Gypsies On The Move

At Last !  After the good rain from the other day, we have another Bluesky day with a gentle breeze so fresh and void of humidity. And it is good to be home again after a wonderful little trip in the Gypsy Wagon.  

We traveled all the 'old fashioned' roads this time as we drove up scenic old Route 100 and some other cross over roads to reach Bristol, where we found friends to spend part of the day with.  After a nice visit and a great dinner at a favorite restaurant of theirs...good foodies too... we spent the night in their yard, camping in the Gypsy. We were awakened at midnight by the rain on our roof, a welcome sound as we are really needing the water here.  And a good rain it was for a few  hours.  By morning it had passed, leaving part of the world a bit greener and happier looking.  The sun was slow to peek out but finally showed up through the rising fog as we headed out, easterly, across the state.

Our friends and a view from their back patio

This rock with the Lord's Prayer on it, is on Route 116 as you leave the village of 

Bristol, VT.  The story has it that a man carved it here thinking it might cause the 

team drivers to use better language when urging their teams on as this was a place

where they seemed to really curse and swear at them.   

We took Route 17, a route we had never done before up and up and up some more through lots of hair-pin turns as we went over the mountains and passed by Mad River Glen Ski area and through the Appalachian Gap on down, to wind our way northeast to Woodbury.  Here we found some more good friends above the lake there. What a treat to tour their garden!  Just full of great veggies and flowers.  Also had a tour and admired the new chicken castle...large and roomy, cozy and safe from the fox.

Finally leaving, we backtracked a few miles and set off to Chelsea where we had a great little lunch at Dixie's II, a folksy place with good down home cooking.  The fresh homemade corn chowder was something to brag about! After filling the tank and our tummies, we headed over the hill to Vershire to make a quick stop to visit our friends on Darling Hill before heading on home.

It was good to get home again after a wonderful little trip, traveling these secondary roads. The weather was cooler, the breeze warm as it wafted in the open windows allowing the sweet scents of late summer to please the senses and stir old memories of other summers, of other years.  Seeing how these strong Vermonters have worked to fix up the devastation after Tropical Storm Irene visited us a year ago to the day, brought  satisfying  feelings.  Seeing the yet to be fixed places, a reminder that we need to be so thankful that we are still here to enjoy another summer.  Things seemed a bit greener in the north and middle of the state than here in the southern end.   Lots of cornfields and haying still going on.  More farms and cattle too.

As we entered our little valley between the mountains and the river, we thought the good rain had made it a greener place than when we left it a couple days before.  Miss Lizzie was glad to see us and either welcomed us back or scolded us for taking so long... hard to tell which, but by the sound of her purring, I think she was pretty glad to see us.

The garden was ready to pick again today, yielding even more zucchini, some pole beans, finally, and cucumbers.  I picked the red tomatoes and made a couple jars of Tomato Spice Jam which is a favorite of mine.  Enough beans for supper tonight and I pulled a big beet with it's greens to cook as well.  The zucchini will wait till cousin Natalie comes to make some relish with me.  She has lots of zukes too so we will make a fun time of making some relish.

Leave with a thought that seems like a good way of life and I'm sure you've heard before.... but it is still good to think on this.

A lovely bouquet of Glads

Live Simply...Love Generously...Care deeply and Speak kindly...For we walk by faith and not by sight!                             Enjoy each other and this lovely end of summer weather.

Of Markets and Memories

It's been a long, hot summer and a dry one too.  It seems like an extra busy one for me.  I usually seem to find time to spend in peaceful contemplation but somehow this summer has just flown by.  I've checked off quite a few items on my 'hope to get it done' list for the summer.  Now as I sit and reflect on all this from a shady corner of my front porch, while the crickets chirp, the harvest fly buzzes, an airplane drones overhead as it pulls up a sail plane, and the phone is ...silent.. wow, that IS unusual. The day is a bit cooler, after a wonderfully cool night and morning...only 52 degrees when I poured my coffee earlier today.

The wood is all taken care of from the cutting of the lovely old maple.  There is something artistic about my hubby's woodpile, stacked just so.  We were blessed a few days ago with a much needed rainfall, a gentle one that did some good. The lawn looks greener and the garden says "thank you".

Lots of zucchini, so have to make more relish.  On Sat. I set up my table on the Green for the Community Market and sold several jars of our sweet zucchini relish and some homemade bread as well as a few note cards.  My neighbor had left some of her 'best-o pesto' for me to sell as she was away on vacation.  Friends, Cyndy and Syd brought note cards made from Cyndy's lovely drawings and some beautiful earrings that Syd fashions from feathery fishing flies that he ties. Really nice. So far our market is allowing only hand or home made items, baked goods and garden produce.  Maybe later we will be allowed to sell some flea market items like books and other items of interest.  The chicken BBQ was a big hit, selling out before the market was over.  The music was provided by a lone guitarist who was a big hit with everyone.  We're all hoping this will become a busy, fun market each summer.

The Community Market on the Green

"This and That from Greenbriar Creations"

Angel and her Dad....'finger-lickin' good!'

On Sunday we hosted a family get-together after we all gathered at the cemetary for a short service at the newly acquired family plot and memorial to pay final tribute to our sons, Chip and Matt. Dennis had carved the boys' names in the individual stones marking their spots.  It was a picture perfect day as we all gathered there, three and four generations of family and a few friends. My sweet daughter, Angel prepared a lovely reading and Paul read from the Bible.  The wind tried to interfere with my little flute but a bevy of grandsons made a circle close about me that kept the breeze from the reed long enough to play Amazing Grace. Back at home afterward, we enjoyed a good BBQ with my wonderful son in-law, Paul as the master chef at the grill.  There were salads, corn on the cob, punch and great desserts and ice cream.  So good to have our family together !

So I am making this a week of just relaxing and doing some reading and very little housework.  Probably have to pick the garden and do some more relish and some pickles but that's really just playing.  Hope to take a day trip or two before the summer is all gone.  Maybe next week?  The  'Gypsy' looks so ready to hit the road.   Hope you all will make time to enjoy these final weeks of our summer.   Blessings !

Harvest Time

Summer is going so fast !  I am thankful for the cooler mornings and the days without so much humidity.  I got outside to do some weed pulling yesterday.  I filled my little garden cart full to overflowing with the pesky things.  It seems the trees and shrubs and just everything has grown at a much faster pace this summer. I can't keep up !  The sun was pretty hot on my back by the time I quit.  I sat for a spell on the patio cooling down and listening to the harvest fly buzzing loudly.  His sound always means to me that the shade is being drawn on summer and so very soon it will be autumn once again.  Green things are beginning to wilt and turn brown here and there.

My garden is finally beginning to produce !   It took awhile this year.  We didn't plant until after the first of June.  I just knew if we did plant in mid May like our neighbor, a big old frost would come along and kill all the tiny little shoots that pop up early.  Well, she has lots of produce from her garden and even a couple of nice big red tomatoes !   I have lots of green ones and lovely pole bean vines and leaves.  There are now a few blossoms showing up so there is hope that we will have beans one day.
(And then I will complain that they produce too fast for me!)

The zucchini is doing great, producing enough for the first batch of the famous "Best ever zucchini relish".  We picked them and set up the grinding operation last night.  Today the house was filled with that sweet tangy aroma of the cooking relish.  The cucumbers are all blossomed and every day I find one big enough to pick and eat.  Beet greens have been delicious.

The muscle behind the grinder.

The results of all that grinding!

I am happy to report that I am off the hook for Jury duty!  All who are selected to be available for a jury draw tomorrow are excused for some reason or other.  This is the third time this has happened.  The second time the case we were to be drawn for was settled out of court.  After the third time for being available and not used, we are dismissed and won't be asked to serve again for some time.  Now I can plan to be away for a few days if we get the urge to go on a little jaunt around the state.

On the 18th of Aug. I plan to take part in the Community Market here in Perkinsville on the Green.  It is something new for the Village and sounds like lots of fun.  Folks with homemade items, whether food or homegrown produce, art or crafts etc. will be setting up their wares.  Meanwhile, a Chicken BBQ will be taking place. These markets will continue each Sat. until into October.  What a great idea!

Well, time for bed.  Sounds good to me after a busy day.    A quote that really settled in my mind and it seems a good place to share it.  I don't know who said it but isn't it so true?

"Whether you give it or receive it,

Forgiveness is music to the soul"

Eulogy for a Maple Tree

It is a sad time when we must bid farewell to an old friend.  The big old maple at the westerly end of our house had become very, very tall.  It has been growing from a young tree since the day we moved here some 55 years ago...until today.

Sometime in it's youth to mid life years, it's trunk separated and became two, looking sort of like Siamese tree trunks.  Then on its way skyward, each twin developed quite large limbs, some finally becoming larger than the single trunk that rose from the ground. This makes for a very top heavy tree, on both sides!  Each twin put forth so many, many branches making the whole west end of the house shady and cool on hot summer days.

Oh how I hated to see them cut it down!  But it had become a danger to our house and to our neighbor's barn if there came a wind storm one day.
Thankfully there are three maples growing near by, one a young tree and two sapplings.  So some shade will be garnered now and more in later years.  These youngsters look healthy and don't show any signs... yet... of doing the separation act.

I could find only one picture of this old tree.

A poem in honor of the old maple

Farewell Old Friend

Stately Maple, so tall and proud;
Dressed in your summer green gown
Of lovely leaves, that ride the breeze
Of a lazy August afternoon.

A shady spot to while away the day,
Lost in a book of verse,
Or in memories of times long past,
Sipping ice cold lemonade
From a tall blue glass.

No more....after today!
They said you've grown too tall,
A threat now to us all;
So you had to fall
By way of the ax and the saw.

It hurt to see you hewed down;
Your branches fed to the chipper,
Your limbs sawn asunder,
Your tall trunk, now in great chunks.

But you'll not be forgotten,
In spring, I'll recall
watching for your new pink buds;
And surely for your summer shade, I'll pine.

While in Autumn, I'll miss
The bright orange costume you'd don;
And the rustle of your leaves
O'er the late October ground.

When winter comes with it's frosty ways
And we gather by the cozy fireside,
Again I'll remember you, with gratitude, dear old tree
As you burn on the hearth, warming me.

                                                              Dottie Richardson 8/2/2012

A Tale about a "Common Book"

My Stargazer Lily has three blossoms !

"As a blossom can't tell what becomes of it's fragrance, we can't tell what becomes of our influence."

I just realized that this is my 101st. post !  And a whole year after starting my blog I am still having fun doing it and want to thank you all for your comments whether here in the comment section or in the many emails you send letting me know that you are reading my musings.  Thanks !

As I sit to write this,  the sun has peeped out from the clouds after the lovely rain of last night and today. We so needed this rain to water our very thirsty gardens and lawns and to replenish wells and ponds.  We still need more but we're thankful for the good steady rain in the night.  The air has a sultry, heavy with moisture smell so typical of this type of summer day. From my open doors that lead out onto the patio,  I can hear the happy voices of children swimming upstream  in the river.  The water is low and one can walk or rock hop up toward the old mill dam where the water only falls over the west side which is quite a bit lower than the rest of the dam's span across the Black River.  All this brings back such fond memories of my own childhood and the old swimming hole in the Branch Brook.

I am having a quiet afternoon and evening all by myself.  My hubby has gone to an antique car show nearby, driving the old '53 Chevy that he is helping some friends to restore to it's old self, or pretty much as it used to be.  Our friend Sarah, who is staying with us for a spell has gone north today to job hunt and to have a weekend with friends.. so it is just Lizzie and me and the hummingbirds who are really raising a ruckus or showing off for Lizzie who is sitting so intrigued in her rocking chair by my side.

I have been reading some poems that have been pasted into what used to be referred to as a "Common Book".  I found this gem amongst my Grandma's things years ago.  It seems that in the old days before the advent of stationary stores and department stores, at least in rural areas, it was common practice for folks to use whatever was available to make a scrapbook out of.  This particular little book was originally Drs. Starkey and Palen's TREATMENT BY INHALATION.  Copyrighted 1888.  As all the pages are covered with poems clipped from newspapers and seed catalogs etc. I can't tell you what the book was all about!!  It promises good reading about 'reports of numerous and interesting cases'.  The poems pasted over the pages of this book were written and sent in to newspapers and catalogs from which they were clipped and are from country people from all over the USA.  Lots of them are from our own Vermont.  AND they are GOOD!  Each contributor gave at the end of their poems,  their name and what town and state they were from and some times the county. Many of the poems were cut from the Park Seed Catalog.  I know just how folks looked forward each late winter to receiving their seed catalog in the mail.  To plan for their veggie gardens and dream of the lovely flowers they could grow once the winter snow was gone and spring had arrived.  Seems that catalog readers would contribute their poems to the publisher of the catalog and some would be included in each issue.

Upon finding this book a few years back, and seeing a poem written about the Park Seed Co. I googled this Co. to find that it is still in existence and doing well!  I sent them a picture and the story of the little Common Book along with a poem written about their Company. It was written by Florence Josphine Boyce, Washington County, VT.  They were delighted to get this and even put the story on their website for awhile. I ordered a catalog from them and now buy most of my garden seeds from them.

I pick this Common Book up from time to time and read a poem or two.  I can't help but wonder about these women who wrote them.  I wish they could know that their thoughts are being read and appreciated now, so many years later.

This little poem by Lalia Mitchell from Essex Co. written on Oct.12, 1901 is a favorite of mine.

At Home

I have wandered long, I have wandered far,

But at last I am home...am home,

With a gleaming light and a lounging chair

And a loved, familiar tome.

There's a kitten here on the hearth asleep,

As happy as I myself,

But best of all are the plants abloom...

Abloom on the window shelf.

You may talk of fame and its laurels bright,

Of the joys of those who roam,

But they'll miss the peace that's mine tonight,

When at last I am home...am home.

For the proud of heart, there are honors brave,

For the seeker, golden pelf, 

But I'm well contented with my hearth-fire bright,

And the flowers on my window shelf.

Enjoy your upcoming weekend.  Laugh often and Love lots!  And Blessings to you all.

Catching Up !

So much going on this summer !  We were blessed to hear from a dear friend, Sarah, who we have known since she was a baby.  She has been living and working in Florida for a few years and has decided she belongs back in her beloved Vermont.  She made a trip 'home' over a week ago to visit friends and check out the housing and job opportunities here.  She stopped to see us and when we heard of her new venture we thought she should stop and stay a spell with us while she does her investigating of the job and housing markets.  It has been a delightful week, going on two, with lots of catching up to do.  We have been off to visit mutual friends, had picnics and a work day with much visiting and dinner together.

Our God is so good and faithful in His watch-care over us!  He has opened a few doors, and closed a few for Sarah as she continues her search.  She was blessed with an offer for a one-day-a week job which she immediately accepted. I have no doubt that things will work out well as she trusts Him to allow her to find just the right thing for her.

On Monday I was privileged to help out at the Family Center, along with 5 other folks from church, as we prepared 180 bag lunches for children who may not be getting much lunch now that school is out.  We set up an assembly line as we made the sandwiches, bagged up the cherry tomatoes and added an apple to each lunch bag.  It was a fun time and we enjoyed the camaraderie while doing something useful.

I am looking forward to a visit from my sweet friend Debbie on Friday after attending our class breakfast in the morning.  I have to hustle to get my housework done as I seem to find so many other fun things to do this summer.  I have managed to sneak  in the reading of two good books though!  It has been so beastly hot that I have to just settle down in the afternoon in front of the fan and take a rest and catch up on my reading.  It would be so good to go swimming but such an effort to get to the swimming hole and back up to the car that we would be hotter then than when we started out from home!  We did get in a morning of kayaking, early, before it got too hot.  The water was low but it wa a fun paddle and such a pretty day!  Then lunch and of course ice cream !

I have been neglectful of writing here in my blog but hope all will understand and not give up looking to see if I have added any more ramblings.  We were fortunate last night to escape the severe thunderstorm predicted for our area.  We got a little rumble now and then and maybe a little 'heat' lightening but nothing to be concerned about.  Thankful for this !

The saga of the red squirrels vs. husband continues as he has come up with yet another possible solution to our over abundance of these little rodents.  He now catches them in his and the neighbor's have-a-heart traps and busses them off to visit their country cousins away off on a back road near the woods and a cornfield.  So far I think they have stayed there!  BUT don't know just how smart they are at returning to their old home area.  Just hoping they are welcomed by the country cousins and won't even miss the Village!

Cousin Janice sent us a picture of a very early motorhome.  This was made by Ford in the late '30's and was called a "House Car".

The interior was nice too !

Couple pictures of the Gypsy Wagon after completion.

Here is the peaceful scene on the water as we kayaked in the morning

Finally, I have a new quote that could be adopted as one's motto.

 "Don't tell God how big your storm is...

Tell the storm how big your GOD is !!!

Real Summer Days

This is real summer !  Nice cool mornings and if we get up nice and early, we can get the outdoor work all done before it gets too hot.  I finally got my garden weeded and tended to a couple of the smaller flower beds.

Dennis THINKS he has won the battle with the red squirrel ! Oh yeah, there are two of them.  They are enemies and love to fight and chatter insults at each other.  We watched the other day as they had a knock down drag out time atop the feeder, the winner shoving the other off and going to stand on top of his world with his back feet jumping up and down. Guess he doesn't know about beating on his chest like an ape would do. Dennis sort of won his battle by taking the feeder away !   It was about time anyway.  BUT they still sit in the cherry tree, come way out on a limb and think about walking the tight rope to where the feeder used to be.  They are truly baffled.  We notice that they now climb up the garden hose that is reeled up on the side of the house then proceed to get onto a shutter and on up to the rain gutters.  On the way they seem to peek in the window to see where that man is that has taken the feeder away!

Speaking of wild life, our neighbors, the ones who bring us the quail eggs, are raising an orphan quail.  He is a tiny little fellow and they hope he will make it.  She showed him to us the other day.  Such a tiny little feather ball !  All this stuff about quails all at once. First, our introduction to the gift of quail eggs.  Before we saw the little one, some  friends from up north lent us a book to read..."That Quail, Robert" by Margaret S. Stanger.  A delightful story, so far about a family who found an abandoned baby and took him home to raise.  It seems that when a mother quail leaves her nest with the young ones she never returns to the nest where her chicks hatched.  They saw her leave with twelve little feather balls following her across a driveway into the woods.  So the family decided to check out the nest later.  That is when they discovered there was a baby left behind in the nest !  As mamma never came back, they adopted this little one and the book goes on about his life growing up with humans.

This little fellow was kind enough to allow me to take his photograph.

These hot afternoons are a great time to stay inside and do something we either push to the bottom of our 'want to do list' or the NEED to do list.  So on these hot ones, I decided to do something from each of my lists.  I cleaned out my closet...from the Need to do list.  I got 2 boxes of things I haven't worn for more than a year and shuffled about some other things.  Then I decided to get out my paints and do something from the Want to do list.   Paint a small watercolor, being inspired by our trip to the Northeast Kingdom last week.  It was a fun, relaxing afternoon and I pretty much liked my painting.  Sometimes I am not too happy with what I end up with !

Summer in The Northeast Kingdom

Well, hubby is asking if I'd like to take a ride and have an ice cream.  I don't have to be asked a second time !  So hoping you are enjoying this summer weather.  Find a nice swimming hole or maybe take a paddle in a kayak on a quiet pond far from the noise and busy to-do of crowded places.  I hope I can do exactly this later this week !    Keep cool !