a fence, love

i thought i would have time to sit and write a post, but it seems that brownies are half made, dinner is not even started. the chickens and their babies have caused a redesign of the coop and still with many hours into it, i am not happy with the results. we have done many things in the last few days, like an evening picnic under the stars watching Funny Face , there has been more swimming, berry picking, there has been hours spent at the library and cafe. there has been long winded evening visitors and coyotes that sounds like they are working on a Stephen King set (honestly bone chilling). like i  said i do not have much time to write and oh how i wish i did. the kids will go to my brothers this weekend in providence so i will have one and half nights with my k. sans enfant (someone pinch me) before the house fills up with out of town guest. now i must really go for the kids are asking what is for dinner and i do not have an answer:)!

miss you dear readers, how are you?

* pictures taken here at the farm, the cat belongs to Red Comp farm where we  get ours eggs till our hens start laying again and also some photos taken on the property of a new feed store i  have found, and love

* flowers are the wild flowers form our fields.

a covered bridge and summer days

last saturday i had decided the night before i would take the kids to the brattelboro farmers market

then for  a swim. on the way i decided to take a more scenic route trough towns i had not yet visited. Route 100 in vermont is a beautiful drive. an audio played, the life of cleopatra, the kids( niece &  nephew) were sitting in the back seat listening, giggling and asking questions on what they were learning.

we stumbled upon a bakery sticky fingers we grabbed a  few things dreamt at what we left behind and made our way down the road, we arrived in the town of townsend found a man made beach for the kids to swim - no shade what so ever, made our swim a short one. we drove some more till we came to a covered bridge, many here in vermont, we decided to stop and walk through it, it was gorgeous but it seemed that many who visited decided to leave their mark( sad). there was people jumping from the bridge into the water, oh how i was tempted i always loved a high jump into the water. we watched as those who dared took the plunge. i took photographs as they did, something about these last few series are so summer to me and could easily be mistaken for a different time in history. Our drive ended late afternoon which included a visit to the Grafton Cheese shop where we tasted some good cheese and came home with the best apricot jam i have ever had, the home through the greenest oft mountains.

no name

It has been very hot here. on the hill it is usually at least ten degrees cooler but that has not been the case as of late. we have been swimming a lot. i am partial to quiet crowd free shaded water holes. we found this one called no name in arlington. i sat in the water as elle & dylan played, splashed, hopped on rocks, through rocks and splashed some more. i finished my book there, willa cather who has quickly become one of my favourite writers. i love the water, i love it cold and clear. being in the water reminds me of my childhood and every found memory floods back, it also reminds me of the time i have spent with k, camping in some remote part of the world, just him and i diving into the water after a long trek. can i admit something al though it is fun to discover new places, i have to say that working here on the hill, whether it is fixing fences, weeding the garden(tiny) or taking care of the horses once i get real hot from hard work there is nothing more satisfying to me that a good hose down, it is pure beautiful well water, icy cold and blissful, at times the most perfect water ever.

stolen moments

i have blueberry bushes i dream about . how is it that i have been to busy to pick the ripen fruit.

the birds have been feasting and so has the deer and maybe a black bear will come soon.  that is grace she is dog in case you were wondering. she is playing underneath the tall cedars, i dream about them too.

sometimes i walk along our forest line, wildflowers emerge, unedified berries hang from trees, bugs eat what they like and make no secret of it. wild blackberries ripen their location have been noted to memory. on this day as we gather blueberries, a colour palette starts to form, deep purples, blues, mauves and greens, oh the greens when looking through tem they can make mid afternoon look like the darkest of hours.

there was happiness, i can tell by these photographs i had found a minute or two of peace.

how are you dear friends, is the summer what you had hoped....

* that is baba  recently  named by elle & dylan, a peking duck he is our largest and softest.

* 

when all is lovely

i can not believe how many pictures i took of our time with aran and her family.

having aran visit us in our new home was wonderful, last time she visited it was bitterly cold and she was shooting photographs of a new england winter for her book. at that time i had fallen in love with miren instantly but i was too  meet jon, and i was excited to hear his voice, for i had seen him grow through pictures, he is a very special little boy. the kids played well together, they fed the chickens and ducks, and where there as new chicks were born, they picked dandelion greens for our feathery friends. jon who at first was a little frightened of our very large bears( dogs) would come to love them and sneak out of the house just to sit and visit with them. miren had a voice too and she talked constantly although in her own little girl language, it was clear that soon she would speak in large sentences. she kept up with the big kids and clearly was the leader of the bunch. 

Aran , miren and i were able to leave the kids behind with k. so that we could go to the farmers market and scenic tour of neighbouring towns sans entourage. i loved this time with aran, she spoke so fondly of her country Basque, the culture, the food, the scenery and her childhood, i loved hearing about those things especially her stories about her father who i believe could teach me so many things about the life i am living. we shared thoughts about children, marriages and careers all while pulling over to the side of the road and taking photographs.

I am so glad she came and i feel as if she will always come and every time she does i feel as if i am in the company of a dear friend. thank you aran for taking such lovely photographs of the life we have hear, making the food i make look good and your kindness and generosity.

now  when are you coming back:)!

Ps. happy birthday Sir jon, a little package in the mail for you.

a late afternoon at the lake

  lets go to the lake 

saying it seemed so natural, specially being here in vermont  and it being a few minutes from home.

 the weather that day was in the nineties, it was hot and wanting all the kids to just feel free and I craving that elusive quietness i have been seeking we went. it was late afternoon and after being at farm stands and market, little towns with aran who was shooting for her book we knew that just skipping rocks and dipping toes in the lake would make everyone feel better and i think it did just that. we enjoyed having aran, jon and miren here so much, we have lots of photographs to share and stories to tell about our time with the Lovely aran and her family but as i usually do here at la porte rouge is start from the end and work my way to the beginning. for  now i will leave you with the shpts of the lake on a summer day.