Terra Nova Design

DoubleBoba Headed for Spain!

2011-11-04T00:00:00.003-04:00

After the huge Nor'easter snow storm on October 29, that led to 5+ days without power....we finally have electricity again.
...and.... it's just in time for me to run off to Spain! Yes... I'm headed to Madrid tomorrow. Come on over to my new blog, DoubleBoba and follow along!

NYC thru my Eyes

2011-10-27T07:50:00.006-04:00

New post over at DoubleBoba about my recent trip to NYC.

.....and next week I leave for Spain!! Come on over to my new blog DoubleBoba.com to take a look!

New Posts Over at DoubleBoba

2011-09-21T00:03:00.002-04:00

Still following me on Terra Nova Design? Then you are missing my latest posts!
I've moved over to a new blog DoubleBoba
Come on over!!
http://doubleboba.com/

Transition to a new blog space

2011-08-29T20:30:00.002-04:00

The time has come to transition my blog over to Word Press.
You can find my new blog, DoubleBoba, at
http://doubleboba.com/

Hurricane Irene Heads North

2011-08-27T18:18:00.004-04:00

Today is Saturday, a week before Labor Day weekend. This is prime time to prepare for the arrival of the UMsss students later this week and the beginning of classes the day after Labor Day

I had planned to go into the office this weekend and move my things into my new space but Irene has changed all that. On Friday UMass announced that the campus would be closed all weekend due to Hurricane Irene, who is making her way along the east coast and looks to be following a more westerly route than usual. Although she is "only" a Category 1 hurricane right now (and may decrease to a tropical storm, before hitting New England) the winds and heavy rain are expected to cause significant damage and power outages.

So, instead of prepping for Fall semester today I "secured" my lawn furniture, re-filled my oil lamps and caught up on the laundry. Overall, it feels like prepping for a winter N'easter, when we get hit with 2+ feet of snow, except it is hot and humid.

Honestly, I'm hoping it will largely fizzle out before it gets to the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, but I'm not counting on it. I'm also hoping that on Monday my garden (house, neighborhood etc) all look pretty much like they did today.

If you are in the path of Irene, stay safe!

Storm King Art Center with Jess

2011-08-15T12:39:00.004-04:00

Last Friday Jess and I took a trip over to the Hudson Valley in NY state and visited Storm King Art Center. What an incredible place! The sculptures, the vistas, the fields and rolling hills. The day was complete with blue sky and puffy white clouds which certainly enhanced the experience. Fabulous!!

It was also great to have a little time away from the rush of daily life with Jess, who -- in just 4 weeks -- is headed off to Europe for 2 months. She and Ben will travel through Ireland and England, see Paris and backpack in northern Spain. Then Jess will spend a month in an art residency in rural Spain!

While we were at Storm King her $2000 Kickstarter challenge, to cover some of the residency expenses, was met! That became a wonderful reason to celebrate!

You can follow Jess here, if you would like to keep up with her posts before, during and after the residency.

The following day she and I went to R & F Paints and the the artsy, antique / vintage enclave of Hudson, NY. More on that in my next post!

Two Blue Gates - the painting and ours at Sweetside

2011-07-29T16:29:00.007-04:00

I made a trip over to the Berkshires to my mother's for her 88th birthday last week. It was really fun to be able to take her out to lunch at Panera, where she had never been, and to share pictures and information about the lives of her grandchildren via their blogs and websites etc.

While there I also undertook a project she has wanted to do for some time, namely to re-paint the frames on two of her oil pantings, changing them from the yellowed-white to her favorite color - blue. One of these paintings was the Blue Gate painting done by my paternal grandmother, Margaret Brunjes, many years ago. As I mentioned in a previous post, this painting, of a scene in Rockport, Mass, was the inspiration for us painting our new gate, here at Sweetside, blue. I took a picture of the painting, sans the frame as it was still drying

Here's the painting....and here's our Sweetside blue gate.

Seek Your Course!

2011-07-23T15:31:00.005-04:00

Ever thought it would be fun to take an art course but can't find anything at your level or anything interesting and/or affordable near where you live? Well, let me tell you about an awesome way to do it.

eCourses!!!

I recently took an art eCourse and it was great fun. The instructor, an artist in England in this case, provided regular input via the her website, including a weekly video clip. The people taking the course did their work and then we shared our efforts with each other via a Flickr photo sharing group. We were able to see each others efforts, comment on them and encourage each other..... as did the instructor. It was great!!

And now there's a way to FIND all kind sof opportunities like this, from photography, to wirtintg and painting or sculpture or fiber arts...the list goes on. There are tons of things available for you to discover by browsing Seek Your Course

If you decide to take one of these art eCourses....please tell me about it!!
And let others know about Seek Your Course.

No Time to be Squeemish - Pine Sawfly

2011-07-15T15:48:00.008-04:00

It has been unusually hot this summer and I've spent little time in my sunny main garden, preferring instead to work in the back shade area where I am planning some new projects.

It's still hot but far less humid so today after work I ventured into the sun to do a little deadheading. One of the shrubs in the sunny garden is my lovely little mungo pine which is tucked into a section by the small pond, just to the left of the image above, in the blog header.

Lately I had noticed some browning on Mr Mungo but assumed it was from the extremely hot weather we've been haivnng.

But.....

As I wandered over there for a closer look...horrors... I saw that dozens (I mean many dozens) of Pine Sawfly larvae were munching en masse on several different clusters of needles. Many needles had two larvae attached, face to face, enveloping the entire needle. AGH! Looking even closer I saw that many branches were devoid of needles and several sections were brown and dead looking.

Well most all of the larvae have now been sunk in a bucket of soapy water, along with a few Japanese beetles from the nearby roses.

What a nasty job.

I'm sure I did not get them all so I'll have to keep a close watch on Mr My Mungo who now has many bare and brown sections.

Hopefully his needles will come back. Does anyone know if they will??

Blue Gate of Amherst

2011-07-11T21:42:00.008-04:00

It's been a while coming -- but -- it's DONE!

It took us 3 weekends to build, paint, hang and attach the latch -- to be exact.

But, Amherst now has it's own
Blue Gate

Take that Rockport!

Seriously, we built our fence, slat by slat, 3 years ago but now, it needed a gate so I will not have to worry about my little dog Mia running across the street to the park to play with her puppy friends. She thinks it is her job to be by my side when I am gardening because we all know I might get lost out there (!) but, she also loves other dogs (and chasing squirrels) hence my caution and -- the gate.

Back to the Rockport reference.

In Rockport Massachusetts there is a house with a view of the harbor and the white picket fence has had a blue gate for many years. It has become a well known spot for painters, including my own grandparents, Henry and Margaret Brunjes, over 50 years ago. Next time I go to my mother's house in the Berkshires I will take a picture of the oil painting of Blue Gate that my grandmother did many years ago.

As we were building our gate I had the idea to paint ours blue (the same blue as our house...with just a hint of purple in it) so Amherst would have her own Blue Gate. In this case, just down the street from Emily Dickinson's house.

Emily Dickinson's Bluebirds

2011-06-12T07:09:00.005-04:00

Before you thought of Spring
Except as a Surmise
You see - God bless his suddenness-
a fellow in the Skies
Of independent Hues
A little weather worn
Inspiriting habiliments
Of Indigo and Brown-
With specimens of Song
As if for you to choose-
Discretion in the ritual
With gay delays he goes
To some superior Tree
Without a single Leaf
And shouts for joy to Nobody
But his seraphic self-

Emily Dickinson

Listening -perhaps- to the descendants of Emily's neighborhood songsters on this rainy June morn.

(image from fotopedia.com)

Before and After

2011-05-05T22:47:00.006-04:00

Before and after...a child's desk and chair for a special little guy's 4th BD.

Collage Table: Version 1

2011-04-23T17:57:00.004-04:00

When in Chattanooga recently I found this small table with a removable glass top. There was one like it in my childhood living room and I hadn't seen once since. So, of course.... I brought it home. Today I arranged a selection of family pictures, from about 1984-1991, under the glass for after Easter dinner viewing. I plan to paint the table over the summer and brighten it up but couldn't resist using it this weekend.

Sweet Magnolia!

2011-04-18T16:18:00.004-04:00

Sweetside Garden is smelling sweet indeed as the Magnolia is in full bloom. If the predicted rains come, they may end it's display prematurely but for today, it is lovely! It is always such a wonderful, welcoming sign of to Spring. My gratitude to whoever the gardner was who planted it decades ago.

new role: tree doctor

2011-04-10T20:26:00.006-04:00

I just couldn't give up yet. Today I went to the Hadley Garden Ctr and asked Tom what I could do to try to save my Japanese Maple that was seriously damaged by the winter storms. Three of its main arching limbs are torn away from the main trunk but they are not totally severed so, it's worth a try. On Tom's recommendation, I tied the branches up to take the weight off of them and bring the tear back r together. In the largest of the 3 limbs I drilled a tiny hole and used a screw to connect it to the main trunk. Then I applied black tree goop to the cracks to keep water out (which can cause rot). So, we'll see. I am not terribly hopeful. Apparently it might leaf out but when it needs to draw nourishment up from below, there may not be enough intact surface area to get what it needs.

I guess many people had damage to their Japanese Maples this year.....too bad, they are so lovely and grow slowly. On the positive side, the scilla and daffodils have begin blooming and the Magnolia buds popped! I got all the oak leaves raked off the main garden and it's beginning to look like Spring. Yay!

Baugh!!! Winter damage to garden....

2011-03-27T14:53:00.004-04:00

Here in New England, as elsewhere, this winter was the worst in a long time; it really has been a trial in many ways. It finally looks like the coast is pretty clear for Spring to slide in....but, this weekend, when I was able to walk around my garden again, I found three seriously damaged or destroyed plantings that really put me over the edge. The heavy snow and ice has damaged my calycanthus BUT worse still has destroyed (!!) my climbing hydrangea as well as my much loved Japanese maple, the centerpiece of my primary garden. One more big check mark on the "Reasons to Move to a Warmer Climate" list......

(no: I have not had the heart to take any pictures)

Unravelling - A Spring Journey

2011-03-26T23:31:00.005-04:00

Just started an online course called Unravelling that is run by British artist Susannah Conway. The assignments are a combination of writing and taking photos. This week's photo assignment was "feet." The class, 160 people from all around the world, has a common flickr photo stream where we can upload as many as 4 photos per week. It is amazing the variety of ways people interpreted the prompt. Here are the 3 that I uploaded: (1) inspecting my water garden -- still frozen! (2) sitting out back waiting for Spring, and (3) playing fetch with Mia

Smitten by the Loft Design of Jimmy Schonning

2011-02-16T23:59:00.002-05:00

I'm finding myself hooked by loft design lately. If you are intrigued, clear 30 minutes from your schedule and check out the gallery on the Swedish designer Jimmy Schonning's website. Exquisite!! It's described as "synergy between theater, song, visual arts and design." I say -- Yes Please!

A Little Valentine's Day Needle Work

2011-02-13T22:13:00.008-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year I had decided to make something for my adult children to use in their homes. But, what to do? Poking around my studio for some inspiration, I came across vintage napkins with needlework borders. I had recently purchased these with the idea of further embellishing them and creating pillows. Yes! This would be the perfect project for Valentine's Day. I started out with 2 of the napkins and outlined each with an image from my Fanciful Felties book by mummysam. One is a fox which resembles Poppy, A & L's pup, and the other an English cottage for J & B who live in a cute little hillside house with a lovely view. The back sides of each pillow are graphic fabrics that coordinate with the colors in each of their homes. How about you? Did you create any Valentine's gifts this year?

Natural Ice Sculptures in Toronto

2011-02-09T23:58:00.002-05:00

Outstanding images of natural ice sculptures on the Toronto waterfront can be seen here. Almost makes me want to hop in my car and drive on up there. Beautiful!

Felt Bird project

2011-02-06T13:19:00.002-05:00

For Christmas my artist daughter Jess gave me the book Fanciful Felting from mummysam. I've been working on this cute little British milkman bird. Here it is with some of the main sections embroidered. It is close to being completed now and when it is, I'll post it here. What are you working on these days?

Trading Post Treasures

2011-01-29T16:51:00.003-05:00

My friends at the Trading Post in Amherst, Louise and Gina are having a sale! I stopped in and came home with a van load of fun pieces to quench my creative thirst. Now, for a little time to get things underway..... and I think I need to build myself a spray booth. I can't say when, but eventually you'll be seeing some "Before and After" shots here on Terra Nova Design. To fuel your curiosity, here are some sneak peaks. Check back!

I'm Adoring Adore

2011-01-28T22:49:00.004-05:00

Yes, I have discovered a new magazine to Adore! It's named just that, Adore and its from Australia. What's even better is that it's fully online, with all 126 pages of its fabulous ideas and gorgeous photography. This issue is the British issue full of all things Brit inspired. Makes me long to return to England -- hopefully this summer. My fav section of this issue though begins on pg 46 with an article called Vintage Shopping! Ooolala! I'd love to spend some time (and cash) in these shops. Check it out...what's your favorite section?

Playing with Red Blue and Yellow

2011-01-22T14:15:00.006-05:00

It's about 8 degrees Fahrenheit out there! What better to do on this frigid day than begin Judy Perez's online Color Theory class? I ventured down to my sun-filled studio, cleared off my old slate printer's table, got a out all the supplies and jumped in. I've never worked with Setacolor paints before but they are lovely! I'm really looking forward to using them on fabric. Judy's work - hand painted fabrics - amazes me. Today, I got started by building my color chart with combinations of Red, Blue and Yellow. Such fun you can have with just these 3. I used two red, two yellow and two blues....and look at al the beautiful variations that emerged. Isn't color wonderful? After the chart was completed I had little puddles of color on my palette that couldn't go to waste. So, I painted myself a little bit of Spring. It' a hopeful garden scene for a day like today. It makes me smile.

Aluminum Leaf on Furniture!

2011-01-21T22:52:00.005-05:00

Oh, I do think I feel a project coming on! Last week I was at Mass MoCA and saw 2 artists working on an installation. They were applying what looked like silver leaf but told me it was aluminum leaf, which is significantly less costly. Hmmm....my interest was piqued. There's just something about leafing that has always drawn me in. Then, tonight i was catching up on reading art and design blogs and followed a few links to find myself at this Little Green Notebook post that jumped out and I heard that internal voice speak, saying "You must try this!!" So, sometime soon, I imagine I will do just that. Not sure when, as the new college semester just started but, I'll post some pics when I do.

Snow Day in Amherst Mass.

2011-01-13T00:22:00.013-05:00

Finally we have snow! I think this may be the largest snow fall we have had in some years.... looking at at least 20" in my driveway. We took a couple hour stroll through town, stopping at the Freshside for lunch. Quiet, peaceful and absolutely beautiful! A sampling of the 100+ pictures I took include: our house (Sweetside), Emily Dickinson's statue (her house is in our neighborhood), me standing in front of a huge snow pile in town that appeared over night, the beautiful Congregational church across the street from us, our snow covered deck, view from our living room bay window (a maple), snowy bench and info center on the town common, our puppy, Mia, on Main St, view headed into town from our house and a couple of pics of the Snow Alien in my garden (aka, the spot light that illuminates the large wreath on the side of the house).

Work for Free?

2011-01-12T20:03:00.004-05:00

I don't know about you but I am one of those people who puts so many hours into my "job" that my hourly rate (if I dared to stop to figure it) would be less than I made as a babysitter back in the 70's. I am also a sucker for doing things for free (or at least I was, when I still had at least 1 hour available to me each day). I'm not knocking doing things for free.... indeed, I think it's an essential part of being in the human family but, sometimes I need to stop and think more carefully about when and how. Anyway, I think that is why I love this Should You Work For Free chart by Jessica Hische so much.

Until next year......

2011-01-11T21:04:00.004-05:00

Taking down the Christmas tree is always bitter sweet... sweet because it is a time to recall all the memories, from this past Christmas as well as the decades of Christmases that have gone before. Many of our ornaments have been with me for years, like the little blue snowman that I received when I was in kindergarten in the early 60's (yes, I am really that old!). Quite a few were acquired when our children were young, though many of "their" ornaments have followed them to their homes now that they are both married and have their own trees to decorate. Some of the ornaments here have joined us since we moved to this house, 4 years ago. The "bitter" part comes because I am putting them away for yet another 11 months or so. There are a couple of my birds that I leave out year round but most of these sweet little memory prompts are now packed away, with dozens of Christmas balls and other decorations - safely tucked into the attic until some time after Thanksgiving 2011. Goodbye little treasures, until next year.

Skating at Puffer's Pond

2010-12-27T19:32:00.004-05:00

Though it was very windy and cold, we had to get to the clear ice at Puffer's Pond before the snow arrived Sunday eve. So, Sunday afternoon found some of us up at Puffer's with the pups. Pictured here is my daughter Jess, jetfuellines.wordpress.com
and DinL Lauren, with my pup Mia and Lauren and Aaron's pup, Poppy. Both puppies are from A Place to Bark, www.aplacetobark.blogspot.com in Tennessee. Two of our family's four sweet rescues from the awesome artist - Bernie Berlin.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T11:07:00.009-05:00

We celebrated a wonderful Christmas here at Sweetside with a dozen family and friends - Baird and I had pumpkin waffles in the morning before the kids and their spouses arrived at noon and we exchanged gifts. About 3PM the kids' in-laws and families arrived a for dinner, desert, a game of "name that tune" with Baird as DJ (game won by Ben) and a walk through Amherst College. No snow on 12/25 but by 12/27....the ground was white.

Open House New York!

2010-10-12T23:06:00.010-04:00

This past weekend I was able to go to NYC for my fourth Open House New York (OHNY) event. The kickoff weekend event was a reception at the penthouse of the Centurion....not in my budget but gorgeous.

My weekend included 2 walking tours- Battery Park City and NYU/Greenwich Village, as well as a talk atop a theater roof, about their living roof (garden) in the East Village and another talk by KleinReid ceramics.

Walking around the city always results in my camera being full of images that grab my attention, from the couple strolling along in their wedding attire to the new construction at the World Trade Center site and the Belgian block streets in the mews at Washington Square.

There's just so much to enjoy in every direction.

Before hopping on the train back home, I checked out the indoor carnival at the Armory on Park Avenue. Filled with little ones and their parents, it was a venue packed with excitement and joy.

Of course any weekend in NYC means great food and this was no exception. Add to that the perfect Fall weather and it was a weekend not soon to be surpassed.

The Chairs en situ

2010-10-03T22:36:00.003-04:00

We were back in Lynn today and I got a shot of the chairs en situ. A and L's new place is looking lovely.

A passion for chairs

2010-10-02T00:49:00.010-04:00

My mother says that ever since I was a small child I've had a love for chairs (OK...and shoes). I recall finding child sized chairs, in a variety of stores, carefully selecting my favorite and sitting in it hoping my parents would agree to take it home. Over the years, several of them made it to the check out lane and into the car. My old rocker is now in my adult daughter's possession. I think it is the only one that remained in the family all these decades.

These days my atelier has quite a selection of old chairs waiting for me to love them back to life with paint and wax.

Late this summer my son and his wife (the newly weds) moved to a new place with a dining room. I had helped them resurrect a table left by the roadside last year but, now they needed chairs. The hunt began! I soon found a set of 6 on Craig's List and drove my trusty (rusty?) old Mazda truck to East Springfield and carted them home. The wood was lovely, only needing cleaning and waxing. The seats were another story altogether! I had to discard all of the old horse hair and straw innards. Disgusting doesn't begin to tell the story. I sneezed and itched for days. After hand washing the old tapestry seat covers I deemed them too scratchy to sit on and set them aside for some other project down the road. Accompanied by my trusty pup, Mia, the seatless chairs and I drove the 2 hours to their new home. With the perfect fabric selected, we recovered the seats and immediately put them to good use. They look like they were with the table from the beginning. Great fun; I think they will be in the family for some time!

Lynn, Massachusetts

2010-08-25T23:57:00.006-04:00

I was in Lynn recently visiting family. One evening we went to Lynn Shore Drive and walked along the ocean. It was beautiful to begin with but then, as the sun went down, there was a sunset that was beyond fabulous.

Sweetside in Early June 2010

2010-06-13T20:30:00.008-04:00

A few pictures of the updates at Sweetside. I used my trusty old Mazda pickup to bring home 3 loads of awesome compost from UMass's Tilson Farm as I established a new bed out front consisting primarily of hydrangea, rhododendron and azaleas. My sidekick Mia kept me company as I hauled and hefted the treasured dirt. Then, our friend Julian was here for several days helping with many tasks including finishing the brick patio that overlooks the southside garden and stream. We've had many heavy rain storms, even some fairly extreme lightening and wind storms so far this month. I could do with a little less rain but I do like walking through the garden after its over. I particularly love the a way the giant hostas collect the water in their many folds.

Sweetside on Google Satellite

2010-06-13T20:12:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wondered if your garden is visible on Google Satellite? I had never thought about it but, recently someone showed me Sweetside! This image is from Spring 2009. I can tell the year by the status of certain projects. It is after June 2008, as the fence has been built and the fire-pit is there but one telltale indication is the brick patio, which has stone dust but no brick in the picture. I started the brick June 2009. I also can tell it was early Spring because the magnolia tree is in bloom but nothing is else is yet showing signs of life. Overall, I think ti is pretty cool to see my yard from space, but then...it is just a little bit creepy isn't it??

Sweetside Garden Late May 2010

2010-06-06T20:52:00.014-04:00

It may be late May and hence "Spring" but according to my garden we are fully into summer here in Amherst, Mass. As with many gardens in the area mine is about 3 weeks ahead of schedule. The fringe tree, which spans 30'+, was amazing this year, spreading its perfume throughout the entire neighborhood. It, along with my abundant iris are long since gone. My Rugosa roses have passed and the peach climbing rose is fully in bloom as are the clamatis and pitcher plants. The day lilies and water lilies are just starting to pop. We've also been finishing up the brick patio on the south side and are re-grading the BBQ/picnic area out back. Since I missed posting the first round of blooms I will do so here, with more to follow.

The main bath......

2010-02-07T16:09:00.007-05:00

The main bath here at Sweetside is pretty much done (is any renovation really done???). It was in process for a couple of years. We started the work on the first day we owned the house, ripping out the old shag carpet (yes, shag!), first thing. Ewwww....

. We pulled out the huge old tub and gigantic old vanity and well....everything right down to the plaster walls. ) It now has a great old clawfoot tub, installed here on the diagonal. It was salvaged from a Boston brownstone that was being "renovated." Gotta love Craig's List. It's now painted metalic blue. Most of the room is calming browns and tans so the tub provides the "spark." The soap holder next to the tub is an old dragon smoke stand. It holds a tea light candle set in sea glass, in additon to the bar of soap.

Many of the accessories in the room are from my favorite little used furniture and novelties shop in town, the Trading Post.

Tiling the little bathroom...

2010-02-07T15:11:00.005-05:00

For some time now, we've be renovating the little bathroom on the lower level of our house which is where our art workshop is located, as well as the exit to the backyard, gardens firepit, BBQ and so forth.

I am in the final stages of tiling, with Ben's assistance. Yesterday I spent 4 hours working on the floor. There's a dozen or so places that still need special cuts and then it can be grouted. Laying floor tile in this little 6 'X 6' space requires one to be a contortionist. I am stiff today.

Getting pictures in this tiny space is also tricky.
The first pic is the shower head/shower walls, pic 2 is the corner showing the shower base (the curb still needs tiling), and the third pic is the floor where the pedestal sink will be. The floor is the brown tile; the shower walls are parchment color with a row of accent tiles at eye level.

I'm no pro at this but I think it is coming out decently well. Ben will be back later this week and hopefully we'll wrap it up.

Getting ready for backyard parties and summer wedding visitors. Yay!!

Wedding Preparations

2010-01-24T16:35:00.004-05:00

A few days before Christmas our son, Aaron got engaged! He and is fiance Lauren will get married in July. This past week we got together and made Save the Date cards. It was lots of fun and they came out really well!

A Day on the North Shore

2010-01-24T16:01:00.010-05:00

As one of my Christmas gifts, Jess and I spent a day on the North Shore. It was snowy and blustery but we still made our way out to Woodman's on the Essex causeway. Despite the seawater water flooding the road and a circuitous detour, we enjoyed awesome fried clams and scallops. Then we went to Topsfield where we enjoyed an afternoon at Absolutely Everything learning to make Zentangles.

This Zentangle is by Rick Roberts http://www.zentangle.com

Eighth Night BBQ

2010-01-24T15:02:00.004-05:00

This year we did our best to celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas. I think we found ways to celebrate most of the Twelve. On Eighth Night we hosted a gathering at our house "Sweetside" putting our new Rotisserie to good use! We roasted chickens over our open fire in the backyard, and cooked up chili and corn muffins as well. Our guests contributed a variety of other items to the table and we had quite a feast!

Jack-O-Lantern Day!!

2009-10-25T18:29:00.004-04:00

We carved while the dogs played. It was a beautiful Fall day. What's more to say? Thanks Aaron & Lauren!

"The Jet" Turned 25!!

2009-10-24T18:39:00.011-04:00

Last week was the big bash at Chapin St.
WooHoo!! Lots of friends, cotton candy, Ben's hard cider, lots of great food, campfire, pumpkins and yellow mums. The yard and house were all gussied up for the event. The pups all had a blast too!

Trading Post YAY!

2009-10-24T09:50:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I managed to squeeze in my first trip to the trading post in weeks. Lots of fun seeing Louise and Gina and plenty of treasures found. May have to stop back in today.... don't seem to have come home with the maps I had in my pile.

Open House New York

2009-10-12T22:31:00.011-04:00

Note: click on pictures for larger image!

For the third year in a row I was at Open House New York this weekend. It was a great time, visiting 8 "Open House" sites in 2 days.... and countless others sites along the way like the dog park in Washington Square Park where we socialized for a bit. Some of the OHNY sites were places not generally open to the public like an amazing private residence and other sites are places open but where someone gave a special talk about the design of the place, such as the lighting design for the new High Line, for example. We also had fun with Athena and Trevor, including some great arugula pasta and a meal at the wonderful Oscar's in Brooklyn.

Here's the list: Spice sales at 5th Ave street fair, fountain at Lincoln Center, the Warner/CNN bldgs at Columbus Circle, B & C at High Line, T & A at High Line, street musicians at Washington Square Park, one of our large furry friends at the dog park, roasting corn at Washington Square Park's street fair, Washington Sq. Park arch and pool, B in Edward Hopper's studio, view of Hopper's studio, 2 views of Illy Push Button House (aka a shipping crate that "pops" into a 5 room "house"), 2 views of the kitchen in private residence in Greenwich Village.

New job devours the rest of life..but it's GOOOOD!

2009-10-02T22:53:00.006-04:00

I have a new job... in addition to teaching (3 courses at UMass this Fall) I am also the Director of Community Service Learning at UMass. I started the new job the first week of August, on 3 days' notice. So, there went my summer. It's great though..... a wonderful opportunity for me and a chance to spread the news about CSL and to hopefully expand on what we have already built at UMass Amherst. I have been setting up the new office (literally) moving furniture in, acquiring computers, getting phone installed, working with a tech person to set up a new web site, setting up social networking, designing brochures ...you name it. I've also been meeting with many people about ways to expand the number of courses and students in CSL and working to expand out community partnerships as well. We held the annual Community Service Fair last week and had an interview with the NYT's the week before Just today the NY Times sent a photographer to one of our Holyoke meetings to get pics to go with the upcoming article in Education Life (out in late Oct). So, life is incredibly full...to the brim and overflowing.... but... it is all good.

London Here We Come!

2009-06-18T21:31:00.004-04:00

I'm sitting here in the Halifax airport on a layover, using Lauren's little Acer Aspire. By morning we'll be navigating London's Tube and by evening we'll be at Shakespeare's Globe theater seeing "As You Like It." The itinerary is: London, Bath, Bristol, Oxford and return to London. Lots to see and do. I brought both my video camera and my regular Canon and hope to have some great things to post when we return!

Fast forward to summer??

2009-04-24T16:32:00.015-04:00

My camera died about a month ago but I have a new one now - yay!
Today it is in the 70's and over the weekend it will be in the mid 80's! I guess it is "fast forward" to summer, for a few days anyway.

Here are a few shots of the Sweetside Garden at present.

The magnolia has been in full bloom for over a week now. It fills the neighborhood with it's delicious scent.

Mia is enjoying being outside in the garden with me.

The patio awaits it's brick surface. Sooooon?

Last Friday I cleaned out the stream and pond and we re-installed the pump so it is before May 1 and the stream is running again. The birds love it.

The pitcher plants are waking up in their little bog area.

The fence made it through it's first winter just fine.

The tulips and lilacs are budded and both should be in full bloom soon with all this warm weather.

Mia Arrived!

2009-03-07T17:19:00.003-05:00

Our new puppy arrived from A Place to Bark today and we are smitten! What a sweet girl she is. She was born in September to one of the hundreds of dogs they rescued last year, Gidget. Gidget looked mostly like a Boston Terrier as I recall but this cutie looks like she has Sheltie in her... maybe? She's already made herself right at home, prancing around from room to room, window to window....tossing the toys up in the air and chasing after them. The 3 cats and our beagle, Chloe all seem fine with her arrival. She's going to be a lot of fun, that's for sure.It is difficult work day in and day out, that Bernie and Jeff do at their rescue but this is the third dog our family has brought north from their place and each one is just amazing. Thnak you, Bernie & Jeff and all your helpers.

POP! of Orange

2009-03-02T18:46:00.017-05:00

I love the color orange! I find it overpowering in large amounts but there are little sparks of it in my dining and living room. So after scanning eBay on and off for months watching for a swag light to hang in my bay window when I spotted this orange glass one I placed my highest bid" and held my breath. At the end of the auction, it was mine! It arrived about a week ago and though I loved the orange globe immediately, the wiring needed to be replaced.

So last Friday, when my work week had ended, I scurried over the bridge to Northampton and paid a visit to Sabin's buying 14' of old-school brown fabric covered wire and a new replacement socket.

It wasn't until after I arrived back home that I decided the chain that came with the light was too rusty to use in my living room (it will likely be re-utilized in my garden).

So I had to run out to the nearby big box store for 14' of lamp chain. The silver lining to that trip was that the store had glass pull chain fobs with an amber colored swirl twining around clear glass. It looks as if it was made just for my light so it went into the cart as well.

Then, over the weekend I spent about an hour re-wiring the light. First, I had to get all the little parts that support the large hanging globe onto the wire in the correct order. I'm to embarrassed to tell you how many times I had to re-d o this step. I knew how it went but each time there was one piece or another out of place.

Anyway, finally it was all in line and I wired up the new socket.

The expert at Sabin's had showed & told me, "The plain encased wire is 'power' & goes to the brass screw." I kept repeating that in my head lest I hook up the wires incorrectly. After that was done, I threaded the wire through the chain links and wired up the plug.

Once I mounted a sturdy hook firmly in the ceiling and.... Wa La!

Before & After -

I love the effect both day and night! In the filtered sunlight it adds a some pop to the large expanse of glass and at night it gives that entire end of the living room a warm glow.

A Spot of Purple

2009-02-28T23:14:00.012-05:00

I've been painting most items white or very light green, blue or yellow this winter but recently I had the urge to do a couple of small pieces for my living room in dark purple.

So, "Nairobi Dusk" now adds some pop.

A small table -- a Craig's List find.... had been in sad, sad shape is now embellished with swirls and holds a silver plated tray.

Across the room, a detailed little shelf done up in purple holds a well tarnished silver plated tea pot. These two items "followed me home" from my favorite local shop for special finds, The Trading Post.

Our Atelier Unfolds

2009-02-19T17:46:00.010-05:00

Our new atelier (workshop) is unfolding!
Our 22 year old son has now moved out on his own (about a half mile away) leaving behind a nice space he had fixed up in our walk-out basement.

It sat for empty for a bit as we adjusted to the empty nest but in recent weeks I have begun to transform it into a creative workshop area.... our "atelier."

I am making the nice space he had renovated into the art & sewing area and transforming the still unfinished section into a space with various works stations for carpentry, wood working, painting, even metal work perhaps???

For those of you who love before pictures...the top 4 are a few taken just as he began to renovate it (2+ years ago)... and the bottom 3 are "now" as I make the inevitable mess that comes with it's current transformation. Hopefully there will soon be some "after" pictures showing some emerging order to the chaos.

Some new acquisitions

2009-02-01T19:14:00.007-05:00

We've been laying the ground work for setting up the new art and project studio space on the lower level of the house; our "Atelier" maybe?

There are several balls in the air for this project from tiling the little bathroom to switching the carpentry area and art areas around, creating more storage and getting a lot of junk out of there! Lots of it was "planned' for January break but since I taught and B went to TN, well, not much happened. So I am working on it in bits and pieces, resigned to the fact that some aspects of it will likely have to wait until June when the semester is over. But then, May and June are the height of the gardening season so I am really trying to make headway during the winter months.

This week I acquired some fun pieces for the art area.

One is this great tabouret I bought from a local artist who is moving to Australia (lucky!!). He built this himself a number of years ago and has obviously used it well. I love the fact that the pigments and medium cover much of the horizontal surfaces. Perhaps some inspiration has been passed along with the piece. There are several great drawers for storage too.

Another section of the studio will be a sewing station. On Saturday I was over in the Berkshires and found this great wood storage cupboard that will help me keep thread and other do-dads organized. Oh...and....it came half filled already! I haven't decided if I'll paint it. Likely I will, since it isn't really nice wood and I want to integrate color into the space.

There are a few other additions too but the Super Bowl is on so, I'll share more another day.

More painted furniture.....

2009-01-27T16:05:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of the pieces I've painted for family members over the past month or two.... a yellow and white table & 4 chairs, plus the vintage lamp, I re-wired and re-covered the shade; a light yellow magazine rack; and a light green wardrobe and chest /buffet set. Click on the pictures for larger images.

Furniture Renewal

2009-01-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

In early December something nudged me back into an old groove..... painting old furniture. Years ago I was one of those "strip and refinish the natural wood" people but somewhere along the line I found paint. Some people are appalled by the very idea., "Paint wood furniture???" but not me; I love paint. I have painted every room in all 5 homes we have owned (at least once!) and have painted plenty of furniture over the years as well..but...I had not done so in quite some time.

In December, burnt out and bleary eyed from grading 100's of college students' papers... I began acquiring old pieces to "renew." I ended up doing several pieces for family members for Christmas and a few for my own house as well. Truth be told, there are currently several pieces around in various stages of renewal but, that it part of the fun.

I'll round up some more pictures and post them, but this is one piece I "found" on Craig's List. I drove to the seller's house at the start of a snow storm at dusk. We trekked through the snow to an old chicken coop out back. This lovely piece had been stored there and was looking quite forlorn. Here is is, almost complete, in the corner of my bedroom. I repaired damaged sections, sanded, clamped, primed, and painted. Some reproduction vintage paper was added to the back. Now it needs 2 new shelves added and a few other details to be complete.

Momma went shopping......

2009-01-05T23:40:00.001-05:00

Yes.. it is true! In a little over 3 weeks we will have a new puppy at Sweetside. We are not sure of what mix she is but her mom was a Boston terrier mix. Obviously... her dad was something else! She is 3 months old, about 5 lbs, very playful, affectionate and fluffy. She is also "sassy" and incredibly smart according to Bernie and Jeff from A Place to Barks. They are the ones who rescued this puppy's mom, Gidget, who back in September had a litter of 10! We have not chosen a name for her yet... but she now has a lady bug t-shirt, a maroon jacket with embroidered flowers and covered buttons and a warm red parka -- two toys, a collar & leash and a bowl.

Merry Christmas All!

2008-12-27T11:25:00.000-05:00

Yes... it is still Christmas.

For all of you who think it ends at mid night on Dec 25th, today is the Second Day of Christmas, with tonight being the Third Night of Christmas and the Twelve Days culminating on Epiphany, January 6.

Our Twelve Days began splendidly on Christmas Day with our family here at Sweetside (our home in Amherst) with many gifts exchanged and a feast that included lobster tails and scallops. Mmmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmmm.

Then we had a great Second Night (last night) welcoming about 25 family and friends. We made Christmas Chili, cooked over a bonfire outside and had a toasty fire and an array for food inside as well.

We also welcomed our new grand-dog, Basil (bah zil) from A Place to Bark, of course!! He is an incredible sweetheart and very smart. He loves to play/wrestle with his big sister Lexi, another A Place to Bark pup who joined us last Christmas, and snuggles up for long naps with humans or our cats and elderly beagle, Chloe.

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Third Night (tonight) is the annual Brew Party over at Chapin Street and Monday it is over to the Berkshires to see Nana and my siblings.

All great fun!!

Hope you are yours are having a wonderful holiday season!

Pictures include: Firepit scenes; Jess and Lauren in a snow storm getting Basil (formerly Fred) from the transport folks; Baird with Lexi, Basil and Chloe; Aaron handing Basil to Ben (who was a bit in shock for a few minutes, that Jess actually DID get him the puppy for Christmas!); Aaron with Chloe, David with Lexi and Ben with his new baby Basil (nicknamed "Bud"); Lauren napping with Basil.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS ADORABLE PUPPY WAS HOMELESS, STARVING AND IN-LINE TO BE "PUT DOWN" ONLY 4 WEEKS AGO ??? WHAT A CHRISTMAS FOR HIM. PLEASE...IF YOU ARE GETTING A PET... ADOPT A STRAY!

Off to cut the Christmas tree today.....

2008-12-07T09:05:00.000-05:00

I see my blog still has one of the last flowers of the Fall gracing my most recent post. Oh dear!! Well, last night we had our first snow (only about and inch) but that garden does look different. Today we go to get the Christmas tree so....pictures later, if all goes as planned!! Meanwhile, here is a pic of recent work done at daughter Jet's as well as a picture of some recent leaf raking fun at our house with some of the UMass students from Engineers Without Boarders.

Whoa! Where has the month gone??

2008-10-12T23:14:00.000-04:00

I am back to teaching at UMass - Commonwealth College - with five courses again this Fall...and..... I have no idea where the past month went!! I do know that this week is mid-term week and my pile of papers "to be graded" grows each day - even tho I grade what can each day the pile doesn't get smaller until late December.

The groggy bees are gathering the last of their pollen. The leaves are turning, the flowers are fading and I unplugged and put away my stream pump today before it gets really cold. I miss the babbling brook already. I'll have to take some pictures of the silenced stream tomorrow! I forgot today.

I know that some time this past month my attic got insulated with icenyne (expanding foam) and that my new gas furnace got installed this past week.

I also seem to recall a trip to NYC for Open House New York! Was that just last week? It was a blast seeing little known places and private homes & studios that you would normally never have the opportunity to view. I just downloaded my 300+ pictures tonight! Here are a few - enjoy!

Pumpkins at a market in the fabulously renovated old Nabisco Bldg in Chelsea. Right near the new Apple store!

"Trailer Park" was one of the many Flux Tour stops we made on Saturday as part of OHNY. It is literally a park in an old trailer, parked in an asphalt "park" in lower Manhattan.

The famous Graffiti Bldg in Queens, just over the river from Brooklyn - an old factory filled with artist studios and covered in spray paint art - "graffiti" which is constantly being worked on.

And a 3 story courtyard garden in a private home/office architectural marvel located in Tribecca.

It is Verbena Time!

2008-09-07T17:42:00.000-04:00

John over at Wiseacre Gardens recently posted about his visit to my garden. He pictured one flower that he could not recall the name of ---- Verbena bonariensis! Right now Sweetside abounds in its glory! Both the new ones added this Spring and the ones that re-seeded from last year stand above the 99% spent day lilies at 3' - 4' tall, bobbing in the wind and attracting butterflies like crazy! Wonderful September color and movement!

Also adding color to the Fall garden at Sweetside are the Anemones and the bright orange Canna both located at the head of the stream.

A Wiseacre Delivery!

2008-08-19T23:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a blogger's highlight here at Sweetside as fellow garden blogger John of Wiseacre Gardens came from Upstate NY to Amherst making a special visit and delivery of a fabulous rock for my stream. A detour threw him off and the trip took much longer than he anticipated but he persisted and eventually found his way here. In 4 years of blogging this was the first time I have had the opportunity to meet someone I've "met" thru the blogosphere.

Thank you John!

Once I find the perfect spot for the lovely rock I will post a picture of it in its new home.

Now...off to Maine for a few days to wrap up a busy but great summer! UMass begins in 12 days and next week is one prep meeting after another. I am hoping for a beautiful Fall to carry me through. I'll be headed out to my favorite local farm stand to buy Fall mums and add their splash to the landscape soon!

Private Gardens of Stockbridge & Lenox Part 3

2008-08-13T21:04:00.000-04:00

Meetings and planning for the fast approaching school year are ramping up so... please forgive the delay since my last post.

Now back to my blog tour of the Private Gardens of Stockbridge & Lenox as seen in the recent Garden Conservancy's Open Days.

The third house & garden we visited was the Garden of 1826 Pease-Lincoln House in Stockbridge. The original gardens here were designed by Daniel Chester French and have been expanded by the current home owners, to extend all the way to the Housatonic River at the back side of the property.

Closer to the house are more formal, traditional gardens and statuary.

As you journey further along into the woodland area and down to the river, the design becomes more causal and whimsical.

Along the river, tucked into the bushes, is a tea house and a row of great birdhouses off all sorts. Multiple paths and loops draw the viewer into various side gardens including a peaceful area with hammock and another with a small firepit. So much to see...so little time. Definitely a delightfully different garden experience.

Sweetside Garden in August

2008-08-10T21:40:00.000-04:00

I know I'm due for another installment in the "Private Gardens of Stockbridge and Lenox" series I began earlier this week but I want to pause to show you my gardens as they look this week -- New England in early August. This is when my echinachea plants are really showing their stuff. These plants were divisions off my ones at my former home, just two years ago. I was shocked by how huge they were last year and are incredible again this year. They stand about 4' tall and are full of blooms.

Isn't this a sweet picture? I was taking care of my grand-dog, Lexi this week. She really likes the stream, although I think she prefers the mountain stream at her house with its mud bottom where she can splash around and really dig in.

Here's a picture that shows some of my phlox and a bit of the new patio on the south side overlooking the stream.

Since we added the picket fence this year I decided to add some annuals to the outside of the fence, towards the road. The cleome's are surely eye catching.

I also grew 3 morning glory plants along the fence. I know I might regret it as they are rather unruly and reseed so prolifically but I have such fond memories of growing them as a child and with my own kids when they were young. These were propagated by a local nursery and have a rather unusual color I think. Maybe that will be what redeems them. I love how they have manged to weave themselves through the holes in our fence.

As I wrap up tonight, here is a picture of the stream taken from the bottom, near the little pond. The plants have grown so large you can hardly make out the winding 30' stream and cannot see all of it from any one spot... but...that after all was the vision.

Private Gardens of Stockbridge & Lenox - Part II

2008-08-05T09:05:00.002-04:00

The second garden we toured as part of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days last Sunday was also in Stockbridge, just down the road a piece from the first one -- Fitzpatrick's Hillhome. This estate was designed in 1918 and the gardens were created from 1933-1935. This location of this garden is stunning! Perched on a hillside with a westerly view of the Berkshire hills, the heavily terraced property has fabulous views and oodles of stonework, to which I am particularly drawn.

As you come down the curvaceous driveway you see the front of the house and hear the lovely sound of water trickling in the fountain across from the front door.

To enter the rest of the property you must pass through a doorway in the brick wall.

Step through this passage and you have enterred a gardner's paradise! To the left there is a long lawn edged on one side with large yews and on the other with a delightful border garden.

An opening in the far hedge with the hint of a brick structure draws one to adventure across this lawn. Upon arriving at the brick covered terrace structure one discovers a lower terrace with a fountain (shown here) and a upper terraced swimming pool (behind & above the covered terrace in this picture)

From the fountain area there is a pea-stone path leading back towards the house, down one terraced level from the main lawn. From here you can view the house up to your right.

As you continue along you come to a fork in the path -- to the left you wind steeply downhill to a lily pond under a willow.

The right path takes you over to the east side of the house where there is a folly resembling an old ruin.

The stones were carried here piece by piece from an old mill that was being dismantled in West Stockbridge.

Exiting the folly one comes back to the terraced lawn just behind the house with comfy chairs for relaxing and taking in the peaceful vista.

Lemonade and cookies were also provided!

Private Gardens in Stockbridge & Lenox

2008-08-03T21:47:00.000-04:00

Today was the Garden Conservancy's Open Days in the Berkshires so B and I journeyed west an hour or so to see what they had to "say" to us.

In short --all four of today's featured gardens were absolutely stunning!!
On view today were: the Brown Garden, the Fitzpatrick's Hillhome, the Garden of 1826 Pease-Lincoln House (gardens designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French, of Lincoln Monument fame) and Foothill Farm (near Tanglewood).
This last home & garden held a personal surprise for me but that will have to wait a few days as I want to share one garden & house at a time so as to not rush through it.

Tonight I will begin with the first garden we viewed -- the Brown Garden in Stockbridge. The blurb says the house was built in 1823 and sits on 25 acres. The current gardens have been in development since 1980.

As one comes down the pea-stone driveway you glimpse the first of the wonderful Berkshire Hills views.

To the right is the house with impressive marble steps at the main entrance and a wide, enclosed porch that wraps around 3 sides of the home.

The south side overlooks the well landscaped backyard with its Berkshire Hills views. It is dressed in crisp blue and white stripped awnings. A sweeping double staircase leads from the house, through the porch and down to the garden.

Behind and below the house is a walled garden, more formal in style and beyond that, slightly downhill to the south and to the west, are additional, beds.

To the west of the house is a well landscaped and very natural looking swimming pool, a small water-garden feature, a stone BBQ pit and a putting green.

There is a hot tub in the circular open porch (behind the BBQ 9n the picture) with gorgeous views.

The wrap around enclosed porch is home to several cozy seating areas and displays of luscious potted begonias. Tucked away on the north side of the porch is even a ping pong table! I spotted a dart board as well. In addition to greta aesthetics, someone at the Brown House apparently has a playful spirit.

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our tour - the Brown Garden in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Come again soon to see Parts 2, 3 & 4 of Garden Conservancy's Open Days in the Berkshires.

Little Feet in the Garden!

2008-08-01T08:53:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday my mom's 85th birthday party was held at Sweetside. Twenty-seven members of my immediate family were here, including all 8 of her great-grandchildren. It was hectic (especially when the huge thunderstorm blew in!) but so much fun to see everyone here and especially to see the little children enjoying each other and playing in the garden! The stream was a huge hit as one might expect. Children and water...they seem to go hand in hand.

Jess took almost 300 pictures, mostly close ups of various family members which will be wonderful for everyone to have. Here are just a couple that show the garden in full use.

Sigh..... aren't the rewards of digging in the dirt just splendid?

Garden Conservancy's Open Days - Sunday!

2008-07-31T08:15:00.001-04:00

I am planning to go to the Garden Conservancy's Open Days in Stockbridge & Lenox, in the Berkshires this Sunday. Sounds amazing. Will post pictures -- check back! (pictured here, Brown Garden - Stockbridge, from Garden Conservancy web site)

Stormy Days

2008-07-27T22:37:00.000-04:00

We have had day after day (and night after night) of major thunderstorms and high winds for over 2 weeks now. My garden has been holding up OK...tho I lost 2 huge clumps of shasta daisies in full bloom as they were flattened by rain and wind. I count myself fortunate compared to many others.

Just today I took these pictures of our friends' house, right after the most recent storm blew through. Our son is dog sitting while they are kayaking and island camping for a week -- out of cell range! This is what he found when he went over today! Four big maple trees down! He called and we headed over to see what he was describing. By some miracle, the house was not hit, nor either of the 2 sheds.

The first photo is looking at the back of their house with the trees just a couple of feet from the back wall.

The second is what should be looking at the path to their back door! You can't even see the entryway!

One big double-trunk tree was blown over and it took out 2 other big trees on it's way down. All 4 trees are intertwined and hung up on each other. I can't imagine how someone will manage to cut it all down without doing damage to the shed on one side or the house on the other side. It will be quite a challenge.

Their poor dog is fine but he must have been terrified during the storm.

Newburyport

2008-07-25T23:27:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we hopped in the car and went to Newburyport for the day. I didn't take many pictures but this one of the draw bridge open for the boats caught my eye.

Summer Rest

2008-07-06T23:18:00.000-04:00

Today was a beautiful day and to top it off we had a couple of hours with Sarah & Andrew and their son, our godson, George. As you can see, the "boys" decided the shady fire-pit area was a good place to take an afternoon snooze.

Garden Tour --- Yeah!

2008-07-03T14:55:00.000-04:00

The Amherst Garden Tour was last Saturday and it went fabulously well. Our place was Stop #4 and we had 176 adults and a couple of children pass thru in the 7 hours. We had worked hard the past few weeks to finish up as much as we could, even hiring a few high school and college students to help haul stone dust and pea stone for the paths and fire pit area out back. The garden fence did get done (!!) and even the fire pit area came together that last day, and tho there were plenty of little details undone (ex- the house was all primed but not all sections had the finish coat) no one seemed to be concerned. Since the garden was billed as "a work in progress" ...and the garden itself looked pretty spiffy, the people seemed delighted. The visitors seemed to like what they saw and were especially amazed at what had been accomplished in the 2 years we have owned the property.
I have about 70 pictures but here are just a few...

Back to Work!

2008-06-14T00:16:00.000-04:00

We are home from Quebec and back to work on the yard & garden (and yes...our "real" jobs as well). The Amherst Garden Tour is in 2 weeks. Yikes!! I finished staining all 175 (+/-) pickets today. What a tedious job. Tomorrow I hope we will get most of the fence up. Stay tuned for more pictures of the fence in the days to come. With all the hot weather the plants are weeks ahead of schedule. I hope there is still something blooming the day of the tour.

Ohh...but, before I go!!!

2008-06-05T00:24:00.000-04:00

Oh..but before I leave...Let me share a picture of our big stump removal event. We had a huge old apple tree right in the middle of the back yard that was very tall but had hardly any branches and only a few leaves on one section. Branches were falling to the ground and hitting our deck.....so as you saw below, we finally had to take it down. Then Tuesday the stump removal guy came and ground up the remaining 4' tall and 45 " diameter (at the base) trunk and roots down to 12" below grade. I have never seen this done before. It was very noisy and quite impressive.

Do you like my magnificent Fringe Tree in the background? It sends its amazing fragrance all over the neighborhood this time of year.

Off to Quebec

2008-06-05T00:13:00.000-04:00

Just enough time for a quick post.
We're headed up to Montreal for the wedding of our friends Chris & Nathalie and then to Old Quebec. Will post about the trip and more house & garden happenings when I return. Have a good week!

More Progress

2008-05-31T23:05:00.000-04:00

This past week we made significant progress on many fronts! More scraping & painting has brought us to the point of 2 sides being almost all primed.
We also custom cut the fence pickets at our friend Jeremy's studio -- Jeremy is pictured here helping us get it set up. It took us 3 night sessions to get all 160 of them cut - a 6 step process.

And here it is as we began installing it today (it will get a second coat of solid, white stain, after it is all up). We have 2 sections out of 12 done.

Also this week, son-in-law Ben came and helped us cut down a huge old and mostly dead apple tree.

Then our son, Aaron came the next day and cut it all up.

I also got quite a few of the annuals planted. I use these to fill in empty spaces and add height & depth to some areas. In addition, I planted 16 large pots. Pictures of those soon to come - they don't look like much right yet.

It's Coming Along

2008-05-26T18:00:00.000-04:00

Slowly but surely, things at Sweetside are changing!

Catching Up!!

2008-05-21T20:40:00.000-04:00

Oh my...the past few weeks have just flown by. It 's the end of the semester and teaching 5 courses has meant that my days have been packed with classes, meetings, and of course..the dreaded grading. I've barely read any blogs in the past 3+ weeks and as you can see I have not posted either. There is so much to catch up on and of course many garden blooms have come and some have gone by already. I have found a few pockets of time here and there to work on the garden a bit but I am behind where I wanted to be at this point I hope to do a lot of catching up these next few weeks before the Tour. Many things are started...but... it all needs to be finished! The new picket fence is underway...most of the posts are now in place. The house is power washed and we have just begun scraping and priming (see blue/grey on left side of window, above). The new pea stone paths out back have also been started. We had the UMass Engineers Without Boarders group come as part of their fund raiser for the upcoming Amazon Project and they helped with the fence and hauled a lot of pea stone for us (third pic). Yeah!!

For my Emily's Garden readers.... I apologize and promise I will post more Dickinson garden pictures very soon!

Grief Work

2008-04-28T08:52:00.000-04:00

After losing our sweet kitty Surely last week, our labors in the yard became a good form of grief work, helping to pass those initial days of missing her. Baird worked on putting in the fence posts for our new picket fence which will go around the south side garden that is abutted by sidewalk on 2 sides. I did various clean up projects and helped him with the fence posts a bit. On Friday I took the day off and tackled the picnic table, sanding it and re-staining it colony grey. We have a long way to go in the next 7 weeks for the Tour but, I think we've made a good start.

Surely 4/8/04 to 4/24/08

2008-04-24T18:10:00.000-04:00

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life."

Our sweet, 4 year old Maine Coon, Surely, lost her battle with lymphoma today.
Surely -- You were a good kitty and we loved you lots! We all miss you. Rest well sweet one.

Emily Dickinson's Garden Week 3

2008-04-23T08:37:00.001-04:00

On Monday I strolled over to Emily's garden, this time with my "grand-dog" in tow, as I was dog sitting for a couple of days. We've been having a heat wave here in Massachusetts....no joke..it is supposed to be 80 today and I am already having to water my garden! So, in the past week the plants have been growing like ... well... like weeds. Emily's garden has still not had its Spring cleaning. I am not sure what is up with that. Amherst College (which owns the Dickinson properties) has a gazillion grounds workers and wonderful landscaping. They must be focused on getting their campus ready for graduation weekend or something. If I wasn't so busy getting my own garden ready for the Tour, I would go over with my rake and do some guerrilla gardening. Have you heard of the global guerrilla gardeners' activities?

Well, I digress. In Emily's garden the magnolia was blooming, the tulips we brilliant and a large (cherry??) tree was in full bloom. In several places the foliage of Bleeding Hearts had gone from barely peeking out of the ground to about 8" tall in one week. This week is another hot one here so stay tuned for pictures of next week's Spring happenings at Emily's.

Maggie's Splendor - Part 2

2008-04-20T19:20:00.000-04:00

On Friday I had showed you my huge old Magnolia at it's peak.
On Saturday AM I couldn't help but take another picture -- since the clear blue sky morning showed off her beauty even more so than the day before. I was disappointed that I missed a photographic "first" for me...... a perfect picture of a bright red cardinal amongst all the white blossoms but.... another "first" was to come my way.....

Not long afterwards, as I was staining fence sections in my back yard (UGH!! enough said about that endless task!!) ...... my husband came to say, "Honey, grab your camera & come quickly!

There is a wedding party taking pictures at the Magnolia tree!" Sure enough this bride and her photographer had also noticed "Maggie's splendor" on their way to her wedding ceremony at the church across the street. They were kind enough to allow me to take a few pictures for my own record of this historic occasion. A bride in my garden! It was a first for me, but it makes me wonder how many other brides may have posed there for pictures in all the years the tree has stood?

Maggie's Full Splendor

2008-04-18T22:45:00.000-04:00

My huge old magnolia tree is today at the climax of its bloom for 2008. The whole neighborhood is awash with its sweet perfume and since my garden is in the center of town, across from a town park, people stop at least hourly, to smell, take pictures or even sneak a blossom. Who could resist?

I've also put my new "garden tool" (aka truck) to work this week buying compost, potting soil, 2 rhododendrons and... the biggest news..... my new cedar picket fence for around Sweetside Garden (the sunny beds,facing south, with the 30' stream). Tomorrow I will start staining it white and maybe the proverbial "we" will get a couple (?) of post holes dug. There are 12 sections to install and a couple of gates to build.

I still hope to put up a tall board fence along the back property line for privacy, but that has to be phase 2 or 3.

Spring Visit #2 to Emily Dickinson's Garden

2008-04-14T21:39:00.000-04:00

Today marked my second visit this Spring to Emily's garden.

As I strode along the granite stepping stones toward the garden I could see there were no striking changes to report. The snow drops have passed and the crocus are on their last.

The tulip leaves are quite tall, but no tulip buds are yet visible -- perhaps next week.

The shaded granite bench in the far corner of the garden looks to be a pleasant place to rest and ponder come the heat of summer, but for today, the entire area awaits it's Spring cleaning.

My magnolia tree, 2 houses to the west, has begun to bloom. The shaded one at Emily's Homestead, though covered in buds, has not yet burst to reveal its gentle petals. And the lilac hedge separating the carriage house from garden is lightly tipped with green. In another few weeks I imagine it, laden with blooms.

Spring at Sweetside Garden 4/12/08

2008-04-13T17:20:00.000-04:00

It's finally Spring here at Sweetside Garden in Amherst, Massachusetts. A good dose of warm weather, interspersed with some rain, has led to many buds popping and blooms opening. Here are a few scenes from around my garden this weekend. Red buds of the maple, as seen just outside my kitchen window. Magnolia bud popped (I love their fuzzy buds). The south facing garden bed, top dressed with MooDoo. And, Scilia in the front yard, under huge maple tree.

Aha! I've Been Tagged

2008-04-12T17:22:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged by Jess of Jet Fuel! Jess is seen here at left.... Thx Jess!! I've never done this before so...here I go...

Tagged
11 April 2008 by Jess

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 4 things in these themes
4. Tag 4 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website

Four jobs I’ve had:
Bookkeeper & florist assistant, in a florist shop (my first job, I was 15-17)
Diagnostic Social Worker & Therapist (still)
Gardener
College Instructor (Now)

Four movies I can watch over and over:

I'm stumped....
Sorry, I almost never watch a movie more than once.

Four places I have lived:

Dalton, Ma
Scotia, NY
Ipswich, MA
The Pioneer Valley (Northampton, Shutesbury, Amherst, MA)

Four TV shows I love:

30 Rock!!!!
Ugly Betty
House
Anderson Cooper 360

Four places I have been on holiday:

Brazil (many years ago)
California
Italy
Toronto
(I've been to Israel but is was for a course not really a holiday)

Four of my favourite dishes

Blueberry pancakes with fresh, warm maple syrup (OK..yes..I like bacon with it too)
Strawberry shortcake (fresh of course, with whipped cream, in 2 more months!!))
BBQ steak
Almost any Stirfry

Four Web sites you visit daily:

Blotanical check out my favorites list there!
Moss Hill, Joanna's (art & journal site)
Nina's (art & journal site)
Misty's (art & journal site)

Four places I would rather be now:

Wow.. a month ago this list would have been long but warm weather is here and I am in my garden every chance I get. So I like being home.
In colder weather... hmmm..
The South of France.....
Mexico, visiting off beat towns and collecting local art.
England touring the gardens
I'm looking forward to going to Toronto and Quebec City in June

Four bloggers I am tagging:
Carol, fellow garden blogger at May Dreams Gardens
Joanna, my artist blog friend at Moss Hill
Joey, another fellow garden blogger at The Village Voice
Ewa, a garden blog friend in Poland at Ewa in the Garden

First Spring Visit to Emily's Garden

2008-04-11T00:42:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, or recall from previous posts, I live 2 doors up from the home of Emily Dickinson, which is now a museum.

I've recently become inspired to visit her garden weekly and chronicle it's changes over the coming months, here on Terra Nova Design. To that end, I went the other day and took pictures of the early Spring at Emily's. Here are a few of the views to pique your interest. Enjoy!

They are: One of me, sitting with "Emily." Snow drops along the garden path. A view of the house from the garden. And the sky as seen through the branches of a giant tree that Emily would have viewed from her window and under which I imagine her lying in the shade watching the leaves blow in the breeze of the warm summer days.

My New Garden Tool

2008-04-05T15:20:00.000-04:00

There are many useful garden tools in my garage but one that had been missing for some years was a truck. Yes, a truck. I am not one to buy a couple bags of compost and a few bags of bark mulch and call it a summer. I tend to buy mulch and compost by the truckloads and plants and shrubs and..... well you catch my drift.

My trusty Honda Civic has been a pretty good little "truck" and has carried way more that its share of garden stock but this year, with the garden tour slated for June and some bigger projects in store, we decided it was time the family had a truck again. So over the past 2 weeks we have been looking at and test driving an array of such vehicles. On Friday we brought home this Mazda. The extra cab and 4WD are luxuries but I am sure we will out both to good use. I'll be sharing the truck with my 21 year old son but something tells me that much of the summer, he'll be driving the Civic and I'll be gardening with the truck.

Love's Cool

2008-03-29T22:50:00.000-04:00

Last summer I had the good fortune to be selling two old oak library cabinets just when a wonderful young baker from NYC, named Kelli Bernard, was looking for the same, to hold tea at her then "soon to open" new tea house in the City, Amai. Last week when I was hopping about the City I stopped into Amai for my first visit and tested out one of the many the teas as well as several of the wonderful tea infused cookies. I have to say, the tea was great and the cookies were fabulous. The lemon ginger (made with lemon and ginger teas) were my personal favs. I brought home a variety of little 3 packs for the family to try and everyone loved them. Amai has been nominated for Best New Tea House in NYC! And yes, one of the library card catalogs is prominently on display, holding the huge variety of teas, and the humble cabinet from Amherst even got its own mention in a recent New York Times Travel section article on Tea Houses in NYC! This is probaly the closest I will ever come to being in the NYT... Remember, you read it here... lol!

If you have any interest in baking with teas, check out Kelly's blog, "Love's Cool" where you will find links to a variety of blogs featuring such recipes.

Last weekend Kelli did a demo at the Macy's Flower Show on cooking with teas. I am sorry to say I missed it by a couple of days. I am sure it was wonderful!

Macy's Flower Show - NYC Part 2

2008-03-25T08:44:00.001-04:00

Last week I was fortunate to be in NYC during the Macy's (in store) Flower Show. I have been to many flower shows but never one integrated into a busy store. It was very crowded but I was able to take a few pictures to show my blog visitors. There were flowers on the top of all the display islands and in large planters all around. The displays ranged from Spring bulbs to tropical paradises. I wish I could have captured the wonderful scent and publish it on my blog, especially for those of you still experiencing snow and cold but anyone who has walked through a greenhouse in bloom can conjure up the beautiful aroma for yourselves. It was quite the sensory feast.

Green is the color of..... LIFE

2008-03-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

Angela over at Cottage Magpie had the idea for us all to post about being "green" in celebration of Spring. I was out of town for a couple of days (see my previous post for my first news of my NYC trip) and hence I am a bit late to arrive at this challenge.

As an avid gardner "green" is one of my favorite colors of course, but...really the issue is about being "green" as an environmentally conscious gardener.

There are the obvious things of course: avoiding the use of chemicals, planting gardens that do not require a a lot of water and so on..... but my mind went elsewhere for this blog response.
As you see from my blog post below, I was in NYC this week. One place I went was Eyebeam. The exhibits there were all related to preserving the environment. Check it out for tons more info and links.
Going green is about a lifestyle; it all ties together in one way or another.

One exhibit at Eyebeam was Green Maps Systems which "promotes inclusive participation in sustainable community development around the world, using mapmaking as our medium." Lots of great info and wonderful new icons too!

I also learned more about web based carbon footprint trackers and calculators. Such as this widget to calculate the carbon footprint for your BLOG plus ways to buy carbon credits to offset your blog's footprint. Check it out -
Blog CO2 Footprint Widget

Just Back From NYC

2008-03-22T11:05:00.000-04:00

WELCOME TO SPRING and HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

I was down in NYC for a couple of days and returned with lots of pictures and much to tell. Here are a couple shots to wet your appetite. Check back soon; I'll be back later with more to show and tell.
Plus, while I was a way, I was "tagged" by Melanie, of Old Country Gardens so, I have to think about what oddities about me, to share with you all. Hmmmmm.....

For now, here are a couple of pics of Central Park on the First Day of Spring 2008. Hellebores in bloom and one of the many stone bridges, this one in the south eastern section of the park.

Delighted All Around!!

2008-03-18T21:48:00.001-04:00

Before I jump right into the latest garden update, let me tell you 2 other things I am delighted about tonight.
I am delighted first about my new newly designed blog. The banner photo is of my pond late last summer. The creative spirit behind the new blog design and banner is my daughter "Jet" who is an artist and an 8th grade science teacher. Two fields that require a tremendous amount of stamina in addition to creativity. She teaches over 100 middle schoolers every day and also hand silk screens and embellishes women's t-shirts and makes furniture from recycled objects. Sound interesting? You can see what I mean at b and j greene".

Thanks Jet!

I am also delighted by Obama's speech today. No matter who you plan to support for President, this speech today is one that is long overdue. The conversation, hard as it may be, needs to be started and our nation needs to find ways to move forward on the issues of race and class. I teach college students who need to understand these complex issues and who need to see my generation leading the way to making progress on these issues. We discuss these matters in my classes. My students mentor children of immigrants right here in our town and partner with highly impoverished people 25 minutes away from bucolic Amherst, in the poorest city in our state and one of the poorest neighborhoods in our country! We must talk and act. Our nation will not be a "white majority" nation for much longer; race and class issues abound. If we do not find a way to walk forward together....then.... divided we will fall.
* Disclaimer: I am fully supportive of Obama's campaign and have been since before he announced he was running. However, I think this matter transcends my support of Obama

Now, on a topic more in keeping with this "design" (mostly garden) blog...
I am delighted that hubby and I raked the leaves off half of my sunny garden beds today and uncovered freshly sprouting perennials. Yeah...Spring really is arriving this week. I am not totally ignoring the forecast for more Wintery mix tonight...Spring still has 2 more days to make her stand!

Purple tips... could it be.... CROCUS?

2008-03-16T22:15:00.001-04:00

I went outside with our beagle, Chloe, last evening just before dark and there, alongside my driveway, under one of my large maple trees I spotted some green sprouts with.... could it be???? I stooped for a closer look as the dog pulled me up the driveway... but.... yes... indeed it was true... the sprouts had purple tips! After the dog did her "thing" I grabbed my camera and got this shot. The dusk and flash didn't make for the best shot but I just had to post it and let all my blogging gardening friends know. The first display of 2008 Spring color has arrived in my Western Massachusetts garden.

Earlier that day I had gone with friends to the bulb show at Mt Holyoke College. It was the next to the last day, but there was still much beauty on display. Taking in the fabulous colors and sweet fragrances was enough to carry me over for a couple more weeks.

Turtle Anniversay

2008-03-15T00:17:00.000-04:00

Last year around this time, my 3 turtles arrived. The idea was to put them in my water garden for the summer months but since they were so small and the water garden did not end up being completed until late in the season, they have been in an aquarium in my study all this time. They have really grown, but this is how they looked the day they arrived. The 2 little ones were about 1.5" diameter and the "bigger" one was about 3" diameter.

It is raining again with still nothing new to show in my garden (ho hum) but this is Spring Break week at UMass which opens up a couple of days for regional trips. That should provide some fodder for the blog posts in the days to come. Stay tuned!

What My Garden is Not Doing

2008-03-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

Here pictured are my water garden with an embedded oak leaf and my Spring bulbs. I am working very hard to resist a strong pull towards jealousy as I cruise around the web looking at people's beautiful emerging Spring time gardens. So, I thought I would post some pictures of what my garden is NOT doing and perhaps shame Mother Nature into sending some warm weather my way. At least enough warmth to thaw my stream & water garden or enough to rake some frozen oak leaves that fell onto one part of my garden after the first snow and have been frozen in place ever since. If Mother Nature digs her heels in and continues sending Arctic winds my way, Spring may finally arrive somewhere around May Day. Ugh!

Ah well, truth be known, viewing others lovely Spring blooms does give me hope, even if I am a little green with envy.

Embellished Rustic?

2008-03-10T22:42:00.000-04:00

Blue Fox made a suggestion to check out the fences at Kim's Creations. Take a look! She has some very creative ideas! I have been surfing around her web site and found some slightly rustic but nicely detailed fences that I think could work out in my back yard under the huge pine trees. This is one example here. I think it might go well with the pine trees & picnic area out back and not be overly rustic.

Great Ideas!!

2008-03-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful surprise this morning to wake up to 5 comments and several great suggestions related to yesterday's post (scroll down if you haven't seen my plea for help!).
As Layanee says the wrought iron would be unreasonably pricey for my budget and I admit it is too fancy for the style of my house I think...though the neighboring towns are known for their Connecticut River farms and lots of corn!
I hadn't thought about a formal cut split rail. I grew up with one of those. I'll have to think about that. I like the wooden "picket" fence idea but maybe with the flat tops not the pointy ones? A little less"countryish?" Same with the stockade idea (I am not into the pointy tips). But I think something along those lines may be right on. Hadn't thought of dark green. hmmmm... or maybe staining it a gray that will complement the slightly funky gray blue that the house will be. Off to UMass to teach now but later I will google or flckr for pictures. If anyone has any additional ideas my blog "ears and eyes" are still open!

Thanks!

Fence Conundrum -- What to do?

2008-03-05T20:57:00.000-05:00

HELP! My yard needs more privacy. We need fencing...but what exactly do I want? What would be the best choice? I am wrestling with what to do. (pictured here, "corn stalk" fence in garden district of New Orleans, courtesy justanuptowngirl, flickr. I'd love this!!)

Our property is in the town center, set back from the Main Street, just behind a small lovely town park.

My side yard garden (seen here) is separated from the park by a small access road. It is south facing and is highly visible to foot and car traffic. This is where the sunny stream bed and garden are located. This area needs a small fence to give a sense of separateness from the public spaces around us but which does not block the view of this more public aspect of my garden.

On the other hand, the back yard feels like a more private shade garden with a row of huge old pine trees along the back property line and a big maple tree in the center of the area. I have shade gardens here and have planted a dozen or so rhodys and hydrangeas. In this area we have a picnic area, a terraced patio area and a small back deck. It is peaceful, shady and feels secluded...except for one big thing..... just beyond the 100' tall pine trees is a 4 story brick elderly housing complex. Our yard is separated from that building by a 4' chain link fence, owned by the complex. On their side there is a walkway and a small green space. In addition, beyond the trees on the far side, there is a small parking lot. So, although this area feels serene the reality is that dozens of apartments look out and down onto our yard (tho through the pine branches). Additionally, the pine trees do not have branches on the bottom 10-15 feet, so the yard is actually totally exposed to the chain link fence, complex walkway and the first floor apartments. This area needs a fence that provides more substantial privacy. But I don't want it to stand out or make a huge statement of its own.

As you can see........I need help!!

Here are the things I am factoring in:

Style Issues:
The side yard needs to be open and airy feeling while the back yard needs to create privacy and block some sound. The "style" of town center is moderately historic New England. Emily Dickinson's house (museum) practically abuts our property. On the other hand, our house was built in the 1950's and is a one story, mid century house that was "colonialized." We are downplaying the colonial aspects.... ie we removed the eagle above the front door, will soon paint it "November Sky" a slightly funky blue-grey instead of white. Oh, and every other house around us is 1800's Victorian.

Durability:
The fences need to be fairly durable as there is a lot of pedestrian traffic near the side garden, potential people horsing around and crashing into it as there are many college students around us. The few neighborhood school kids' bus stop is on our corner. Out back, kids sometimes play ball and other games on the walkway so it may get some "abuse" from that.

Cost:
It needs to be reasonably priced. We are doing many renovations to this house and have other things we want to spend money on. The fence is not the highest priority for expenditures. We have some skill and availability to build and / or install it ourselves so it seems wood is likely to be the material of choice.

Ok..that being said, what ideas, suggestions, pictures do any of you have to throw into the consideration pile?
My blog ears and eyes are all yours!!

Leave your comments/suggestion. Send your garden blog friends over to add theirs!
Remember, my garden is on the annual Tour in June. Yikes!!

Spring is in the Air

2008-03-04T08:18:00.000-05:00

We had about 10" of snow again last Friday-Saturday but yesterday the sun was bright and today it is supposed to reach 50 degrees.
Later today we are forecasted to have a 24 hour rain front move through so perhaps...maybe...could it be..... dare I say... is it true...Spring is in the Air?

Let it be true!!

(pictured here: magnolia bud awaiting spring, along with me)