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![Pomegranates © Sue Schlabach]()
Nöel
Holiday Greetings from our hilltop valley. It is unseasonably warm, and when we walked this morning it felt like spring garden planting weather, not the season of candlelight, bayberry scent and eggnog by the fire. The woodland is so lush and green with moss and ferns that we imagined this is how Christmas is in the Pacific Northwest.…
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Wings
2014 is marching onward. Here I am in February watching the light change and finding myself cleaning the house with spring on my mind and snow whirling outside the windows. My daughter turned 12. We are on the verge or acquiring a horse that needs a home. Life is changing and I’m barely catching up.…
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![Woodland Findings © Sue Schlabach]()
Hello Winter. Thankful.
Almost Thanksgiving and the grass is nearly obscured by snow. That’s okay with me after the mild, lingering autumn we’ve had. Our garden wall project that ate up our summer (and was partially the reason I rarely wrote), is nearly complete, and that is one of a million things I am thankful for this season.…
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![Autumn Pairing © Sue Schlabach]()
An Autumn Pairing
Two autumn moments. Last week I drove the back way from Strafford, Vermont, through Tunbridge toward Royalton. Late afternoon sun on country roads. I made the last pot of fresh mint tea before heavy frost. These are a few recent images from my instagram feed.
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The Stars, the Moon
“You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.” —Annie Dillard I like to sit in the dark when I can. Let my eyes adjust and see what appears. The…
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Irish Seaglass
Coming home from Ireland my suitcase was weighed down with bags of rocks and glass. Not Waterford crystal—mind you—but far more precious glass to me: the seaglass we picked up on numerous walks along a little pebble beach called Garretstown, a few miles from our rented house outside of Kinsale in County Cork. Garretstown isn’t…
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First Pond Swim of the Season
Saturday, June 1. Nearly 90 degrees. Humidity off the charts. Off to Julie’s pond with a group of friends, a feast, a gaggle of kids. Go through the gate, be sure to latch it. There are cows in this field that takes you to the pond. There is a bull. Walk the tow path…
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Spring Crops, Summer Heat
The last day of May brought a July-like heat and humidity. We plucked the first fat ripe radishes from the garden and ate them with butter and salt. Delicious. We are making a new asparagus patch, so I raided my parent’s plot while they were away and we sautéed the spears with mushrooms and feasted…
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![Blossoms © Sue Schlabach]()
Apple Blossoms, Heavy Dew
Greetings after a long respite. Happy Mother’s Day and honor to all of our foremothers. Heavy dew this week makes for magic mornings. The apple blossoms are just starting to open on the north side by the henhouse. Violets and dandelions sprinkle the lawns, along with fallen branches from winter winds and snow—now just a…
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![Roundstone, Co Galway, Ireland © Sue Schlabach]()
An Irish Pub Crawl, New Friends, and a Rediscovered Name
Another St. Patrick’s Day is upon us, with chill winter in the air, and hearty Irish fare cooking in the kitchen. A perfect day for that, though I wish our days would be ripening toward spring flowers instead of brewing up a big winter storm for tomorrow. Alas. I’ve been looking at photo albums from…
