Fog and Rhodora Blooms on Campobello Island

The daffodils and tulips and forsythia have passed and now we have copious apple blossoms, horse chestnut candles, and rhodora blooming.  Next up will be lilacs and finally lupines in mid June to complete our Spring bloom here on the Island.  The Eagle Hill Bog is abounding in beautiful blooms right now just calling for photographs made into kaleidoscopes.

Rhodora Colors

Bird in Spruce

Cotton Grass Splendor

Spruce in Fog

Moss and Sticks

Life will be very busy for a few more months with gardening as a diversion.  

We hope to slow down when we get settled in a new location this Fall.  The new location is near an old location for us which we are excited about returning to after 15 plus years.  Hint is the state's name has Mexico in it, but it is one of the 50!  We left a different area of the state around 11 years ago and although we cannot afford to be near the "city different" which is an art capital of the US as well as a governmental capital, we will be in a beautiful area with lots of native americans living nearby.  I expect to be grocery shopping in a native american pueblo as that will be the closest grocery store by many miles.  Multiculturalism at its finest is found in this state and tolerance is part of the culture.

Studio Tour July 18th and 19th in Lubec, Maine and Campobello Island, NB and nearby downeast area

Check out some of our local artists:   I will be in Lubec at Artists Retreat Studios & Gallery and Michael Chesley Johnson will be manning Friar's Bay Studio Gallery on Campobello Island.  Come and visit and learn and buy!  These kaleidoscopes are from a recent visit to Eastport, Maine on the Tarquin.

The Height of Bloom

I have everything from foxglove to Miss Kim lilacs blooming right now in my gardens.  The ferns, chives, hostas, columbines, and heirloom roses are amazing this year.  In fact, everything is especially beautiful this year.  We had plenty of sun AND rain when we needed it evidently.

Begonia in a Birch Bark Planter

Chives!

Very green ferns

Ferns!

Heirloom Roses in Abundance

One of my many hostas

Lilacs, Lupines and Horse Chestnut Candles

The apple blossoms are quickly fading with the large rain yesterday leading to their rapid demise!  However, up next is the lilacs which are very late this year and just coming out nearly in mid June!  The lupines are also making an appearance at their regularly scheduled time I believe.  I need to keep a better blooming diary to be sure of that fact.

 We also have quite a few old horse chestnut trees over 100 years old which have beautiful candles in early June.  They also seem a bit late this year as they have really just come out.  I caught a bee this morning feasting on the nectar or pollen in a candle.  He was quite stunned by the 46 degree morning temp and yesterday's 3 " rain so I had no problem taking his photograph.

All photos taken on morning of June 9th which documents the lateness of the lilacs!

Apple Blossom Time!

On our old seaside farm we have 17 historic apple trees.  When they bloom it is an explosion of color.  This was the week.  It has been cold and rainy for weeks, but then we had a sunny, warm day and it's a spray of white, with a little pink, gray and green!

Apple Blossom Closeup--see all the subtle colors of white

Apple Blossom Colors

Apple Blossom Ring

Apple Blossom Spray

As always, these prints are available, please contact me for pricing and availability!

A Few More Mushrooms

The first frost has not yet arrived, but it is coming soon.  The air is cooler and since we have gotten over 7 inches of rain in the past few weeks, the mushrooms are having one of their best displays in years!  One of the best places to view the mushrooms is in Herring Cove Provincial Park on the trail from the campground to the beach.

Red Sunflowers and Studio Tour Saturday, September 1st

In late May, I carefully put in the ground 45 sunflower seeds from the OSC seed company.  The seed pack for Tournesol Fantasia showed a variety of colors and shapes.  What actually germinated was a row of really tall(over 7 feet tall) red sunflowers!  They made a great subject for my kaleidoscopes...

In the Midst of the Spiderweb Series, I became Distracted with Dahlias

The annual end of summer dahlia spectacle is in bloom at the Roosevelt Campobello International Park at the Roosevelt "cottage" grounds. Every August I impatiently await this spectacle.  I don't grow them myself as they take a lot of care:  staking, removing the bulb from the ground in winter, protecting from slugs and earwigs, etc, etc.  If you don't believe me, read all the instructions on this site for the care of dahlias:  http://www.dahliabarn.com/dahlia-care.phtml.  Luckily there is a platoon of gardeners to deal with the dahlias in the RCIP.

Next week I promise there will be spiderwebs and hopefully a book announcement.

My 30th Post! My brother and nephew at Head Harbour Light

Today marks the end of Family Vacation Week.  My 2 brothers and 2 sisters and their families come every year to Campobello Island to visit with our parent's.  They all stay in one house, including the 9 grandchildren!  Early on in the week we took a trip out to Head Harbour Light and I took a picture of part of the group on the beach which is the access point to the lighthouse only available at low tide.

I decided the next challenge to give myself is to collect my growing kaleidoscope collection and format it into a picture book using lulu or blurb or a similar product.  First I have to decide the organizational system!

Early Morning on Campobello Island

Week Twenty Five.....What and Where is this? 


This kaleidoscope is titled "early morning on the beach". Notice the beautiful shadow on the beach "pebbles".

Early Morning on the Beach

8 by 8 inches, $50 framed

Bog and Rhodora Bloom

Week Twenty Four.....What and Where is this?


This week brought some beautiful days and some foggy days.  On one of the foggy days, we visited the Eagle Hill bog in the Roosevelt Campobello International Park (also know as RCIP) because the rhodora are usually at their peak around the first of June and they were.  The kaleidoscope below shows the bog, the walkway, the rhodora, and give you a sense of the fog:  

8x8 inches, $50 framed

Original photo was this, but I did not include Saba in the kaleidoscope.  She still gets around very well at nearly 12 years old:  

detail of rhodora by boardwalk

 some fantastic pitcher plants I couldn't resist throwing in!