On Some August Things (A moderate photo dump)

Today is the first day of school for Camden-Rockport and I dressed accordingly. I wore my favorite purple and gray button down and my favorite corduroy pants (the ones with the small fading red nail polish spot). Today is downright blustery-probably a remnant of the storm that JUST missed us. Seriously, apart from some heavy rain for 1/2 an hour yesterday morning, this little part of Midcoast Maine got nothing that the rest of New England did. The storm skirted us and went further inland! Go figure.

Back the the blustery day. The wind is strong and has a bit of a bite. Winds of change, some might call them. They smack of Autumn and that pleases me. Random maples have already started donning their red dresses for the occasion. They're a little early but that never hurt anyone. It's better than being late (I'm talking to YOU Spring!). This month, like most of those before it, has blown by. And I have some picture to share with you.

Here we go.

First we have the new signs I put into the garden.

Kids would come in and just pull things up! I know the other sign says "Please touch" but it does not say "please pull up and ruin". The little flowers are saying "let us grow!" and he little green tomato is saying "Please don't pick me, I'm too green to go!"

Here's the other "gentle request" sign. I didn't want to be MEAN about it and DETER kids. So i went the "smiling" route.

Hehe...I tried to be silly here though I don't know how many young kids would get it.

And here we have POTATOES! They are saying "Taters" and
Spuds".

The garden went CRAZY while I was gone in Utah and Missouri. The Beans ESPECIALLY.

Look! My round Zucchini that I planted from a little seed! WOO!

And here is a little green pumpkin. PUMPKIN!!!!!

Hummingbird moth. It makes me think of this TMBG song

And a butterfly. This bush they are collecting nectar from is called a "Butterfly Bush" and it gets A LOT of action!

The following are some flowers growing in the beds around Merryspring.

These are just pretty.

A BEE!

Again, not sure what this is but it's pretty much one of my favorite plants growing at Merryspring.

These bloom into beautiful purple/blue flowers. Again, NO idea what they are called but they lovely.

White, cottony, hydrangeas. LOVE.

Gail tells me this is related to the Artichoke and you can EAT it!

Here is one in bloom. The bees LOVE these!

Now get ready to be jealous of DELICIOUS FOOD.

Ignore the Whoopie pies-Well, DON'T ignore them I guess. Be jealous because Kathy made them for the missionaries and gave me THREE of them. YUMMMMM. Don't ask what is in the filling. You'll gain a pound just thinking about it. Oh! And those rolls are wheat rolls I made from scratch. For something amazing.

I split them open and brushed them with olive oil. Then they baked for a little longer. To be topped with (wait for it.....)

THIS! I made meatballs from scratch and cooked them in homemade spaghetti sauce. The beef was bought from a small market down the street that sells beef provided by a local farm. I'm taking small steps towards living a life encouraged by THIS book (I think everyone should read it).

Put the meatballs on the rolls, add some of the sauce, top with mozzarella cheese and homemade pesto, put in the oven for 5 minutes and baby you've got yourself a STEW going! I drool every time I think about these. I still have leftovers at home and makes me INDESCRIBABLY happy. The only thing better than a meatball sub is a meatball sub you made yourself!

Next, we have some pictures of my most recent hike up Maiden Cliff.

Lovely view.

A little ways along the cliff there is a nice view of the cross (one where it's not so "BAM! I'm a huge white metal cross in your FACE!")

Three little mushrooms.

That was TWO weekends ago. LAST weekend (AKA two days ago) I spent 4 hours kayaking on Megunticook lake. WOOT!

Here is the view of the Camden Hills (specifically Maiden Cliff) from the lake. My first hour and 1/2 was rather cloudy. I blame Irene.

See what I mean? You would have been able to see the top of this small mountain if not for the fog.

This is where I took my lunch. I hooked the kayak up to this fallen tree and ate a pbj, an apple, and some pepperoni bites Kathy had leftover from some AMAZING pizza she made (and gave me three slices. YEAH. She is amazing. What in the world was I doing in OWLS HEAD for 4 months???).

Then I paddled over to a nearby rock, managed to fumble out of my kayak, and stretch my legs. There's that fallen tree where I ate my lunch. Kirsti, this is exactly where I was when I was talking to you on the phone.

Okay, I know it's hard but if you click on this photo it should enlarge it. And if you look hard at that hill, you will see a little white cross. That is the cross on Maiden Cliff.

This is the bridge over the little lane of water that connects Megunticook Lake and Norton Pond. Norton pond is where I spent Independence Day this year. I borrowed this Kayak from Kathy's cousin who said I can borrow it any time I want!

And here are some more random pictures.

This is a view from the new 5.7 mile route that I take to work in the mornings. I walk up a road that boarders the Camden Hills and the Megunticook River below them. It's always a wonderful walk-at least for the first part. The second leg takes me on a winding road that passes through a residential area. It's mostly trees which I IMAGINE will look amazing when they change colors for fall. Right now it's mostly dull and it's at this point I think to myself, "why in the world am I taking this stupidly long way to work?"

Play-dough. Made by Moi. SUPER easy and colored with food coloring. Fun times!

See the owl? I do.

And for my last picture, a QUESTION: What ALSO floats in water?

This?

These?

These?

This?

This?

These?

Sorry. No. The answer is....

A duck.