Maine

It was an easy decision to runaway to Maine to celebrate J.'s birthday. We made no firm plans, had no reservations and no cell phone, trusting that everything would work out. We love to travel like this and so we wandered the Blue Hills area, revisited Sabbath Day Lake, a Shaker Village, discovered Belfast, an old ship building town, sat beside the ocean J eating clams, Liz not; and so enjoying some time out of time; and as usual loving the light of Maine.

Transom window at Sabbath Day Lake

From the fence at Sabbath Day Lake

The light at Sabbath Day Lake

After The Rain

There were big rains and thunderstorms for a few days this week, and while I thought I had staked the peonies strongly enough, they were not; and I came downstairs and into the garden to see my proud beauties with their heads down, almost touching the ground as if they were ashamed. I can be overwhelmed by their voluptuousness and their fragrance but I thought they took it for granted. So here they are lying about rather wantonly in the early light.

after the rain, peonies, 2014

love the tiny fly clinging to the rain drop, 2014

more rain drops on the peonies, 2014

Haunted

The Blue Dream continues to haunt me and I keep trying to come up with another word beside haunt…tease, intrigue, fascinate; but maybe all I need to is let it play. Sometimes it becomes rivers or streams on a topographical map, other time it reminds me of what a peony would look like if it were blue. And sometime it's just the color of my favorite time of day, the time between the worlds, of dawn and dusk, when layers of "reality" are thinner.

petals from the Blue Dream,  2014

The Voice of the Line

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to see my latest work gathered together under the title "The Voice of The Line". It's especially exciting for me as this will be the inaugural exhibition at Sutton's newest gallery, formally the United Church, and now Galerie Art Plus. The vernissage / opening is Friday, July 4, 5 - 7 pm and the show will run until July 24th. Please note that during The Tour des Arts the gallery will be open every day from 1 -5 pm. And I've updated my web site with all the work that will be shown. Whew!

postcard invitation front, The Voice of the Line, 2014

postcard invitation, back, The Voice of the Line, 2014

Dandelions

We are back to our usual routine of having breakfast outside watching the grass grow, the mountains in the distance, the clouds playing shape shifting games, and this morning the breeze tossing dandelion fluff about. I adore dandelions and have a huge admiration for the seed dispersal strategy; it's brilliant and beautiful. And next years crop should be magnificent.

such a beautiful structure, dandelion seed head, 2014

Laced with dew, dandelion seed head, 2014

It's Poppy Time

They have started; the first orange poppy opened yesterday shedding it hairy carapace; actually more like pushing it off and out of the way in its haste to bloom. I am always fascinated watching this process, a split appears, and then the crumpled tissue of the flower can be seen. And sometimes it seems to take days for the casing to fully open, but this year you can almost watch it before your eyes. Pop, pop, pop.

the hairy carapace of an orange poppy, 2014

shedding its carapace, 2014

the carapace, 2014

All Is Promise

This time of year is my favourite time in the garden, all is tender, young and full of promise. The poppies and peonies are full of buds, the yellow rose has started to bloom and so have Grannie's yellow iris with their intoxicating scent, soft and elusive, and slightly tangy. There is growth on the rhodo that I thought I'd lost [thanks Ravenna for telling me to wait before I pruned]. Wandering about the garden in the early morning shine is a hugely important ritual to me, my time in Eden before the world speeds up and I forget the joy of seeing the dew drops edging the Ladies Mantle.

the firstt rose, a small yellow, if anyone know the name I would love to know

Grannie's yellow iris

dew drops outlining the edges of the Lady's Mantle leaves

A New Gallery For Sutton

There is a new gallery opening in Sutton; Brigite Normandin and her partner have bought and are renovating Calvary United Church, a fine old building. Brigite now has her studio downstairs and upstairs will be the gallery. The gallery, called Galerie Art Plus, will open Friday, July 4th with a exhibition called The Voice of the Line, a show of my works. It's an honour to be asked to create this inaugural exhibition and I am very excited. The space is huge, high walls, full of light and a wonderful addition to Sutton's thriving cultural scene. Huge congratulations to Brigite and Peter!

The bell tower, Galerie Art Plus © Brigite Normandin

installing the track lighting, Galerie Art plus

Found

I was about to prune a small boxwood in the garden and wondered why it had bits of dried grasses draped about it. Peering into the top I found this tiny nest and eggs. The eggs were about an inch long. Seems like I won't be pruning there for a while. Does any one know what bird laid these, best I can tell you is that the mother is a small brown bird; a nuthatch?

Yesterdays garden treasure