honeyflake

coastal camping

we just returned from a road trip adventure up to maine. a destination abundant with evergreens and rocky coastlines... and incredible super-fresh-briney-foggy air. amazing to have that in-the-woods feel and by-the-sea feel at the same time... we pitched our tent on mount desert island, in the backyard of acadia national park. perfect for seeking out early morning summer hikes, mid-day paddles and late-afternoon lake swims.

tree farm picnic day

this weekend, december began and that was our cue to head out to our favorite tree farm. it's tradition. and it's also a tradition for us to pack up a picnic for the time we spend out there. so we assembled some hot cocoa & marshmallows, festive homemade ginger cake, thermos full of hearty soup, and some chips. each year we go, the planning routine gets easier and easier. same basket, same napkins, same cake recipe, etc... the unexpected variable this year however was finding a tree.  when we started wandering around the rows of evergreen... we noticed that many were not only green but a surprising shade of brown!! it turns out that this was a result of superstorm sandy. the salty aired winds really did some damage to these trees by the coast, mostly to the douglas firs on their south sides . (just so happens that the douglas firs are my favorite). with everything in proper perspective, we continued to search for our 'perfect' tree... brown spots or not. we felt a bit lucky when margaret found a nice one, protected by some larger trees that was green all around. it was ours to bring home (and yes, even feeling quite thankful that we have a safe, dry home to bring it back to this year). and then we picnicked. 

back at the beach

late summer flowers

into the sea

summer museum day

spending our day, strolling from room to room, surrounded by masterpiece after masterpiece seemed like a good idea yesterday...  and as a bolt of sky to ground lightning and a clap of thunder escorted margaret and i up the large urban stairs of the metropolitan museum of art, off the city streets and and through the doors, we were sure it was a very, very good one... as it turned out to be such a stormy august day. we were safe and dry inside the familiar walls, with art and inspiration everywhere. there was a mix of re-visiting works that we love from our past visits and taking in creations that we've never before seen. with the proper pace of a summer's afternoon we were in no rush to leave. here and there we sat, admired and even sketched — from the smallest ancient sculptures to the most majestic paintings. such a good escape.

shells

in the beach bag today...
some big sketchbooks, pencils and watercolors.

along the water's edge today...
many shells and many pieces of sea glass.

camping lakeside

new hampshire, summer 2012. a handful of days spent exploring the lake, boulders, trails and country roads and just as many nights spent together around the campfire and in the tent. 

somewhat wild

right now we are loving this crazy, fringy wild arugula that is abundant in our gardens. a few years ago, chuck brought home a small piece of the edible green — roots and all — that was given to him by another "gardener acquaintance" (it is sort of a long story... we really didn't know this person... perhaps chuck knew her for half a day before she made a trip home to her garden to dig up the arugula and bring a bit of it to him in that way that eager fellow gardeners do i suppose.) so we planted it. no big deal. we had already been growing the rocket type from seeds (favorite way to eat = heaped on top of a friday night pizza)...  so, into the garden this new kind went... where it grew. it thrived. it multiplied... year after year. it's little yellow flowers pop up faster than we can eat it and before we know it seeds are scattered and new plants are sprouting up all over the place. apparently it is a bit more unruly than the regular arugula. and while the rest of the garden is in limbo right now, (the tomatoes are growing and have lots of green fruit on them, the savoy cabbages are growing layers upon leafy layers, the beans are growing but are far from having bean pods, etc...) this leafy treat is ready right now for some kitchen action.

here's a simple way that we served it last weekend. the thin arugula leaves got washed, chopped and tossed into a pyrex. next, i added a few glugs of olive oil, a bit of sea salt, a very small amount of pepper and  a few spoonfuls of capers that i had in the fridge. water was boiled to cook some of my favorite pasta shape, orecchiette. right after straining the pasta i tossed that onto the greens and mixed it all up. the warmth of the pasta is enough to wilt the arugula a bit. we ate it warm... and then later on, tried it cold and both ways were very good. 

we are certainly looking forward to that first summer tomato from the yard and to pulling up the first beets, but until they are ready we'll be creatively finding was to enjoy this prolific peppery plant.

in the park

right now it is so very much july. when i think about summer, these are the days i picture — sunny and hot, filled with slow activities that are easily on repeat... like sitting at the beach, watering the garden, swimming, and picnics... on friday afternoon, margaret and i packed up some blankets and snacks and headed to the great lawn in central park. we claimed a small area and set up for a few hours to hang out and wait... for chuck to meet us and for the new york philharmonic to show up on the outdoor stage for an evening of dinner and music al fresco.

while my musically enthusiastic friend (margaret was actually the one to read about this event first on the philharmonic's website back in the spring and asked if we could go...) and i waited, we read, we played solitaire together, worked on summer friendship bracelets and did some awesome people watching...  although, more exciting than people watching, was checking out all the picnic fare that these people brought along with them. it was awesome. we were surrounded by popping champagne corks, baguettes, homemade chutney (we know this because the man who made it announced to his group that it was still warm!!! yum!!!), olives were seen on more than one blanket, fresh pasta salad, little savory homemade hand pies... and there were plenty of bags from local eateries like crumbs cupcakes, pizzas, and shake shack (this was our choice too)... 

by evening time there were certainly a lot of new yorkers packed onto every inch of the green space. and everyone quietly settled in once the music began... from our blanket we could see the conductor fluidly leading the way... the violin bows going up and down in unison... they played tchaikovsky first... there was a cool, light summer rain which we decided to sit through... and then they came back out to play respighi.

it was really a classic mid-summer experience. and we were surprised to hear it would wrap up with a firework display over the manhattan sky. we loved it all and are so thankful that margaret had been exploring the philharmonic's website and initiated the family outing. nicely done. if you wish, you could tune into wqxr tonight for a broadcast of the concert. i think we will be tuning in for a second listen.

phun

last night was the fourth of july. and we celebrated together as a family. listening to some really good tunes out under the summer sky. we saw phish. and last night, the usual fun time of a live concert was even more fun than usual, by having margaret right there with us... (i am pretty sure that she loved the flying beach balls and glowsticks and the entire funky-sparkly-party scene just as much as the music.)

it was a late night out for all of us, and we're now looking forward to some slow, lazy summer days ahead to catch up... days in which we will certainly be re-telling our tales to each other of our big night out together.

happy summer!!!

ladybug release

this week we finally got some of our tomato plants out in the garden. they've been inside our house for months now — doing their thing, growing under the indoor-lights, from seed to plant, getting tall and dreaming of soil and the summer sun. basic tomato stuff. finally it was warm enough for chuck to prepare the garden bed and plant the strongest and happiest looking ones. they were not outside for long before we noticed the arrival of tiny green aphids. seriously? it is so early in the season and already we've witnessed such garden hurdles such as slugs (our poor strawberries), birds (our poor sunflower seeds) and who knows what else (our poor savoy cabbage leaves)... so when the tiny tomato leaf invaders showed up, we speedily turned to some basic garden pest control... ladybugs!! our plan is to release a bunch each night this week and see if they help protect our small plants. these photos are from sunday night's efforts. did you know that ladybugs are not fully obedient pets? apparently they do not understand simple commands like, "stay!", "sit!" and "wait! stop! comeback! don't fly away yet!!!". so we'll see how it goes... we'll be watching these red winged creatures and hope enough of them decide to stick around our tomato patch. they are fun to see in such large numbers, great for photographing and we hope they get those aphids fast.

happy mothers day

here's my awesome mom in action, with me happily on her hip... enjoying a good time in 1973. 
thanks mom...

for friday's lunch

picked a few spring asparagus and a handful of chives to create an early-may-garden omelette. yum.