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Wicked High Tide

Wow… between the full moon and the Nor’easter that blew in, we’ve got some serious flooding down on the shoreline, a wicked high tide. We went down to check on Stella, and because she’s at least 15 feet up from the waterline, we’re good, no wind damage either. The “Island” did see some flooding and the water is eerily calm and crystal clear.

Under normal conditions there are a few more steps to a concrete “deck” and then a few more steps into the water –

Below you can see our concrete “deck” under water… and in the distance..

the rock Jetty and marsh beyond it? .. also completely under water.

On the other side of the island, the water is so high, it’s above the road level.

The sea is pushing it’s way through the stone seawall and beach gate,

flooding the road and kidscape.

The beach is completely submerged.

The seawater is about 12 inches up the baracade, see the dark wood at the very bottom? .. and seeping in… quite a sight…

Below is the communal dock and boat launch…. parking lot. Now underwater.

The rock jetty submerged.. with the tide changing… so each side of it is fighting against the other.. it was quite a sight to behold… and the marshlands on the left are invisible underwater.

We were in awe of the power of nature, the way water can take over a landscape with such ease given the right circumstances. We thought this was something… until a neighbor on island sent me these photos this afternoon to compare….

Hurricane Irene, 2011…. Residents were stuck on island with no electricity for 10 days. TEN DAYS. The little guard shack/library/video rental/mail hub we all pass as we enter our little community….

The one road to “home”…. hence, stuck.

We are newcomers, so we did not experience that storm with Stella on the island, although we were told she weathered it just fine.

Amazing, powerful, frighteningly beautiful – mother nature.

Till soon –

From a distance

I took some shots of the moon at 5:30 a.m. this morning, almost full, incredible orangey peach hues.. all three of these shots taken in the same 60 second window, just different settings on the camera.

As I stood out in the cool morning air gazing at this gorgeous moon, I thought of all the other people around the world who look up and admire the very same. We live in such a beautiful, miraculous place in a myriad of ways. Why we can’t all get along at least in the most basic sense of the word so that we each live in comfort and harmony is heartbreaking. It’s absolutely possible, totally obtainable.. we just can’t get out of our own way to get there.

I love this song, performed by Bette Midler… In these turbulent times it’s more fitting than ever…

From a Distance

From a distance the world looks blue and green

And the snow capped mountains white

From a distance the ocean meets the stream

And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It’s the voice of hope
It’s the voice of peace
It’s the voice of every man

From a distance we all have enough
And no one is in need
And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease
No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of hope
Playing songs of peace
They are the songs of every man

God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance

From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
What all this fightings for

Till soon, friends…

It’s in the air!

Spring! That glorious thing!…. seriously… yesterday? 68 degrees. I mucked stalls in a long sleeve Tee, no jacket required… and mud boots. The horse pastures are soggy, the paddocks muddy, the dirt roads around this little farm have little rivers running through. The horses were blanketless and rolled in the mud because it felt so good to be naked. I let the chickens loose out into the yard so they could stretch their legs and wings and forage for worms and bugs.. because the bugs were indeed out and about…. How does that happen with just a two day stretch of warm?

I looked up as I was walking out to feed horses in the evening and the moon was so beautiful and bright I ran back inside to grab the tripod and long lens, sharing that sight here with you.

I’ve been browsing the seed catalogs, looking forward to digging into the dirt in our two raised beds in the backyard again…. we learned something from one of you readers, can’t remember which one, I apologize. Our tomatoes didn’t do so great last year, kinda wishy washy, despite our best efforts. We have always used the same raised bed for the tomatoes, did not know you should rotate their home year to year. We’re aware of crop rotation, makes perfect sense. We will fortify the soil with aged horse and rabbit manure again this year, too…and indeed.. ROTATE.

I love these particular seed catalogs, the photography is beautiful and they sell some interesting exotics and heirloom varieties.

Look at this beautiful glass gem corn…..

The description..

Amazing color! Indescribably beautiful flint or popcorn comes in an endless range of colors. Translucent kernels really do shine brilliantly like glass—on the cob they resemble strands of glass beads! The 3-8” ears are consummately decorative, but edible and delicious as well.

I usually pick one or two new things to try – sometimes it’s a success, sometimes not so much. Melons have never been happy in our garden patch, we’re assuming the soil isn’t sandy enough and we have tried the tips and tricks, including added sand to the soil, placing the plants on mounds well spaced, etc. Same for carrots, and that’s a bummer as we have people, horses and a rabbit who would love the home grown variety. Last year I tried growing two rows of purple carrots – we had a stunted lot, but even those were a delicious sweet carrot taste. I believe I planted them too close together and the soil wasn’t soft far enough down in the beds for them to reach and grow. Strawberries are always eaten by rabbits and birds before we get to enjoy many of them so we gave that up. Corn has been a learning experience, to say the least.

The Mr. loves his beans and peas – the standard variety. I’d like to give these a try this year – tender and superbly delicious sounds good to me! .. and they’re beautiful.

And look at this “Violet Sparkle” Pepper….

I’m giving this a go as well.

Staples in our little garden are peppers, tomatoes, parsley, onions, basil, peas, cucumbers, eggplant, yellow squash and a few rows of corn out beyond the fence that are always iffy because we have yet to master happy corn growing. When we drive by fields and fields and fields full of healthy, happy corn, we say.. surely we can get this right for our little patch. Jeez! The secret is somewhere in the amount of corn you grow – they love proper pollination and mass production. They are clearly not happy planted in little patches without the proper space between and plenty of friends for cross pollination. The corn we’ve managed to grow looks stunted more often than not. We might try again, hopefully with better results this year and a better game plan.

Looking out the kitchen porch sliders, here’s the current view of our garden… 32 degrees, back to the norms for late February, rain-snow-rain in the forecast. We live about 4 miles in from the coast, a slow rise that reaches our hill at about 400 feet above sea level. The scent of the sea is in the air this morning. T find it refreshing, invigorates the soul. My husband teases me often about this – he says “You have a differently look in your eyes when we’re down by the water or the seamist reaches the farm. ”

I know it’s origin…. It’s called Peace.

If you haven’t tried gardening in the past and have a bit of the winter blues, start planning for your little patch of garden space, give it a go. Apartment or condo dweller? Not a problem – roof tops, window sills, little terraces, decks and even fire escapes can hold a few pots of something to grow. It feels good to nurture something that will in turn nurture you.

My gardening friends – any tips you want to share? I’m all ears – not of corn, though.. apparently.

Because I care

I’m teased often because of my open expression of opinion on Facebook and I’ve received criticism for it here on this blog via e-mail. I’m not bothered by that because it’s based solely on the fact that I care, and that care encompasses all. I care about my country, the safety of our children, our impoverished, our diversity, our rights, our freedoms, our hard working citizens on all economic levels, our struggling population on so many levels, and our decency in our government and toward each other. If the fact that I care bothers you, that’s your issue, not mine.

That being said- a piece I agree with whole heartedly, and believe it encompasses much of what we are dealing with in this deeply troubling divide of the people of this country…

One of the biggest sources of bullshit today is the proliferation of “If you’re this then you’re automatically that” and “You’re either with us or you’re against us” politics. These are emotional lines that we hear invoked by everyone from elected officials and lobbyists to movie heroes and villains on a regular basis. They’re effective political moves; however, 95 percent of the time it’s an emotional and passionate rendering of bullshit.

No matter where we stand in any given issue, let’s all stop the bullshit. Let’s be honest, let’s be real, let’s share what we know to be true, not just things that align with what we want to believe.

Let’s be decent to each other, regardless.

Winterscape

We woke up to about 4 inches of beautiful fluffy white snow and clear skies. By Tuesday, the temps will hit 60 degrees. T’is true what they say about New England weather… don’t like it? wait a few minutes…. it’ll change…

My little southern peach, Sally,

with her little twisted legs absolutely loves the snow…

When is enough, enough?

I’m not anti-gun. We own guns.

I am for a government that is not bought by the NRA. The NRA used to be an organization of integrity, concerned with safety issues. Not so today, run by a wingnut who’s main concern is whipping everyone into a frenzy over their rights, buying politicians to protect their sales, under the disguise of protecting the Second Amendment. No one is trying to take away your second amendment rights, to be clear. Just adding common sense to the equation, really, that’s it.

I am for stricter gun laws, and many who agree with me are not looking to take your guns away if you are a responsible individual who passes a background check and are mentally sound.

Now, you might say mental health is the issue, not the gun. All the more reason to have more restrictions. There is no sound reason for a 19 year old with a disturbing digital history to be able to buy an assault rifle capable of killing many people quickly.

Trump blamed the tragedy on mental health, although he himself signed last year’s bill to relax vetting of mentally unstable gun purchasers.

So far in 2018, we have numerous school shootings in less than two months, 30 mass shootings all together. All conducted with the assault rifle.

That’s terrorism, the home grown variety. More restrictions won’t fix the whole problem, but it’s a step in the right direction. Doing nothing isn’t the answer. When is enough, enough? Do we have to wait for the bought politicians children to be massacred? Then will it matter enough?

Drain the Swamp.

The Other Woman

This sort of thing has been going on for a while now, it’s not shocking in today’s world, really. I guess we were behind the times around here, but now he’s done with it. Out with the old, in with the new, as they say. I can’t blame him – She’s fresh and young. She’s sleek. From what I can tell, she doesn’t complain or voice her opinion. She can do things I can’t do. No wonder he was so eager to welcome her into our home… and indeed it’s official… Alexa has moved in.

I really had not a clue what this Alexa thing was, paid no mind, as I can’t hear voices or music very well anyway. Funny thing, though. When music is playing on Alexa, for whatever the reason, I can hear it a little better than if it were coming out of the car radio or our old sound system. Music still sounds like crap compared to what a normal hearing person experiences, but I am getting a little bit more of the instrumentals, sometimes even a voice if it’s a deep one. That’s a gain in my world, a pleasant surprise.

In some ways, it feels like we’re beginning to live in the age of the Jetsons… a mini robot that sits on the office desk and kitchen counter and living room mantel that plays whatever music we ask, tells us what the forecast is, answers any factual questions. All we have to to do is say out loud… Alexa… play the Eagles music. Alexa, what’s the temperature outside right now?

Are you old enough to remember that cartoon? Now if only we could have robot maids like Rosie that vacuum and dust and cook our meals. That’s an Alexa I could really appreciate! I’m sure it’s on the horizon, after all we’ve been living with vacuums that propel themselves along the floor while we’re at work and microwaves that heat or cook food in seconds, minutes. There are hover crafts out there, just not ready for regular population consumption yet.

Times, they are a changing. Not fast enough in Washington, however.

Till soon, friends –

Love On the Rocks

This weekend’s weather can be summed up in one word. WET. And ya know? That’s really just fine, because doing farm chores in the rain is easier than doing farm chores in snow and ice, truth.

M and I took a ride down to the cottage yesterday ~~longing for spring~~ to “check on things” and I brought my big lens in case there were some good shots to be had. Indeed there were… crumby weather can set a great mood in photographs.. as evidenced below. People often think a good picture day is sunshiney and bright, but sometimes you get an even better mood in your photos on a gloomy day.

Below are a few homes that sit on the rocks that are the Thimble Islands, more on those HERE. There’s a fun boat tour you can take to explore the islands, too. Link HERE. I love them all. There are currently a few for sale… you, too, can own your own Treasure Island, all one would need is a big lottery win and a boat, for that’s the only way to get to these islands. Link HERE. And another COLORFUL one HERE. Check out that interior! Our little Stella sits in a cove just around the bend.

We had lunch at our favorite little spot in Stony Creek with the Thimbles out in the distance. It’s a simple place with good, healthy food choices. We covet the marble tables inside, well worn ancient treasures with a history nobody seems to know. If you look real close you can see that old gas pump and a few of the islands out in the distance.

While there we browsed a health food booklet with a recipe for butternut pecan bread the husband wanted to try. We picked up a butternut squash at the nearby market and I made the bread when we arrived home. First, the squash had to be baked and mashed, then the rest of the recipe prepared. It is a delicious treat on a dreary winter day and I just had a piece for breakfast, too.

These ceramic measuring cups are one of my favorite things in the kitchen… found them at a local shop but you can buy them at Wayfair too, link HERE. They are made by Creative Co-op. They’re colorful, easy to use, and look pretty on the counter, which is where I keep them.

I hope wherever you are, you’re having a good day. Till soon, friends –

Grey and Red

Our New England landscape can be summed up in one word – Grey. We’ve got snow flurries and then rain on the horizon, so I fed and watered the boyz up at the barn and the girlz in the coop and cleaned out their living quarters, left top doors open for fresh air and they are snug and dry in the barn for the day.

The horse closest to you in this picture is Max2 , now 31 years of age, that’s ancient in horse-life. He’s owned by a friend of ours. Our Max – in the rear here, is Max1. Opie, my redhead, stands in the middle, the ~~brat~~ boss of our little herd for sure.

Once I got all that accomplished and took a long hot shower to start the day, I drove to the nearest grocery store and picked up a few things to make a good, hearty soup for tonight’s supper. Even the bleak grey days of winter can be beautiful….

I got the idea for this throw together soup after reading Debbie’s post this morning on THIS blog.

Basically, I sauteed some turkey kielbasa in my most favorite cooking tool in the house – my big red Le Creuset pot. Then I removed the sauteed sliced Kielbasa and added a little butter, chopped red pepper and sweet onion. When that was slightly tender and beginning to brown, I threw in some chopped garlic, shredded carrot, chopped celery, and let that saute a little more. Then I added a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of cannellini beans, and chicken stock, enough to make it soupy. Threw the Kielbasa back in and it’s all simmering low on the stove till this evening. About 15 minutes before serving, I’ll throw in a bunch of baby spinach so the spinach is cooked but not drowned. The house already smells like welcome home.

Speaking of which… This starting combination of (red sweet) peppers, onions and garlic always reminds me of the very first time it occurred to me I was really going to enjoy cooking.

The Mr. and I were dating and I was cooking a meal for him for the first time. At that time I had been living with my Aunt, finishing school, held two jobs and a barn full of horses to help take care of. Busy girl, no time for cooking. I had no idea what I was doing and was on the phone with my Aunt several times during the course of the meal prep asking questions with the hope that I wouldn’t royally screw it up. M was at work, thankfully, not aware of the mess I was making in his kitchen.

Well, that first meal consisted of a chicken dish that began with a pepper, onion, garlic sauteed in butter combination. oh, that heavenly scent.. I was THRILLED that I had created that delicious aroma with just those ingredients sauteeing in a pan. From that moment on I paid more attention to the art of cooking, experimented some and followed recipes handed down in my family, most of which I still use today – Mom makes a mean stew and I haven’t tweaked it in all these years. My grandmother and Aunt also legendary in our family for their good home cooking, I guess I got some of that from them. They were all better about doing the dishes immediately after the sit-down,though. On that I am the great procrastinator.

Till soon, friends…

Here and There

Well, darn it, winter is still being wintery ’round here, go figure… We got more snow yesterday and temps were in the teens this morning… just a few inches of the white stuff.

Sadie the hen took two steps outside, took a good luck around, said Oh, Hell No…. and strutted right back inside the hen house where the cozy coop heater is keeping the flock warm. Star, peering out from behind her, took the hint and jumped back up on the roost without placing a mere toe in the snow.

That’s kinda what I’ve been doing every time I attempt to catch a little of the news. Try as I may, I can’t ignore the twilight zone that currently occupies the White House. It’s like trying to look away from a bad accident, you’re just compelled to look back upon it as if you’re not convinced this is really what it appears to be. Wow, by absolutely anyone’s standards, I don’t care who you are or on what side of the proverbial isle you stand, or if you stand in the middle of the isle, outside in the hall, up in the attic, down in the basement or way out in the backyard with your head in the sand… this is all so bizarre.

Onward.

I’ve been playing with my new camera lens and eventually got a few moon shots I’m pretty happy with… one was an evening shot without a tripod so there is blur from the slight motion of holding up a camera with a really big lens…

And a few days later – this morning at 7 a.m., a moonset over the hill behind the barn… The tripod makes a huge difference when you’re trying to capture clarity… see the craters below? Amazing when you think of the distance between me and that moon, what a camera can do?

Meanwhile, down at Stella by the sea, another photographer who catches some beautiful landscape shots on the shoreline took this awesome photo in our cove… that’s one hardy clammer right there at very low tide.

Speaking of the cottage and cove – On one particularly cold afternoon I made this sea glass tree to hang on the wall down at the cottage. It was surprisingly easy to put together, the simple materials not expensive at all, and I love sea glass displayed in a way you can see all the pieces. When the natural light hits this piece, the sea.and.salt tumbled glass looks beautiful. If you’ve got sea glass you’d like to create something with, Pinterest, that great time suck, has tons of ideas.

It’s superbowl time! Do you have a favorite? I’m a Patriots fan.. they have many many fans, and just as many haters, funny thing. I had a football boyfriend in HS and our team back in the day was incredible – our senior year was a shut out season and in a burrough of NY, there’s a lot of talent. Currently one of our schoolmates has just been taken on by the Giants as a defensive coach. I went to every single game wearing one of the BF’s ratty old jerseys, cheering like no one’s business in the stands with my friends. It’s how I came to truly understand and love the game itself, except for the violence in those tackles. Yes I know, there isn’t one without the other, truth.

Here’s a recipe I’m making tomorrow, it’s always a hit and great superbowl fare if you’re serving it up. Easy to put together too, we can all use some -easy-, no?

Pillsbury Antipasto Squares… recipe HERE.