Lori's Garden

Spring unfurls at the Jarvis House

in Huntington, Long Island.

I've known this garden for over thirty years - a perennial delight both literally and metaphorically. Marsh marigolds and periwinkle and bleeding heart...

and more bleeding heart and tulips and hosta.

The hydrangeas by the old barn put out new growth.

Sunlight, dappled...

and more of the same.

Barn red and

as many watering cans as you could possibly need. 

Late daffodils.

Our sprout on third base. Another spring rite of passage.

Irene Aftermath/ Long Island

All state parks are closed so instead of going to the beach

 we went to visit a friend in Huntington

where lots of families are still without power, so the bagel shop was extra popular.

A big tree had fallen in Heckscher Park  -- one of a huge number of trees all over the place.

The guys sawing it up were pretty keen to have their photo taken.

On the village green the usual gaggle of Canada geese

wandering near toppled trees and fallen branches.

We passed by the little old house where our children grew up

and pondered the maple soaring above it.

ps Doesn't Irene Aftermath sound like a novelist who specializes in romance?

A Day on Long Island

Celeste has brought back a little lusterware jug from France.

We need to catch up over tea

and a dip in a friend's pool. 

The fish is a new thing to do with chlorine.

The sun casts bright midday shadows.

Paint crunching off the table, matching the out of control petunia.

Paint crunching off the chair.

The Magic Garden: Midsummer

When I lived on Long Island, my closest gardening

 chum was Lori who lives there still in the Jarvis House.

(This is one of the barns.)

So whenever we go to Long Island, we visit and delight in it.

A very small, timid rabbit.

Day lilies beneath the bird feeders.

So girlie and ruffled and pink.

With the  cool blues of hydrangea and hosta in contrast.

And more and more of the same.....

The shapes of the leaves........

Shasta daisies are as gleamingly white

 and cheerful as a toothpaste commercial.

This is a pale yellow clivia.

You are much more likely to see orange ones.

A Visit to a Friend's House

Crisp, bitterly cold morning.

The sky a very bright blue.

The house on Long Island welcoming inside.

The windowsills decorated with bits and bobs for the season.

Brown teapots.........

How the cat used to love little Christmas trees like the one above, catch it with her claws and fling it about.

Pink berries and a lamp-post fit for visits to Narnia.

But so very cold out.

A Very Cold Afternoon at the Beach

We left it rather late to go down to the beach.
It was beastly cold.
Here Huntington Bay looking towards Northport.



The ubiquitous reeds and bare tree against fading light.
There were some kids at the beach with their dog.
One of the boys was wearing shorts. Ah youth...



The little boats don't look very inviting.



Luckily Celeste has a very inviting chair by the fire...



...and offers a nice cup of tea.

Blue and Tan

Some calm after the excitement of the Halloween party.
I think it was Leslie who first alerted me to the delights of blue and tan.
When I was looking for some sort of theme for today's post, I decided they were linked by color. Better than being utterly random.
This first an enviable house in the west Village. The sort of house that makes me drool........



Looking into a shop front on 7th Avenue at 24th Street. This had been a sort of down-at-heels linens shop that had had a going-out-of-business sale for about six years. The usual attractions of shabby-chic or palimpsest.(Something, usually a document or parchment, with lots and lots of layers.)



An autumnal hydrangea bush in Cold Spring Harbor.



Little boats in Huntington harbor.



A swan off Gold Star Battalion Beach. The water so calm and pellucid.
Dictionary day: File under P.



Looking across the harbor to Lloyd Neck.

A Visit to Long Island

The moon was full and visible through the trees which towered over the harbor.
It was so lovely and strange we sat on the porch in thick coats and admired it.



I always associate this little painting with my friend C's house.
The lily is for Easter.
The gardening hat for a pursuit we both enjoy and the books...............



How the jewels glitter on the chandelier as it catches the light and C. hides in the background.
She is holding a cup of tea as she often does, as we often do.



In the hall, by the front door, the season is celebrated.