October

I have been a thousand miles away--for real and true.  There is much to tell, and I will, but for now there is October, the clear light it brings, and the days that disappear to dusk when I look away, when I take a breath, when I least expect.

Each leaf that shifts to gold on the maple outside my window is another blessing.  We will rake them, pile them out behind the shed, let them take their sweet time to turn to magic for the borders and the raised beds.  And there are bulbs for planting.  I'll haul out the barrow and the heavy spade, dig troughs for crocuses and daffodils.  There will be whole hills and mountains of snow between now and the next full bloom, but gardeners bank on hope, and October's sunlight gives just enough to keep me until spring.

Strawberries and Sunshine

I have lost count of the number of quarts of strawberries we've eaten so far this summer.  If it's true that you are what you eat, then I am on the verge of actually becoming a strawberry.  We grow beautiful strawberries in our garden, but the squirrels steal them, so I buy mine from local farmers, which is just fine by me.  Before we ate the last quart, I managed to stop munching on them long enough to do a still life shoot.  I could seriously take photos of these little gems all day.  I believe they are among the most photogenic of all foods.  The backdrop of the top shot is the inside of a vintage picnic hamper.  It's the loveliest shade of forest green--just right as a shadowbox.  The white berry basket is one I bought on sale at Anthropologie last week. Maybe they still have some left . . .

We have just been enjoying the berries fresh with Greek yogurt or a little light cream--or straight out of the box, but I do love them in baked goods, too, so I thought I'd share a link to one of my favorite summertime treats: strawberry-rhubarb crisp.  This one's from Ina Garten, and I've made it a few times.  Pure heaven!

And here's a recipe that I'll definitely be trying; this one's from Gena Hamshaw at Food52.  It's a vegan strawberry vanilla coconut ice cream.  I feel like I need to make it before the season is completely over.  Maybe it's time to invest in an ice-cream maker!!!  If you have one that you love, please let me know the brand. :)

If you live in the US, hope you've been having a joyous and relaxing Fourth of July weekend filled with firecrackers and, what else, strawberry shortcake.

Back with more summer treats soon, chickadees!  xo Gigi

Moody Me

Hello, my friends!  I can't begin to tell you how much I have missed being here on the blog this past month.  There I had made a big promise to post about our Brimfield adventures, and then I just fell off the map.  Two things happened: first, my little Brimfield post kept growing and growing into a big, all-encompassing flea market post.  Not unlike Brimfield itself, it started spilling out over the sides and becoming a little more than I could handle in just one brief post, so I've decided to develop it more and take my time with it.  Second, my life speeded up much faster than I had planned.  I have too much on my plate with work right now, and I haven't been able to keep up with, well, much else.  

But all that is boring.  All that matters is that I'm here now.  I managed to steal some time this week to do a still life shoot or two--woohoo!  The shot above is a vase I inherited from my Memere.  It's filled with purple and chartreuse posies from our gardens.  The backdrop is an old, beat up blackboard.  The fabric is a pretty scarf I bought in London at Spitalfields.  The lighting is my steady favorite--the moody north light I get coming through the window in my study/studio.  Have I told you before that this window is beside the bathroom door, so I end up doing a lot of shoots against that door, which often means blocking access to the bathroom for hours.  Good thing we have a second bathroom downstairs!

I was thrilled to discover this morning that the photo had been included by my amazing friends Kim and Aeleen in their #fouriadorefriday feature on Instagram.  You can take a peek at the beautiful grid they selected here.

This week here in coastal Maine we are finally having springish/summerish weather!!!  The sun is shining and the gardens are bursting with life.  I'm working in them whenever I have a moment to spare.  You'd think all my photos at the moment would be flooded with light and white and beachy sunshine, but I'm kind of loving dwelling in the darker, moodier realm right now.  The shot below is a "portrait" of Mr. Magpie.  Those who know him know why this is a portrait.  ;)

Sending a warm hug, lovelies!  More very soon.  xoxo Gigi