye old piano

the piano just before the movers loaded it on the truck.

on monday we said good bye to our old (1898) ivers and pond piano. it was sad watching it go, sad because it signals the end of a chapter in our own lives. the piano was played for almost 25 years in our home. at the end it was not really played that much anymore, except for a short time when hannah's friend ian would happily jam away on it (a talented young man, that one).

a painting of alex and james in front of the piano, and hannah (below) with her 5 chickens.

the good thing is that the piano's new home is alex's home in vermont. yay! the piano really always was alex's. we bought it for her when she was little and she took lessons for about 10 years. hannah tried the piano, but did not like it, so she switched to the violin. james was not inclined to play the piano.

the old piano will have a good home in vermont. alex is already tickling the ivories every day; she is amazed at how well she can still read music and how she can still play several songs. there is a lot of music left to play on that old piano....