50 shades of green

 1. SPRUCED UP

2. LIVELY LEMON LEAF

 

 3. HONEYSUCKLE HANGOVER

4.  STRAWBERRY PEEKABOO

5.  FERN FOREST

 6. GOOSEBERRY GAUNTLET

 7. APPLE BOUGH

 8. TINY TURNIP TOP

 9. COLE CROP RAINDROP

10.  PICKLING PEPPER

11. TRES TOMATO

12. PICASSO PETUNIA

and finally....

13."BATHROOM STOOL"

um, the kind you build from lumber scraps

 so your kids can get up to the sink to wash all the garden dirt off their hands.

Okay, so that's only 13, but you get the point.

Wheee! SUMMER!

reflections

I.
In a different time
a long ago life where bare feet tiptoed through wild forests
soft and soundless against carpets of ageless moss
we might occasionally catch a glimpse of ourselves when passing by
a still pool or lake's edge
but mostly we saw our image reflected
through the eyes of our family, our lovers, our children, our tribe.

Not so long ago
mirrors were not a household staple
and a portrait was a solemn and momentous life event.
In the fading light we stared at the rough-hewn boards of a cabin wall
as we smoothed our hair with water from a basin and hung up our hat
a rumbling stomach chased away vanity's ghost
as we sat down with family to break the evening bread.

II.
In this day
we are surrounded by our reflection
a mirror on every wall to catch us from every angle
to hold our wrinkles and flaws in high definition
to make us linger a moment longer
scrutinizing

We have a camera in our pocket to capture and store proof of our lives
with a click of a button we record moments instantaneously
and watch the playback, sometimes before the moment has even finished passing.

We have pages of our children looking spotlessly beautiful
books filled to bursting with neatly documented details of weddings, birthdays, graduations
sporting events, vacations, new homes,
Life's firsts, lasts and in-betweens.

With a click of a button we can broadcast these images
to hundreds or thousands of people
our friends, family, family friends,  friends of friends
and total strangers
But somehow there seems to be no time anymore to look deeply into another person's eyes
to take in the smile lines, the smudges, the unspoken
the whole of a living, breathing, unedited human being.

III.
My little girl has experimenting with self-adornment.
She engineers extravagant creations using up the entire contents of the button jar.
Placing these garlands around her neck she is like an tiny, ancient queen
but she has not once asked to look at the finished product in a mirror.
Maybe it is the satisfying weight of 57 buttons against her chest
or the reassuring sounds of wood and glass and metal clicking softly together
Maybe its the way her little brother reverently runs his fingers across the necklace,
so uncharacteristically gentle.

I picked my camera up to photograph her radiant joy and creativity
but then I set it down.
I thought, just this once, let the moment go uncaptured by shutter or screen
Instead, let her see her own beauty reflected in a mother's loving eyes.

apple jelly

I wanted to find a poem about apple picking to go with these pictures,

but Robert Frost seemed too heavy, and besides, 

nobody picks that many bushels of apples in Alaska.

Maybe something then by Mary Oliver?

No, it turns out she and Seamus Heaney were blackberry pickers.

And I'm sorry to say that even though William Carlos Willams ate all the plums

He didn't cover the subject of apples.

I'm sure that somewhere in a dog-eared volume on someones bookshelf there is a perfect verse

that catches the orchard on a dewy morning, humble apple tree boughs heavy with ripe fruit kissing the tops of yarrow and the last of summer's wild grass.

Each apple there, no matter how tiny or large, 

how crisp or pithy or tart hides in its heart a tiny star-shaped secret.  

A remembrance of seasons past and moment of present to memorize the good weight of this fruit in your hand, the satisfying thud as it falls into your basket or bowl. Then your mind wanders 

to a current patch in the forest, stealing the ruby gems in the last of the waning summer sunlight; 

being only human, you begin to scheme what it is you will do with all your orchard spoils

 Later in a steam-filled kitchen, you will dole out samples of crystal jelly to delighted children, 

eyes bright from September adventures and too much sugar

 You, the queen of the apples will look out a rain streaked window pane, and wonder 

how many women have passed an unremarkable moment like this

trying to capture this little bit of summer

in a mason jar.

still life with after-dinner dishes

The after-dinner dishes looked so pretty with the late sun filtering though the window that I felt compelled to take a picture instead of clearing and washing them.

visitors in the lilacs

Tonight Loren and I though we'd spotted a hummingbird in our lilacs from out the kitchen window.  It was moving like a hummingbird, and had the same rapid wingbeat while it zipped all around...so I grabbed my camera to snap some pictures of our first hummingbird sighting of the summer.  To my surprise, when we looked up close at the pictures it turned out to be a moth.  A quick google search informs us that this is a sphinx month, and strangely, it seems to most resemble the White-Lined Sphinx Moth Hyles lineata.  If true, than it is a rare sighting indeed--they aren't supposed to be this far north. 

signs of spring?

8 inches of new snow...

tomato sprouts gazing rather forlornly out the window...

and I just finally unpacked a box labeled "fragile" and found these. 

must be springtime in Alaska, right?

does anyone else's dog like to photobomb them?

i is in yor pikcher, ruinin yor luv moment.

a little bit of cousins

I've been sorely neglecting the blog lately, but can you blame me with this kind of adorability (can that be a word? It should in this case) to distract me:

seriously.... is that not the most baby cuteness that ever did grace a fish box?

And let's not fail to mention the sunshine and sandy shores of Oahu.  Thanks sister, for moving to a place that makes family reunions double as tropical vacations!  It was the most fun, and a real treat, to reunite--or just unite--these adorable, squishy cousins.  And the big(er) cousins, weeeellll.....they played hard, and drove each other a little nutso, but that's just how it goes, and at the end of the day, there was a lot of love to go around.

And that's what's best about family, right?  No matter how many awkward timeouts you get put in, you still love each other like crazy cakes.

moving in

We met some of our new neighbors yesterday.

 They were so kind to stop by unannounced and do a little impromptu trimming of the raspberry patch.

 Things got a little awkward when they spied the old couch {this belonged to Loren's fam since he was a little kid, it now sits in the garage awaiting a re-upholstery job to begin it's third or fourth life}. 

 I guess they didn't care for our taste in furniture, because they up and left without so much as a goodbye.

 Geeze guys...have some vision.

Well at any rate, we are getting settled in.  Who needs furniture when you have a crackling fire?...and dogs who are generous enough to share a corner of their bed.

at the cape

hiking with tots

It was a perfect morning for a "hike" at the top of Anvil Mountain with our friends Zoe, Jasper, Elise & Huckleberry.

 I've decided that when you are 7 months pregnant toddlers are the best hiking companions.

newbie.

This week my friend Bridgett volunteered to let me take pictures of her almost two-week-old son Timber.  I have been wanting to try and photograph a newborn, and let me tell you...I have a whole new respect for people who do this for a job.  Timber is a very good baby too--but no one wants to be messed with that much!  It was a fun learning experience for me though...and a challenge with the very short, indirect daylight and me trying to shoot without flash. I thought I would post a few of the pictures, just to remind you all how sweet the littlest little ones are.  I love the one of mama and baby snuggling.  Almost makes me want another one ;) Congratulations to Timber and his mom and dad!

ice lantern

The arctic has sunsets to take your breath away, but catch them quickly,  because in the blinking of an eye they are gone.  

a straggling beam from tonight's sunset illuminates a sea ice lantern.  

A little light house for the seals.

Magical.

out in the country.

Its been a fun week.  My little brother Gabe is visiting Nome.

Okay, so he's not really that little, but he is visiting Nome for real, and since he's never been here we have been adventuring out in the country... Mostly with my friend Sarah here who has had about enough of Gabe trying to stow away in her backpack.  Today we hiked out to Dorothy Falls, which is one of my favorite treks around these parts.

 

pretty, huh?

We have been stuck inside the last few days with some abysmally dreary weather, so when the sun peeped out today we knew we had to get out of town.

And it was mostly nice.  Even though it rained on us a little, Sadie stayed snug in the ergo, the dogs ran free across the tundra and no bears were encountered (and we were happy about that). 

 The worst thing that happened today was Gabe's acute case of soggy socks, which, while uncomfortable, rarely ends up in tragedy during the summer months:)

 To cheer himself up, Gabe took an iphone photo boquet for his lady love back in Southeast 

(so sweet I almost want to throw up a little-lol!)

Look at this poor little guy.  August already and he is just barely getting his bloom on. 

I guess better late than never.

Who do you think lives here?  Maybe an Ishigok. Gabe took this one... I really like it.

Today I just feel so thankful to live in a place and season that is incredibly beautiful, and to have good friends and family to share it with.  Really, what more can a girl ask for?