Travel – The Salem Garden

Cruising with the Sun and the Moon

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset cruise in Salem Harbor a few nights ago on the Hannah Glover. I remember putting my older kids on this boat one morning in the middle of a thunderstorm because they were going out to the Y camp on Children’s Island. It sure looks different when your cruising along enjoying great food and cocktails while watching the sun set and the moon rise. Thanks Salem Trolley, for a very enjoyable evening!

The Changing Face of Salem! (5 new building projects and more) (saturdaysocks.com)

Monday Morning In Marblehead

Here’s a little gallery of photos that I took yesterday while on a quick trip to Marblehead with my Mom and Mother-in-law. Marblehead is only a few miles away but it feels like a different world. I love these little right around the corner vacations! Click on any photo to enlarge and view as a slideshow. Enjoy!

Day Trip to Marblehead, MA (withywindle.wordpress.com)

Watching and Waiting

The title of this post has changed a couple of times since I took these photos the other day. I started with something like “Fall Color, Now and In Years Past”… I was going to include photos of past years too, when the colors were brighter and prettier. Then I went to “The Colors Before the Storm”.. thinking that all the little bits of color that we had this year would be gone by Tuesday. Then it went to “The Calm and Color Before the Storm” which morphed into “Watching and Waiting”. I’m pretty settled with this one. It best describes how I’m feeling here on the coast of New England today. Hurricane Sandy is projected to track south of us a little bit. We will likely experience strong winds, rain and very high tides. That’s our best case scenario, which isn’t too bad for New Englanders who don’t live directly on the ocean. I’m thinking a lot of our countless family members and friends who live on the water or right in the mid-Atlantic area that may be hit the hardest.

My “fall color in the garden” photos are pathetic this year. Here’s what I have:

A little pink and yellow and a happy looking spruce tree…Bits of yellow..and red..and the garden. That’s it!

As you can see, we went from green, to bits of yellow and red to brown. I kept waiting for the day when I’d get outside and take those beautiful photos! It happens some years. I never made it out of town during the peak times to see the foliage north of here but it was probably quite lovely. This is a very small concern when we have much bigger worries on our minds this weekend.

I’m thinking of all of my east coast friends and family this morning and sending you love and safe thoughts!

I hear that Halloween is being celebrated wildly downtown. If I make it down there later today or tomorrow I’ll posts some photos that will be sure to make you smile!

Love, Michele

What’s Happening in the Garden–October 10

It really feels like fall out in the garden. I can’t say that I love it, I’m a summer person, but it is beautiful here and the Holidays are right around the corner, then the snow, and then spring will be here.. sorry.. I’m getting off track :).

Okay, out to the garden! Here’s our white pine tree undergoing it’s annual fall browning. It may look a bit sad but this is just part of it’s fall process. You can read more about the conifer life cycle here in this article by Margaret at A Way to Garden, one of my very favorite gardening blogs. The conifers will be just fine, they really will!

We still have a few hints of summer, like mesclun.

and some sage. I need to dry some for the winter.

The tomatoes are hanging on. This tomato plant volunteered from last year and grew all over the asparagus bed.

The peppers like this cool weather.

There’s lots of green tomatoes. My neighbor and I were talking about what to do with them last night.

This morning on the phone my mom said that they can be wrapped in newspaper to slowly ripen. I may try that… will keep you posted!

The cabbage are just about ready.

There’s still some basil hanging on

and zinnias and gladiolas.

I’m wondering if the gladiolas can winter over in the ground, or should I pull them and put them away for the winter?

(I should probably pull them out)

Our trees are still quite green. we should be seeing some good fall color soon, I hope!

There’s so much clean up to do. We’ll get there, one bed at a time.

Happy fall! Enjoy everything!

Michele

National Museum of the American Indian–Just a Peek at the Garden

The garden at the National Museum of the American Indian…

yet another great place to take a little break in Washington DC!

Clearly, I enjoyed this trip!

Happy Sunday!

Michele

A Great Stop in DC—The US Botanic Garden, Children’s Garden

We were in Washington DC a few weeks ago and I treated myself to a walk in the US Botanic Garden. I would have taken my family with me for my walk but it was literally 108 degrees that day. They stayed in the cool air conditioned Smithsonian while I enjoyed the garden. Needless to say I had the whole thing to myself and it was glorious! I spent about 45 minutes relaxing and taking in every nook and cranny. One of the highlights was the Children’s Garden. It’s a beautiful child friendly oasis in the middle of all of the DC action.

The Children’s Garden is located just outside of the huge conservatory.

The plants are so varied. The shapes, colors, sizes and textures are really engaging.

The posted rules are simple and child friendly.

I saw pots of plants waiting for kids to put into the ground themselves.

Unfortunately I missed the photo, but I loved the concept!

There’s a fountain (pictured on the left) that children can play in and use to water plants. There’s a wonderful green-roofed playhouse!Along with places to hide and run…and to pretend and just “be”…It was easy to get lost in the whimsy and fun.

I hope that next time my children are in the photos too!

They would have enjoyed this… it’s a great place for families to learn, relax and spend time together while enjoying Washington DC.

I could have stayed for hours!

Spring at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden – 2 (gastography.com)
Stornoway serenade the botanical gardens with “I Saw You Blink” (theredradio.typepad.com)
Missouri Botanical Garden Lantern Festival: Art By Day ,Magic By Night (fox2now.com)

Salem 101: Bewitched!

This statue has become a landmark in Salem. Can you tell who it is?

Here’s a closeup of her face

Of course, it’s the late Elizabeth Montgomery portraying Samantha Stevens on the Bewitched TV show!

What child of the sixties doesn’t remember watching Samantha and all of her adventures? In June of 2005 this statue was installed and dedicated here in Salem. It was donated to the city by the TV Land Network. There was quite a bit of controversy in the days leading up to the unveiling. Only two Bewitched episodes were said to be filmed here, so it’s relevance to our city’s history was widely questioned. Some felt that it took away from the seriousness and tragedy of the witch trials.

There was lots of excitement on the day of the reveal. I didn’t attend, possibly because my fifth child was three months old and the thought of taking five children under the age of eleven downtown to see a statue unveiled compromised my ability to breathe properly. I believe that members of the cast were here, including the actress who played Tabitha. It was a big event!

It seems that Samantha has settled in comfortably. She’s become a landmark in the center of a long row of wonderful restaurants. Salem’s downtown is hopping these days, and while Samantha doesn’t exactly represent the serious side of Salem, she definitely adds a whimsical element to a city that is well-known for fun and whimsy.

Salem 101: A Walk around Salem Common

Yesterday I spent some time walking around Salem Common, a nine acre public park right in the middle of the city. It’s been public land for hundreds of years and was originally used as a pasture in the 1600s, with ponds and a stream running though it. It was designated as a military training ground in the 1600’s and still hosts a military muster once a year. You can read more about the Common’s history here at http://www.salemweb.com/guide/common/

As a former resident of the neighborhood it’s always fun to take a walk and take in the sights.

People meet here to exercise, walk, ride bikes and play.