The Shapes & Colors of June

The flowers of mid-June make the best bouquets! The enormous raspberry heads of peony, the delicate deep purple shapes of Siberian Iris, the fizzy lemonade froth of Lady's Mantle. All easy to grow, too,  at least here in Maine.

I made the little pitcher that serves here as a vase. As often happens, it was unappreciated when it came out of the kiln - many more immediately eye-catching pots came out of the same firing, and it was overshadowed. Over time it's quietly served its functions, and become a favorite. Like people, you get to know pots slowly.

Happy June, the second-best month in Maine - the best being September, but it's a tight call.

Blooming Brave

Man this has been a long damn winter. My bright, brave blossoms promise it won't last forever.

Sonance of the Lambs

I spent some time yesterday at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts. Watershed is itself an adventure, with the additional dollop of joy brought by its proximity to Straw's Farm. Sheep and lambs have charmingly human voices; the "baa" of a sheep sounds a lot like a human imitating a sheep! In the spring there are always lambs, making a very picture of Maine idyll.

Finally...First Crocuses!

I keep an eye out for the first green tips of crocuses every year. They aren't typically, the first to show their heads - tulips might be, or even daylilies - but they are the first to bloom, so they are the ones I watch for. This year is quite late! Usually I find them around the 9th of March. But these lttle guys have been up for a while - our several March snowstorms just hid them from view.

Dresden Dreaming

It's 9° here, with a thick dirty blanket of snow on the ground. This came through my facebook feed today! McKeen's Riverside Retreat, an AirBnB beside the Kennebec. It's in Dresden, so though it will feed like a rustic getaway, it's a quick drive to civilization, like grocery stores and restaurants and shopping, and your cell will (probably) work. Like lots of Maine cabins, it's the House of Many Beds, so even though it's small you could squeeze in a pretty big family. And are those canoes I see?

I want to go to there.

Sleighing It in Downtown Augusta

Thanks to the good folks at Cushnoc Brewing for the photo, taken - I think? -  from their doorway.

Last Blooms of Autumn

I snapped this photo on Wednesday, documenting this hardy little geranium splashing its brave color in defiance of the shortening days and deepening cold. All good things, etc: the frost came last night, and the blooms have withered.

Nevertheless! Geraniums are actually perennials, and I am thinking if I bring this one inside, perhaps in my cellar where it can go dormant, perhaps it will bloom again in the spring.

That's the great thing about spring; it always comes around again.