Tag Archives: Art

Northbound!

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Forty Augusts ago, we travelled north to Canada as a newly married couple, visiting Quebec and Toronto and coming back home by way of Niagara Falls. To celebrate the last forty years, we’ve headed north again.

But this time we’ve veered northeast through Maine instead, on our way to New Brunswick and beyond.

First stop, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. . .

It was a beautiful day and the trolls were calling. If you’ve never been there, you may not know about the five (troll) art installations by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. We only saw three of the five, but they were impressive.

Before we found any of the trolls, though, we visited the butterfly house. It’s almost magical standing in the midst of countless butterflies flying overhead, all around, and even at your feet.

So many of the flowers were at their peak of color. Everywhere we turned, the landscape made me smile.

In addition to the troll sculptures, we found some stone creations and other interesting artwork.

We even found evidence of fairies at the end of the Back Woods Trail near the river.

It was a beautiful, relaxing afternoon. I highly recommend you put a stroll through the gardens on your to-do list this summer. And try to find those two trolls that eluded us.

After our visit, we headed to our son’s house in Winterport, just south of Bangor. We spent a rainy night parked in his driveway and the following rainy day visiting downtown Bar Harbor. It’s off to Acadia National park after that. A story for another day.

Any Excuse…

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We received a wedding invitation for a Thursday night in June in Newport, RI. So, of course, we thought, what a great excuse for a van trip!

We spent the first two days in Tiverton, RI, parking in the driveway of my husband’s boyhood friend. Len grew up two doors down from Mark in Wilmington, MA. They ran track together at Wilmington High School in the mid-seventies. He now lives on a steep hill of a street in Tiverton with a great view of Mount Hope Bay.

Len lives about halfway down the steep street. On our first day there, we walked down the hill and through the brush to the water.

Later that afternoon we checked out Tiverton Four Corners, a quaint area with shops, historical buildings, and an outdoor sculpture garden.

On the morning of our second day, we drove to Colt State Park in Bristol, RI. Mark and Len went off in one direction for a run.

I set out to walk along a path near the woods. But I kept stopping, distracted by the birds and the flowers. I got a few photos, but the woodpecker and the hummingbird escaped before I could catch them.

I changed course and chose a straighter path along the water instead.

Mark and Len finished their run (see the re-enactment photo below :)) And we headed back to Tiverton, where Len convinced Mark to try out his electric bike on the crazy hill in front of his house. Yikes!

We finished the day with a tour of Len’s basement workshop where he repairs glass lamps. He also showed us some of his stained glass pieces from his long career as a stained glass artist. He was full of stories about some of the church work he did. And he named all the different styles, colors, and textures of the glass he used.

Then we scooted over the state line to Fall River, MA, to eat supper at The Tipsy Toboggan. All in all, a nice visit. On to Newport tomorrow.

First Month Check-in

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We’ve come to the end of the first month of this new year. The year still feels new-ish, despite some lingering difficulties from 2020. And it’s a good time to check in with our goals and expectations for 2021. (Notice I didn’t use the word resolutions. Goals sound more hopeful, don’t you think?)

Did you set some goals — general or specific, long or short-term, written down or mentally noted — at the beginning of this year? How’re you doing with them? I’m not here to judge, believe me. Instead, I encourage you to ask yourself that question. And if you didn’t set any goals, it’s not too late, you know. Never is. Like I’ve said before, just make them realistic and achievable.

One of my goals is to create new garden beds before this year’s planting season, complete with rodent-proofing. After several design attempts and pricing quotes, I’ve settled on building them myself (with some much appreciated help). The wood has been purchased, other supplies will be purchased soon, and construction will begin in my daughter’s garage (since that’s where the saw is. 🙂 ) It feels good to take steps toward the final goal. Each step is an accomplishment in itself.

I’ve also made progress on some of my writing goals already (although a few have been put off until after the garden beds are built). Today also marks the end of Storystorm, hosted by Tara Lazar, a realized goal of mine in which I had to come up with a picture book idea every day for the month of January. Challenging! And another goal is to create a collage using a new (to me) painting technique. Again, I’ve taken steps in the direction of this goal. (See the photo above.) It’s been fun, stretching my creative muscles! And it’s been a great distraction on cold, snowy days.

Setting goals and reaching for them is worth the effort. However, life is a process, and sometimes goals need to be revisited, adjusted, and refined. That’s ok.  But I encourage you to care for yourself, and those around you, by living with purpose, setting goals and taking daily or weekly steps toward them. Every small accomplishment can be satisfying. And if you’ve taken steps toward one of your 2021 goals, give yourself credit. Celebrate your success. And have a happy new year!