Christie...

One of my biggest treats is when my niece Christie visits.  She brings youth, energy, and enthusiasm.  This trip she asked me to teach her to spin.  It took her about an hour to get the knack of it and two evenings to complete two skiens of yarn.  Hurry back Christie; I miss you already.

Black Magic...

I was wandering around in the dark last night looking for my "magic" when I spotted this foxglove.  I have taken pictures of these wildflowers before but always in the daytime.  It struck me that this is the difference between day and night.  How many times have we heard that saying?

Stone Walls...

The old stone walls of Vermont, they separate our property from our neighbor's.  I always wonder who put the stones in place.  Even in my youth I would not have been able to accomplish this task.  It's against the law to remove these stones thus assuring this will always be a part of our landscape. 

Family Reunions....

My first thought when the invitation arrived early in the year was, oh boy, that will be a long day.  It always is.

We travel from Vermont to Rehoboth, MA, (via Canton to pick up Pop and his girlfriend, Barbara), then back again the same day.  That puts us in motion for around 16 hours.  Sometimes we can spend the night but this year finds us way too busy to stay.

Our family reunion is held every two years.  This means that we always lose some of the old folks that were there for the last one.  Pop and his brother, Bob, are now the oldest which launches me into both sad and happy memories of other years and those who have passed.  Their parents had 18 children at the beginning of the last century and these two remain.  I hate to say it but when they go, we will be the "old folks."

Laughing and talking with family and friends was worth my tired bones today.  It always is.

    

Big Storm...

It rained so hard that I had to pull off the road twice on my way home from Manchester.  Cars were pulling off in front of me but they weren't off all the way.  I pulled over for fear of hitting someone.  And then...there is after the rain.  We forget.

Fleeting Moments...

 They are here and gone.

The Bounty...

And then there was Jam, 27 jars of jam.  Does anybody want some?  Every year I make approximately a hundred jars of various fruit jams.  Most of the berries are free for the picking in the surrounding countryside.  Tom will pick raspberries at the Historical Society, blackberries along the road and in our backyard.  We have blueberry bushes, gooseberries, and elderberries.  Its no wonder I just can't stop!  Is there a ten-step program?