Ice Cream and Island Hopping.

6-28-10 VERMONT: We all had a delicious time at B&J’s, two phish foods and two coffee lattes. Yesterday we canoed on the Connecticut R., we paddled from Wilder Dam to Pirate Island. The old cabin on the island has been taken down and a new one is being built, perhaps the pirates are at work here. There was swimming on the river, followed by lunch and fishing from the bank of the island and from the canoe, no fish were harmed in the making of this afternoon.

It has been rainy here, on and off, for a few days with a total of 1.7” and as of now, we have had almost six inches for June. This morning I saw a Scarlet Tanager who shows up every few weeks, glorious.

Today the boys started swimming lessons at Lake Fairlee, and Lily arrived by Dartmouth Coach for a few days. If the weather is OK, we will climb Mt. Cardigan. The Koreys are coming for dinner tonight.

New blooms: astilbe, dianthis, clematis, hydrangea.


The captain is at the helm.

Mallards on the river.

On the island, we briefly caught sight of, perhaps, a wood nymph.

The Weather Turns to Yuck.

6-24-10 VERMONT: The weather has gone from clear and beautiful to hot, muggy, hazy, humid, heavy and rainy. We have had 1.2 inches of precip and more falling. It reminds me of east Texas. We need to find some place to hide with AC. Judy wants to do the tour of Ben & Jerry’s factory with the boys. I suggested we take them to visit the Long Trail Brewery. The flowers don’t seem to mind the weather.

New blooms: summer azalea, campanula, day lily, summer sweet.


For Peony fans.

Day Lily might be my favorite, at least for today. This is the basic flower, appearing here for a month beginning at the end of June. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of new varieties. Some of them start early, some late. The colors vary from red and purple to white and pale yellow, some have mixed colors. The petals may be thin and spidery or fat and rounded or frilled or fringed. Many choices.

Pity the Poor Pond Life.

6-22-10 VERMONT: The round trip to San José was surprisingly uneventful. We arrived early both out and back, and no luggage was lost in spite of a plane-change. Remarkable. We were, of course, exhausted. Sunday was a pond day with the boys in it, and us around it.

Dan and Alison were here for part of Sunday morning having had a great time in the tent. Val, Maggie and Lucy arrived in the evening. The four cousins have been having a great time harassing amphibious vertebrates and carapaced invertebrates unfortunately residing in our pond at this point in history.

Tomorrow the girls start camp and Val goes back to NYC shortly thereafter. The boys have soccer every morning. We have trips to the Ben & Jerry factory and the rock and gem store planned.

New blooms: feverfew, more peony, delphinium, ‘purple rain’ salvia.


Feverfew. Do you suppose it actually works? Do you eat the flowers, leaves or roots?

More Peonies with juicy buds.

The Little Engine That Could.

Cal Trip.

6-17-10 VERMONT: Today gradually cleared, the rain stopped early, and the sun came out in the evening. It is still cold. Tomorrow we do a whirlwind, thirty-six hour, turn-around to San José to pick up the boys. Alison and Dan, doing the twenty-fifth, will be here, and Valerie and the girls arrive Sunday for camp drop-off.

I did only a bit of pruning and staked a few droopers. Oh yeah, there was 0.2 inches of rain.

New blooms: red spireas, bindweed.


Bindweed and friends. This is a feral morning glory.

Now....It's Nice.

6-15-10 VERMONT: The reunion was great. We had a house-full, nine guests, and everyone got along well, including one couple we had not seen in fifty years. We also hosted an afternoon party for about twenty five classmates and their sig-o’s. The gardens got many kudos. The weather was fairly dismal, but it could have been worse. It was cold, overcast and occasionally rainy, but our party was dry—weather wise.

There was actually 0.4 inches of rain over the whole span from Thursday to Tuesday. Today, of course, is sunny, warm with a brisk breeze, and everything has dried out.

This morning I said that I wouldn’t do anything more than watch the dew evaporate, but I ended up doing a little weeding, what else, staked a few plants, filled a dog hole, [bad boy, Gus], thinned the corn to one stalk per hill. The corn is about a foot high and seems happy. Almost all the tomatoes have little green marble-sized fruit.

In the pond, tiny baby fish, looking like straight pins, and half inch crayfish are hanging out in the shallows.

New blooms: rhododendron, early hosta, baptisia, first phlox.


The roses have popped.

Indian Paint Brush, comes in yellow, orange, and red.

Fear of Fifty.

6-10-10 VERMONT: Rain today, the first since Sunday and just in time to save me from watering rounds. So far we have had no wind or electricity with the rain. It’s in the fifties and damp and chilly. The heat is back on in the house with eleven days until the summer equinox.

Yesterday I didn’t do much except a little weeding. If it clears a little this afternoon, I’ll plant a new tomato to replace the sickly one and a couple rosemary.

Tomorrow begins the weekend observation of my fiftieth [gasp?!] college reunion. I was talking with my classmate Bill a few days ago. It seemed to both of us that only a couple days had gone by since we were in a bar someplace talking about getting out of college. Assuming the calendar is correct, and that was actually many years ago, it's shocking, depressing, astounding, devastating and impossible how quickly it all flew by.

New blooms: water lily.


Polyphemus Moth. This guy [gal?] was knocking on the screen door yesterday morning. I sent him [her?] back outside for this portrait. Handsome creature.

Would You Believe-Frost Warnings?

6-8-10 VERMONT: Another cool and breezy day, good for working outside. Tonight—frost warnings.

I did another bunch of stuff, weed wacking, weeding, pruning, all the usual. Almost caught up.

René, thanks for the kind comments.

New blooms: trascantia.


Peony. It comes out early, makes a great show in bloom, is an attractive shrub for the rest of the season and very hardy and disease resistent.

Meadow Rue. Quite reliable, a giant mass of pink cotton candy for several weeks. This one is about five feet tall.