Gosh, I love coneflowers. I deliberately planted white ones in the big garden bed, but as you can see a purple coneflower snuck in there this year. The more the merrier, I say. This is the part of the bed that was impacted by the falling of a huge limb from our maple tree, so I am very grateful that these beauties came back. I was sweating that one.
There are lots more in the garden beds at the side of the house.
I took this photo of the Annabelle Hydrangea yesterday afternoon. We had a severe thunderstorm last night, so these beauties are drooping from the barrage of water. Same thing with some of the milkweed. I ran out and tried to straighten them, but I couldn’t get some of them upright again. Makes me sad.
Yesterday, Nancy said in a comment that the photo of Don next to the mullein had a timeless quality. That got me thinking. Here it is in black and white:
What do you think?
Continuing in my current video vein, I managed (after three tries) to film a little video of our woods. I kept having to delete some photos and old videos in order for there to be enough storage to film the new video. Again, some jerkiness to the film quality. It isn’t easy to keep an iPhone still while you walk, especially in the woods.
As you watch, keep your eyes open toward the end for the bunny rabbit that I didn’t even see when I was filming! He’s to the right of the mullein. I was so busy trying to get everything in that I didn’t notice him until I played the darned thing back. Life in the country.
Enjoy.
There’s a new post up on the book blog, Just Let Me Finish This Page. Stop on by!
Happy Monday.
Hello Claudia, That was a beautiful walk! It must be so much cooler under all those trees. I did see the bunny! Have a good day, Doris
It is cooler in the woods, Doris. Very nice on a hot day!
Lovely walk! Thanks so much. It was a nice way to start this morning. Made me feel like I took a trip in the woods! Have you ever thought of reading for books on cd? You have such a soothing voice. Have a wonderful day!
I would if they would hire me!
Enjoyed the walk! Saw the bunny. Moved here to Nebraska eleven years ago and miss the trees and the woods, while still enjoying the open fields and the big sky. I’m from Maine – heading to Vermont tomorrow to visit my daughter and family. A week in VT and then a week in Maine – to fill up on New England, before heading back to the midwest. Love your blog and seeing the lovely pictures!
Have fun in New England, Liz!
Love the black and white photo! And of course the flowers are always my favorite.
Thanks, Judy!
That was a lovely walk in your woods! Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful day!
You too, Carolyn Marie!
Hi Claudia,
Thanks for the walk. It’s so nice to see the land that you talk about in your posts. Love the path through the woods.
Do you have a problem with deer ticks? I love being outside, here in Connecticut, but have to constantly watch for them. It’s going to be a humid day – stay cool.
Yes, we do. Both of our dogs had lyme disease and so did Don. That’s the only ‘fly in the ointment’ here.
I enjoy seeing your pictures and videos. A lovely way to start the work week!
Thank you, Julie!
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep…” …reminds me of my woods here, at the lake, a bit north of where you are. Such a beautiful part of the country. I never miss CA in the summer.
Me either, Shanna!
What a lovely slice of Heaven you have there. Thank you so much for sharing it with us :-) How do you ever get anything done inside though…I would be outside in the woods all the time!
I agree with the other comment about your soothing voice. I have always longed for a deeper more mature voice. Even though I am a grandmother, I still am asked on occasion to put my mommy on the telephone–haha It could be worse, right?
It sure could be! The positive thing is that you have a young-sounding voice – that’s a good thing.
We live in a suburb of Boston surrounded by forest. My husband was just diagnosed with Lyme disease from a tick bite a few weeks ago. Lyme also cut short our golden retriever’s life at five years old. Not liking the woods.
If we do anything near the woods, we routinely check each other for ticks. It’s just part of our day now. Scout was really ill with lyme disease last year. She had to be hospitalized.
Good morning Claudia…lovely post. Coneflowers are one of my favourites too. I LOVE your videos! What a nice idea. I had no idea that catalpas grew that tall. All the ones we have around here seem to ornamental. I’ve never see one higher than 7 or 8 feet. J
Our catalpas are gigantic, Julie, especially the one in the front yard. I know there are northern and southern species of the catalpa but ours around here are big and tall. And I assume they are the northern variety. I see a lot of them as I travel around my neck of the woods.
Lovely flowers! I’m going to take “the walk” later this afternoon after the tree stump grinders are done in the neighbor’s yard! Too much noise…and all our windows are open because it’s a glorious day in the neighborhood..about 70 today…and NO humidity! And I feel the walk would be better without all the extraneous noise! Hope this weather reaches you! ;)
Oh gosh, I’m so jealous. It’s very humid here with more severe thunderstorms predicted.
Really enjoyed your video Claudia (and nice to hear your voice as well!). Thanks for sharing. I think one of your benches would be a great place to sit with a book of poetry. Really like the black & white photo as well.
Perhaps some Mary Oliver? She writes about animals and nature and seems to be perfect for reading in the woods.
Enjoyed having a walk in the woods with you Claudia … and I saw the bunny! :)
Cute little guy!
That was such an enjoyable video, so nice to see your lovely property, very calming and peaceful.
Thank you kindly, Liz.
Re: the photograph……
OK, thanks; that would be circa 1950. Looks fantastic!
Now I’d love to see that photograph in sepia, for a Civil War look. Do you know how to do that? (I don’t.)
Just for fun, I checked out the subject of audiobook recording (because I agree with the other comments about your lovely speaking voice) and found this interesting link. It might be fun to try, but I get the impression that it’s a competitive field and not particularly lucrative.
http://www.audiopub.org/resources-narrator.asp
A friend of mine volunteers to read and record books for people with visual impairment; she loves it.
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It’s VERY competitive. I have a lot of actor friends who do it. Trying to get a foothold without a union card would be very hard indeed.
After reading so much about your property it was interesting to see it on film. It looks so peaceful, like a quiet place to relax from the world. I was also struck by how it felt to actually hear your voice Claudia. You have a lovely voice. We have had rain here almost everyday or during the night for weeks.
Thank you, Janie! Boy, the rain isn’t quitting, is it? Same here!
Lovely garden and video…my Annabelle did not grow or bloom after the harsh winter…
Oh darn it! I’m so sorry. Maybe it will revive for next year? That winter did a number on so many plants.
First of all I also love hearing your voice..I like deep voices..man or woman..I so much enjoyed the walk..your woods are just lovely..I think I would have a couple of Adirondack chairs sitting in the back 40 for relaxing and reading and maybe a picnic table to pack a lunch and eat among the peace and quiet of nature..sigh..
Believe me, I’ve already thought of it. It’s on my wish list. Two Adirondack Chairs up in the back forty. Sigh.
Love your little piece of heaven, just so peaceful. Been storming here in MD a lot also. The wind has been terrible, seems like a hurricane coming through. In fact its getting ready to storm again, need to go make sure everything is battened down. Take care and the pic of Don with the plant looks great in black and white.
Hugs
Looks like it will storm again here as well. Enough already, I say.
We live on a busy county road and the woods offer a bit of a refuge from the sound of traffic. Very nice.
So lovely and peaceful and quiet! I could sit for hours on one of your benches. Loved the bunny, but missed seeing Scout. Love your videos.
Oh, Scoutie can’t star in all the videos, Dottie. It would go to her head!
Lovely video and property! It was so strange to hear your voice- makes you a real person, not just a blog person. :) Others beat me to it, I was going to say what a beautiful voice you have! Do you have poison ivy to deal with off of the path? We have a tiny woods behind our house (not part of our property) that my son played in once and got poison ivy quite thoroughly. It is part of the daily deer path through our neighborhood. I was sitting outside a couple evenings ago and never even heard the first deer, and only looked up and caught the second because a little branch cracked inside the woods as that deer stepped. I love the deer but am not happy to loose half of my day-lily buds. I guess I’m lucky that they left half for me.
We have lots of poison ivy around here. In fact the other day a smallish limb fell from a tree and it was covered in poison ivy vines. I had to completely cover myself in order to chop it up.
I just discovered one of my day lily plants had been deflowered by the deer. Darn it! And they ate the two buds that were on the plant – all of them.
I love a walk in the woods -thank you, Claudia!
You’re welcome, Susan.
Thanks for the beautiful nature walk today! So refreshing as we don’t have anything like that anywhere around here. It looked so cool and serene. Enjoy that beautiful property!
Judy
I will, Judy. Glad you liked the walk!
That’s so true about Don’s photo. It could be set in the 20s or 90s. PS – loved seeing another video. As so many others have said, you do have a great voice, Claudia. So pleasant to listen to without sounding “trained” – if you know what I mean. I’m certain you do – it’s what you do! Very pleasant and natural – I wish more of those “press 1 if you want X” voices sounded as nice…
I can see why you love it so much there! What a lovely walk in the woods. I did see the bunny! Love that photo in black and white, it is a timeless shot.
hugs,
Linda
We are in Oklahoma house sitting (and taking care of the horses, dogs and calves) for our daughter and family while they vacation in Colorado and Kansas. Their country home is in such a beautiful location that we feel like we are on vacation too. I am just now catching up on my blog reading. I love your little video and what you have done with your path through the back 40. Also, I really enjoyed the sound of your voice. Looks like we are in for some rain here. Have a great day!
love hearing your voice. i can pick up your time in california in it as well as new england mixed in?! lovely and beautiful. i imagine your students enjoy it too.
and yes you would be perfect for books on cd or any type of voice over…commercials, documentaries, cartoons etc.
your walk was wonderful. happy that you have such a wonderful connection with nature.