Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Nice day today as long as you are heavy enough not to get blown away. Very windy, I had to turn all my planters sideways along the wall to keep them from blowing over. 

This and That

Carol here ~ 

Not much happening here so will just share some randomness.

We had a visit from grand Evan and also grand Parker and his girl Avery came for dinner Sunday but other than that it's been pretty quiet.  OK by me.

Had a visit from this guy the other morning...

guess he was looking for some breakfast.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening up in the studio. Tonight’s too is it’s too chilly and damp so no fire. It seems that it is always the calmest on those nights. It is just as well, as I have not rebuilt much of the woodpile yet. I have been working on the driveway as energy allows the last few days. I redid some of the ditches and cleaned out the sediment that has washed in. I was awful glad I had not put stone in last time, as it would have been a pain to clean out now. Twelve yards of crushed gravel has arrived and I have started building the driveway up to get it to slope over to the ditch again and not run down the road as much. We’ll see how this goes. It worked well last time and with a larger budget last time I honestly don’t think I would be redoing it now. Hopefully this is the last major attack I will ever need to make doing it.

September

Carol here ~ 

Happy September!

This gorgeous sunrise was what greeted me when I came out of the bedroom Monday morning. So pretty!

Saw these orange-y leaves on my walk.

I'm wondering what the foliage will be like this year as we are still in drought conditions.  Time will tell I guess.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening after a not too hot, windy day, now with the sound of thunder off in the distance. We are not supposed to get any of it. I see from the weather that it is a substantial weather cell moving through. Can live without heavy winds and driving rain and hail.

Not too much going on around here for excitement. OK by me. I did sell all my wood and deliver it next door to the glamping area. Now I will need to scrounge some more. More for me and for them for next year. Gives me something to do and removes some of the fire hazard lying around. I haven’t had a lot of fires this season. It is usually determined that it is too something. Too windy, too hot, too cold, you get the idea. I’m just as content to go up into the studio and putter there.

Bindings

Carol here ~

How can it be the last week of August?  Summer sure has flown by.  I'm not complaining, September and October are my favorite months.  I've even caught a glimpse of a red leaf here and there so fall is coming!

I finished the bindings on two quilts ~ 2025 35 & 36.  Here they are....

2025-35

The quilting pattern shows up well on this one, it is a digitized pattern called MARMALADE.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday again. The summer is rapidly leaving us. I have absolutely no idea where the year is going. It seems like it is in a hell of a hurry to get over with and move on to next year. Maybe next year will make more sense.

The planters are dwindling down and are about ready to be cut down and made ready for something for fall. Fall, that is a crazy thought. It seems like I just took off the blower from last winter. The seasons do their own thing without our input. That may change before too much longer, hopefully I’ll be gone before that can happen, although our time change ritual may change soon. I don’t know how I will like that either. I guess we can always find something to complain about.

Busy!

Carol here! 

It's been a busy month, so far.  Lots of this going on...

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday once again. The weather roller coaster ride still continues. Today was not undoable, not terribly hot and not too windy. There was the fact that it poured in sheets a few times, but hey, it’s Maine, if you don’t like the weather wait a few minutes.

The flowers are beginning to look the worse for wear. They have not been impressed with the weather roller coaster. We noticed sun burning of the blossoms and I have had to dead the Sun-Patiens that we use along the front of the house. I seldom need to do that. I think it has been too hot. Some of them are also getting very leggy and hang way out over the edge of the planters. 

A Good Day

Carol here ~ 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday  Vanessa, Kailey, Jakob and Erin came over to enjoy the beautiful summer day and celebrate with me.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening, it is a chilly and windy evening. Needless to say, I am in the studio. Actually sitting here attempting to think of something to ramble about. I suppose if I think too long it defeats the idea of rambling. I have found though, that if too little thought is applied, it is unknown which station the train of thought might choose to stop at and discharge a few tidbits of knowledge. If I were to be totally honest though, much of what I pass along is not very valuable knowledge.

No real sunset tonight because of all the clouds. Here is the photo I took when I went to check. 

July

Carol here ~

It's hard to believe that July will be over in just a couple more days.  Where did the time go?

We headed up to Rangeley on Sunday to attend the musical comedy presented by Rangeley Friends of the Arts.  Daughter Erin was the choreographer and also a member of the cast.  A fun time with talented participants.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening. I was out by the fire but came in to write this. We continue to ride on the roller coaster of the weather. Today it never got above the mid 70’s and it was windy most of the day as well. Carol and I went to the ‘Falls and picked blueberries this morning. The picking was great and we both hated to quit. Had a fruit cobbler of sorts for dessert tonight. Dessert is a seldom thing in this house and it was quite tasty.

My Lillies have begun their annual display of sights and smells. The sights I can share, the smells you are out of luck. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening, it has been way too windy for a fire. Way too windy for a skinny old man out there. There was a stretch today when I was turning my flowers sideways to the wind so they wouldn’t blow over that I had to bend over double to keep from blowing over myself. I’ll wait until tomorrow to rotate them back to where they belong. Here is my view of them for tonight.

Blueberries

Carol here ~

Dan and I headed out to Goss Berry Farm yesterday morning to pick some blueberries.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

You guessed it, it’s Thursday.  I hope you are all surviving the heat, cause damn it’s been hot. I do not like the heat. If I have something that needs to get done, I’ll do it, but I’ll not like it and these days I notice I crash hard when the project is complete. Never used to be like that. There must be less oxygen in the air today than there used to be or something.

I did manage to see this as I was moving wood with my eyes open. My phone called it Prince’s pine. 

The Weekend

Carol here ~

It sure was a gorgeous weekend, both ponds had plenty of people taking advantage of the great weather ~ swimming, kayaking, canoeing, sunbathing, etc.  The 4th ended with a spectacular fireworks display over Mud/Mirror Pond presented by up the pond neighbor Ron.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday, I’m still not sure how it gets here so fast every week. There is only one word needed for the weather, HOT. That about sums it up. I’m not a real lover of the heat. That said I spent yesterday morning moving about a cord of wood from my yard and stacking it in the neighbors woodshed. I’m going to need some more as he has purchased most of what I had stacked up on the hill. I’m sure I can find some more to make a new pile but probably not until it cools off a little bit. This stretch can’t last too long. I could not even imagine why anyone would live where it was this warm all the time. Another reason why you can keep Florida. I couldn’t imagine shoveling snow in the weather.

The flowers etc. are trying to stay ahead of the hot weather and the wind and are doing ok. I see no new flowers on this tomato but if these ever ripen there will be a couple salad’s worth here.

July!

Carol here ~

Happy July Everyone!  Wowser, it's coming in HOT!  Be careful out there ~ make sure you stay hydrated!

It was a busy weekend on our end of the pond this past weekend, lots of pond action ~ swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding etc.

Here is my cousin Lindy trying out my kayak as he has the same issues we had in getting in and out of our old kayaks.  My new kayak is a little heavier than my old one so he thought it might be a problem for him loading and unloading in and out of his truck.  Since we don't take ours anywhere but here on the pond that is not an issue for us.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday has arrived. We had company today, Vanessa and her kids came for a visit. The kids went for rides in the old kayaks, I’m pretty sure that neither one fell in. After a nice chance to sit and enjoy the beautiful day we were glad to be under the awning as the sky opened up and it poured. It rained for quite a while. Then it cleared off and was lovely again. I think tomorrow is supposed to rain. I will probably go to Portland to pick up my new glasses. I am in hopes they will make a big difference. I have never thought my current pair fit and therefore can never seem to see what I want to. Time will tell.

My planters are doing as well as can be expected. It has been hard to tell what needs to get a drink what with all the rain. Almost all my planters have to deal with the wind that is usually blowing down one pond or the other as well. Here’s a couple photos of their progress.