Archives
24/09: Falls Unpredictable Weather
This, the first weekend of fall, was scheduled for our annual fall party. Where we play a movie on the side of the barn, make apple cider, and have a bonfire. But early in the week, the forecast called for rain, Tuesday it seemed questionable, Thursday, it called for rain – Friday was beautiful, and Saturday morning we woke to the sound of rain falling on our tin roof, and I was soundly under the influence of a miserable cold, the kind you feel creeping on for days, you feel a little off, and then on Friday it hit full force and by that rainy Saturday morning, a mere 12 hours before our scheduled party, I felt as if I were carrying bowling balls in my sinus cavities. We needed to call everyone and cancel the party, but first we needed to scramble around the house and dig through laundry to find Zoe’s soccer socks and shin guards and attend a drizzly grey soccer game. All weekend it rained off and on. On Sunday Mom and Dad came up, and the sun darted in and out. The wind picked up pushing a huge limb of the maple across the street down and sending the girls chasing helicopter maple seeds skittering down through the skies. This time of year the sun shines down in the afternoon, at dinner time filtered through the lilacs and breaking through the old glass of the kitchen window, the result is something like looking up through water, the golden light bouncing around the room. Mom brought a bag of peaches from her tree, and Tory cut them up with fennel and roasted them with a chicken in our big cast iron pot. Mashed potatoes with buttermilk and butter, the kitchen smelled grand. I helped the neighbor across the street load the maple into the bucket of his tractor, and he told me about the man who owned our house when he moved here from Poland in 1953, he had owned the big blue house next door, but when ours became available sold it and bought ours instead A big wind can be the source of a some good information. My cold is easing away, and Tory’s is edging closer.17/09: The Mill House Confirmed
After recent restoration, the mill house in Italy is ready for us! We have confirmed witht he owners, and we are ready to go (bar tickets, scheduling, and visas). Here, as promised, are pictures of the mill in eastern Tuscany.
17/09: To the Lighthouse
Warm weather extending into these September days, and I took advantage of the sun and the weekend and rowed out with Bodoni in the bow out to Valcour. A large island in the middle of lake Champlain. This still morning allowed me to row out easily, and I pulled the canoe onto shore a short walk from the lighthouse, perched on the cliffs above the water. The island’s size is about two miles by one mile, and is part of the Adirondack park. No one lives on the island now, but it has seen a lot of history, playing a big part in the revolutionary war, and the war of 1812, it was the sight of an experimental utopian society of the 1870’s which advocated “free love” – but the harsh winters drove them all away. Now there is only the lighthouse, cellar holes, and a lot of beautiful, secluded bays. It has been a goal of mine to get over there since we moved here. I found it so beautiful I immediately wanted to return with Tory and the girls.On Sunday we went up to Hemmingford, just over the border in Canada, to a sheep shearing festival. There was beautiful old house owned by a friend of Vera’s with artisans spread throughout the barns and around the house. Zoe, Liz, and their friends Olivia and Stella spent a lot of time in a huge tulip tree in the front yard, and watching the blacksmith work. Our friend Nick sat and chatted with one of the vendors, knitting her wool as she spun it. . I was introduced to the very tasty “Honey Crisp” apple. Some leaves are just starting to turn. It was another beautiful warm day.
