Category Archives: gardening

In Full Swing

Everything seems in full swing now…. I am making progress on projects I missed all fall and winter, and at last (!!) I’ve connected with the interest groups in my new area: weavers, knitters, dyers, and lace makers!  It’s all very exciting and inspiring to me.

Earlier this week I met my oldest friend at the Lyme Art Association while she was dropping of her sculpture “Daughter” that will be on display as part of the upcoming exhibit by the Hudson Valley Art Association. Right nearby was a bronze bust of Robert Frost done by Jose Bascaglia. Exciting works! My friend also has a piece in the National Sculpture Society’s exhibit that is traveling this summer (Lea Ann’s piece is “Virga,” the first image on the page).

It was a soft green drizzly day , and LeaAnn and I decided to walk through the grounds of the Florence Griswold Museum where the gardens were in soft focus.

On my daily walks I pass a certain fence that is about 100 feet long and bedecked in this lovely candy striped rose.

Later in the summer this same fence will serve as support for about a million sunflowers.  The sunflower seedlings are already up!  And to add to the ambience there is a huge lawn just beyond this fence border that is home to a beautiful yellow barn and two Weimaraners who are often out frolicking on the lawn.  There is always something beautiful to see at this spot along my walk!

And in my own garden this summer I have a passion flower vine growing in a pot.  The first flower opened this morning!

Surrounded by so many flowers, it’s no wonder I’m thinking about them for my next tapestry.  I am halfway through the final pear in my ‘Trail of Pears,’ so I’ve been designing the next tapestry.  I’m intrigued by a still life based on a woodcut of nasturtiums in a bowl.

I am enjoying taking this pot of nasturtiums and putting it into an environment….perhaps with a window behind and some curtains, the edge of a table…. we’ll see.

Mid-Spring

Is there anything with as much promise as mid-spring?  My gardens, my projects, my whole world is all hope and possibility.

I’ve completed pear #4 in my ‘Trail of Pears.’  Each pear has brought  harder color decisions, and #4 caused me to call on the advice of both my husband and younger son.  I had every shade of gold in my yarn palette out and none of them worked.  Chris helped me let go of my preconceived notion that the pear had to be in the yellow family.  That pear is a tan that I would never have considered if not for Chris. Now it’s finished and soon the background around pear #5 (the final pear) will be finished as well, which will mean making the final pear color choice.  I plan to be at my Wednesday Group class next week so I can get some input from all the weavers there.  Whew!

When I’m not weaving the pears I’ve been spinning some silk.  Does anyone remember Carol Weymar who called herself the silk worker. I can’t find her anymore! I used to buy her handpainted silk roving, so I have a little collection of them.  I always wanted a bit more than 2 ounces from her, but she never had more than that of any given painted way.  I took this as a challenge to me to learn to spin finer, hoping to get 1,000 yards out of that 2 oz.  Well, I still can’t do it!

So, to the latest colorway which I will call ‘mid-spring’ (all the colors of a spring garden, except blue) I am adding a strand of luscious 50/50 merino/silk.  The merino is a warm natural color, something I might call ‘almond,’ and the silk is a shimmering white.  Spun together I’m getting a lovely shade of cream and I hope it will be stunning plied with the 100% painted silk from Carol.  I’d like to start plying right now, but I will force myself to let the newly finished merino/silk set overnight.  Boy, I can’t wait for tomorrow!

It’s 90 degrees outside today, one of those abnormally hot spring days we sometimes have.  My basement studio is a cool respite on a day like this, and the view cool and green.

Have I mentioned that I live on the edge of a large nature preserve? May offers up so many beautiful sights there…. lady slippers are in bloom and we found a robin’s egg on the ground! There are dragon flies everywhere, and the hummingbirds arrived.  I’ve seen eagles soaring above our house.

 Yes, it’s all hope and promise around here.

 

There’s No Place Like Home…

There really isn’t.  And to top it off it’s May in New England.

My sister had offered to meet me at the airport.  It would just be the two of us; we’d have dinner afterward so she could catch me up on her family and her long solo stint of taking care of our aging and difficult mother.

Instead, she and my sons planned a larger family gathering to greet me.  Seven  family members were waiting for me when I arrived, and because my flight was late all the other people waiting for loved ones had gotten in on the act.  So, I arrived to a crowd of clapping bystanders, who were shouting, “Welcome home, Mom!”  I was completely confused, which is a very good thing, because otherwise I would have cried…

Mother’s Day weekend was about as perfect as possible.  The kids and I went to the annual Garden Club sale at the little park in the center of town, and we worked in the garden cleaning up the debris from winter and planting my purchases from the sale.  It was a wonderful homecoming!

Today I plied the brilliant saffron mohair that I spun in the Bahamas.  Here it is with the mohair skeins from Persimmon Tree that I plan to use with it.  I’m envisioning a fall jacket….

 

 

Migration

 The lovely sights in Chesapeake City….

Do you think they bought that red car to match their front door?

 We are starting to see lots of migrating birds, and it seems to me that this year we are migrating with them.  Each day that we haul anchor in the morning we are accompanied by the honking song of Canada geese in their V-formations, and as we travel south we find monarch butterflies alighting on Pandora for short breaks before fluttering away.

The bird life here is extensive!  In the Sassafras River we were exploring the coast line, and we startled two blue herons off their nest!  What a beautiful sight to see them take flight right in front of us!  We had not noticed the nest because it was well hidden in a ‘bog’ of lotus!  We have never seen lotus growing in such a temperate climate before.  It looks like it has become rather invasive in the Sassafras River, and we wondered if the lotus will soon take over… I guess only time will tell.

 We have been sailing along with three other boats since Cape May….not on purpose….but each day that we travel we see them sailing too.  For several nights we’ve ended up in the same harbor, so naturally we’ve gotten together to re-hash the day and talk about where we’re heading.  I know this is quite a common occurrence for boats heading south. Perhaps we are becoming a different kind of migrating flock!  We saw Banyan, a 40 ft Juneau, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Cape May with David and Alex (short for Alexandra) onboard.  In Chesapeake City we first saw Peregrine, a 42 ft. Catalina, with Dave and Libby on board with their dog Brody.  And also in Chesapeake City we stumbled on Rick and Julie Palm, who live aboard Altair, a larger version of  Pandora, and whom we met briefly a few summer ago in Maine.  We have formed our own very loose flock and have decided to explore the Chester River together over the next few days.  We will see both Banyan and Peregrine at the SSCA seminars that will take place in Camp Letts at the end of next week.

So I am settling into life aboard…. coffee and knitting in the mornings.  I have finished the shawl and should have posted photos days ago.  I have now started a little baby sweater for the brand new granddaughter who arrived last week to join the family of my oldest childhood friend.  And earlier this week I made ‘poolish’ which will become my ongoing sourdough starter for bread while the weather remains cool enough to bake.  I made the first loaf yesterday, and it was a success!  I will make another loaf today since there is more poolish ready to use now.

Swatch for "Shadow Baby" sweater

I am feeling the pangs of homesickness, but it is balanced by the joys of living is this soft southern landscape.  We’ve seen a number of bald eagles since arriving in the Chesapeake, and yesterday we saw one shag a fish right out of the water and rise into the blue sky with  his/her catch!  It was dramatic!

Day 8, September 18: Lay Day in Chesapeake City (#29)

Day 9, Sept. 19:  Chesapeake City to the Sassafras River (#29 – 31)

Day 10, Sept. 20: Sassafras River to Rock Hall (#31 -34)

Day 11, Sept. 21…..we’re not entirely sure yet!  We will walk into Rock Hall today for some provisions, and then we’ll think about sailing up the Chester River to Chestertown….

Alchemy

Natural dyeing is still gathering steam throughout the US.  
When we leave here I hope to take some weld and madder with me to start a new dye garden in Essex.

Photo from NYTimes of Sasha Duerr's dye liquors

At the end of summer,  I hope to find some local plums to make Damson gin! (Can you guess I’ve been watching Masterpiece Theatre’s “Marple” while knitting?…the one with Geraldine McEwan!)

And a visit to the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx yielded a day of intense color and a rise in my own creative sap by seeing the glories of spring!

 

I have an armillary sphere in my garden, and now I want to display it like this, on a pedestal, and grow a vine through it!  This was my ‘take away’ gem of the day!


Glorious Summer

herb garden on board Pandora

This is the extent of my gardening on board (well, almost)! Rosemary, thyme and a bright red geranium! I have no idea how my gardens at home are faring in the 90+ degree heat of the past few weeks, but this little pot makes me quite happy!

 

 

 

A visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay with a good friend was a perfect summer day. These gardens sit on 128 acres that border the shoreline of Back River.  The idea for the gardens started in 1991, and the land was purchased in 1996, with some of the founding directors using their personal homes as collateral for the land purchase.  The grand opening occurred in 2007!  There is a wealth of inspiration here, and most plants are clearly identified.  There are tranquil spaces, such as the Meditation Garden and the Waterfall garden along with several quiet woodland paths. And then there are spaces that are strikingly beautiful such as the Children’s Garden and many perennial borders.

One of several mazes in the gardens

Birdhouse at edge of Cleaver Event Lawn and Garden

 

Really large bonsai planter

 

So many daisies!

 

Path through the Vayo Meditation Garden

Pond in the Children's Garden

And here is the winning idea I took from my tour: a wall of plants!  It is made by filling wire baskets with soil, then stacking them and framing them into an attractive wall.  This wall of plants not only saves space, but also makes a good screen to block unsightly views!  I want it!

 

Herb wall

This example of a planted wall is filled with herbs.  You can see one of the wire boxes in the lower left on the ground next to the wall.  They had walls planted with annual flowers and one shade wall planted with ferns.

 

 

 

Today the wind is howling so we will sit on our mooring in Boothbay Harbor.  I am going to work on my Nantucket purse and remember my wonderful day in the gardens!

 

Life is what happens…

…when you’re busy making other plans….

In the midst of my weaving, spinning, basket making, bobbin lace, knitting and gardening my life has taken a sharp turn.

I was so busy getting two Nantucket baskets ready for weaving while sailing in Maine in July and August… enthusiastically looking forward to a week of weaving at Vavstuga later this month…  admiring this year’s crop of weld blooming magnificently and watching for indigo seeds to sprout in the garden.  I’ve finished a blanket for a good friend recovering from hip replacement surgery and have recently started Deborah Newton’s ‘greenhouse tank’ from the current issue of IWKnits.

Then Life struck.  My father died unexpectedly on May 19, and now two other family members have passed as well.  I had to move my mother from her home to mine, a great distance away, and then into assisted living.  I am buried in legalities and paper work, and somehow my projects seem like a whim from a distant past.

Still, it is a beautiful spring here in NJ. My peonies and foxglove and iris are blooming profusely, and my cat entertains us with his annual boost of spring energy as well as doing double duty enduring our attentions not only for him but also for our recently deceased dog. That’s life.

 

the lion lies down with the lambs

In the midst of my grief and what seems like endless paperwork a friend sent this anonymous saying:
“Being happy doesn’t mean life is perfect.  It means you’ve decided to see beyond the imperfections.”

So, I’ve returned to working on my Deborah Newton “Greenhouse tank” and to my large Nantucket basket.  I’m juggling my time visiting my mother and getting her new apartment furnished, searching for all the paper work to file my father’s taxes for last year, and getting ready for a week at Becky’s Vavstuga! If you want to follow the basket making procedures go to my basket link above.

>Scrapbook of Maine

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The weeks are passing, in some ways quickly, in others rather slowly, and I’ve now been on board our boat Pandora for a full month as of yesterday!  This is the longest I’ve ever been on a boat.  Here are some images from my month in Maine.

Maine 8.21.10 019 Day schooner that sails out of Camden

 

 

 

 

Maine 8.21.10 045 Along the Fox Island Thoroughfare, between North Haven and Vinalhaven.

 

 

 

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Herreschoff 12 1/2 (means the water line is 12.5 feet),  well known wooden gaff rigged sloop from the early 20th c. designed by Nathaniel Herreshoff, “the wizard of Bristol” (RI).

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Bass Island lighthouse, southern most tip of Mt. Desert Island.  This is the most photographed lighthouse in Maine!

 

 

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Our boat, Pandora, is in the center of this photo, taken from the lookout on the way up to Thuya Gardens in Northeast Harbor, on Mt. Desert Island.

 

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Thuya Gardens, designed by Charles K. Savage.

 

 

 

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Thuya Gardens

 

 

 

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The reflecting pond at Thuya Gardens

 

 

 

 

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Bee house at Thuya Gardens.  Bob took this photo for me so I could remind him to make one for our garden!

 

 

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The fog bank rolling into Southwest Harbor on Mt. Desert Island.

 

 

 

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The fog bank coming into the harbor and boats rapidly disappearing!

 

 

 

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The rapidly ebbing tide near Blue Hill.  This type of rushing tidal current is called a reversing waterfall.  This is supposedly the biggest reversing falls in Maine.

 

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Reversing falls near Blue Hill.

 

 

 

 

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Morning mist on our friend’s 100 yr. old lobster boat in Oven’s Mouth on the Sheepscot River.

 

 

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Osprey nest.

>Sap is Rising…

>

…and I feel my creativity rising with it!

The rise in creative juices has led me to go exploring other people’s blogs, looking for what inspires them, how they communicate it, how they cope with the ebb and flow of creativity.

image_thumbThank you to Bonnie and Jennifer for the creative blogger award!  I’m thrilled that they noticed my blog!  Both of them do work that affects my internal spaces, and also makes me stop and analyze myself.  I look at Bonnie’s use of color with the eyes of a newborn, trying to soak up all her amazing knowledge of color and pattern.

The very first photo I saw on Jennifer’s blog made me realize I don’t actually have to hear music to have my internal spaces rearranged.  Just the photo of her harp in front of an empty chair, with all that potential for music  set my emotions in motion!  Her writings are sensitive, like harp music, and her wedge weave is wonderful….and rhythmic…

I’ve spent a couple of days nurturing my creativity by looking at other blogs: those recommended by others giving that award and those I’ve found while ‘googling.’  I am overcome!  Visiting these blogs has been an ‘artist date’ for me!

Weaving the Dream is a blog I stumbled on when googling.  There is a banner on her site that says, “Take a gentle step forward in your spiritual and creative journey.”  That’s just what I felt as I read through some of her posts. 

Magic Warp, by Steve Bremner.  The first post I read is about feeling that there is never enough time to weave.  That’s the very feeling that keeps me away from it.  That feeling is a real creativity killer, and is probably the biggest hurdle to any artisitic output.  It’s the devil.

(If you put your cursor over any of the names or blog names above you will see that they are live links.  I don’t know why they are not showing up as links without having the cursor on them. Most of this technology is a complete mystery to me!)

It’s amaryllis season at my house!March 09 002 March 09 001March 09 004

One more wonderful March surprise! A gift from my son’s friend, who thought I might enjoy tea from India.  He visited the estates where these teas were grown.

 

March 09 006

 

I wore these colorful socks yesterday, with an orange turtleneck, my denim shirt with the embroidered palm tree from convergence 2009 tampa fllast summer’s Convergence, and what else? Orange crocs!  It’s spring!

>Almost Spring

>Even though I don’t have any crocuses yet, I do have these houseplants that reward me every spring! This is a paphiopedilum, but I cannot read the name of the cross on the label.


And here is the first of about a dozen amaryllis coming into bloom. (I should have straightened up the kitchen table before taking this shot! Oh well….)

Today I will work on my Arwen Cardi and go to my tapestry class at Soyoo’s, so I expect to make some progress on the Hudson River tapestry, and maybe Rob as well!

Just on the heels of finishing the Swallowtail comes the new issue of Knitty! I’ve printed the directions for the Aeolian Shawl. Lovely!