The Song Garden Flower Farm and Tea House of Cornish, NH

 One of my husband's cousins happens to have a link to this place on facebook, so we had been wanting to go check it out, and I'm so glad we did! I didn't exactly focus on taking photos, we were too busy enjoying ourselves! It's a beautiful, peaceful spot where you are free to wander through the gardens, the tea house, labyrinth, the garden shed  or relax in one of the inviting places to sit. My daughter and I explored it all with delight.

 Walking the labyrinth gave a meditative feel, despite the intermittent  rain drops above, we were sheltered by a thick canopy of maple leaves . The white quartz rocks along the path captured my eye each step of the way. I can't wait to do it again.

The garden shed had some other fun things for sale inside, this little treasure was one, I burst out laughing, but of course my 16 yr old had no concept of the old prank call joke!!! Thankfully my husband appreciated it!

One thing I really wish we had at home, a porch! This little one is simply delightful. It is on the small cabin that makes up the tea room. Lovely views, a soft breeze, cozy chair, letter to my pen pal in my lap... Singing birds, blue sky, no traffic on the dirt road. Looking forward to this pleasure again as well.

Have a wonderful day everyone

Happy Spring

Jasmine
smells heavenly & soothes your spirit

Welcome to a glimpse of my days, where a taste of spring comes to NH with sunny, deep blue skies and temperatures bouncing  between warm and ice cold as it does. Perfect for maple sugaring, although that is wrapped up for most. The optimists get excited for temperatures in the 40s, but find yourself still cold when a stiff breeze adds extra chill. The sun is much stronger, and the days longer, beckon everyone outside to play or work over bare ground! It's amazing how quickly snippets of green peek out as the snow melts away! Mud season came fast and furious, seemimgly worse than usual, the wind helps clear that up faster

The raccoons are out & searching for an easy meal

 These two youngsters are best buds, hard to believe the big guy is still just a pup! The little guy is just over a year old, and he has a few months on his buddy! They are funny to watch, a zippy little herding dog, and a big observant livestock guardian.

 Always a good time spent on the farm, as the seasons and projects evolve. Chickens are pretty pleased to get out and scratch around for tasty morsels hidden beneath the leaves, and basking in the sunny sheltered spots along the side of the barn.

work hard, play hard
happy, handsome fella

 The girls have it made, cozy barn, friends to hang with, nice hay, a human to bring them browse, a nice big dog to keep watch over them, and before they know it, places to graze and browse. Happy livestock and beauty in nature is good for the soul. I am grateful it is part of my world.

Falling Behind

 Falling behind because all throughout the season, I had planned on taking the time to make a seasonal post, but here we are, still in November, and we already have a fair bit of snow! Our kids have already been cross country skiing for awhile and we most definitely had a white Thanksgiving! 

I'm thankful to live in a region with such distinct seasons, I enjoy the beauty of them all, and the delicious way they slip from one to another, each with it's own personality, highlights and challenges. It truly does brighten my spirits to focus on what fills me with gratitude. Profound beauty in nature always touches my soul and leaves me wondering why I waste so much time inside.

 While this year started in great sadness, with the loss of our wonderful dog Lola, and summer took my 97 year old firecracker of a Gramma home to be reunited with those that have gone ahead; we find ourselves delighted and distracted by this sweet pup. Wrangler is a lot of fun, and I'm quite sure he will pop up in many posts! My daughter accuses me of loving him more than her, haha! Which of course isn't true, but I do adore him! We have had wonderful dogs come to us, somehow we luck out and the right one finds us at the right time. This is the first puppy of my own, and I figured with the bittersweet joy of my children growing up, perhaps momma needed a "new baby"! 

 Gold against a bright blue sky, that deep blue that comes with clarity and no humidity in the air. The complex shades of this fungus just does not ring true from a cell phone snap shot. It amazes me how many subtle changes evolve day to day when walking the same path daily. I love to explore new spots, but also to appreciate the familiar, it is never the same twice.

 Light cast upon the landscape can stop me in awe, and it is so fleeting, changing right before your eyes. The golden hours around sunrise and sunset as my photographer friend refers to it.

 Leaf strewn lanes, pumpkins, mums, corn stalks, bales of hay, it's fun to see how people decorate and celebrate the harvest. Picking apples, fresh squash, seasonal bliss. Come October, breast cancer awareness month, brings the Susan G. Komen Vermont Ride for the Cure, held at GMHA (Green Mountain Horse Association) in iconic Woodstock, VT. Below is my amazing Mother,Lois, a survivor who pushed to start a ride of this type in Vermont. This was the 9th annual event, and this time instead of working the whole time, she got to ride with her husband, Wayne.

These lovely ladies won the esteemed prize for the "pinkest duo" :) It is quite a festive event as you can see, this was a chilly, damp day but the riders are all in good spirits. They have a great deal of fun and a small number of people gather donations and raise a remarkable amount of money toward a cause that impacts far too many people.

Tidbits

A gift from a farm girl sister a few years ago

1st dog class in the books, it was fun!

irony

Mary Anne's cousin

Quaint

looking into Vermont

prediction?

Quick Update, late summer

The days seem to be flying by, summer felt so short as kids around here had to make up snow days and it felt as if summer was cut short, especially since they start back at the end of August, not after Labor Day like when I was a kid, oh yeah, and fall sports begin two weeks before school starts! In addition, the weather continues to be odd, enough so that it seems as if it is messing with internal body clocks that expect a certain rhythm. We did get a couple of those perfect (in my opinion) days - cool, sunny, clear, bright blue sky; pure bliss! 

I love, love, love sunflowers, I even did one of those paint night classes with a friend and we did a sunflower painting. I'm no artist, but it was a lot of fun!My daughter pointed out it's clearly one of my favorite combinations, I also adore black eyed Susans and several other blooms of similar festive colors.

 This adorable little fella is Wrangler, our home was too empty without a dog. I had figured I'd wait a bit longer, but I just fell in love with this guy, he was THE one. We adore him, he is hilarious, and oh so cute. Lucky for us, he was born at a farm near by, so we got to visit the pups often. Just what a momma with growing human children needs!

Beautiful farm in SW NH

Wrangler
 the Kong keeps him busy, it's filled with canned dog food, kibble then frozen

found on a walk in the woods

we hiked a little mountain in drizzling rain
wish you could have seen him picking blueberries off the bushes!

I take a photo of this view each time we hike here

Summer Adventure

Ah summer, and the much anticipated annual girls get-a-way to Maine with my wonderful friend, Ann, whom I've known since kindergarten. This is the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, a beauty for sure! Also the same one found on the Maine state quarter, maybe you have one in your pocket! It is so close to Hotel Pemaquid, that you can't help but slip down there often for a peek. The whole area is pleasant, and so much to explore! I can't count, well I'm sure I could... but I won't, the number of photos I took in the area. I'm a technology failure, so this post is limited to photos on my phone, since they somehow link up with blogger! There are many more on my 35mm and pocket camera as well.

The views are good for the soul, same as most anyplace in nature I believe. The ocean waves, the ever changing sky, shore birds, the allure of an island in the distance, passing boats.
                                       
                                                           

Everything inside the fence is federal property, the rest of the park
belongs to the town.

Hotel Pemaquid
beautiful, restored inside and out

Breakfast at the Seagull Shop Restaurant
this was similar to eggs benedict, but with crab meat!

the region is quite dog friendly

Hardy Boat
glistening in the evening sun
we took this boat out to Monhegan Island

Island life is ruff

 From both Pemaquid Point and New Harbor, you can look out to sea to Monhegan Island. It's about 10 miles out. From shore it looks like a thin line on the horizon. At night you can see it's lighthouse and a few tiny points of light. There are roughly 60 year round residents, and seasonal people flock there to enjoy the beauty. It has long been popular with artists.

Church on Monhegan 

school house

 The village is picturesque and peaceful. Dirt roads wind around any place you need to go. Then there are 12 miles of trails to explore. This trip we didn't get too far, I can't wait to go again! We enjoyed lunch, went in a couple shops, visited the harbor and beach. Then tramped out to the end of the island where the rusty remains of a ship wrecked boat is lodged upon the rocks.Right in front of Monhegan Island is another small island, named Manana. It makes a protected little harbor for the Monhegan village. It is a private island, known for the small herd of goats that have the run of the place. I kept looking for them, and finally laid eyes on them as we waited to board the boat back to the main land. The boat trip itself was quite pleasant, the Captain described points of interest, and we were lucky enough to see porpoises, minke whales, seals, ocean sunfish and a few types of shore birds.

Below a few more views from Pemaquid Point. The rocky shore line was often dotted by people exploring the rock for the perfect spot to hang out and enjoy the views.

New Harbor
We enjoyed the deck and dinner at Shaw's Seafood 

The hotel has the best porch, it practically transports you to a more tranquil time. Life is better on a good porch! Another portion of our trip was dedicated to exploring some really fun quilt shops. Ann is an accomplished quilter, and found some great fabric to complete projects she has in the works. I love fabric, although I'm not much of a sewer, I have a fairly healthy stash, sometimes I just can't resist!