Whatcha Doin?

With the nice weather, Vincent and I headed outside. He was going to roam the fields doing color studies of the flowers. I was going to weed Ink's Garden.

Before

Behind the weeds, the Lily of the Valley are starting to spread.

After. I arranged the mushroom lights in a fairy circle. The chipmunks and squirrels had thrown the tulip lights all over the place. I found them and put them together and arranged them under the watering can light so it will look like the tulips are being watered. I also cleaned and filled the bird bath.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Perkins Cove

Perkins Cove is a small fishing village, artist colony, and the anchor at the other end of the Marginal Way. The Marginal Way is the ocean cliff walk that goes from Ogunquit to Perkins Cove. 

Teague has a friend who lives nearby and offered the use of her driveway to park the car and then take a short walk to Perkins Cove. Good thing she offered as there were no parking spaces left.

Along the way a charming display of tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth.

Lobster boats

Perkins Cove looks like many New England beach towns. The streets are lined with weathered shops selling art, jewelry, tee shirts, hats, and candy. It was very early in the season when we visited so it wasn't crowded.

Before lunch, we decided to walk the Marginal Way from Perkins Cove to Ogunquit.

Are you looking at me?

Looking back towards Perkins Cove.

Looking forward towards Ogunquit

After working up an appetite, we decided to have lunch at the Oarweed. The restaurant was doing a pretty good business and all the outside tables were filled. We were shown a nice table inside by a window.

I had my usual ice tea with lemon. I ordered crab cakes and a salad, but was having too nice a time with Teague, I forgot to take a picture of lunch!

We saw this stonewall on the walk back. Evidently during the Pandemic, people painted rocks and left them on the wall. Many of them had uplifting messages like "Be the Light".

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Flower Pounding

While wandering around the yard, I thought the fuchsia blossoms would be good to use for flower pounding.

If you've never heard of flower pounding, you take blossoms, lay them on watercolor paper, and pound them with a hammer for some savage amusement.

If you Google flower pounding tutorials, most will tell you to use fresh blossoms. My plant is so pretty and doing well, I didn't want to take fresh blooms. Some had recently passed and fallen on the ground. I also pulled a few that were just going.

On a hard surface, you arrange the blossoms on your paper. I'm using the inside cover of my giant dictionary as I didn't want to do this on the hardwood floor.

After the petals are arranged the way you like, you can cover them with wax paper or a paper towel. Then grab your hammer and go to town

You want blossoms that still have some moisture in them and aren't  completely dried out.

When you're done pounding, you remove the spent blooms.

You're left with a "watercolor" impression. Sometimes the colors are different than expected. You can use the finished paper as collage fodder or to make a card. You can outline  and doodle around the image, too. 

I haven't decided what I want to do with this piece yet.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Heavy rains the week before knocked the hose out of the rain barrel.

The elbow was facing up when the hose got knocked out. A slight adjustment with the elbow down made collecting the water right as rain.

Petunias

Clematis flowers the size of dinner plates

Petunias for the mailman

The hydrangea has new growth. The deadwood needs to be trimmed away

I asked Quill to smile

Alpine bells among the ferns

The snowball bushes look more like flurries

What is it? It's pink.

How does your garden grow?

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

Dad builds a diaper changing machine.

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. A rainy, Saturday afternoon. Perfect for watching Richard Widmark in The Alamo

2. Lost my gold crown while taking supplements. Fortunately, I didn't swallow it. The Dentist was able to squeeze me in so he could glue it back

3. Another week and another play day with Teague. She had a surprise for me.

4. Had a good class even if the iPad-pocket projector didn't work

5. Old tech might be old, but it works. Demonstrated on the chalkboard.

How was your week?

Happy Towel Day

 

Don't forget to bring your towel wherever you go today.

Whatcha Doin?

 

Mr. Spock and The Young One are helping me to try to connect the iPad to a pocket projector so it will mirror what is on the iPad.

I thought I would go 21st. century for teaching students calligraphy instead of writing on a chalkboard where I sometimes make a better door than a window when I'm in front of the chalkboard. Also people at the museum have written on the chalkboard with oil pastels so not always a good surface to use chalk on as chalk was intended.

I can demonstrate letter formation and the ductus (stroke) order using Procreate and a 45 degree angle calligraphy brush and in theory can project what's on the iPad onto the wall.

The Young One has gotten a lot closer in making it so than I did.  The good thing is the chalkboard is still the fallback plan and we have 6 weeks to figure things out.

Whatcha doin? I'm happy dancing because she got things working, and I was able to replicate her instructions.

T Stands for Portland Head Lighthouse

On our Camp Ogunquit trip, we took a ride to visit Fort Williams and the Portland Head Light House in Cape Elizabeth. There's a museum in the lightkeeper's cottage, but as our trip was early in the season, it wasn't open.

In the distance, Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse

Compass rose and wildflowers

Another view of the lighthouse

A field of potential wishes on the grounds of Fort William. After wandering around the park and reading the historic stuff about the remains of the WWII battery that was stationed there, we headed for lunch at

I had the best gyros I had ever had. The first time I have ever had a gyros made with beef (usually it's lamb). What made the gyros amazing was the fresh-baked pita. I also had sweet potato fries and unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

Teague had a turkey sandwich made with thick slices of real turkey breast, not deli sliced turkey. She had a lemonade.

After lunch, we went to visit Two Lights State Park to visit the twin lighthouses. The park is a popular spot and there were no parking spots. The Western light  is no longer a functioning lighthouse but is now a private home. The Eastern light is an automated lighthouse and still working. Because we couldn't get into the park, I couldn't get a picture of the twin.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Rain Man Pictures from Ogunquit, Maine

If you've seen the movie, Rain Main, you'll remember that Raymond often took unusual photos. I've also been told I take Rain Man photos.

On this trip, Sea Castles Resort was Camp Ogunquit. Our "cabin" was the last on the left of the second floor.

Camp included a full kitchen, living/dining area, bath, private balcony, and a loft upstairs for sleeping.

From our room, we had a view of the ocean

We even had a real room key! Not a key card.

For Iris, Leo couchant

I've seen this movie (referring to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds)

Conspiring seagulls in the Ogunquit River. I yelled at them I didn't want to be Tippi Hedren (another Birds reference. Go watch the movie)

Pansies growing through a crack by the foundation of the souvenir shop.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The clematis bloomed

Zinnia and Red Scarlet

Gazania

Calendula

Coleus

Assorted green things to be transplanted

In the Aerogarden, a yellow flower blooms. I think this was taken outside to be transplanted

Also in the Aerogarden, assorted herbs. Mint, basil, and the kitties have especially been attracted to the dill.

Much needed rain.

How does your garden grow?