Drops to Droughts, Buds to Blossoms.

 

Once again summer has evaporated like a spring puddle on a slab of warm summer blacktop... the smells, sounds and sights linger still. Evident in the sandy corners of our car, the deflated lake rafts in our cellar and the pictures of sunshine and family adventures in my camera roll.

The beginning starts off with so much promise and excitement, as the seeds sprout and the landscape fades from browns to light then dark greens, the chill of springs breezy showers bow to the power of the sun as each week seems to unfold into a new array of blossoms and bugs as our humble homestead transitions so do we. 

This year we focused primarily on flowers and started 95% of what we grew from seed and our tubers.

The forested landscape we inhabit has some predictable moments flanked by the chaos of volunteer plants spread by the birds and the rodents that scurry and tweet about. We have our areas of native perennials but we also notice surprises strewn about the gardens and surrounding woodland edges as seeds from previous plantings find strongholds and flourish in less planned arrangements.

These Johnny Jump Ups and Columbine are prime examples of things appearing from scattered hopes of seasons past, arriving late but maybe right on time for the balance of the landscape.

Bearded Iris

Apple Blossoms

Pear Blossom

Peonies

As the garden started to bloom so did our schedule for music... 

Makaya McCraven @ Jimmys, Portsmouth, NH

Natural Information Society @ Space Gallery, Portland ME

the summer started off saturated by rains which gave us a nice window of mushroom harvests from our log grown shiitakes as well as a lil foraging of the nearby woodlands.

Perfect Reishi Mushrooms on Eastern Hemlock

The garden soaked in the rains and produced some greens and early summer offerings.

Garlic will always be a part of our growing season....

Garlic Scape Abundance!

Another years supply of garlic bulbs.

This years compost was stretched as far as we could but we need to ramp up a bigger batch as we enter a decade of growing from some these beds...

Pineland Strawberry Festival was especially fun this year thanks to this great duo of folksters picking the clouds away as we filled out car with a fklat of berries and Hazel perused the crafts!

Music has stayed in heavy rotation and Hazel is learning to enjoy the art of vinyl... even purchasing her first few records on her own to add to a small collection I have already started for her.

Lots of family day excursions without any major trips this summer, we spent lots of days along the coast as well as a little time in the white mountains as well.

Wolfe Necks in Freeport is a family favorite where I can bring some paints, Cassi grabs a book and Hazel does a little of both along with some rock scrambling and tidepool investigating.

Creme de Cassis Hollyhock

Scabiosa

Feverfew

Yarrow

Shasta Daisy

Wildflower assortment with Sweet Annie, Nasturtium & Zinnia

 So Many Zinnias!

Butterfly Weed

Milkweed with Monarch Catepillar

Our annual stop at the Basin in Franconia NH

Another great show we saw and brought Hazel along for was Herbie Hancock @ the Merrill, Portland ME

We got front row and the show was top notch with Herbie bringing the heat at 86 years young!

Back at the LocalRootz Homestead the flowers kept blooming even with a drought setting in...

This year needed a bit of irrigation and sprinklers as handwatering such a large growing area has become to time consuming as our busy lives churn away...

We started noticing some disease pressure on some of our Echinacea beds, but other beds flourished. 

more perennial blooms...

the Clematis did amazing this year with tons of blooms compared to seasons past.

Another winner this growing season was our black eyed susan patch which encompassed most of our front "lawn" surrounding our apple and pear trees in a ever blooming sea of yellow!

Scotch Thistle

Everyone that visited our homestead commented on the abundance of pollinators which we notice everyday but hearing the amazement of outside folks is encouraging us that we are doing something right on our little plot of land we inhabit,

And of course dahlia season is currently underway as Im typing this in the start of September.  Hazel starts a new school year, the nights are getting cooler and the acorns are starting to drop from the large oaks.

A heavy rotation of bouquets are always on our agenda...

My favorite so far this year!

Our Roxbury Russets are ripening... the major influx of tourists is diminishing and the woodpile needs a little restock as the geese and migrating birds start to think about making their journey south.

We take a moment to enjoy the world we have surrounded ourselves with and try to slow down every now and then to appreciate what we have, even if the world seems less stable and the future more fragile we do the best we can to teach our kiddo to appreciate what we have and instill a work ethic that creates a life that is fulfilling and fruitful.

For now we bid you a goodnight as we scramble to get up to date here at the old blog...

 

Still keeping busy over on mixcloud with my goal of a mix a week for the year being shattered with WAY more than just one a week and no sign of slowing down.

Find them all over at LOCALROOTZ HIFI

Or catch a listen of the last couple right here....