surprise!

Toby turned 75,  and her daughters planned a party. Alas, the surprise was blown the day before, but she still had no idea that her ex-husband and daughter would be in from Portland, Oregon. Nor that so many other friends would be there. The food was delicious (special nod to Delia's vichyssoise with a swirl of parsley oil), the company divine and—yes, we're all another year older.

dry season

My sister took this pic of our fresh water pond. I have never seen it this dry before. OMG!
Meant good beach days, though.
WSJ article about Chinese food delivery on BI.
A video of a whale frolicking off BI.
Article about Cape Cod with pix by Hannah's friend Rachel.
Pal Dr. Bobrow debuts his Huffington Post column with one about babies and allergies.

another day, another home

Find the Freedom Tower

the last supper

Well SOME people were sorry to say goodbye! For those who want to know, I am just across the border of Ohio.

closing up

The tomatoes are over, the apples are starting. This morning the temperature was 56 degrees in the Ozarks. Time to pull up stakes and roll. Got the river float tubes deflated. Need to move the outdoor furniture indoors. Same thing every year, as regular as the seasons. Shutting down.

happy birthday isaac

IZEE is 2 today! I guess I better B there or B square next year. He doesn't quite get it yet. But, ah, the cake. The motorcycle cake. He gets that!

end o' summer

Often, when the produce becomes overwhelming, I go to gazpacho. This summer, I tried a modification of the New York Times best gazpacho in Spain. I like it with a bit of lime, heirloom tomatoes and somewhat less olive oil. It's particularly good when you can't eat.

on the road again

The Texans prepare to depart the Goose after a gala adventure through Yukon Territory and Alaska.

so

So. This is my life. Writing about the woman who just dumped me for the third time.
Oh Boy. She is going to be So Sorry!

how she rolls

I forgot to post these pix from CBA's visit. Even without the four cats, she does not travel light. She brought her down quilt, pillows, reading light, sugar (for her coffee), paper towels and all of these bags (plus another row not visible in picture) full of I-don't- know-what. Personal possessions. For four days.
Puts my What's-In-the-Truckloads of couches and chairs and food to shame.

art news: knapp is back

Well, you've missed the opening on Block Island, but there's still time to see the show.

And here's Kate Knapp herself on the very same porch: hers on Block Island.
In other publicity news,
An incredibly moving book by Darcy Padilla, a photographer I have worked with called Family Love is out—pretty much her life work. Watch the video. And a story about her story.
On the latter website is a story by our own Donna Ferrato as well. I wrote copy for the exhibition of this work at Vanderbilt University last year.
Also, my daughter, Hannah, has posted an article about her struggle with postpartum depression you can read here.
Maybe look at Kate's cheerful pix after watching Darcy's story and reading Hannah's.

droning in the gloaming

The rest of us used  conventional photographic techniques.

A couple of park employees continue their project of flyover films in Arkansas parks. We stumbled over them after some fine catfish at Fred's Fish Fry in Mammoth Springs, Ark., when we headed over to admire the spring and the wildlife (ducks, muskrat, sandpipers) at the park.
  The pair expertly flew their craft up and down the river and over the falls for more Visitor Center footage. Here is an article about how drone flyers have been getting in trouble lately.

humdingers

My life has shrunk to providing nectar for a dozen or so birds who suck down approximately four cups a day. And they sure do become angry birds if not fed promptly. They remind me of Gasners. What are they going to do when I depart the hinterlands?

out of ice

And if ever there was a summer we all needed cooling, this is it!
In other news, CBA has rejoined her desolate cats and her movie crew (casino scene) back in Georgia, I can't keep the damn hummingbirds fed, and we had a hella storm last night during which Dianne and Frank lost their electricity. The Goose (aka bunker), however, is still sitting pretty.

ozark eats

After a fine breakfast of cold steak and quail eggs, we headed off on an expedition and wound up at the Stray Dog barb-b-q. Frankly, menu items like The Dog Pile did not entice me, although the bite I had of a fellow diner's sandwich was unexpectedly good. We then explored the substandard housing market in several Ozark towns (not on my account—I already have my very own piece of substandard housing!), topping off the gastronomic journey with a soft serve ice cream cone.

catherine's world

In her continuing search for derelict properties, CBA has located yet another dream house, in somewhat better shape than the prior House of Her Dreams (pic tk). This one is in the backside of beyond, not far from the Goose. The interior has a dog trot hall with a room and porch on each side. Not sure what this kind of architecture represents or how it functioned. (Cookhouse in back?) But it's pretty old for this neck of the woods. I warned her about chiggers (and about getting shot), but she did not listen!

fine merchandise

We attempted to rearrange the FREE display for more traffic, but seeing as about three logging trucks and two cars pass per day, with nary a soul on foot, we did not have great success. Though one lone customer tried to take the peanut free sign home for the kids. We are now guarding it carefully. . .

the advent of cba

 I turned the house out of doors to clean up for Barrett.
All was ready.
And she arrived and unpacked all her stuff.
Thank goodness she did not bring the four cats in their cages!
Stay tuned for the free-table setup, which is bound to be a winner. That CBA can sell snow in midwinter.

full moon luna

On the night of the full moon, I had an unexpected visitor. The moth came tap tap tapping on my bedroom window and stayed as long as I kept the light on.