AMAZING GROWTH
It is amazing to me the things you can observe walking along the beach. This broken piece of brick from some long-ago cannery chimney appeared to have seaweed growing right out of the solid brick. So much beauty from the sea.

POPPIES A'POPPIN'
Our poppies have just begun to come out in force. Everywhere else on the island poppy time has come and gone.
This is a very small island and yet there are many micro-climates. Fortunately we live in an area where our poppies bloom late. So - when everyone else is morning the passing of their blooms we are just beginning to enjoy ours.
This year I was lucky enough to find some Himalayan black poppy seeds. I planted over a thousand and they have come up and look very healthy. But - so far all I see is beautiful green foliage. I am still awaiting the first black poppy to bloom. I want to see if they actually are black or just a deep shade of dark red. Till then, I just keep checking every morning.

FOUND TREASURE
The other night when I was out walking Dylan Thomas I stumbled upon a unique surprise. At the corner of our driveway near the telephone pole there sat two bottles of unopened wine. Most definitely, I appropriated them; if for no other reason than to bring them home where I could put on my glasses and see exactly what they were. A nice looking Rose and a bottle of "Billy Bowlegs" sparkling blueberry wine. The blueberry wine was from the Okefenokee Swamp no less. Since they were unopened we decided we may as well try them. When we taste the wine maybe we will realize it wasn't exactly a "found treasure;" perhaps merely a "Find"

LIVING IN THE BEAUTY
It is a wonder to get out of bed in the morning and go to the studio to look out over the water. We are blessed with the most spectacular sunrises almost everyday. The trick is to be awake to see it especially during the time of year when sunrise occurs at 3:45 AM.
These are just two examples of our blazing, knock-your-eyes-out, Eastport mornings.

AFTER THE FURY
Last evening as we were having pre-dinner cocktails and chatting in the dining room, I went to the kitchen to check on dinner and discovered a lovely rainbow out across the water. It was a fairly large one and ran almost the length of Campobello Island.
The photograph does not do justice to the real deal, but I just had to try and capture it on film.
Prior to this sighting, we had been discussing how it was perfect weather for rainbows. What a nice surprise after all this rain and noise.

RESCUED DELPHINIUMS
The night before last Mother nature gave us such a thunder and lightening storm that was was impossible to sleep. Thank goodness my dog, Dylan Thomas, is not afraid of lightening and loud noises. He just does not approve of them and considers them an unnecessary annoyance.
Sadly, I awoke to find most all of my beautiful delphiniums stalks snapped off just below the blossoms. So - I cut them and brought them into the house to be admired and enjoyed for a few more days. I prefer to enjoy them in nature and would usually never cut them, but necessity has made it so and I love having them in the house.

NEW LILIES IN THE SOUTH GARDEN
Lately I am finding gardening a pleasure and not a chore. Therefore, I have increased plantings. David dug the horrid day lilies out of the south garden. They had simply taken over and were completely out of control.
In their place we planted several varieties of sedum, sea holly, thistle and some Asiatic lilies. The lilies are an ivory-cream color with lovely paprika centers. The coloring of the centers compliment the red sedum that is getting ready to bloom. There were a few bare spaces in that garden and I filled them in with giant white gladioli. This garden is becoming quite impressive. We are pleased because it is the garden most in view to people driving up our street.

ROSES
I have always loved roses and usually had some wherever I lived. Of course, I tried growing them here in Maine. I planted some fantastic white JFK's in my white garden and they did well.
Encouraged by this I decided to plant a memorial rose garden along the driveway. This was to be in honor of all our departed and well loved family members. For some reason this project was not as successful. The roses would do well for one season and then die out in the Winter or in the following Spring. I realized I couldn't plant new roses every year, so I did a little research. Amazingly there are many conflicting opinions for winter rose care. I tried them all and none were satisfactory to me.
I found a nursery in Calais and had a nice chat with the gentleman who owns the place. He told me that growing roses in Maine was chancy, however he had some rose bushed that he guaranteed would winter well for me with minimal fussing about putting them to bed. These bushes are small and close to the ground and a couple of them are climbers, but they are beautiful and hardy. The ones I planted last year came back very healthy this year and so I added some more. Now I have ten rose bushes lining the driveway and probably will eventually put in some more. They are so satisfying to look at and I find myself in a kind of Zen-type bliss wen I am caring for the tiny beauties. The ones pictures are an unusual apricot color.

FLOWERS EVERYWHERE
Everything's coming up roses and delphiniums at our house. We are so proud of our blue delphiniums. There was this narrow space between the cellar bulkhead and the back deck. It was kind of ugly and empty. Because it was so shaded we thought nothing would grown there. I goggled "plants that grow in the shade" and found out foxglove and delphiniums should do well. The first year they both rewarded us with an nice flowering screen on the side of the deck. Both plants are annuals and should have come back the following year. The foxglove disappointed us, but the delphinium did return although not as abundantly. So I just added more plants to the bed and the little darlings went crazy. They had a long journey to climb above the bulkhead to reach any sun. This encouraged them to grow very high. Out tallest plant measures seven feet high from the ground to the tip.
Nothing could be more pleasant than morning coffee or evening cocktails on the deck with all the abundance of nature surrounding us.

NATURE'S SURPRISE
About three years ago we planted two yucca plants at the bottom of the yard near the Leslie sculpture. It did well and wintered nicely. Each year it sprang forth with new greens and seemed to be thriving. This year David noticed a stalk arising from the center of the plant. We kept close tabs on it everyday and were amazed to learn our pampered little yucca was going to bloom for us. No doubt expressing it's appreciation for all the good care we gave it. What a joy it is to look out the window each morning and see those lovely ivory blossoms. I am not so well informed about yucca, but I shall have to research it. I am curious to know if it will bloom annually now that it has matured. Ah, how lucky we are to live here with all the beauty surrounding us.

GROWING SEASON AGAIN
How wonderful to live in a place with seasonal change again. After 36 years in Florida it is an amazing awakening.
Now that Mud season is over and it is really and truly Spring. I can spend part of almost everyday outside gardening.
The vegetable garden is is and doing well. We planted peas very early this year hoping to be able to get in two crops. Experts say it can be done.
This year we have a couple new additions. We planted Kaleidoscope carrots which are varied colors and not just orange. Also we were lucky enough to get some heritage tomato seedlings the other day from Growing Concerns in Calais. I can't wait to eat a black or a purple tomato. Pictures will be posted.
Ah, the joy of having the doors and windows open and spending most of the days outdoors. Days are getting longer and longer and soon we will be having cocktails on the deck at 9:30 PM and still be enjoying the wonderful fading light.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
Here are a few shots of the old cage elevator in the famous Transit Building. I can well remember riding up in it with my mother to see the pediatrician. The nice lady who ran the elevator always wore white gloves and had a little fold down stool to sit on. I can still here her say, "Just one moment please" as she juggled the controls to make the elevator perfectly even and level with the floor landing. I seem to recall she usually had a lollipop for me too.

FRIENDS FOR 49 YEARS
In July I went back to my hometown, Oil City, Pennsylvania, to visit family during the town's celebration called "Oil Heritage Week." It was amazing to see that finally things are changing for the better. The town had a brighter look and the downtown area was cleaned up and perked up. A big new addition was the art galleries and the artists studios in the old Transit Building. Thankfully the building has been preserved as a national historical site. It was built by J. D. Rockefeller during the oil boom days. It has been preserved, restored and is functioning nicely as an art space. Something beneficial to city.
Fran, my cousin, and I renewed our 49 year old continuing friendship with Miriam and had a great day exploring the festival area and the art spaces. One of the galleries had a wall for anyone to add art. Miriam took the opportunity to document our reunion and presence on the scene. Ah, nostalgia.

WHITE GARDEN UPDATE
As you can see the white garden is progressing nicely. It is such a joy to open the door to the heavenly scent of the Casablanca and Asiatic lilies. They are an eye-catching site both in the bright sunshine and in the full moonlight. I enjoy seeing people stopping to admire them on their walks by my house. The was definitely a labor of love.

BEAUTY IN ALL STAGES
Yesterday while I was out photographing the beautiful blooms in the Thistle Garden, I took notice of the giant alium. These two plants dominate the East garden. It's quite something to see the huge purple spheres when the alium changes from it's initial ghostly white color. Now as thistle and the sea holly come into their own, the alium is beginning to dry up and die off. Even in it's final stages of the life cycle it remains a breath-taking wonder. These two plants are complimenting each other now and I am so pleased I have arrived at that time in my when I feel I am really seeing things and taking the time to stop and marvel at the constant beauty in my environment.