Summer...

 Little things and big things... Here, there and everywhere. The summer was full, peaceful and graced with so many special moments...

 Our annual Burnt Island trip.

 

 And back home again with some new friends...

 Helping old friends build a new house in the woods while the kids enjoyed two weeks of pure childhood bliss - outside, running with friends all day long...

 And back home again...

 (after reading A Secret Garden, AnaSofia made a wax scene of Dickon in the garden.)

 And off to NY...

A perfect place to end a perfect summer.

8 years now...

It seems another lifetime ago, a long way back...
This little sweet thing was a teeny tiny little sweet thing...

How does it happen? You grasp onto every smile, every word, every little nuance of that little person growing big but still so much of it slips away. I guess it is protection in a way, pulling us from the past into the future. Change is here. Always...
But what will likely not ever change no matter how much she grows, travels and spreads her wings is her beautiful integrity of character. I am daily humbled by the love, kindness and generosity of spirit that just f l o w s out of her. She is a beautiful soul inside and out and I feel so very blessed to be her mother. Eight is going to be SO great, AnaSofia.

 I am just going to do my best to keep up with you!

Forever home

we'll find a place
to call our own
it won't be long now
we're almost home
reflections of another time
reflections of another place
the light above
rained down its grace
it's here and now
this time is ours
this journey now
this road we're on
is where we belong
remember us
remember when
so long ago
when it was cold
deep in the woods
the autumn chill
hung in the air
we didn't care
this is our time
this is our place
it's not a dream
this love is real
i can feel it in
my heart can feel
it in my soul
this is where
we both belong
"Where We Belong" by Michael Traveler


Papers signed, keys in hand, we all gleefully race to the place we will call H O M E. Forever...

Many years, many different ideas, many different paths have finally led us to T H I S.

Our own little oasis...

All fairies, wood sprites and joyful spirits welcomed. If you ever need me, you now know where to find me, like, for good...

It is so very good...

Outward...

Summer has begun.
Kayak, bike, swim, swim more and soak up the sunshine.
Go days without setting foot in the car.
Living, loving and embracing the long days and light nights.

Each morning starts with a race down the dirt road to the blueberry field...

And then back home again. Climbing on the rocks all day - building, playing, imagining...

 Even the littlest is feeling brave and big...

 The eagles in the trees are always curiously watching over our little band of gypsies...

 

Sleep is embraced each night wholeheartedly by these tired souls who have been filled to the brim each day with all the joys of summer...

All to begin again the next day until summer's end...

Where have we been?

This winter I made a conscious decision to step away from social media, realizing it was something that was not fitting where I was at. No longer does my phone have access to facebook or email and no longer do I look at the computer during the day except when I have a work assignment. It was needed. Our move in November set me a bit adrift, I knew the move was temporary, I didn't really want to get all our stuff out and I could not find things I needed to do projects. A little knitting and sewing happened but mostly I have just chose to BE. It was needed.
When the snow receded we happily burst outdoors to enjoy the ocean at our doorstep and I realized living in someone's summer house isn't such a bad gig, what was I complaining about?
Starting in March we discovered running on the previously snow covered deck is a treat...

Acadia is still silent and we took advantage of that almost every weekend, hiking, biking and playing...

 Making traps for unsuspecting tourists or a lone park ranger...

At home on colder days time inside took on a different quality, new activities were found now that all our winter ones were old and overplayed. Kasper tried whittling and has made lots of little creatures and a nice big mess...

Slowly the elvers and alewives started to come up the stream, so thick we could scoop them out with our hands to get a closer look or give them a gentle push upstream as AnaSofia preferred to do. We never tired of seeing osprey, eagles, herons who came to feast on the bounty.

Seeing a majestic bald eagle taking a very un-regal bath is a sight not to be forgotten!

Fascinated, irritated and then a little saddened to see the fishermen take so much from this little oasis. They are a kind, generous group of people, but there is just so much pressure on these delicate ecosystems due to us...

We helped my parents clear there little plot of land for a sometimes house that they will start building this summer...

The weather keeps getting warmer and the kids are bravely testing the waters, literally...

The wee monsters are emerging again (not online but in our own little world) and it is slowly becoming G R E E N and new all over again...

Thank you for keeping up here even as we take breaths away from it all, I do think of it as an important diary for the little loves to see once they are off in this great big world...