Next Time Someone Calls You A Pansy...

...remember this picture! These tough little guys withstand being buried in the snow and come back even more brilliant in color. Our late April snow in 2019 completely buried all the pansies I had place in urns about the property... but when the sun reappeared, so did they... unscathed! 

An Icy Winter for 2019

Though there was not much snow this winter, the ice was indeed something to be reckoned with. Our new puppy MacIntosh needed to go out lots and with the early nights and frequent dustings of snow, we wisely kept a pair of boots by the door which were always equipped with grippons. More than once, that strategy saved the day!

Christmas 2018

Another wonderful Christmas! Note the Santa dress that came all the way from China at the cost of less than $12.00! Not sure how that is possible, but it did! Jess found "Dresslily.com" and all we girls ordered different dresses for Allen Family Christmas. The tree this year came from right out back. With my pneumonia, it did not make sense to get as large of a tree as in years past, but it was still about 15' and looked really pretty. Allen Family Christmas was celebrated the weekend after Christmas and was, as always, a cherished day. Real Christmas was celebrated with the McCormacks and they gave Eric and I lots of wonderful memories.

Fall 2018

Winter started early in the fall of 2018... October brought us our first snow. The oak leaves had not even begun to fall and with another snow in early November, raking was a bit of a challenge. We got up what we could with the knowledge that spring would bring a harder clean up than some years. I love how the fall décor looked with a coat of icing on it!

The Hot Summer of 2018

Summer of 2018 was a great one. As our first summer completely retired we started the season travelling to a few public gardens that I had really wanted to see. Winterthur and Longwood were simply amazing and definitely inspired me to step up some more things in my Lodge gardens. I set upon plans to add focal points, follies and to be even more conscious of color combinations in my garden. Katrina and the girls spent the summer with us and more was spent at Blackwater Cove than at Oak Hill as it was a super hot summer, so the water was much enjoyed.

Snuggly in the Snow

Outside a mid-February Nor'easter was piling up the snow. It gave a magical look to the window boxes on which I had left the little white lights from Christmas. Inside, the fire was burning and the Lodge was starting to get back to normal after being coated in dust by the sanding of the stair tower sheetrock and the floor. Oh, how cozy we are!

Just Love Being At the Lodge!

As we left the old girl....

As we found the old girl, oops, no there is already a new bay window!

October 21, 2016 was a wonderful day for Eric and I. Our much loved home of 42 years was sold to a wonderful family who, I feel sure, will love it like we did. "The ghosts of four little girls" followed me from room to room after they all had grown up and left, and despite my efforts to make their rooms serve other purposes, they would always be THEIR rooms. It was a constant reminder that things would never be the same at Raymond Court... it made me miss them. Oh, I know... and I couldn't be prouder of them for doing so... it was what we raised them for... to go off and be successful, happy young women.... and that is what they have done.  Besides, the first book we ever bought for our library, back in 1974 was called, "Five Acres and Independence" so if you can allow yourself to believe in such things, it was fate that we should one day move to five acres, owned by many generations of ancestors in Nobleboro, Maine. The only downside is that Nobleboro is 25 minutes further from everyone, but mentally we are just forcing ourselves to accept it in return for the fulfillment of a dream. Besides, for 8 months a year, we will still be at the cottage, which isn't hard to take either!