Sunday, July 21, 2013

Summer Rays....

Watermelon Days....

It has been a sultry two weeks!!
Check out these sunset and sunrise snaps. You can definitely see the steamy air in that first one. Smokin!
sunset

sunset

sunrise

A big storm blew through Friday night; seriously nasty wind, rain and lightening. We were without power from 9:45pm until around 3:00pm Saturday afternoon. We hooked up the generator in the morning to keep the fridge and freezer running and had a house fan going to keep it some what cool. Mid-day we met up with my friend from work at her grandmother's camp on Sebasticook Lake. It was so nice of them to have us over with her family. She is on maternity leave; so I got to see that precious baby girl of hers.





I got some stitching done on my Wee Watermelon Saturday morning and I finished the baby buggy (gift for the new mommy) on Thursday night. Hoping to get that to the Framer yesterday but I did not get it ironed before we lost power.
Next weekend.




Finally some cooler temps last night and today. I worked in the yard all day today; mowing, picking up branches, trimming and tending the garden. It was calming to my soul listening to the little pie tins clanking in the breeze as I picked raspberries. It just made me feel grounded. Simple pleasures bring a smile to my face and warms my heart more and more of late.

Fresh raspberries and rhubarb.
 I cut up and sugared eight quarts of rhubarb.
It will be great to be able whip up some rhubarb crisp this winter.
YUM.

The husband and I went on a great hike last Saturday at Gulf Hagas. Beautiful and rugged. I will share a few of the scenic waterfalls and some of the cool fungus we came across on the trails. We did the lower half of the full trail. It was 6.2 miles round trip. Planning on doing the upper half sometime before summer/fall is over.

Katadin Iron Works

We had to cross this river ^ and this creek




swimming hole at Screw Auger Falls

Screw Auger Falls





My man at The Jaw

continue of The Jaw


This is a pool just above the edge from where the below picture was taken.
I am calling it The Mermaid Pool. The light was shimmering all over the rocks and moss; very mystical...

Buttermilk Falls... I took a cool dip in this pool. Glacial dip more like it!!


On the way back... we made it Babe!!

We both thoroughly enjoy our vacation with the Navy Girl and had never felt more relaxed and joyful in a long time. We have challenged ourselves to continue to find peace and happiness in our busy, hectic work days. We are making sure we are doing things that we want to do such as getting back to hiking to enjoy the wonders of nature. Tending the garden brings us both great personal satisfaction as we enjoy the harvest of our work. We have a kayak outing or two on the list as well. We both have been working WAY to hard and life is just too short to not make the time for quality time for our personal well being.

**** speaking of well being ****

The Husband and the Hound insisted on an after dinner walk tonight. The weather is finally decent to go on an evening walk. And the perfect way to end this adventurous and enjoyable weekend. On our way back a porcupine crossed the road up ahead of us. Once it spotted us it trotted up the road a ways before cutting into the woods. They are so cute...at a distance.

What better way to close out Porcupine Needle's post with a sighting of the critter itself. :)

Here is hoping that you all are finding time for your own well being.

A big HOWDY to my newest follower, Anne.
Thanks to all who stop by; your comments are always welcome! :)

Keep on stitching.

P.J.

6 comments:

Margaret said...

What a great post! I can feel all the summery-ness coming through! Scary with the storm coming through -- glad the electricity wasn't off for toooo long, although wish it hadn't been so long either. Love your little watermelon, love seeing your yummy rhubarb and raspberries. love seeing your hike too. Good for the two of you for making the time to do refreshing things!!

Annette-California said...

I too loved your post. Great berries and oooooh you will have some great crisps this winter:) The water holes and falls look so inviting and cool. You stitched 2 darling samplers. How wonderful that you have generators. Hope cooler weather arrived for you. love Annette

Peggy Lee said...

This post was very calming to read. I can only imagine how peaceful it was to sit in your garden like that. I would like to have a garden but my back can't take it. We support the local farmers stands instead.
Spotting that porcupine was PERFECT!!

Penny said...

The sunset, sunrise pictures may be steamy, but they are pretty. The raspberries and rhubarb look yummy! And beautiful coneflowers, too. Looks like a gorgeous place for a hike!

Catherine said...

This was a great post! Loved seeing all of your pictures ~ that hike was amazing! You have to do that again in the fall ~ I bet the pics would be beautiful!

Lynn said...

Such a fabulous post! I thoroughly enjoyed all of your pics. Your hike looked wonderful.
I find myself enjoying simple pleasures more and more. It gives me such a sense of well being!