News

A Meet and Greet

18 Comments

As most readers probably know, in November in the United States there will be important elections around the country. Will the Republicans, led by Trump, hold the House and Senate, or will the Democrats take control? (Because the United States has a two-party system, it always comes down to one party or the other in control, even though there is a sprinkling of independent candidates in Congress.)

I come from a long line of working-class Democrats and registered as a Democrat as soon as I could vote. Do I get disgusted with the party, especially on the national level? You bet. But here I am. With the Republicans, stretching from Regan and leading to Trump, there hasn’t been much of a choice in my voting life. At least as I see it. I guess the best way to describe me is that I am an old-fashioned FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) Democrat who believes that government can and should be a force of good to help people lead decent lives.

In preparation for the upcoming election, on a hot, humid Saturday, Dee, Clif, and I went to a meet and greet for two Democratic candidates.

We met Tavis Hasenfus, candidate for Maine State Representative,

and Matt Dunlap, candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House.

The meet and greet was held in a beautiful old white farmhouse just down the road from us. By the house, there is a broad sweep of lawn leading to trees and then to the Upper Narrows Pond, which is big enough to be considered a lake. Truly, this spot is one of the loveliest places in town.

I’m always interested in learning what people read, and the first question I asked both candidates was “what are you reading?”

Matt replied, “The Great War in Modern Memory by Paul Fussell, The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett, and Stolen Pride by  Arli Hoschschild.

From Tavis: The Federalist Papers and Invisible Rivals: How We Evolved to Compete in a Cooperative World by Jonathan R. Goodman. Then, somewhat puckishly, he added that Go, Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman was his favorite children’s book.

Go, Dog. Go!? That was a favorite of our youngest daughter, Shannon. After all, who could forget these punchy lines between two dogs, one with a hat and one without?

“Do you like my hat?”

“I do not .”

“Good-by!”

“Good-by!”

But I digress. Outside on the patio, everyone chatted casually for a while, and Tavis told us that if he won, this was going to be his last term as a state representative, and he was thinking of running for state senator. Then we went inside for a more organized Q&A. Unfortunately, Tavis had to leave early, and Matt Dunlap had the floor to himself.

Dunlap noted that these are uncertain times, and we can do better than we are doing now. Repeatedly, he spoke of the notion that government should help people, with services such as health care and childcare. Music to my ears, of course. When I asked him if he would be in favor of a public option for childcare, he said he would.

Good. What a huge benefit this would be to single mothers and to families on a tight budget. Somehow, most of the industrialized world has managed to offer subsidized childcare to its citizens.

Dunlap went on to talk about open borders. He emphasized that without borders, there are no nations, but we need laws that make sense. Right now, ours are too complicated. And law enforcement needs to be held accountable. (No small thing, as recently in Maine, an agent murdered a twenty-five-year-old man, who turned out not to be the target of the investigation.)

Dunlap insisted that taking care of people should be our priority rather than worrying about labels such as socialist, communist, or radical. He praised young people for being more engaged than they ever have been. And he maintained that a lot of people are homeless because they simply can’t afford homes.

He spoke easily and well about many other issues and about his own career, but I think I have summed up the essence of his values. Of course, if Dunlap wins, he will be one of many in the House, and as a new representative, he will not be setting the agenda. However, it’s nice to know that Dunlap’s inclinations will at least be heading in the right direction, one that will benefit everyday people rather than those at the top, the way it is now.

And come November, I will without hesitation be casting my vote for both Tavis Hasenfus and Matt Dunlap.

*************************************************************

Listening

NPR Tiny Desk Concert: Shaboozey

To balance a rather heavy post, here is some music that will make you tap your feet. I love Shaboozey’s easy charm and rich voice. Lately, I have been listening to this Tiny Desk Concert as I begin my writing work. What a great way to start the day.

 

Home, Movies, summer

A Time of Crickets and Warm Nights

47 Comments

The calendar has flipped to August, high summer in Maine, and right on cue, the crickets have begun singing their sweet, sad song. There is no better place to listen than in our gazebo, which protects us from mosquitoes.

During the day, we are surrounded by green, and it feels as though we are being held by the forest.

But evening is magical, too. On Saturday night, we brought home pizza and stayed in the gazebo until nearly midnight. In Maine, there are not many months where the weather is warm enough for us to do this, and we cherish every opportunity to sit outside without a sweater or jacket.

August in Maine is also the time for tomatoes, and mine have started to ripen.

Did I eat one of those little jewels, straight from the vine? You bet I did. The rest I brought in for lunches during the week.

Clif is making good progress on the house, but the rain today, while much needed, has put a temporary halt on the job. As soon as the weather clears, Clif will be back outside to continue his work.

Last night, on Sunday, we met our friends Dawna and Jim at Absolem for drinks and a chat. While we love this old place with its renovated barn turned into a tasting room, we promised Dawna and Jim an invitation to our backyard sometime soon, while the weather is still warm, to enjoy drinks and appetizers. They agreed that this sounded like a great idea.

So welcome, welcome August, the month of warm delights, a slightly melancholy time as we know summer is coming to an end. Each day, dusk comes a little earlier, and the sun rises a little later. But we will cherish every day of this oh-so-lovely month, going outside as often as we can.

**************************************************************

Listening

Raise Your Hopeful Voice

A Tribute to Glen Hansard

I expect many of you have heard of the Irish musician Glen Hansard and perhaps have even seen the bittersweet film Once, which featured his music and singing as well as that of his then-partner Markéta Irglová. This 2007 movie, made for a pittance and directed by John Carney, touched many hearts, including mine.

Less than a week ago, on July 29, Hansard was killed in a motorcycle accident, and the world too soon lost this talented musician. (He was fifty-six.) There has been a huge outpouring of grief from the well known—Bono and Bruce Springsteen—to ordinary fans of this big-hearted musician. According to the BBC, “For the past 15 years, Hansard had organised an annual Christmas Eve busking gig to raise money for homelessness charities.” I have read that, like many musicians, Hansard believed music flowed across cultures, becoming a creative force that unifies us.

Finally, here is a video of “Falling Slowly,” perhaps Once‘s most famous song and one that certainly catches the essence of the movie.

Farewell, troubadour.

 

Cats, Flowers, summer

Late July, 2026

65 Comments

At the beginning of the month, we had a horrible heatwave, and I whined about how we don’t have summers in Maine the way we once did. Well, either the weather gods heard my lament and took pity on me, or they decided to pull one of their little tricks. The heatwave lasted for a few days, and since then, we have been having an old-fashioned Maine summer — warm, dry days with temps in the low 80s and cool nights that dip down into the 50s or 60s. In other words, sheer delight. I wish readers suffering through extreme heat could be in Maine right now to enjoy this perfect weather.

My front gardens are in a bit of funk right now and not just because of the work on the house. Somehow, with the demise of my lilies because of the lily beetles, I just haven’t found anything to take their place in terms of color and pizzaz for late July and August. Darn things! The beetles are relatively new to Maine, and I wish they had never crossed the border. But in everyday life, we know how far we get ahead with wishes. The lily beetles are here to stay, and I have decided not to grow lilies in the garden.

However,  the plants on my porch are thriving. Between the perfect weather and just the right amount of watering and feeding, they are in their glory.

Begonias,

coleuses,

and those oh-so-pretty petunias really jazz up the front porch.

In other news…Clif began tearing siding off the house,

but he ran into some problems. Or rather, they ran into him.

Now, for the most part, we are very careful not to destroy the homes and habitat of the creatures who live around us. In our yard, Moles and ants burrow and dig with abandon. Porcupines are allowed to use the underneath of our shed for a home. But Clif was unable to work on the house with a nest guarded by dive-bombing biters. (I am not sure if it is a hornet or wasp nest, but the results are the same. Readers, if you know what kind of nest this is, do let me know.)

So last night, when it was dark, Clif found a long piece of wood and knocked the nest down. This morning, I used the wood to hook the nest, which still had insects buzzing around it, and deposited it into the woods on the side of our yard. At least we didn’t have to use poison to get rid of the problem, and this afternoon, Clif will be able to resume work on the house.

Never a dull moment at our house on the edge of the woods, but Kai, one of our cats, took it all in stride as he relaxed in the living room.

Ah, the life of a cat!

 

 

Movies

The 29th Maine International Film Festival

47 Comments

The 29th Maine International Film Festival (MIFF) is over, and Dee, Clif, and I are very slowly making our way back to reality. We saw twenty-seven movies in nine days, and yes, dear blogging friends, that is a lot of movies to see in that amount of time. By the end, my creaky knees and legs were not happy at all, and I’m thinking of cutting back next year.

But there were so many good movies I probably wouldn’t have seen anywhere else. I had planned to post my top five, but instead it will be my top six, and I could easily include ten. Yet again, I am so grateful to have a film festival of this caliber in Waterville, Maine, population 16,000. When I mentioned this to a filmmaker I met, she was astounded that such a small community would be able to host such a terrific film festival.

Before I list my favorites from the film festival, here are some scenes from our first day at MIFF 29.

Right from the start, there was popcorn,

and old friends to catch up with.

Drinks after a day of movies,

and a beautiful sky.

Then, back to the car, with Maine Film Center aglow,

and the Arts sign lighting the way.

Many thanks to the staff and volunteers who make this film festival possible. They illustrate in a beautiful way how art and creativity can thrive even in small communities.

************************************************************************

My Top Six Movies, Listed in Alphabetical Order, from MIFF 29

Comparsa

This documentary follows two sisters, Lesli and Lupe, as they help organize a comparsa, a street performance, to honor forty-one girls who died in a fire in a so-called “Safe Home” run by the state. Set in a Guatemalan barrio, the film illustrates how the girls and women in that community are never safe from violence and death. Comparsa also shows how art — astonishing body painting, giant puppets, music — can be used not only to protest injustice but also to heal and build community. Comparsa moved me deeply.

**********************

Hen

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from those who want to kill and eat her, humans and animals alike. In György Pálfi’s unique film Hen, the story is told from the hen’s perspective as she escapes an industrial farm, encounters a fox, survives being captured by a dog, and overcomes other misadventures in her quest to lay eggs and raise a family. Clucking all the way, the hen is never anthropomorphized. She is always a hen, at times hapless and at other times clever. This astonishing movie was made using real hens with nary a hint of CGI. (In the ending credits, viewers are also assured that no animals were harmed.) From the jump, my sympathies were with the hen on her perilous journey. It also made me consider whether it is enough to be a vegetarian.

**********************

Mallory’s Ghost

One of the great pleasures of MIFF is that they show films made by young directors who are just starting out. (Three of the films in my top six fit this category.) While Arabella Oz, the writer, director, and lead actor, might have made a few other films, she is clearly young enough to be at the beginning of her career. Mallory’s Ghost is set (and filmed) in Maine in a beautiful old house by the sea. Mallory and her boyfriend Sam have come to visit the enigmatic Lorna, Sam’s former writing professor. Sam hopes to kick-start his writing, and Mallory seems to be along just for the ride. Except she isn’t. She harbors ambitions of her own, and with reminders of Sam’s ex-girlfriend Louise everywhere in the house, Mallory becomes unreasonably jealous of the glamorous, talented ex who seems to be everything she is not. Mallory becomes convinced that Louise’s ghost is haunting her, even though Louise is still very much alive. However, the movie takes an unexpected twist that I will not reveal. The only thing I want to add is that Mallory’s Ghost illustrates that there are different kinds of hauntings, and I found this one to be touching and true. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a trailer for this movie.

**********************

Still Ohio

Right now, horror is big in this country, and it’s not hard to see why. The United States provides plenty of horrors to inspire artists young and old. Still Ohio, Kaylin Allhouse’s debut feature film, centers on college sophomore Ana, who decides to transfer from Boston College to Tulane University so that she can be with her boyfriend, Doug. We never see Doug. We only hear his unenthusiastic voice when Ana calls him. Nevertheless, Doug arranges Ana’s ride to Tulane with three rowdy friends who are not ideal traveling companions. It doesn’t take Ana long to decide the trip is going to be a long one. As it turns out, the journey becomes longer than Ana could have imagined as the four get caught in a time loop that takes them over and over again to the same creepy gas station, which becomes more and more decrepit each time they stop. It is up to Ana to decide how to break free from the time loop, and in the process, there is a fair amount of blood and mayhem. However, even though I tend to be a squeamish viewer, the violence wasn’t too much for me. Again, unfortunately, I couldn’t find a trailer for this movie.

 

Union County

This movie features another young writer/director, Adam Meeks, but this movie couldn’t be more different from Mallory’s Ghost and Still Ohio. Union County is grounded in everyday life as it focuses on Cody (beautifully played by Will Poulter) and his journey toward sobriety. My friend Joel noted that Union County felt like a documentary, and I could see his point. The movie features real people dealing with addiction, and some of the scenes take place in what looks like a real courtroom. But this is a narrative film, and the actor Will Poulter holds Union County as he not only struggles with addiction but also with the guilt he feels for introducing his brother Jack to drugs. Union County is a spare, minimalist film that is nevertheless full of emotion.  By the end, I was teary-eyed watching a scene where Cody has “a long, dark night of the soul.” Does he emerge victorious? No spoilers here. Watch this gem of a movie and find out for yourself.

**********************

Whispers in the Woods

The last movie really is a documentary, but an unconventional one filled with beauty and a reverence for nature as grand-père, père, and fils take to the woods in France. The père, filmmaker Vincent Munier, records the three-generational journey into the forests of the Vosges. Grand-père Michel, a sort of Jacques Cousteau of the woods, taught his son Vincent how to be patient, how to look and listen and be still. Now, they are teaching Vincent’s son Simon the same lesson. All through the film, I kept thinking what a lucky boy Simon was to have such mentors. In addition, Whispers in the Woods is full of stunning photography and the sounds of the forest’s denizens. The poetic narration is a gentle reminder to love and cherish the wild places on Earth, places that are under threat from not only human development but also from the climate crisis.

**********************

I hope these brief descriptions of six of the twenty-seven movies I saw at the film festival give readers some idea of the variety MIFF offers. In all likelihood, many of these films will not be coming to a cinema near you, but in time most should be available through a streaming service.

 

 

Books, Movies, News, Television

Enter Yellow

56 Comments

It has been hotter than heck lately, by anyone’s standards, I think. With the heat index well over 100, plenty of heat advisories were posted on weather websites. In my heart of hearts, I know this is the new weather pattern for Maine in July, and I have to accept it. But how I long for the old days, when the temperature in July seldom went above 80°F, and the humidity didn’t sap the energy from humans and animals alike. Those days are never coming back, and I feel sorry for the young people who will never experience the glory of a Maine July before the climate crisis hit.

I can only be thankful, then, that we have heat pumps, which not only keep our home pleasantly cool but also act as dehumidifiers. No more clogged salt shakers! Unfortunately, the creatures in the woods do not have this advantage, and I feel so sorry for them. Our dependence on fossil fuels has cast a wide, destructive net that ensnares the innocent.

But, a bit of good news. The flowers seem to enjoy the high heat and humidity, and the evening primroses are now in glorious bloom. There is yellow mixed in amongst the green, and for a while, there was even a splash of orange.

We have had different friends over on two separate occasions, and despite the heat, we spent time in the gazebo. (In late afternoon, when the sun no longer shone in our backyard.)

‘Tis one of our favorite places to be, and although I have featured this picture in a previous post, I thought I’d include it again because the lights are so lovely.

We had planned to serve grilled bread, but a little rodent chewed through the gas line on the grill, and Clif wasn’t able to fix it before our friends came over. Next time, there will be grilled bread.

Along with the heat, July in Maine brings the Maine International Film Festival (MIFF), a ten-day extravaganza of movies, many of them foreign. We have full festival passes and are looking forward to seeing movies we might never have heard of if it weren’t for MIFF. Accordingly, I will be taking a blogging break from July 10 to July 20 or so. I’ll keep track of all the movies I see and report back with my top five. (We plan to see about thirty movies during the film festival.)

Until July 20…

*****************************************************************

Reading and Watching

Book: The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

Television Series: The Other Bennet Sister, adapted by Sarah Quintrell from Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name

It is a fact universally acknowledged that a good book is usually better than its television adaptation. This is why it is often a mistake to read a book before seeing the series. A series (or a movie) seldom lives up to a reader’s imaginative vision of the story or to the author’s skill in revealing the characters’ inner lives.

Series and movies have their strengths, of course. Acting, dialogue, sound, and cinematography can come together to produce works of art and beauty that can have a profound effect on viewers. But for this reader—a wordy, nerdy woman who has been under the spell of the written word since childhood—books are most always superior to adaptations.

And so it was with The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow’s sympathetic portrayal of Pride and Prejudice‘s Mary Bennet, the plain and awkward sister plunked among four beautiful sisters. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s depiction of Mary Bennet is humorous but unkind, presenting her as a socially inept young woman who always says the wrong thing and can never read the room.

In The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow allows Mary to have her say, and she skillfully reveals Mary’s inner life—her love of books, her feelings of never fitting in or measuring up to her sisters. Of never being understood. Indeed, of not being loved by her family. I was with Mary all the way, and as she gradually found her footing, I cheered her on. Hadlow charts Mary’s growth in a convincing way. Mary never becomes the belle of the ball, but she does unfold in a way that is lovely to behold and true to Mary’s inner nerdy self.

The series, on the other hand, presents Mary (Ella Bruccoleri) as a clod whose facial expressions are so extreme and odd that, at times, she seems a bit touched. I was not unsympathetic with the character, but as my daughter put it, it was unbelievable that two attractive men would vie for Mary’s attention. In the novel, it was perfectly believable.

In addition, there is a plot change that makes no sense, given the times and the extreme wealth of two of Mary’s sisters. I suppose the change—Mary’s determination to be a tutor—is slipped in to give Mary some agency. This is all well and good, but it is the opposite of the way Mary feels in the book, and in the early 1800s, a family of means would never encourage one of their own to be a tutor.

I did finish the television series, and I didn’t totally dislike it, but the book was so much better.

As is usually the case.

Readers, have any of you both read the book and watched the series? If so, I would love to hear your reactions.

 

 

 

Gardening

The Desolation of Clif

68 Comments

Before I describe the Desolation of Clif, I need to provide a bit of backstory for readers.

Item one: crappy siding

Our house was built in 1969, and in an extreme effort to pinch a nickel until the buffalo screamed, the builders put a kind of paper/cardboard siding on our home. (We, of course, did not buy the home in 1969. I was twelve, and my husband was eighteen. We came together in 1977 and bought the house in 1984.)

Considering the siding’s material, it held up reasonably well for quite a while. But about ten years ago, it started peeling and rotting. Because we are a family of modest means,  new siding for the whole house was not within our budget. So Clif, being handy, removed the worst of the old siding, replaced it with sturdier material, and painted it to match the original siding. All around the house, he has worked with little trouble until he came to the front.

Item two: yew hedges

In the U.S. in the 1970s, it was all the rage to put yew hedges along the front of the house, and so it is with our home on the edge of the woods. American readers of a certain age will know just what I mean. While it might be fair to describe the hedges as “common,” it also must be pointed out that the hedges are as tough as a bag of hammers. Over the years, those hedges grew until there was the narrowest of passages between house and hedge.

Here’s a picture of our home with the yew hedges in all their glory.

Now we come to the crux of the matter. The front of the house needs to be patched and painted. Clif maintained he could not work with those hedges so close to the house. While I’m not a huge fan of the hedges, I built my gardens around them, and they provide the backdrop. Not the smartest move, perhaps, but we really couldn’t afford to have a landscaper come in and make everything right.

Clif, though, was undeterred. He had a chainsaw. He said he could take the hedges down all by himself and thus work on the house. I didn’t doubt this, but I knew what the front garden would look like if he hacked the hedges down.

I was not wrong.

The Desolution of Clif

The first time I saw the damage, I could hardly breathe. It looked as though all the back teeth of the garden had been knocked out, and the bed is twice as large as it was before the hedges were cruelly taken down. Now, this bed is a problem bed, and I have lost many plants that were put in with the naive optimism of a new gardener. What the heck was I going to do with more space?

I might have snarkily obeserved commented that it is easier to destroy than it is to create. Clif made no reply. I might have made some other rude observations. In the end, I calmed down and considered what I could do next spring to repair the damage.

Clif’s suggestion: Put in some ferns and let them fill in the way they have out back.

Not the worst idea.

I love ferns. They are low-maintenance and elegant. But do I really want that bed to be half ferns? I’m not sure.

Then I had another idea. When I dug up the lawn, all those years ago, to make a bed, I did it with the sublime ignorance of the novice gardener. I didn’t consider how hard it would be to work in such a big bed, how I would have to trample the dirt to add plants, compost, and fertilizer. Instead, what if we, Clif, removed all the plants, put in walkways, added a nice but not hugely expensive focal point, and replanted what had been removed: black-eyed Susans, phlox, evening primroses? Maybe add something else that I haven’t thought of.

Clif wisely did not object to this scheme.

So, readers who garden, I turn this over to you.

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

 

Celebrate, Food, Movies, Music

An Enchanting Evening

51 Comments

In the United States, last Sunday was Father’s Day. As longtime readers might recall, our philosophy for special days is to celebrate early, celebrate often. Accordingly, on Saturday, we met our daughter Shannon and her husband Mike in southern Maine at When Pigs Fly Pizzeria in Kittery.

Clif and Mike reflected on their beer choices. Did the beer measure up? Yes, it did.

There was pizza.

And for Clif, a tofu bowl with perfectly fried tofu and ever-so-fresh pea pods.

We had a wonderful time eating and chatting. Even though we are homebodies, we so enjoy our southern Maine adventures with Shannon and Mike.

On Sunday, which was actually Father’s Day, did we stick to our usual routine and stay home? We did not. We went to a movie, The Death of Robin Hood, a violent,  grim take on the famous outlaw. No merry men cavorting in tights here. This movie is not for the faint of heart, so readers be warned if you decide to see it.

After the movie, we cheered ourselves up with drinks at Margaritas in Augusta.

Duly cheered, we headed home to spend the evening in our gazebo on the patio.

With the addition of lights, our special spot has gone from very sweet to enchanting.

We stayed until dusk came, and the solar lights in our yard blinked on. Despite the grim movie, it was a very happy Father’s Day indeed.

*************************************************************

In the United States, last Friday was Juneteenth, a federal holiday. According to Wikipedia, “It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday’s name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.”

In honor of this day, here is one of my favorite songs, “Blackbird,” written by Paul McCartney, who was inspired by the Civil Rights movement in the United States.

Music, summer

A June Night

66 Comments

Mid-June is here. The planting is done, including the row of begonias in the back garden. They provide a welcome splash of red and white to go along with all the green. The begonias will bloom from now until the first hard frost hits. They never get leggy; they always look good. Begonias are not showy flowers, but they are perfect for the backyard, which is part sun/part shade.

The days are long—it’s not dark until nearly 9:00 p.m.—and last Saturday the night was warm enough for us to sit on the patio until late into the evening. Here is the view from inside the gazebo, looking out into the garden at dusk.

As the darkness settled around us, we heard a wood thrush’s song, one of the benefits of living by the edge of the woods. What a treat it is to hear that beautiful song.

Slowly, our solar lights came on, and my favorite is the glowing moon.

More darkness, and then there were fireflies, little points of fairy lights blinking on and off, on and off.

An enchanting evening, and how lucky we feel to have all of this in our very own backyard.

***********************************************************************

Listening

Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds: Situation

Yesterday, as Clif and I were coming home from doing errands, I heard the song “Situation” on the radio. The song’s rock/funk sound immediately drew me in. But who, I wondered, are Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Cloud? I had never heard them or the song before.

Turns out that Johnny Blue Skies is the alter ego of the country singer Sturgill Simpson, who apparently wanted to branch out and try something completely different. And The Dark Clouds is his band.

The official video is a lot of fun, beginning with Dr. Johnny Fever from the delightful 1970’s television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. From there, the video goes to dancers—some real, some not—from around the world. It seems to me that, without being preachy, Simpson illustrates how dance and music unite us, regardless of culture.

But watch and listen for yourselves. And if your knees are limber enough—mine certainly aren’t—go ahead and groove to the music.

 

 

Birds, Environment, Movies, summer

One of the Sweetest Months of the Year

53 Comments

In Maine, June is surely one of the sweetest months of the year. Everything is new and green. The days are warm, but not too hot. The nights are cool enough to snuggle under blankets, which I love to do. Right now, as I work at my desk, the window is open, and I can smell the scent of early summer coming from the woods.

Living on the edge of the woods brings many pleasures, but there is a disadvantage in the summer—mainly,  mosquitoes. Now, they have their place. Mosquitoes provide essential nutrition for adult birds and their babies, and I would never begrudge food for those fluttering, singing beauties. Unfortunately, we provide food for the mosquitoes, and sitting on our patio in June and July after the sun goes down is no fun at all.

What to do? Douse our yard with pesticides? Yeah, right. As if this family of green beans would ever do such a thing, especially as the mosquitoes in Maine do not spread diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, or yellow fever.

Here, then, is our solution for this year, a Christmas present from our daughter Dee.

The gazebo, roomy and airy, allows us to sit on the patio at any time of day. Occasionally, we thumb our nose at the mosquitoes, who cluster longingly around the screen. Outside. Where they belong.

Last week, we had our friends Dawna and Jim over for wine and appetizers, and eating and talking, we spent hours in the gazebo. Green is still the predominant color, but, as Dawna observed, there are many different shades. So there are, and soon, there will be other colors as well.

Dawna brought cheesecake and made the most delicious strawberry-rhubarb sauce to go with it. I could have some right now.

*************************************************************************

Readers might recall that several posts back, I featured a bird’s nest that had fallen onto the patio. I love the way feathers were woven into the nest.

I left the nest on the patio, and a week or so ago, as Clif was working on the gazebo, he noticed how a bird came to the nest, picked at this and that, and then flew away. The bird returned over and over, until the nest looked like this:

What a great example of recycling! Years ago, my dear friend Barbara Johnson, who has been gone for over twenty years, told me that when we come upon a nest that has blown down from a tree, it is best to leave it there, as birds will reuse the material for a new nest. Barbara, how right you were.

And, yes, I still miss you very much.

*************************************************************************

Watching

Movie

Power Ballad
Directed by John Carney
With Paul Judd and Nick Jonas

If you like Ireland, music, and character-driven stories, then Power Ballad is the movie for you. Paul Judd plays a wedding musician who yearns for more. Nick Jonas plays a boy-band musician who’s lost his mojo. Their stories come together in a bittersweet way, and the movie’s ending is so generous and kind that it moved me to tears and made me think maybe that there is hope for us as a species. Really, I can’t recommend this movie highly enough.

News

Monday, Monday

57 Comments

Even though Clif and I are retired, we follow a work-week schedule because our eldest daughter Dee, who lives with us, has a traditional forty-hour a-week job. We arrange our schedule to match hers so that we can eat together and go to the movies on Saturday and Sunday. Therefore, after a  free and easy weekend, Monday always comes with a bit of a thud

This Monday’s thud hit us a little harder. We woke up to find that our hot water heater had stopped working. No hot water for showers or for doing dishes. No hot water period.

It could be worse, and indeed it has been. We still have cold water, and we can flush our toilets.  (Trust me, this is no small thing.) However, not having  water has thrown a bit of crimp into our usual routine.

Therefore, this week’s post is shorter than usual as my husband and I tend to this and that. But hot water or not, the gardens are thriving, and a couple of pictures of green and growing plants seems like a good place to end.

 

 

A blog about nature, home, books, movies, television, food, and rural life.