Between The Storms

The four days of 90+ temperatures have passed, only to be replaced with high 80's and high humidity punctuated with frequent thunderstorms - perfect for the gardens. I manage to get an early walk or bike ride in while it's reasonable cool. The ducks and geese are all over the place and I often have to stop the car to let them cross the roads.

Just about finished rearing the young.

I took myself on a little day trip to the Park-McCullough mansion in North Bennington VT the other day. It was a hot one so I left home early enough to be first in line for the tour. It's less than an hour away and the scenery on the drive was just beautiful. 

The gardens of the home were what drew me, and they were just fine, but nothing spectacular. The house on the other hand was sumptuous even though it was just the family summer house. Thankfully it was a self guided tour as I arrived at the same time as a very long winded couple from Arizona. I brought my drone and was able to get a few shots from above.

Park-McCullough mansion


A working farm next to the grounds or part of the grounds.

The main staircase looking up from the 1st floor.

The main staircase looking down from the 2nd floor.  I loved the sitting room
behind the split staircase.

A miniature house for the family's kids to play in.

On the way home I got a few shots of the Bennington Monument.

Not a day goes by that I don't do a little gardening or rearranging, or some type of yard work.

My morning coffee or afternoon seltzer spot.

I splurged on quite a few annuals to add color to the garden. These zinnias spoke to me.

My favored day lilies just started blooming.


Rocks I've been hauling home. It's looking like a miniature Stone Henge.



My home from the drone's view. Both my neighbors have pools, but they rarely get used.


Today I went on a hike with neighborfriend Annette to the Plateau. We started with temperatures in the 70's but it soon hit 85 and we had to stop quite a  bit for water, and my stash of energy bars came in handy as we both needed one. It was just a beautiful forest with beaver ponds, streams, a sugar shack, and foundations of old homes. I found another nice rock spire for my garden installation, as I like to call it. We logged about 4 leisurely miles.
 

One of 3 beaver ponds.

Jewel winged damselfly.

This work was so recent, we thought we might have scared the beaver away.

The sugar shack still has the sap boiler, pans, and collection buckets.


The rest of the week is a series of stay at home days alternating with go out and have fun days. A perfect schedule for me.

Comments

  1. MargaretJune 25, 2024 at 10:43 PM

    That humidity would be tough to handle! My late husband was a stair builder and would have loved to see those stairs; he did fancy ones that sometimes looked like the ones in the mansion. Your flowers are gorgeous and your outdoors like a park. I do love the color and cheer of annuals!

    ReplyDelete

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