At the beginning of the season I bought 2 large pots of various blooming pretties for the big barn porch.
They were gorgeous, and looked like this:
They were absolutely thriving.
And then….
They weren’t.
Today?
Yes, you adorable little devil.
I’m talking to you…
And I am not happy!
No, not the Hendrix kind.
The Japanese Iris kind.
They don’t last long.
But they sure are pretty while they’re here.
Especially after a rain shower.
At night.
Since our spring was so late and cool, things have been blooming a bit more slowly this year.
But no matter when it blooms, if there’s any better smell than fresh lilacs?
I’ve yet to find it.
Though honeysuckle comes in a close second.
This one doesn’t look like much from far away…
But up close it’s pretty sweet.
These Mallow I planted a few weeks ago have quickly become my favorite new bloomer.
Naturally when I went back to the nursery for more they were sold out.
Boo to that.
June in Maine means rhododendrons…..
As well as Lupine.
And I love these purple beauties!
The weather was perfect.
75 degrees with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.
We’d spent the day mowing and trimming and weeding….
And everything looked perfect.
Lilacs were cut for vases and perfumed the air with the scent of a long awaited spring.
And we ended the day with adult beverages on the big barn porch…. where the only thing to worry about was walking back inside for refills.
Life is good.
On a late afternoon trip to Home Depot for baby barn supplies….and okay, maybe a plant or two…. we were desperately hungry and hit the McDonalds drive thru.
If you know how much we hate McDonalds, you’ll know how desperately hungry we were.
Geranium perched between my legs, we scarfed down the (is this supposed to be edible?) food.
And while we were doing that?
They gathered.
One by one, on both sides… as well as in the front and the back.
Not wanting to re-create a Tippi Hendren phone booth scene, we ate quickly and fled.
But I really need something blooming in my life right now so I masked up and headed to a local nursery down the road for the other kind of flower.
No make up, no manicure and wearing a sweatshirt.
The Corona lock down has definitely put a nail in the coffin of my beauty regime.
Please note the mask is color coordinated though.
I’m not a heathen FFS.
Came home with a car load full of pansies, begonias, geraniums, mallow and a container of pretty I don’t know what.
This will be a good start… but no where near enough to fill my beds.
Spring has been a long time coming and I’m way behind on my garden work.
By this time I’ve usually got all the beds cleaned out and a few flowers blooming.
This year?
I’ve got weeds.
And random spikey things.
I spent 3 hours today getting rid of both.
I also reseated the brick border and tackled a bit of the bush from Hell.
If anyone ever asks if you want a flowering quince? Run.
Run far, and fast.
Preferably after you punch them in the throat for suggesting it in the first place.
Ours was here when we moved in and we’ve been battling it ever since. It grows over the roof each season and has roots that are 300 friggin’ feet deep. We’ve tried to dig it up, burn it out and hack it down to nubs numerous times.
I believe it likes the challenge….. and comes back stronger every time.
Did I mention it’s also full of thorns?
Good times.
I did 6 beds in the back and on the side of the house and felt good….
Until….
I turned over a brick and disturbed an ant nest. Within seconds those little suckers were crawling all over me and I had to run for a hose.
I rinsed most of them off but not before a few crawled up my pant leg.
Sadly, yes…. there were.
And the little bastards bit me too.
Which is why I’m posting about Valentines Day at the end of March.
It started with a nice bouquet of roses….
And a kitchen selfie before we went out for a late lunch on the water.
The building used to house a garage… and was previously a wonderful restaurant called, are you ready?
La Garage.
Clever… no?
But now it has new owners and a new incarnation as the Water Street Kitchen and Bar.
It sits on the Sheepscot River in Wiscasset and please pardon the reflection of my hands in the window.
We’ve been wanting to try it for a while, and found that’s it’s undergone a major remodel.
The feel is more modern.
And I have to say I was loving the metal works installations. This would be perfect for all my husband’s rusty crap treasures!
But first things first.
A marvelous basil limeade with a view….
The menu was small, but seemed alright.
And just as the waitress brought my (overly salted) charred Brussels sprouts appetizer, the husband saw a friend of his walk in and asked them to join us.
On Valentines Day.
Oh, well.
This called for two Blueberry Mojitos… .because a girl can only take so much romance.
Husband had a butternut squash soup, which you couldn’t pay me to eat.
And then it was on to a rather dry, garlic-less shrimp scampi for me, and an overcooked paella for the other half.
The meal was redeemed by dessert.
A delightful lemon marscapone cake…
Husband’s friends said their meals were good, and the cocktails were lovely so we might give them another try. We do like the area and supporting small businesses.
And I might have to take another look at the metal works.
They really were quite interesting.
Yes, there’s that as well.
This was the very first picture of us ever taken ….
Back in 1984, on that awful chair at his mother’s house…… right before we got married. I may look twelve, but no worries. I’d just turned 20. (As for the husband’s hair… I have no idea what was going on there.)
We knew each other for 6 days.
Yes, you read that correctly…. 6 days. And to be honest, 3 of those were the required waiting period for the marriage license.
People thought we were crazy. (We knew we weren’t.)
People said it would never last. (It’s been 36 years.)
The Grateful Dead had it right…..
What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been!
But I wouldn’t trade a minute of it.
Anyway…. this year on our anniversary?
A seriously beautiful bouquet from my other half….
That got better every day as all the blooms opened up.
The rose colors were gorgeous.
Then it was off to our favorite restaurant in Boothbay Harbor…. before their doors were shut due to the virus. The decor is nothing to write home about, and the menu is smaller in winter….. but the food is still fabulous.
As were the seasonal cocktails.
I started with a Ciderberry.
And moved on to a few Sugar Plums made with this.
OMG!!
If you’ve never payed attention to any of my advice before?
Start now… and buy a bottle.
It doesn’t matter if you’re not a fig fan. I actually hate the things.
But this was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. A very unique flavor. I read they also make a Golden Apricot ….. and I’ll be looking for that as well.
Can’t remember what they called my appetizer but it was delicious, with just the right amount of spice.
Husband went with his usual French Onion soup and a light main dish of broiled haddock and asparagus.
I, on the other hand….
Dove into the richest, creamiest most delightful Parmesan risotto you’ll find this side of Italy. It’s one of their specialties and I can never resist…. paired here with pan seared scallops, mushrooms, arugula and a citrus balsamic glaze.
I don’t care how many pounds I gained…
It was worth it!
Which is definitely better than spreading the other thing that’s going around.
I stopped at the grocery store the other day to pick up some milk for our neighbor, a lovely senior lady whose family is out of town. She was nervous about going shopping and I was happy to help.
Along with the milk?
I brought her a bouquet of flowers to add a little cheer to her self imposed quarantine.
We all need that nowadays.
Got one for myself as well.
Wish I’d thought to arrange her batch before I delivered them…. they were exactly the same, but needed a little tweaking.
Oh well, they made her smile.
And that’s really all that matters.
River's world..... 