stopped me in my tracks

These blue spruce tips made me gasp today when I came upon them. The irony was that my son and I were out looking for spruce tips to gather for cooking. We were looking for black spruce in particular. But all we kept finding was white spruce and blue spruce. We had checked about thirty spruces by the time I came upon this one. And even though I had seen a dozen blue spruces with new growth tips, this one made me stop in my tracks. Not all blue spruces retain the waxy coating on the needles that makes them appear blue (although it is more common in spring and then fades all summer long). So, when I walked around this tree to the shaded lee-ward side, these blue-green tips jumped out at me as if they were holiday lights. The needles and tips on sunny wind-ward side of the tree were already faded to a dull green. What a fun find!

Blue spruce tips (Picea pungens)

my house smells divine

I have had three trips in the past two weeks. Home for just a day or two between each trip. I’m done traveling now for a while. Whew. What was easy when I was 31, even 41, is suddenly much harder at 61. I same home to peak lilac season. I can’t think of a better welcome. Everything smells heavenly.

lilac blossoms

a family of makers

I am grateful that both my children are makers. My son and his girlfriend spent the day gathering violets, so he could make a batch of violet infused mead. Joseph began making mead about two years ago as a way to use up some of the honey our bees produce each summer. Two years later he is deep down the mead rabbit hole, and our basement is slowly filling with beautiful hand-labeled bottles fill with all kinds of different ferments. I am not unhappy about it.

common blue violet flowers in May (Viola sororia)

broken but still beautiful

This large crane feather looks like it may have lost a battle with a lawnmower blade. I think it is all the more beautiful for it.

sandhill crane feather

survivors

This little random collection of hag stones (stones with holes) from the Mediterranean is one of the few things that survived our house fire. Historically, hag stones were believed to possess magical powers. So that is kind of interesting.

collection of Mediterranean hag stones