Things to do, things we do, living in Washington County

People ask me what I do when I am here. "The usual things, shopping , cooking , laundry."" Of Course, they reply"

But I do many many other things. My day generally begins with a quick trip to heaven in the form of a walk . Heaven because I am accompanied but the music of songbirds, the greetings from frogs, and I get to breathe the delicious air around here. Though at this time of the year it can be flavored with the scent of the manure that has been spread on the fields.
I have a couple of rooms in which I can sew, or draw; space that I have here, that I don't have in Sydney.
Michael & I both love to visit thrift stores, yard sales and the like. It is a dangerous pastime.
Michael loves to visit a huge store, near the Supermarket where we sometimes shop. It is called Tractor Supply. ( serious hardware sold here!) Last night, to his dismay , it was shut. But he was consoled by finding, on the side of the road, a shower chair. 'Perfect for me in the barn' And here he is happily seated while fixing a window.
Michael spends a lot of time in the barn, his wonderful Man Cave. With the radio on, regular deliveries of coffee from the kitchen, his needs for a happy day are simple.

But then..... we have visitors. 2 this year..... time to go touring , traveling , sight seeing. This visit we have been to the Bennington Museum ( home to many paintings by Grandma Moses who lived not far from here. We have been to the top of Mt.Equinox  the highest point in this part of the Taconic range.We also visited the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. I love the buildings that house the art almost as much as I enjoy looking and experiencing the art. Read the history of the building. It is a story of so many wonderful old factories along the Hudson. Important in the years when America was great! I had visited an old shirt Factory in Glens Falls a couple of months back, now offering artist and artisanal spaces for a wide variety of creative activities. Its history tells a similar story

A return after a long break!

A long time between posts, but as I am moving away from Social Media, I’m back to  blogging. 

We arrived upstate on the 25th April. Winter was closer than Spring! There had been a ice storm only 2 weeks before we arrived. But I was happy to escape the ongoing heat of our southern Hemisphere city  , and I find beauty in this place all the time, so bare branches were just the promise of things to come. The air was cool and even the heater woke up in the early hours of the morning. 

But I did discover evidence, quite a lot of it, of some home invaders seeking the warmth of our clothing & linen . Mice had been nestling in drawers and closets. people told me how cold and long the winter had been, so after the first find of mouse poo, I was feeling some empathy for the creatures. Lots of washing, cleaning out . But then I stopped  that to prepare for  a Sydney visitor. I do love it when our family and friends comes to share this amazing place with us. As T. was only to be here a few days , we wanted her to see some of the local attractions. On a cold wet day, when Michael was coming down with a cold, we headed off to Bennington to the museum , where we enjoyed the delights of Grandma  Moses’ paintings  and  a lovely  TV interview with her ( done so long ago it was in black and white!). Followed by a drive to Manchester to visit the Northshire bookshop

The water pump failed , so no water for 30 hours till the plumber arrived, and the internet was dodgy so our guest endured a taste of country life , and seemed none the  worse for it! It was sad to see her go on her next adventure.

The house invaders evidence has been remediated , items washed, patched or even discarded . and textiles will be packed away in future.

So then spring turns up , somewhat late and in a hurry, and suddenly we were in tee shirts and complaining that it was too hot. 

Here is the same view exactly one month later.

The birds are busy, the bumblebees are busy, a few scout Monarch butterflies have visited to check out the state of our milkweed ( tardy) . And it cooled down again! In the first week of summer. But summer doesn’t last too long here so Nature is getting on with business , this week the poppies in the meadow are opening, the irises are out and all is good

For now, we are enjoying catching up with friends  and family, and eagerly awaiting our next guest who arrives in a few weeks.