Update

Our power was just restored after almost 3 days!  So nice to have everything back in working order.  Now to get back to posting....manana!

Hurricane Irene

 Irene is supposed to have a direct hit on Connecticut sometime tomorrow ( depends on who you listen to when it occurs)  We have not worried about the loss of power and the rain ( 6-12 inches) but the loss of more pine trees!  Many pine trees line our long driveway !  And there's not much we can do to prepare for them being uprooted!

These photos are from Dec 2008 when we lost 6-8 trees & they blocked the driveway....we had had plans to celebrate Xmas with my family & had to postpone! 
So we have plenty of gas for the generator, lots of food ( have a gas stove) and jugs of water.  We will ride out the storm ok.  Here's hoping all my friends  will be safe & warm in their homes. too!

Shuffleboard, anyone?

 There are public shuffleboard courts  that are always hopping day & evening!  The yellow building in the background is Curtis House--a guest house with wooden rockers on the front porch.

Chautauqua By The Sea---Ocean Park Maine

Last week I took my niece to visit one of my friends who was staying in Ocean Park Maine.  We only stayed 24 hours but it was a welcome respite from all the stuff going on in my life right now.   I will start out by showing you some of the original buildings of Ocean Park.  The Temple was built in 1881, is a wooden octagonal building that seats 800 people.  They have visiting ministers every Sunday and it is open during the week in the morning  for meditation.

 The bell tower was built in 1882 and is lit at night.

 Jordan Hall was built in 1915 and is used for Sunday School and meetings and presentations.  there are concerts and movies and other programs scheduled all summer long.  Every week a bulletin is put out listing all the events for the coming week.  I guess you would call this a throw back to another era!
If you'd like to read a little more about the town, here's a link to their website Ocean park

25 Years!

Wow!  Don't we look young.....Today is our 25th wedding anniversary.  We have no formal photos from our wedding--didn't hire a photographer; just asked friends to bring their cameras.  I do regret not getting someone to take  a little better photo....I still have the dress, but not that waist!   I know I couldn't get the dress zipped up now!

Goshen Fair Is Coming Up Fast!

Goshen Fair is in less than 2 weeks and I haven't made anything to enter for the 1st time in 20 years!  I picked lots of berries & fruit to make jams, but haven't gotten any made.
And I haven't taken the time to look at photos to see if I've taken any I want to enter--at least I might be able to do that!  Entry forms are due this Friday......

Mermaid's Wish

 Interesting sights to see when walking to the beach!  We ( my niece & I) just spent about 24 hours visiting a friend in Ocean Park ME.  More photos of the town after I get back home.  The community started out under the Free Will Baptists auspices in 1881--when the camp meeting movement was in full swing.

The most famous of these communities is Chautauqua, New York, but others in Oak Bluff,  Martha's Vineyard & one in NJ.

Yum!

A plate full of whole Belly Fried Clams from the Lobster Claw in Saco, Maine!

Off this morning to pick up my niece in MA and then we're going to Maine to see a friend...just for overnight & then back to deal with my Mom's stuff.
have a great day!

Macro Monday--It's Raining!

 It's been raining for over 24 hours...a nice steady rain, just what we needed.  Hope it happens soon in all the places around the country that need rain desperately!

Flying Around

 Spotted this dragonfly flying around & then it landed--hanging from a tree branch.  I had time to go inside & get my camera & it was still hanging there!

 Luckily, I already had the zoom lens on!

A little closer!

They're Back!

 I looked out the window & saw a flock of turkeys in the driveway--a sure sign of fall!  Also it was in the low 50's!

 Making their way across the lawn--for a game of ladder ball?

Spread out & making a sweep looking for tidbits to eat!  All the photos were taken at a distance & through a window.

Promise of a Beautiful New Day

I was up at the fairgrounds last night & the sunset was beautiful!  Above, the sun reflecting off the buildings...so what if it's the bathrooms! ( FFA building in the back)

Looking across the back parking area

Love the cloud formations!

I stopped on the side of the road on my way home to capture this one.  So dramatic.

A Girl & her Cow

 Over the weekend I went to the Litchfield County 4H fair here in town.  It's free & noncommercial--one food vendor & no other junk to buy--just 4H tshirts!
There were lots of cows, beef & swine, but I was surprised how few sheep there were--only 5!  That doesn't bode well for Goshen Fair.  I just hope lots of adults are still keeping sheep.

Macro Monday--love this color!

Photo adjusted in Picnik

This is another color of the perfumed lilies that I have growing in my garden.  Last year they were eaten by the red lily beetles, so this year I took some precautions & sprayed them--and it worked!  The lilies come in white , pink & red & make a beautiful grouping!

Memories of Mom

 My Mom, Frances E. Copeland ( Betsey) passed away very unexpectedly yesterday.  Still kind of numb about it.  I thought writing about her a little would help.  She was very proud  of her service to the USA during WWII.    She wanted to join up, but her mother wouldn't sign for her, so she had to wait til she was 21.  A few years ago she made a DVD & reminisced about that time in her life.  I found out the that she had wanted to be a lawyer!

 I had a very idyllic childhood--grew up in the same town & house as my Dad.  This is what we call one in the series of the Babushka series--  of Mom & my brother Tom taken by my Aunt!

 Mom with 2 of her grandchildren, Julia & Dylan

And the most recent photo I took of her in May.  She was a wonderful Mom & a very accomplished woman and she will be missed.

Double Time

Drove by the front field where some of the bison are kept & took some photos and this short video--can't believe how fast their tails were swinging, keeping the flies at bay!

Caught in Mid Air!

I went out in the morning to look for bugs--anything that was flying!  Spotted a few bees on the anise hyssop--they were buzzing in & out!  Was lucky enough to get a fairly decent photo of this one--I know it's a little blurry, but the bee was moving fast!

Wordless Wednesday

Aptly Named

Don't you think these flowers are named appropriately?  They are balloon flowers!  They are growing several places in my yard.  they start out looking like this.....

 And then open up this way!  A lovely addition to the garden!

Along the Driveway

A pretty bunch of black eyed susans and queen annes lace growing all the side of the driveway.