For Charlie

This guy?  This pup here gets so much love.  He is also the best  model when i practice with my new lens.  These shots were taken back in January.  When we still had snow on the ground.  When we weren't knee deep in mud.  Yes, before spring came in the beginning of March.  What a warm winter we had!  

My next post will be exploring our sugaring season this year :)  

Stay tuned, but for now, enjoy my pup.....

Light

Today is a very special woman’s day.  Today is my own mama’s birthday.  And on her birthday I would like to shine a little light her way.  Being born on the crest of the spring season is surely something special.  The days getting longer, we rejoice and take in the extra light.  I have been really focused on capturing these rays with my camera, as if to hold onto them to remind myself of all the light that is to come in the months ahead.  When thinking about my mom and her presence in my life, and the life of others, many things come to mind. 

Right now, this year i think of light & beauty. 

My mother has always been one of the biggest lights in my life. 

It must be the most amazing feeling to be a mother.  From the moment you find out you have another life inside you, to rocking your baby to sleep, to watching them grow, to guide & nourish them, then to finally send them on their way. 



I have already learned so much about life through my mother.  And I know that when I become a mother, I will once again, step into her shoes and find my way.  Happy birthday mom. 

Enjoy the sun today, it’s out for you <3

on Gardening.....

I am reading a book right now that speaks about our connection to the food we eat.  One of the parts that stuck in my mind was about a child that came upon a farmer, pulling a carrot from the garden.  The child said, "ewww that touched dirt!"  Then proceeded to ask how the farmer got the carrot in the dirt, anyways.....Our schools focus on math, English, history and science, but agriculture has been removed from most curriculum's.  I am concerned about this lost connection to food.  Our food does not begin its life washed and clean under florescent grocery store lights....most of our food begins in the deep, rich mud.    

Growing up, our family had a garden.  What i remember most from it was hopping the rows with my brother and learning what a weed is compared to a vegetable.  I also remember pulling from the earth, crisp bright orange carrots, wiping off the dirt and taking a bite.  I remember my mother hunched over for hours, weeding, while i sunbathed in a puddle nearby with my dearest friend (at the age of 4, that's what we did, of course).  Although my schooling never taught gardening or farming, i learned those lessons at home.  

Side note: It seems a bit funny to me how strongly i feel about local food, nature and our connection to it.  I guess my parents did a good job instilling these values in me, knowing they would come to surface soon enough.  Well dear parents, i thank you, for bringing me so much happiness and peace due to my connection to the out-of-doors.

I am in the beginning stages of planning our first garden of our own.  This weekend i will start the seeds, and see how it goes.  I'm a little nervous that i don't know enough yet, or that i haven't read up enough on all the different vegetables yet.  But i also realize that this knowledge will come with time.  It will come with the experience of actually planting and tending to the seeds.  I am so very excited for our first garden.  A garden that will bloom every year forward.  And some day, our future children will taste their first crisp carrot of the year, left with a smile on dirt covered lips.

Life is dirty, dig in and play.

Warmth & Beauty

When i first met my husband, i knew that there was much to discover about him. 

After talking over dinner, i knew we were headed on the same path, in the same direction.

One of our many common loves, and one that i have learned about myself,

is our love for antiques

our love for the history of life a hundred years ago.

It was soon after we met, that i knew this man would be the one i spend my life with.

Before we knew what kind of home we would live in,

before we knew where we would live,

we knew our home would have a wood fired cook stove.

That was for certain.

On one beautiful winter's day this past January, we woke before sunrise, and headed up to Maine to see what we could find.

Passing through Portland, watching the sunrise over the water's edge, we headed north toward Bangor.

We browsed for hours.  There was so much to see, so much history to take in.  So much beauty to behold.  After much deliberation, we loaded up a 1907 Sunny Glenwood. 

Two nights later, (and two fires later), we baked chocolate chip cookies in it. 

There is a bit of a learning curve, when cooking in these old beauts.  For instance, how to make a fire and keep it at a consistent 350 degrees.  Or the fact that when baking within it, you need to remember to rotate your cookie sheet every so many minutes, as the oven is warmer near the fire, of course.

Yes, this stove is more work.  The time it takes to start the fire, to get it hot enough, to keep it going.....but for me its the art of preparing dishes & cooking that i love so much, so for me, i would hardly classify this as work.  This is pure pleasure.

 I'm not sure if it is the labor that goes into meals coming from the cast iron doors, or the time & patience it takes to learn how to cook with it.  Or maybe its the simple warmth of the wood heat that it produces, but friends, every meal we have prepared and cooked on this stove have been so much more delicious.  Its true. 

Here are some pictures of our stove, our day trip, and other stoves we scoped out before making our final purchase:

I often wonder about the woman who first cooked on this antique stove.  The woman who canned her harvest over the hot fire heat in the midst of summer.  The woman who was surely so grateful to have this modern stove in her home.  

I like to think that i am just as lucky.....