Saturday, July 25, 2015

Random Summer Stuff

I have so many things to blog about and I have jotted them down by theme but some random happenings don't fit in those and they are just bits of summer so I'll put those here.  For example, the other day I was at the Yellow House painting the little yellow cottage on that property and as I was painting I kept hearing a fluttering on metal.  It went on for several hours until I just couldn't stand not knowing what that sound was so I went over to the Barn to investigate.  The noise stopped as I approached the rain spout running down the edge of the barn.  Something was trapped in there and I had to free it!  So I truly ripped it off the barn and noticed that the bottom of the spout was packed with dirt and leaves so no rain had come out of that spout for a long time.  I pounded and ripped out what I could from the bottom and then laid it on the ground and suddenly a bird flew out the other end.  I was so gratified I had saved it from certain death.  That I had answered its little panicky pleas and distressful flutterings for help!  How it had gotten down into the gutter hole I have no idea.  Then I had to grab the big ladder and reattach the thing to the barn.  Here's where the dramatic rescue took place.

Last May a year ago, I attended a Pie Camp that I have blogged about.  In late June of this year I held a tiny one of my own at my house for 10 teen aged girls.  I taught them how to make pie crust and hand pies.  Then they went outside and swam in our pool as their pies baked and after, they ate them around the pool.





I have been taking a lot of pictures of my yard and gardens since we started all the planting of pots and beds in early May - I love to watch the growth and change in each round of pictures.  For example, here is an flower bed I filled with annuals either by direct seed or six packs of little plants.  Look at the transformation over two months.
 Side view above, wide view two pics below.

Since Dan and I married after we had already raised our children from previous marriages and we won't have any together in this life, we decided to plant trees instead - ha!  And I named all of the trees we recently planted.  One of the trees is a maple called Autumn Glory that will turn neon orange/red in the fall (and I call her Glory) - this is a heritage tree meant to be enjoyed for many future generations.  Dan stated that he didn't have a lifetime to watch this tree mature to its full height and width so we spent the extra money to get one that is already about 15 years old.  We planted a total of eight; five varieties of Japanese Maples, a Tupelo (also called Sweet Gum "Wildfire" variety - fire engine red in the fall - also a heritage tree and her name is Wildfire), the Forest Pansy Red Bud, and the Autumn Glory Maple.  All of these trees will turn brilliant colors in the fall.  When we bought this house, it came with a few dozen huge maple and oak trees.  We were so excited to see what colors the maples would be come fall but our first one found us on a trip to Europe for five weeks scheduled during the entire month of October in to November.  My son Heath watched over our property while we were gone and several times I contacted him to ask what color the leaves were turning on the maples and each time he would say, "they've started out yellow; they are still yellow; I think they are going to be just yellow" - what a bummer!  We arrived home and they were yellow turning brown - sugar maples.  That is why we planted eight trees that are promised to turn flaming reds and oranges.

 Bloodgood Japanese Maple.  It will lose the shrub shape as it grows in to a medium sized tree.
 Here is Autumn Glory and to the right and behind her is a Full Moon Japanese Maple which will lose the shrub shape too as it grows in to a medium size.
 I'm standing next to Glory so you can see how tall she is.
 Dan cut an edge from the garage, around the new trees here and down to the existing border we created last year.  Then he killed all the grass in it and it has since been mulched by him and daughter Brooke.  Pictures on that later but it looks great now.

 Another tidbit; last week we went on a local hike to Adam's Point in the Great Bay area between Newmarket and Durham.  This is a wonderful, easy hike that is mostly level and would be ideal for a family walk with kids too.  You drive to either of the two towns I named above and take Bay road (a very lovely road in itself) until you arrive at Adam's Point Rd. that leads to the UNH Jackson Estuarine Lab.  The trailhead is to the right of the lab.  The walk is a loop that follows the perimeter of Adams Point and you see water almost the entire time - the loop is 1.5 miles.  Easy peasy and very pretty.  Watch out for all the poison ivy though and stay on the trail to avoid it.










 And another thing - I have been obsessed lately with this tasty breakfast treat that I read about in a food magazine.  A cafe in Los Angeles, Sqirl, serves toast with house made fresh ricotta and jam and people line up to get some.  So I found fresh ricotta at a couple local farm stores, Applecrest and the one on the corner of 150 and 107 in Kensington whose name escapes me, and I use my own homemade jam.  So delicious!!!
I see a little dirt in my thumbnail - sorry- all the weeding I do day in and day out!!!

Recently, some of the ladies from my church got together at the Great Island in New Castle, NH and had a picnic.  We also had a speed friending activity which was a blast!!  I made three kinds of dessert bars for this activity.



 Our picnic by the sea.
 Speed friending - we learned A LOT about each other very quickly - super fun!



And from the Yellow House harvest:


A bit of lavender harvest from the Yellow House yard for my potpourri bowls.
And finally, a little trail in my own yard leading to the grilling area.




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