living | maidstone state park

a little Vermont getaway... We took the boys camping this past weekend at Maidstone State Park. Nestled in the serene beauty of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, Maidstone is now officially one of my top three car camping state parks. Even though the weather was a bit iffy, it did not damper our adventure one bit.

Green. A lot of green. Gorgeous, vibrant greens of yellow birch and spruce filled the woods, while moss and lilies carpeted the forest floor. The loons call carried during the night, echoing over the clear, glassy water.

Best of all, the trip over to the park is truly stunning as you cruise along the Presidential range of New Hampshire's White Mountains. You could see Mt. Washington's craggy peak crystal clear on our way over, but it was shrouded in clouds on our way home.

A personal triumph was our boys' joy of camping this time around. Last year we decided that it was time to get back out camping, the boys were old enough now. Well, no one really mentions last June's trip anymore. We merely mutter "remember Lamoine?" Let's just say, the whole ordeal lasted only 18 hours. This weekend it was completely different. They played in the woods and along the lake the whole time. Never once saying "can we go home now", rather they uttered disappointments when we told them it was time to pack up.

Check out the bear print in the above right shot. That was just a few feet from our site. It was the claw part that completely awed me. Talk about sharp!

Our state parks are awesome treasures that I'm quite thankful for. Each year I pick out a few new parks to check out and I am rarely disappointed. Think about it, for $46, my family got to spend the weekend on a gorgeous lake with our own private beach basking in the beauty of nature. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

daily photo | chamomile close-up

june 22, 2010 | the apple scent of the chamomile blossoms makes weeding a pleasure

garden | garlic scapes delight

the delight of the scape... I was introduced to garlic scapes last summer. At first I was horrified at this twisting arrow-like thing that suddenly appeared on my garlic. Had my garlic bolted? But a little research later, I learned that in order to help focus the plants energy into forming a quality bulb, I had to lop off that funky shoot that I now knew was really called a scape. With that begin my quick fall into love with this culinary treat.

Last year we took the scapes and quickly sauteed them with some crushed red pepper flakes and extra virgin olive oil. The memory of how incredibly good these little garlic bean-like shoots were was beyond words. I planted three times the amount of garlic this year primarily for scapes alone. As soon as you snip them from the plant, the aroma of garlic quickly fills the surrounding air wafting promises of tastebud delights to come. I could hardly wait to eat them this week, so I stayed the course and sauteed them up the same exact way as last year. They definitely did not disappoint. Sadly what did disappoint was how quickly they are now gone. Until next June...

raising chickens | week six

week six and growing like weeds... Check out how huge our babies have gotten. That's Beatrice right above. She's our Buff Orpington. I'm convinced that if you stare at them long enough, you'll be able to see them grow right before your eyes. Seriously, every day they shoot up a little more. Just check out Gertie, below. Remember when she looked liked this?

That's Dottie, above left. Here she is at a mere one week old. And that's Buzzbee to the right. They have all changed so much, so quickly. Their personalities also grow more distinct day by day.

This week kicked off the chick's introduction to the outdoors. We made a temporary pen for them to hang out in while we work around the yard. Tom's currently converting his former ice house into a chicken coop. Judging from his past six weeks of chicken cage contraptions, I have no doubt that he'll come up with an amazing coop. His deadline is this weekend, so stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed!

daily photo | prayer flags

june 15, 2010 | a beautiful gift from a friend's recent trip to Tibet

wishlist | lusting after thomas paul

pursuing thomas paul... It's not a secret that I lust after all things Thomas Paul. His graphic prints, clean lines, and amazing color palette is a designer's dream. Though not often in my budget, I find that almost all of the items of his that I drool over are reasonably priced. The Scrimshaw Dessert Plate Set (above, $32), is the lastest addition to his melamine plate collection and the perfect costal accompaniment.

There is something so poetically graphic about these octopus tea towels (left, $20) and Alpaca throw (right, $350) that I'd actually consider incorporating octopodes into my daily decor.

Though the last thing I need is another throw pillow, I always seem to be on the hunt for cool pillow designs. The whale pillow (above, $70) immediately caught my eye. I kinda have a thing for all things burlap and jute, toss in a whale and you get close to perfection in my eyes. And how can you go wrong with bringing a couple of trees into the comfort of your couch? (Birch Arboretum linen pillow, above left, $100 and Chestnut Arboretum linen pillow, above right, $120)

Finally, tote your stuff around in style. Tuck your laptop away incognito in this Luddite Laptop Sleeve (above left, $50). Or, better yet, pair up that laptop sleeve with this perfect Robin Tote Bag (above right, $50). It's totes like this that make me think I need another, but in all honestly, I may be an amateur tote hoarder in the making, so I shall continue to do my Thomas Paul shopping via my wishlist.

You can find everything Thomas Paul at Velocity Art and Design. Check out some of my past faves from this very cool shop.

daily photo | pristine peony

june 13, 2010 | the magnificence that is the peony

garden | wild strawberries

wonderfully wild... We have oodles of wild strawberries randomly tossing their trailers all about our lawn and along our wood's edge. It got to the point where they were getting downright invasive, popping up like little weeds throughout my garden beds. For a few years I tried to fight back, but last year I decided to embrace them and their dazzling little treats.

I began to pluck up the stray strawberry plants and give them their own patch to frolic in. So far it is paying off in tiny, delicate pops of sweetness. I keep planning on harvesting them in one big batch and drying them, but it really is impossible. You just automatically munch on them as soon as you pluck them. But should I ever get the will power to resist long enough to actually incorporate them into a recipe, the top on my list would be wild strawberry jam.

daily photo | sweet williams sweatheart

june 11, 2010 | sweet william's sweetheart

recipe | mint chocolate chip ice cream

mint chocolate chip heaven... Sure, supermarket freezer shelves pour forth with dozens of tantalizing ice cream flavors, yet for me, none hold a candle to my beloved mint chocolate chip. Our love affair began many, many, years ago and continues to this day.

I never really thought about ever trying to make this favorite treat at home. I tried the whole homemade ice cream thing several years ago when I first got my ice cream maker. Yah, the ice cream was good, but it was way too much work for something that was so easy to buy just a block away. Well, that was back when I was living in the heart of Portland. Now living in the woods, the nearest supermarket is a good 25 minutes down the road, so that changes the game a bit.

I stumbled upon this super-easy recipe on allrecipes.com the other day. It's actually for a lighter version of ice-cream because it includes 2% milk, but you won't miss it in the taste, only in the calories. The result is a smooth, creamy, refreshing dessert that is sure to please.

My only advice on this recipe is to use the best quality chocolate you can get for the chips. That will make all the difference.

Easy Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

submitted to allrecipes.com by: Darryn Briggs

serves 8

2 cups 2% milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

3 drops green food coloring (optional)

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract until the sugar has dissolved. Color to your liking with the green food coloring.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After about 10 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate chips. After the ice cream has thickened, about 30 minutes later, spoon into a container, and freeze for 2 hours.

daily photo | when bee meets chive

june 7, 2010 | bee happy

do-it-yourself | chamomile-tea and other uses

cheery charm... I've been growing German chamomile pretty much since I began gardening. I always pictured myself making all sorts of fabulous teas and skin/hair products from my own freshly-harvested herbs. Well, the reality of that never really came to fruition, yet I enjoyed having chamomile so much in my garden, that it was one of the first plants I planted when we created our initial garden bed here in New Gloucester. There is something so endearing about those tiny daisy-like clusters of flowers and the waft of fresh apples that fills the air when you rub your hand over the fern-like leaves.

Taking the first steps towards my personal promise to utilize everything as much as possible in my garden this year, I went out earlier this week and harvested my first crop of chamomile flowers and dried them in my handy-dandy new dehydrator. In little under three hours, I had perfectly-dried chamomile. Toss a spoonful into a mug, add some hot water and take in some relaxation.

You can easily enough make the tea with fresh flowers as well. In fact, four days after I harvest the first crop of flowers, you can't even tell I took a single one with the dozens that have bloomed in its place. This fabulous plant will keep on blooming like this well into the fall.

Below are a couple of fun do-it-yourself beauty products that you can make with your chamomile:

Make your own hair lightener
(source: tipking.co.uk)

2 cups water
2 cups chamomile tea
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Boil all the ingredients and let it simmer for 15 mins. Strain out the tea bags and parsley (make sure to remove all of the parsley) and let it sit till room temperature. Poor on to hair over a sink and rinse two or three times. Your hair should be smelling nice and looking lighter!

Chamomile Shampoo

4 bags of Chamomile tea
4 tablespoons pure soap flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons glycerin

Steep the tea bags in 1 1/2 cups of boiled water for 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add the soap flakes to the tea and let stand until the soap softens. Stir in glycerin until well blended. Keep in a dark, cool place in a sealed bottle.

Make your own Chamomile Astringent
makes 1 1/2 pints

1 3/4 pint purified water
8 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or 2 tablespoons dried mint
2 tablespoons dried chamomile flowers, crumbled

Place all the ingredients in a medium-size saucepan and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 5 minutes before straining into a screw topped jar. It will keep for 2 weeks refrigerated. Apply with cotton balls.

garden | let the harvest begin

let the harvest begin... While many folks were out on the lakes and beaches celebrating the holiday weekend, I was knee deep in compost and loving it. I spent the weekend completely immersed in the garden yanking weeds, planting seeds building beds, moving perennials, and celebrating our first harvests of the season.

Meadow phlox, Oriental poppies, lupine, baptisia and raspberries are in full bloom. Their gorgeous colors make you wonder if we ever had a winter because spring came so very early this year.

I spent an entire day regretting the fact that I ever introduced Black-Eyed Susans to my flower beds. Though I love the flower dearly, its propensity to be such a prolific self-seeder has almost completely choked out all my other perennials and annuals in the beds. Last year I tried to "find new homes" for the ones that I dug out of my beds. This year, I had to take the crueler step of just pulling the plants up and tossing them into the compost. The difference is night and day.

Wild raspberries and wild strawberries carpet the perimeter along the woods. I created a new bed this year just for the wild strawberries to take over. Sure, their fruits are tiny, but oh, so delightful. The only problem is competing with the chipmunk to get to the berries first.

Above are a couple of our vegetable and herb beds. We have several other beds throughout our yard. Each year, my husband takes to the woods with his chain saw to allow a little more sun to glow down onto the gardens. It's a delicate balance gardening in the woods because I adore living amongst the woods, but we do need more sun to have an effective garden. With each year, we slowly create a happier garden climate and my dreams of having a meandering pathway throughout my "secret" gardens becomes one step closer.

Most excitingly, harvest time has officially arrived. Mesclun, spinach, chives and radishes are a plenty. A freshly-snipped salad shares the dinner table each night. The addition of the chive blossoms has been wonderful. They add a crisp oniony-pop to the salad. My goal is to utilize as much of each plant as possible this year.

It totally soothed my soul spending the weekend out in the garden. My dream is to one day parlay this passion into a new career. Really, what could be a better way to spend the day than be outside working in the soil, listening to the bird sing and the bees buzz? Until then, I take my fortune in enjoying what I have and dreaming of my future 10-acre farm.