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Wednesday’s Forecast: More Rain

July 25, 2018 at 9:51 am by Claudia

Rain, rain, and more rain!

That’s the news here. There are breaks in the rain throughout the day, but rain is the theme here in the Hudson Valley.

I ventured outside in the afternoon to water the plants on the porch and check on the gardens. I ended up doing some work in the garden because, at the time, the sun was behind a cloud and I thought it would be okay.

Yikes, it was unbelievably hot and humid! I started cutting back the catmint plants because I’d had that on my mind for a while and I had just finished watching an episode of Gardener’s World where Monty Don was cutting back his catmint. If Monty is doing it, I need to be doing it. I’m glad I did something  outside, but I was so drenched with sweat afterwards that I had to take my second shower of the day.

The Far Side Garden (above) is quite lush at the moment.

As is the bed next to the porch – which is full of hostas and coneflowers and sedum.

I thought you’d like to see a picture of Sam, happily resting after chasing his ball.

Love that boy.

This is the pond that is on their property. It’s quite lovely. Eventually, Rick and Doug are going to build a gazebo there. Won’t that be lovely?

Don had a wonderful session with Louis Mendes on Monday. Louis is a true teacher and mentor and Don was very energized and excited when he came back home. They worked together for about 3 hours. Don has learned that when you’re standing next to Louis on any New York street, person after person is going to stop to look at Louis and the camera and ask, “Are you Louis Mendes?” It’s amazing. He’s amazing. He gave Don assignments, as well. Homework!

I’m in the ‘thinking and not even planning yet’ stage of the dollhouse. I have several ideas for the look of the outside and I’ve not settled on one yet. I’m gathering photos and ideas from the internet.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: Don, flowers, friends, garden, photography 34 Comments

Saturday Morning

July 21, 2018 at 9:37 am by Claudia

We sat out in the Secret Garden this morning, drinking our second cup of coffee. It’s the perfect place to talk; intimate, relatively quiet, birds singing, chipmunks running by. I’m treasuring these sunny mornings – it’s going to rain tomorrow and Monday and off and on throughout next week.

That means I’ll be doing some mowing and other garden chores today. I’m fine with that, in fact, I’m in the mood for that.

Thanks for all your support as Don and I play with our cameras and Don learns an entirely new skill. It’s good to have something to get excited about. That doesn’t mean, however, that we’re not mourning the loss of Margaritaville. We are. We just try to keep the sadness at bay. Yesterday, we took a little nap together on the sofa and when I woke up, I felt such sadness that I wouldn’t be getting a call from Don as he made his way to the theater for the evening. That he wouldn’t be hanging around with his Margaritaville family. That audience members who planned to see it in the fall are being deprived of seeing it with the original cast – a more joyous group of people you will never meet. That particular cast will never perform together again. And that makes me unbelievably sad. Imagine how it makes Don feel. Sigh.

So we mourn, then we distract ourselves. It’s all part of the process.

This bee is exploring the mullein that grows in the back forty. This is the mullein that is over 6 feet tall. It is no longer standing up straight, but is curving downward because of the torrential rain we got last week. I’ve tried to help all of the mullein stalks stand upright, but it isn’t working.

It’s a pretty time in the gardens. But I still have to weed. And I’m approaching that time – it happens every summer – when I no longer want to expend the energy to weed. I’m not there yet, but it’s coming. Prediction: August.

We’re off to have a little breakfast in town and then Don is going off to do his thing and I’m coming back here to do mine.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: Don, Escape to Margaritaville, flowers, garden 32 Comments

On Location

July 20, 2018 at 9:10 am by Claudia

I’ll respond to yesterday’s comments when I’m done writing this post. I had a busy day yesterday and I was too tired at the end of it to do anything other than plop on the sofa.

Don wanted to go ‘on location’ to shoot some photos, which means to the town just north of us. I had plans to mow, so we split the difference. The morning for photography, the afternoon for mowing. We found a neat place to set up, right in front of a favorite local bookshop, Inquiring Minds.

As amazing as this sounds, right after we got there, a young guy walked by and stopped to talk to Don. He has the same vintage camera.  He even offered some tips. Such a small world! The camera definitely attracts people and Don loves nothing more than to meet people and chat with them. A woman and her daughter walked by and the daughter was raving about the camera. Turns out her grandfather had one and he was a well-known photographer who concentrated on jazz singers – among them, Billie Holiday. All of this happened in the first 15 minutes we were there, as Don was assembling the camera. In a small town.

I thought you’d like to see this little sidewalk garden in front of the shop.

Isn’t it adorable?

Don has been working with this camera for a mere four days. He studies hard. There’s a steep learning curve because it’s vintage, entirely manual, and it’s heavy. But each day he has improved. Lighting, framing the shot, aperture settings – all of it is new to him. The whole idea of this kind of street photography is that the photographer has one shot. Period. It’s a polaroid, the film is expensive and so, one chance to get it right, to capture that one moment in time.

But, of course, when you’re first starting out you have to experiment a whole lot before you can offer your services.

I’ve been his model all week long because I live with him. It’s been fun. (And I’ve been playing with my new camera as well.)

Here are yesterday’s winning shots:

That red brick wall is the perfect backdrop!

Then I took my turn:

I don’t mind saying I have a crush on this incredibly cool guy.

This has become a real passion for him and the perfect thing to help him through the transition from doing Escape to Margaritaville  in New York City to suddenly being back home. I’m so proud of him.

Afterwards, we walked across the street to our favorite vegan restaurant and had a bite to eat.

Such a pretty bouquet on our table!

Then back home to mow the corral and the entire front lawn.  Yikes. I was bushed!

I love my new camera and I have much to learn about it. But so far, it’s a winner.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: Crown Graphic Press Camera, Don, flowers, photography 30 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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