A Weekend full of Wonderful –

  It’s been a long time since I’ve had such an action packed weekend, all in a wonderful way.  I was the kind of bone tired last night that you welcome after getting some rewarding work done… out like a light at 8pm, I was.  Saturday was filled with meeting and greeting neighbors old and new, catching up with friends and family and getting rid of “stuff” we didn’t need here at this old house. We had a tag sale out front and it was well worth the effort.  The weather was a perfect mix of fall foliage with the aroma of fading leaves and pine needles, some sunshine and a little chill in the air. A big thank you to Joleen and Lynn for joining in, it made the day so much more enjoyable. 
  Sunday I got up bright and early. The girlchild took care of the critters for me so I could head to Hammonasset Beach to photograph the Run For The Cove. A wonderful couple I’ve known for many years founded this organization in, I believe, 1995 and it has grown in ways unimaginable… an incredible source of support for grieving children who have lost a parent or family member.. to learn more about THE COVE center for Grieving Children, visit HERE  Again, the weather was fall-chilly-beautiful and oh, how very uplifting these people and this event always are.
The reason I don’t have any adult runner pics available is because I mistakenly hit the RAW
button and shot every image in jpeg and raw, which is a huge file.  Guess who filled her 
camera card before the event was over, and forgot to bring another.  
*sigh*
Thankfully there were other photographers on hand and they assured me they would complete
the photographing with adult runner pics.  
Live and learn. 
   Then it was off to Parmelee Farm in Killingworth  to help with the First Annual Pumpkin Carving Party organized by the Parm Farm Steering Committee. Sponsors were the Killingworth Lions Club, Pizzeria DaVinci and the Killingworth Chamber of Commerce.  What a fun day! So many families came to participate and the smiles and happy chatter and laughter were a breath of fresh air.  

 A giant leaf corral bordered by hay bales was a big hit with the littles…

There was some awesome artwork among the pumpkins…

A Big THANK YOU to all who helped make this happen,
and to all those awesome families who came out to LIGHT THE NIGHT!

The Spirit of Community.. .it’s a beautiful thing. 
Don’t pass up the opportunities in your area to join efforts like these,
the rewards are endless and so good for the soul. 
It’s a new day, all ….
make it a good one. 
 

Glorious Fall Weekend

 These are the days I love most.. when this little family finds time to slow down and relax and enjoy the simple things together!  OK… maybe for an hour here and an hour there we are all doing something together… or at least some of us are together most of the time.  Good enough.  
 
 The weather has been wonderful and we’ve been walking, talking, cooking, eating, watching movies or football, picking apples at a local orchard, blowing leaves (no rakes around here – blow ’em into the woods or chop ’em up with the lawn mower.)  sittin’ round a bonfire and taking a dog or two around the fields to explore. 
 
  Right now, the girl child is off riding her horse while the boyz are watching football.  I’ve baked an apple pie and the aroma is intoxicating…. recipe HERE.  Even if you hail from the Deep South  I hope you get to experience fall in all of it’s glory at least once in your life time. The air smells of woodsmoke here in the country…the  earth is littered with crunchy leaves and golden hues, the harvest fruits delicious.
 
Scotts Orchard, Deep River, CT
 

Have you ever seen so many apples??
 Hammocks ’round the fire pit up on the hill… 

 
 
 

 

William Cullen Bryant

Here and there

  Did you get a look at that Harvest moon in recent days?… my camera does not do it justice in these pics. The soft lavender of the evening skies over This Old House cast a serene hue…

My sister and I got together to kayak on Friday….
Why haven’t we done this more often?!
 She handled Torch,  Mikes big touring kayak, very well. 
 
 On Saturday we arrived at the Guilford Fair to fawn over my little blue ribbon,
only to dive immediately into the totally sinful fair food. 
Ferris wheels are so photogenic, aren’t they? 
Yesterday the guy and I took a quick ride over to Devils Hopyard..
 Below is beautiful stone archway underneath the road that runs through
the park, right next to the falls.
There are two, built before the WW’s. 
Nowadays, the labor would be too expensive to do so. 
It’s a shame, some of what we’ve lost in architecture as the world has become
something different. 
Many lovers initials carved or written on this bench….
One of my favorite breakfasts on Sunday morning…
I should make these more often.  My version is Gluten free – they don’t
leave you feeling bloated and too full… it’s a beautiful thing. 
A shot of the Ferris wheel last night, still aglow one hour
 after the Fair had closed down for another year. 
I had to pick up my photo entry and the feel of the fairgrounds was so very different than when you are being pushed along the midway with the crowds. The booths and rides were still lit up, the attendants relieved and ready to pack up and go home. The ponies were untacked and loose in their pony ride corral and the food vendors dined together with jovial expressions and laughter you don’t see while their services are in high demand by the people.  
 Did I tell you about my sexy new crock pot?  I’m too lazy to look back over the posts…
Sweet and sour stew recipe HERE

Gods Country with Cows

  You folks made me laugh yesterday, I think we’d all sit out on that pizza porch and enjoy each others company very much. Thank you friends.

   So I promised you cows.. let’s go back to that day in the fine rolling hills of the very upper crust Litchfield County. Although we live in Connecticut and there is beauty all over the state if I am permitted to brag, here… those hills are truly Gods Country. We were slack jawed in amazement over the awesome views.  And the cows….. oh, those big beautiful soulful eyed cows.  They are clearly being raised for beef, but I feel comfort in the knowledge that they live so well while they are alive. All animals raised for food should be treated with the same respect. If only it were reality.  Kudos to Laurel Ridge Farm Grass Fed Beef for their exceptional treatment of their cattle.

 
I’d name this fella Rusty. 

 
 
Gods Country, only way to describe it.
 Can you see the house on the ridge below?  I could be very happy there.

 


 Now about those cows… Mike would like a few out in the fields behind
This Old House. My dilemna is… I couldn’t kill them once they had lived here for a while.
Heaving a slab of Rusty on the grill for dinner?
Not do-able.
 

Hammonasset River

 We took advantage of some absolutely beautiful weather yesterday
and trucked Ruby and Torch down to a river entrance under the highway.
 
The water was murky…. bleh.. but once we got out closer to the sound
and the brackish water, the sights and lack of sounds were soul soothing.
It’s the only time I get my guy to unplug.
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 I picked up a zombie hitch hiker along the way…

 
 
The tide was going out and wind blew in, so the paddle home
was more strenuous than the cruising out…
Two things you must always factor into your paddling..
 1. will the tide be for or against you,
2. same with the wind.
 

 

 Sunday Sauce was waiting on the stove…
 
I’m pretty sure no woman ever shot a man while he was making a Sunday Sauce.
 
– just sayin.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kent Falls, CT

  Every now and then, when winter stretches out into a particularly long cold dreary New England blanket of grey, I dream of moving to a warmer climate.   As winter drags on, we do our annual realtor.com search for that warmer place to call home.  Every other season here, however, reminds me why I love New England afterall.  There is so much history and diversity in the geography of the place.  And the change of seasons… I could not give that up.

  The hike up the 250′ falls recently- the one that helped us decide to lose the extra baggage…was so beautiful.. honestly it’s a spiritual place.  One can imagine the natives  long ago gathering at the falls for fresh water, fishing and bathing.





“Kent Falls, located in the northeastern section of
the town of Kent, is a series of waterfalls on a mountain stream known as Falls
Brook. The stream begins in the town of Warren, draining an area of six or seven
square miles. It then flows west to the big fall where it plunges approximately
70 feet in a dramatic cascade. From here the stream descends in a series of
lesser falls and cascades to the valley, where it enters the Housatonic River
some 200 feet below the brink of the big fall only a quarter mile away. Much of
the limestone over which the brook flows has been carved into interesting shapes
including numerous potholes of all sizes.
The Indian name of this area is “Scatacook” and there
is considerable evidence that Native Americans fished and camped by the falls.
Later, in colonial times, mills were also present along the brook.”



 Come for a walk…
 

 
 
 
 At the base of the falls… you can see people wading…….
gives you size perspective.

 
 
The water is crystal clear, cool and so refreshing…

 
 
 
A beautiful dove graces us with it’s presence…
 
The sad  truth is it was probably released in someone’s wedding ceremony
and is now left to wander and fend for itself, most likely to die of
starvation because it has been raised by humans, fed daily.
 
 
 
 
 There is a path that leads up the side of the waterfall….
 
 
 

 
Each fall of water lands in another large pool…

 
 

 
..tumbling down the mountainside to the next pool..and the next.

 
 
 
Another perspective photo…..
 

 

 

 

 
 
 Healing waters, these are….
one can’t help but settle into a feeling of
PEACE.
 
 

 
..except for the damned Dove. 
 
I wish I could have captured it….
My kingdom for some bird seed
and a little more enlightenment bestowed upon the human race.
 
Just sayin.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Sea Dog

Last night I gave it another go with dog and kayak. 
He climbed right in and sat quietly for a ride around the cove..
…not even a quiver. 
It’s a beautiful thing. 
Two Cousins and their grandmother …..
…and  another evening at one amazing little oasis.
You don’t have to travel the world to find the perfect place for respite. 
Sometimes it’s just down the road a piece. 
“Can I just have one more Moon Dance with you… my love”.

Life on the Cove

 It’s peaceful here…
serene living in the way that only  rustic old  1930’s and 40’s cottages 
on treed lanes by the sea
unadorned by the flash of big money or severe development 
can provide. 
Hard to describe this shore life and get it right.
Pictures help…
worth a thousand words, right? 
My crab terrarium above – 
The photo below is at water’s edge… 1,000s of  little hermit crabs.  
I try my best not to squish them as
I get in the kayak….do you see them ? there are at least eight in this picture. 
A cormorant in flight…
with the BIG houses on the other side of the cove…. 
another world entirely.  
Those who are lucky enough to live by the sea…
are lucky enough. 
🙂 

Eddie and Phil

   I woke up this morning to an overcast sky.  A phone call  down to Joshua Cove confirmed glass water conditions, perfect for kayaking. Off I went with camera in tow to see what I could see. 

   
Can you see the difference between low and high tide?  Notice the top step on the ladder…
Yes.. that much of a difference in just hours. ..amazing, really. 
During low tide conditions, even at the mouth of the cove below,
 I could get out of the boat and walk anywhere, knee to waist deep at most.  
Perfect conditions for clamming, judging by the number people out there on this overcast morning. 
So.. being me, you know.. … …
(and this is where my husband would get all embarrassed
and try to hold me back, good thing he wasn’t with me…..) 
I saw two guys who looked very serious and knowledgeable
 about what they were doing.  I paddled over slowly, hoping not to
disturb their space and asked if I could take their picture for my blog
and possibly my next attempt at a painting.
    This is what I love about people… 
in a world where there is so much we could be discouraged about with one glance 
at the days news coverage, there is so much to appreciate if you’re only open to it. 
 …..Like two East Haven guys who are happy to oblige a stranger  
who wants to take their photo and tell a little of their story.
   Eddie and Phil are two buddies who’ve been clamming these waters for twenty years or so.  
As Eddie describes it… 
 “Clamming is just a nice time to have the sun on your back and a friend by your side
 as you talk to people in the water and tell a story of the best bucket you got the day before.” 
  One of the secrets of a life well lived, right there.   
It’s the simple things, people.   

Ruff start

    Frasier was awesome yesterday at the cottage. He stayed right with me as I wandered around and was respectful of the neighbors dogs as well. I dragged my little red Kayak, Ruby, over to the edge of the lawn with the intention of taking Frasier for a ride at some point in the day. We went down to the dock to see what he thought of the water in the cove.  At low tide there is actually some beach under the dock.. so he waded in confidently and loved the water.  Awesome!

    A little while later, we were again sitting on the dock soaking in the sun. Frasier lounged comfortably right along with us, even though the wind had picked up and we were rocking just a little.

He was so good I let him off leash. 
He wandered over to the cement pad where we had stepped down onto the beach 
early in the morning…
and decided to jump in head first.  
That’s a face plant in the water right there.
I guess he thought he could still just walk around as he had
early in the day at low tide. 
After I dragged his distressed little self by the collar out of the water,
 trying not to drop the camera in the drink, 
he was not amused and hightailed it to the top of the stairs. 
After a good long while he ventured back down
 to beg mom to please lets leave the dock now..
please. 
Needless to say, we didn’t get in the boat yesterday.
Today’s not looking good either  –