Visit from the SAAB guy.....

Graham Cullen and friend Tom finished a 12 hour bike ride at our home saturday, July 15. A great visit ended with the  best part of all, Graham worked on my Saab and did a mini tune up, solved a problem, squirted lubricants here and there and off we went. Runs like a dream with the new shocks thanks to John this summer. Before they left, snapped a few pics.

Morning Glory Inspiration

This is how it all began.
At 4 corners farm   4 Corners Farm   in W. Newbury, VT, I am so impressed by this wall of morning glories, year after year that I had to make something as dramatic. I hope my morning glory greenhouse will be as good.
see previous  post.

Making progress...

first white lupines since 2004

white lupines under the solar panels

Flower Pot Rocks----sunflowers

solar lupines

net and tubs ready

sunflowers at front of greenhouse

the whole picture

The Summer of Flowers Begins.....

blue columbine

false solomon's seal

white columbine

first poppy and it is a big one

6 in mesh over the greenhouse to hold the vines

morning glories, scarlet runner beans, cup and saucer vines, sweet peas

Spring Morninng.....

Day at Team O'neil Rally

If you look at the post for Jan. 2017, you will meet Graham Cullen. Sporting a winter beard, he raced his Saab 96 at the Canaan, NH fairgrounds for some practice. This post highlights some of the many activities at the Team O'Neill Rally School in Dalton, NH. This event is called a rally sprint. Again, more practice and a time to work out the bugs before a larger rally in July, the New England Forest Rally in Newry, ME.

Saab 96 1973 racing at the rally sprint in Dalton, NH at the Team O'neill rally school. Graham ( adjusting engine) and his friend Tom Kimsey
 ( eating sandwich) decided to find out about a problem with the engine.
During lunch break, Graham determined that a head gasket most likely had blown.


You can hear the engine in the video.

This was disappointing for them, but they know what to do about it and will be ready for NEFR.

here is the little beauty mid air

Signs of Spring

Fresh chives with arugula, baby spinach, a spicy and a hardy mesclun taste so fantastic after a winter of the dreadful lettuces we buy around here. Spring is here and the greenhouse is not getting too hot on sunny days requiring opening it up and ventilating. These are good times.

Stowe Birthday in the Rain

 The Green Mountain Inn in Stowe was THE place to go for my birthday. The weather was cold, rainy, gray and miserable. The news is always horrible. So why not? And the season was right...NO PEOPLE. The in-between season is perfect, better rates, lots of parking, no waiting for reservations,Stuff on sale,  etc. And they still have the fireplaces going in every room including ours! This is the go place for a birthday, even just one day is heaven.

ahhh hot tub

such fun...

Dinner at Harrison's was very good, too We recommend it now.

Another snowshoe artist in New England, Belgrade Maine

I was pleased to learn of another    Snowshoe artist in Maine   from my friend Susan in West Kennebunk. She and her husband, Kenny helped me work on a design here in January. (see earlier  post )  I contacted this man, Jason Cote, by facebook and had a nice discussion about how much fun it is to make designs in the snow on snowshoes. I even contacted Simon Beck, my mentor, on facebook and thanked him for his inspiration. He is very nice and encouraging.

So as the snow melt water is pouring off the roof, I think back on how much fun it was to snowshoe this winter. That said, I am already contemplating the designs we will make in the beaches of the Bay of Fundy this summer. There are beach artists who have posted on Youtube, one in particular, Andres Amador, is especially inspiring  Check him out. Andres Amador

Why we like winter.....

Call me Simone......

Simon on my Mind

On a very warm Feb day, I slogged through the fading snow. The sun was killing the snow as I walked.

the snow pallett

working on the design

snow is sticky

the sun feels so warm

And I got the  Tee Shirt.....!

Snow shoeing and Simon Beck

 The day I discovered Simon Beck, my life in winter in Vermont was changed forever. See what I mean in this video.....    https://vimeo.com/155292692 To combine fresh air, winter aerobic exercise and designs made so much sense. I started immediately. This is the story.

Starting simple with a peace sign made the most sense. However, I soon learned that even that, and maybe especially circles are actually hard to do! Taking pictures from a high point is important to get the idea of the design. This is from the balcony looking over the yard below.  Beck hikes up nearby slopes to look down on his work. They can be seen by skiers riding up the mountains as well. To see his work online, google Simon Beck and you will find many videos of snowy lakes, hills and beach as well. 

With  John's help on our snowmobile, the field became a giant figure 8 providing a firm access trail to work from. Designs were sketched on paper and taken to the field. The view from the house is not very good, but with changes in the light, the design comes into and out of view. Best we got.....

the field

Here are a few attempts.

Susan, Kenny and me