when the rain comes and your cup is spilling over ( happiness)

continued from here

the rain came as i sat there listening to the sounds around me and watching the three people i love the most laugh and giggle while they made parodies of me in their skits on our make shift stage. i laughed hard and somehow how it was as if the last of the sand in the hour glass that must have been me before the horse, the farm fell through. the page turned for good.  the fog came in and all at once k, elle and dylan said auntie you might want to take pictures.  even though rain still fell gently i gathered my things and asked if anyone wanted to go for a walk, everyone did and we headed out from our camp site down a dirt path and wooded stairs a canopy of towering trees drenched in rain surrounded us. this is  happy, i know it is.  i listened to everyone talk as they pointed to this and that as we walked. we arrived at the bridge over the river that we had spent our day swimming in,  the patina of the iron on the old bridge, the glistening wood from the rain fall,  filled my senses. we took pictures and walked some more to an abandoned house, a facade i had seen when we first drove in to the state park the day before. we took pictures of  what once must have been a beautiful farm house by the water and that hurricane irene tried to wash away last year, how beautiful was the sun setting through the windows. rain started coming down hard and everyone started heading back, but i lingered just a little longer, i counted the windows & green worn out shutters, some odd habit i picked up from childhood, like the amount of tiles on the floor or ceiling. i walked back behind the others completely drenched and content, for i was truly in the moment doing the very thing i needed & wanted to do.

when you find what you need in a beautiful weekend

i write to you as the house is quiet, the kids ( niece & nephew) gone to their uncles for a few weeks, k  in boston for a few as well. i am home reflecting on things, tidying up, not only the house but my mind and body too.

this was k and my first trip together in almost two years, farm life makes it impossible for us to leave together but we needed it, oh how we needed it. the night before we left for a weekend by the river in deep forest of vermont the odds were against us and it looked like i would have to stay behind when the vet was called for Tolstoy my beautiful draft colicked  but he recovered quickly and the vet said " i can't make the decision if you should stay or go but if i think you should go" the next morning we changed the horse pasture giving them pure grass instead of the wild mixed flower fields. packed the cars and went on our way. we were doing it going away like we had done so many times, kids ( niece & nephew), dogs and us.

we arrived in the town of jamaica, a tiny sweet town with the best camp store that ever was. we found our site, this not being the norm for us since we are back country hikers and usually do not stay at a camp ground of any kind, this one was a state park. our site had a lean to, a wood shelter to set your tent in but there would be none of that, instead we instantly decided it would be a  theater stage and every one of us would have to do a skit of some kind in the evening. we set up our tent, put things away and headed for a swim, the water was perfect the river beautiful. later there was dinner on the camp fire, card games, jokes, story telling and belly laughs.

 the next morning after breakfast we decided to go for a six mile hike to see some falls. the hike was beautiful, towering trees kept us shaded yet sun and glistening river were always by our side the last mile was an upward rock climbing hike arriving at the falls the scariest thing happened, grace our newfoundland collapsed k and i starting submerging her in water to cool her down as on lookers and the kids were nervous and frightened, k an i did not say a word just kept cooling her off, it took a while but she came through ( we believe it was heat stroke). honestly i tought i lost grace up there. when all was well again the kids swam in the falls trying hard not to look at the naked old man that was sunning not the view we were after:) our hike back was beautiful and we stopped midway to swim mid river, k, the dogs and i swimming there among trees and rocks, oh how lovely to have cool crisp water wash over you how easily we go on with our lives forgetting how much we loved to swim.  we made it just before the rain came and once it came it never ended but thanks to that lean to we hardly noticed as we laughed till we grew tired.

 * special thanks to our friend debbie for taking such great care of our animals, thank you!
*  i will have a second post about  a walk in the rain an beautiful fog

summer so far....great.

i am going to tell you that our weekend was nice a perfect mix of work and play. there has been so much laughter. I have been working hard in the garden, it is not big at all but i want continues crops
so i add between rows almost everyday. we have done some good stuff, like berry picking, walks, joke telling. we have shared some good meals, eaten our weight in fruit. we have given our big dogs baths, there has been show marathons, not really my thing but the kids keep reminding me it's summer, more play and relaxation that chores and work aunty.  actually today i have spent it mostly in the garden and them indoors,  it is hard to realize what is fun for me  is not exactly fun for them. i think i romanticize gardening and long walks that i can't imagine them not liking it so.  we did put up a tent, getting ready for a weekend by the lake in the mountains i can not wait and that is something everyone is excited about, i have been tempted to sneak in it right now with a good book.

did i tell you mondays are the hardest to share, they have become my favorite days of all days, perhaps one day i will put into words. we are waiting for noisette our duck to hatch ducklings, it was not our plan but she hid them pretty good and she has been so dedicated, do you know they hardly eat and drink so that they can keep their eggs warm, incredible mothers.

i can feel that my post will become scattered and that my thoughts and pics might be all over the place,
please forgive me it seems like i can't do summer well and keep focus too, but i love it here my little place for story telling. i have also started to use instagram, i am very nervous telling you since i love how i am able to share vignettes here on la porte rouge it quiet and intimate, but if you would like to see daily tidbits from the hill then you can find me on instagram under laporterouge ( wow i am actually shaking).

dear friends, thank you for being here, honestly you guys are incredible wise and kind.

the country drive

the hill has taken on new sounds, one of children's laughter. i have many things to write about and many stories that have begun to take shape in my mind.

these photographs were taken on a country drive with my mother on her last visit, i was having some camera trouble, mostly me not understand the settings)  over exposing when shooting, but i do not think there as  bad as i thought, well...

 last  night as we all went up to bed and the golden full moon entered the room the kids and i started chatting, we laughed so hard as we shared stories, tried to make sophie our big white dog talk. the room was filled with the kind of laughter that made our eyes water. such happy sounds from upstairs. this is what summer on the hill has been so far. i look forward to sharing more with you soon.

i am going to be talking about this post, real soon so please visit it and i am going to add to the plot. because of this family my life has changed, i am able to capture moments and speak and share with so many. so have a look and  like i said i will be posting about it soon, with the help of my niece elle.

a warm sky and the rainbow

i started writing this on the train from ny too home while enjoying the sunset on hudson river. I thought about these images while walking the hot pavement in the city, i had a nice time and hope to go back very soon to do a few things i just could not do this time around. i will be able to show images from this
trip only in the fall.

 i thought about how it seems as if the night before i leave the hill  the sky is even lovelier than all the days before as if letting me know that this is where my heart resides and why i must come home.  the evening before i left,  I was sitting at the kitchen table with my mother after chores, when i looked up i saw the warmest tones line the sky, a quick rain shower before had formed a rainbow, as all this was happening the sun began to set. i stood on the grass with my bare feet, this is where i live, i function & breathe. within minutes behind me the sky was the colour of wild fire, while the front was a mix of soft tones with a rainbow of vibrant colors ( not captured well).  the air was a mix of cool and warmth like a swim in lake on hot summer night, the leaves moved against the window making the sound of pouring rain without a drop, birds and fire flies flew about and the air played at the back of my neck.  i stood, i paused, i stared and inhaled and now four days later, i finally exhale.

I watched my mum and k drive down the driveway heading to montreal this morning, strange that i am not with them, but  knowing that one and half days of solitude i have craved will help me press reset and prepare for the arrival of my niece & nephew for their summer on the hill. i will weed the garden , listen to music as i am right now and maybe lay in the hammock at some point looking up at the sky through the trees while it grounds me. this evening i will welcome the sunset from the table in the barn while eating dinner made solely from my garden.

hope you guys are doing well, but even better than well.