little drives with maman

the last few days my mum and i have visited small towns, most of the time in search fro the best farmers market or farm stand. we went to brattelboro trying to find a good mocha, that failed but we walked around spotted an outdoor lounge chair in beautiful floral, my mum wanted to buy it for me, oh what was i thinking when i said no. then on our way home, off a dirt road we discovered a self serve farm stand, we bought dandelion marmalade, greens and farm eggs because the day before i managed to drop two dozen eggs on the floor, my poor chickens if they knew. Yesterday we headed to cambridge, greenwich and saratoga ny, it was a pleasant day that ended at a giant farmers market where i purchased, sprouts, sunflower greens, currants, bread and more. the funny thing is with all that we bought we forgot to eat anything all day except what we had had for breakfast.

Tomorrow i bring my mum back to montreal and pick up the kids, having the kids makes my summer, i usually spend one night in montreal going to the jazz fest, eating my favorite foods but i must come right back for we are having guest, corine and her family will be coming, we have never met in person!

i have had a great time with my mum, she is l o v e l y, i think she is discovering that her daughter is slowly lacking in social skills, dresses badly nowadays, has aged and makes stress nervous.

evening and morning walk.

the weekend was a great balance of things, hard work k. and i created another pasture and trimmed all along the houses, we had great afternoon snack of fresh strawberries, cheeses and hibiscus ice tea with a man who came to cut some of the fields, he told us a bit more of the history of this place which i soaked up. later on, early evening we went for a walk, looking at what had been cut, the wild flowers that are emerging and the birds. then we got dressed up, my mother came down the stairs looking so beautiful and graceful i could have worn a paper bag no one would have noticed me, then we headed into williams town for an incredible indian meal, walked along the town spotted some famous people who were in town for a play and spotted two great Pyrenees. the  night ended on the porch watching the fireflies flicker all around us as my mum said they were like mirrors to the stars.

this morning we went for a walk at the tropical conservatory and as we entered this is what we read

listen

It is easy to overlook the sounds that are all around you.  depending on the time of day, the season of the year, and the weather, there are many things you may hear.  birds like the red-winged blackbird and the black-capped chickadee are common singers in the marshlands.  on the summer and fall, insects like the cricket create an incessant buzz.  raindrops can patter on leaves.  sometimes in the winter, the only   sound is the creaking of the trees as they sway and rub against each other.

new england tropical conservatory

i am so greatful that k stayed home today, he has only been home a handful of days since we moved  and to see him enjoy it here as well as mum makes me very happy

the mind and fog

it rained from  early morning to late into the evening and still today it rains. the fog is character, a living thing here on the hill, always coming and going. sometimes i wish i could make a coat to wear from the fog, perhaps then i would be in the clouds for certain. the last few days maybe do to the books i am reading or the films i have watched, my mind, thoughts and heart have travelled back to a time where each day had four seasons, heartbreak, love, passion and fear. I have been telling myself while being told, do not live in the past it is what is ahead that is important, yes i suppose. i get caught up in beautiful pictures and words  so often that i become afraid i will mix the present with the past, that someone will surely think i have lost it, that my mind has failed. sometimes i think that too, i think that my mind is giving up on me for it knows i live through my heart always.

*pictures were taken after eight in the evening, in the rain & fog. the before last image just happened ( well they all just happen )but i like it, so i included it. my mother in the photographs.

through the fields

I met my mum in saratoga, ny she was coming from montreal by train. we shopped and dined and made our way home. she had seen our house the weekend our truck was stuck at the end of the road, barely any furniture no stove or fridge. she is glad to be here and i am so very happy to have her here.

Yesterday we found a farm stand in shafstbury full to the rim with goodness we filled our baskets with vegetables, berries, breads and flowers. when came home  we took a walk  through the fields to see if the blueberry bushes were almost ready. the wild flowers we encountered filled our hearts, every other word was look at this , how beautiful! when black eyed susans, bachelor buttons, daisy and many other flowers grow wild for as far as the eyes could see you cant help but to feel like a little girl.  the blueberry bushes were almost ready, bursting with fruit,  we picked some dandelion greens for the ducks, walked to the pond were it was visible large animals had been sleeping in the long grasses. then we walked to the cedars that are lined like soldiers. on our way back we discovered thousand of tiny little wild strawberries, no bigger than pearls but so good that we left the fields with strawberry stained hands, knowing we would be back for more.

a small pause.

it is sunday afternoon, it is overcast and cool. i have planted a garden, a small one outside the chicken 

coop. Tomatoes, radishes, beets, swiss chard, turk pumpkins and sunflowers. This is just a tiny one and i am not sure if it will make it  do to wild life, big dogs and ducks who managed to get to the tomato blossoms already,  i like playing in the dirt after a good rain just the same. the weekend has not turned out as i hoped, well at least yesterday did not, but i grew from it- oh dear friends i regressed too, i can not lie. i like being here more than anywhere else. i have just finished making home made ginger ale and have sipped it while i ate fresh radishes( i can not live without them lately) vermont cheese that is sold every where even furniture stores  but i like  the one that is made right down the road  where i can see the cows and there existance ( happy to say not bad) and sesame seeded bread made here in the berkshires, i am content. 

dear friends  it is now wednesday,  monday and tuesday well they made me tired so i am going to take a little pause. My mum arrives on saturday, i have never  needed anything more as i need her visit here. i will be back soon for  most of the time it is my camera that dictates when i shall blog next.

thinking of you guys and hoping that you have found moments of peaceful escapes.

Bon Bon la fin.

continued from here. 

the next morning even though we had planned on going to that diner with the unbelievable blueberry pancakes (deb had been there before in fact she knew a lot more places in my new home town that i did) the morning was so lovely at the farm  so we made breakfast here instead and had it on the porch while we chatted some more.  after breakfast Deb took out her bon bon and showed me her new collection every cloud has a silver lining a tribute to her father. each pieces was so beautiful created with vintage glass french beads. we played around with our cameras while we discussed the upcoming changes for bon bon. it was lovely to have her pieces here.

 in the afternoon we decided to go for a drive but as we got to the open road we knew it was time for lunch and we headed to the diner. deb had remembered it well, a diner with a twist leaning to the gourmet, where vegan, gluten free things could be found on the menu or should i say hand written on pieces of paper all over the walls. we talked a lot at the diner about our paths and how we got to where we are now. then we headed out went in an out of  shops along main street before we headed to the farmers market. we bought a whole bunch of things(deb) and planned for a farm to table meal.

when we arrived home we went for a walk and visited the writers shack. deb took hundreds of photos i think! then we had cheese and crackers, iced hibiscus tea and  fresh strawberries on the porch while deb water coloured. we talked about hosting dinners here and small workshops. we made dinner, deb made delicious kale and kalbari greens sautéed in oil, vinegar and garlic and i m made a version of huevo rancheros, we nibbled on chocolate talked till our eyes lids became heavy.

the next morning breakfast at the dining table, more chat and goodbyes.

deb, it was a pleasure having you here my dear.

* PS. Ig you would like your own getaway check this out this incredible giveaway from Oh Happy day!

when the rain finally came

i have just come back from a long walk with the dogs, something that just two hours ago would have been impossible. It has been very hot, i try not to complain about it because i know here on the hill it is cooler than down there. the last few days any work outside has resulted in me being drenched from the heat, i like this for two reasons( only) my skin becomes soft, weight drops and i get to take cold showers all day:). Last night the sky threathened rain and the lightning was incredible but the rain never came. well this afternoon the thunder roared in and it rained good. weather such as this is magical up here, if i was to be honest a little nerv racking too, but beautiful just the same. 

After the rain stopped and the sky started opening up, i knew i wanted to go for a walk with dogs, so i put on jeans and a trench coat temperature cooled down by twenty degrees in an hour and away we went. can i tell you that the smell in the air after the rain comes is the sweetest, that big random drops of rain that fall on me make me giggle, that walking on a a trail that has been made by tractors and horse carriages so long before i was born make me the happiest.

* the pictures above was from last week, before a very bad storm. i loved the colours of the sky and the trees and the darker parts of the hills were so thick  and flat in color, such contrast to what was going on around it.

Bon Bon J'arrive ( part one)

monday, morning except for the fact that i locked myself out of the house at six am, i was filled with excitement because deb was coming for a visit!  deb arrived around noon, bright and beautiful, i showed her around, made lunch were she showered me with goodies from brooklyn, i have never met someone so generous, gorgeous yummy macaron to start( delicieu!) , tea, chocolate, ginger syrup that i had wanted forever now, beautiful hand  blown bottle with it’s delicate walls made me drool and a beautiful bon bon was filled with meaning and hope. then we made and ate lunch; farm market greens, fresh chicken eggs and my mums mint & mustard dressing while we chatted, talked about things that made me know we must be friends to open up such as this, we laughed talked about artist, the blog world and the ones we love.

Later we went in town, got something to drink walked, sat and chatted some more before we headed to willliamstown for some vietnamese food! the evening was spent on the porch watching the fireflies flicker, then back indoors to browse the internet pointing out things we liked, sharing more stories and then bed. as i lay in bed that night, i realized that in just a few short hours, deb had given me food for thought, insight on my own personal life, she had shared words and ideas that inspire me. if you ever get to meet deb, one you instantly love her, for she is wise, funny, talented but for me it is her grace, her kind way and ability to listen and make one feel at ease is priceless.

to be continued..


* she has an incredible taste  and if i was going to be a bad host i would have stolen every blouse(see above) !

wild flowers and horses.

this morning i was woken by my horse tolstoy, he was upset because Splash my other horse decided it was greener on the other side, perhaps he was right but jumping the fence was not  what he was supposed to do. i ran down the stairs and outside and got everything back to normal. i decided i would give them their  morning grain and if i was going to do that might as well let the ducks and chickens out too. when i entered back into the house with so very little clothes on ( note to self sleep with more clothes, you never know). i looked at the clock and it was only ten minutes to five, yes five am. i curled up on the couch with dogs trying to get rid of the chill that i got from a cool morning. I knew then it was time to make a new pasture for the horses, so off i went, it was still early enough and a hat was not needed to keep the sun away but as hours when by, i kept working i found myself saying go put your hat on and sunblock. i did not and oh how red i am. what i did notice when i was creating the  new pasture is how tall the fields were, up to my waist if not higher and covered with wild flowers,  beautiful.  k. and i often hike out west and we always say we say we should go in june to see the wild flowers, but not being fond of crowds we always end up out west in september. how great it was so be out there among these wild beautiful fields. i sat in the middle of them for at least a half hour, watching the horses graze, butterflies flicker and the million grass hoppers who were not shy at all and landed on me by the dozens. I always feel there is reward after you do something with your hands and sitting in field of wild flower is sweet  and coming in for a glass of home made hibiscus ice tea is too.

*today after all this i was informed that my fathers cousin was killed my an arm robber in his shop in texas. i wirte this here to remind me the contrast between  life and death that their his horrible things that happen every minute of everyday and that guns is one of the most inhumane things that are legal.