Two that are New

Above is my latest watercolor painting. It was a challenge to paint this momma robin bringing a grasshopper to feed her hungry babies...but it was fun to try to capture a realistic look and feel of this gentle scene. With Spring long past and Autumn just around the corner now, baby robins have grown and flown the nest. The cycle will continue with those young robins returning next year to build nests of their own. They'll lay their light blue eggs that will hatch into wide mouthed babies begging for all the worms, grubs, and other insects these new mothers can provide.



And...a new butterfly sighting! A Red Spotted Purple arrived yesterday to catch some rays on our patio. It's underside had brick-red colored spots and the blue on it's wings was brilliantly iridescent. After warming itself in the sunshine, it fluttered off and away towards the cool shade of the woods.

Survivors

Despite the hot, dry conditions, the zinnias I planted from seed are thriving. Their colorful blooms add a bright touch to the garden, and the butterflies seem to like them almost as much as they do the coneflowers.

This blog is as good a time as any to report I've made it to the six month mark post transplant surgery. I wish I could also report rave reviews, I am hanging in there!, but right now I have a very bad cold, the first time I've been sick at all since the surgery. Other than that, I think I've been doing well....still progress to be made....but humming along!

Aquinnah Cliffs

The first inhabitants of Martha's Vineyard, then known as "Noepe," were the Wampanoag, the"people of the first light." For the Wampanoag, the cliffs of Aquinnah were a sacred site. Today, these cliffs are designated as a National Natural Landmark by the Department of the Interior. The cross-section of the cliffs displays the geological history of the island. The cliffs are composed of many layers of sediment left over from six glaciers. Red and white clays, green sands, white quartz, black organic soil and lignite combine to create the variety of colors that make the cliffs so striking. The Aquinnah Cliffs site was my favorite place on the island. The cliffs and beaches there are breathtakingly beautiful.

Vignette of Martha's Vineyard

We took far too many photographs on our vacation to Massachusetts to post, but I wanted to share some taken on our final day at Martha's Vineyard. A highlight of our trip was taking a cruise on the "Alabama," an old sailing ship with a young, spirited crew. We were on board the ship for 3 hours enjoying the tranquillity of the open water. The photograph above was taken right before sunset - a dramatic sky over calm water.

I fell in love with the ship mascots - two lopey black labs, very sleepy by the time I took their picture! The name of the company providing our cruise was "Black Dog."

Here Kevin is scanning the horizon, the tall masts of the ship looming above him. It was amazing to watch the crew at work hoisting the sails and coiling the heavy ropes. They were full of energy, nimble, and strong.

Here's a look at the Alabama at rest, docked at the Vineyard Haven marina from where we started our cruise through Nantucket Sound.

After disembarking the ship, we dined at the Black Dog tavern, and we both had, what else? ... fish! Kevin chose wasabi crusted salmon and I had the catch of the day, island bluefish ... a first time experience for me ... and it was delicious.

The sailing cruise and dinner at the tavern were our last activities before heading home early the next morning ~ the perfect conclusion to a most memorable stay.

The Simple Things

Isn't it nice to take the time in our busy days to appreciate little bits of beauty here and there?

Yesterday, when I was working in the garden, I found a lone Black-Eyed-Susan flower that had bent and snapped from the plant, so I took it inside and placed it in an amber colored, crackle glass vase. The way the afternoon sun lit up the flower and created a soft glow as it streamed through the vase was so pretty.

Today, when I was feeding the goldfish in our pond, two metallic blue bodied dragonflies skimmed over the water and hovered just long enough for me to get a close look at their intricate, lacy wings - beautiful! I also discovered we now have five more mouths to feed.
The goldfish had babies!

Summer Sightings

Our summer mornings this year have been graced with white morning glories that sprung up amongst the fern bed. Last summer season, we had morning glories in pinks, blues, and lavender shades - this season pure whites that vividly contrast with the deep greens around them. By late afternoon, the beautiful blooms start to close for the day, and, by evening, they look more trumpet shaped than full and round.




Our summer night times are punctuated with the low hums and chirps from locusts and katy-dids. Their chorus rises to quite a din at times, but mostly it's a steady, lush purr that soothes and lulls us to sleep. The lone katy-did in the photograph above chose to spend the night on our front porch and was still there by early morning when I snapped this picture. Next to the light gray wood of the porch railing , the katy-did stands out, but in the trees, his leaf like color and form offers great camouflage.



Some of the leaves on the trees are already starting to turn, due to the hot dry conditions we're experiencing in our area this summer season, but the ferns are still lush and green.