Where I'm At

Sometimes it's just good to look around and appreciate what is; get grounded, if you will.

This flat round cement stone is placed at the front of the flagstone base that Pierre rebuilt this year for the old glider swing. He made the swing from a pattern that I sent away for not long after we moved here in 1993.  We can't remember if he found the stone on the property or if a neighbour gave it to us, but we finally found the right place to put it. 

We can sit here awhile and enjoy the sunshine and the view.

The summer tradition is to sip gin and tonics in the swing.  The theory is that the gin helps keep the mosquitoes at bay.  It doesn't really work, but if you drink enough you no longer care about the bugs.  If it's just me sitting there in the middle of the day, though, I might bring out a stitching project or a book and enjoy soaking up the sun, doused generously with mosquito repellent. 

I have to admit that I spend a lot of time in the house.  We put windows all along the back of it to catch the afternoon sun. 

Don't you love the scent of summer-dried laundry? 

And the sight of a flourishing vegetable garden?

This is Pierre's world.  He put in a garden this summer; the first one in our 17 years of living in this place.  The way he leaves his pitch fork stuck in the ground reminds me of Mr. McGregor's garden in  the Peter Rabbit story by Beatrix Potter.  Her books were absolute favourites of mine when I was a very young child,  long before I was able to read the words for myself.  When I grew up and had my own little girl, I read them all to her. 

So far, neither rabbits nor deer have come down to partake of the outdoor salad bar.

The garden is thriving, no thanks to me.  It's such a treat to go and pick a lettuce for salad every night.  You can see here how big the squash plants are getting.

Big blossoms, big vegetable in the making. 

There are some perennial flowers that flourish each year, given to us by another friend who moved away--a lovely legacy.  The Echinacea's centres are whole worlds unto themselves.

Isn't it great to just stop awhile and breathe it all in?

We're having guests arrive from Quebec in a couple of days.  This means we will have to eat lobster as that's another summer tradition around here when we have company.  Everyone knows that you can't argue with tradition.

I hope that everyone who stops by here finds a precious moment of their own in the day to appreciate.