Monday, June 30, 2008

There are tons of moose here in Maine; at least that is what one is led to believe. There are certainly signs on most of the roads warning that they might be present. In one of the shops in town, they have some wonderful pottery with a moose as the focal point. What is also interesting is that in order to hunt moose in Maine, you need to win a lottery for the privilege of hunting them. For those who win this lottery you can actually go on “moose safaris”! Personally though, I have never seen a living moose. I did see a dead one by the side of the road last year. It was HUGE! They are such a curiosity to me. I really want to see one…from a distance. They look like such mournful creatures though, don’t you think?

Posted by Mary at 01:23 PM CST

Friday, June 27, 2008

I have never been jealous of other people's gardens until this summer. In Massachusetts, the woman who lived around the corner from us used to garden in what looked like a beekeepers suit because of the mosquitoes. Her garden was beautiful. It should have been! She went to great lengths to make it look that way. In Illinois, if your garden is fabulous it is usually because you pay someone to keep it looking that way. Well, up here there are wild flowers galore. While there are still the cultivated gardens my favorite spots are the numerous meadows filled to the brim with wild flowers. The flower pictured is a lupin (it can also be spelled lupine). It is literally everywhere up here. You find them by the side of the road, in overgrown fields. No one tends these flowers, but they just appear every June. Some of our closest neighbors have loads of lupins in the meadows by their houses. The reason this really bothers me is because we have gone to such pains to create a meadow full of wild flowers. We now have a lot of charming wild flowers, but not a single lupin! We finally BOUGHT one and planted it! Maybe we’re trying too hard.

Posted by Mary at 01:56 PM CST

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Walking in Maine is completely different from walking in England. In England, the country footpaths are surrounded by serene and genteel landscapes. The hills are dotted with sheep or cows and often off in the distance there is a wonderful country house you can see. On the other hand, here in Maine my four mile route involves the road by the beautiful rugged coastline and then up a more remote road surrounded by pine trees. At one point last year my friend who I walk with suggested we take the path through the woods. I half-heartedly said, “yeah, maybe at some point.” You see there is a lot more going on up here. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife claims that mountain lions (also known as cougars, pumas, ghost cats, panthers…here we go again!) are extinct in the wild, my neighbor around the corner from us saw a mountain lion and cub. She now gardens with a shotgun. We asked about the mountain lion when we got here this summer and heard that the mountain lion family are still neighbors as well. I don’t intend to walk with a shotgun (I’d probably injure myself) but, I found a big stick that I walk with when I am alone. It won’t do me any good if I actually SEE the mountain lion, but it makes me feel better.

Posted by Mary at 01:06 PM CST

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Well, I swore I wouldn’t mention the weather again, but I can’t help it. I have to talk about the fog because it is such a big part of life on the coast of Maine…especially Downeast Maine. Acadia National Park, which is in Downeast Maine, is one of the most awesome places in the States. Our friends from Boston joke about visiting it. They were telling their children how beautiful it was explaining the various islands and the blue water. They had to describe it to their kids because they couldn't SEE it! If you want to live in this wonderful part of Maine, you have to put up with the fog. I was chatting with one of the lobstermen at church this morning and he was trying to explain to me why we have fog when we do. It is something about the new moon and tides. I tried to at least LOOK like I understood, but I still don’t get it. Anyway, we have had fog since we got here two days ago. It made it easy to get the cottage cleaned and ready for summer. I have finished cleaning. It can be sunny now.

Posted by Mary at 05:44 PM CST

Monday, June 16, 2008

It would have been very helpful yesterday if I could have carried water the way these women carry water, maybe I wouldn't be so sore today. We had a terrible storm here Sunday morning that knocked out our power for nine hours. Because we have a sump pump in our basement that depends on electricity, it also went out. We bailed water out of the sump pump for about eight and a half hours so that the water wouldn't overflow into the room. We have finally learned our lesson. We are getting a back up sump pump and possibly a generator! It was a father's day we will never forget! We leave for Maine tomorrow and should arrive on Friday.

Posted by Mary at 02:08 PM CST

Saturday, June 14, 2008

While I am not a big fan of Georges Seurat, I do love this particular painting. I think it is probably Seurat's most famous painting. It is amazing to me the way he achieves this look. He uses a technique called pointellism which are just dots of separate color that then builds up the image. It reminds me of needlework somewhat! This type of painting is best viewed from a distance so you can truly appreciate what the artist has done. Even though this is a river scene in France, there are many beautiful riverside scenes here in the States as well. The Mississippi River on the Iowa and Illinois border is really beautiful. Unfortunately, in the midwest many of these rivers have caused a great deal of damage. While we had a massive flood in our town last August, I think this set of storms have been worse generally for a wider part of the midwest. When we leave for Maine, I am putting my files someplace secure. I just hope I remember where that secure place is when I get home!

Posted by Mary at 06:49 PM CST

Thursday, June 12, 2008

There is a web site I love that has primitive paintings. The artist is from New Hampshire and her work is wonderful. These are two of her pieces. You can see more of her work at her web site,
http://www.theprimitivemuralist.com
I also wanted to let you know that my passion for right travel has led me to add another section to my side bar. Take a look! Hopefully it will provide you with some tips and products that can help when you travel. As I said earlier, you always need more money and fewer clothes!

Posted by Mary at 02:40 PM CST

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

My husband and I just returned from visiting his mother for a week. We will be home for a week before we leave for Maine. I am beginning to have very definite ideas about travel. First of all, you always need fewer clothes than you think (and a lot more money!). While I have always been a big fan of black, I think for travel it is a must. With the airlines charging for suitcases now, it is great when you can take only a carry on bag. The travel wear black pants, dress, and jacket, plus colorful tops, belts, and scarves will do the trick for any place you go. Throw in a pair of shorts, casual tops, and sneakers and you're ready. I feel like an expert traveller! I am actually going to add another section to my store on travel. It will be on the side bar soon. Why the picture of horses? That's the way I'd like to travel to Maine, but by the time we got there we'd have to turn around and come home. At least we'll be driving this time, and not flying!

Posted by Mary at 04:21 PM CST

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Believe it or not, my husband and I are leaving again for a week! We are going to see his mother. Since I will be in an internet free zone, I will have to do without the internet. I will return next Monday.

Posted by Mary at 12:01 PM CST

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Since we arrived home yesterday, we realized that it has stopped snowing in Chicago and our back “garden” looks like this! Not really, it actually looks worse. I hope you have had a chance to go to my “How to be English” shop on my side bar. It was such a fun thing for me to put together!

Posted by Mary at 01:22 PM CST