Improvements



These last few days have been busy in Chocorua.
Amy and Thad finally finished the shingling--Toby helped (and I should have too, but there was stuff I had to paint). The scaffolding is all down now, the gas tanks back in their proper place, all the debris picked up. It's gorgeous, but I was so used to seeing it messy that it looks just a little too plain to me now. Flowers--I'll plant tons of flowers there for next summer.



And finally we got a grill!
Here's Toby overseeing our first, and so far only, outdoor dinner.
Of course mistakes were made--I put too much oil on the food, we charred the corn, and didn't dare to grill the fish--we cooked that on the stove inside.
But by and large, the meal was pretty good and we're confident that we'll get the hang of it before long.

Traveling...

Last week Toby and I traveled to Mt. Desert Island in Maine



for a two-day visit with the Bob and Steffi and Katie Harris. They are renting a lovely cottage on a big lake while they build this new house nearby for themselves.



While Bob and Toby discussed heating systems and super insulated windows and stuff,
I kept the dogs company on the porch.



Later, we hiked up a small mountain overlooking the harbor and ocean--
and watched the mist roll in off the sea.

The Great Willow Tree Controversy





Ever since we came to our house in Chocorua in 1986, this willow tree has been growing on the front lawn.
It's provided shade and beauty for many events:




A summer dinner out of doors,




a cool place to examine garter snakes,




a wedding in the late afternoon,




a gathering of babies on the lawn,




a canopy for learning how to walk,




inspiration for a little romance




and a background for reunions,




shade for the front porch,




and a fun place to run over crunchy leaves in the fall.


BUT!!!
There are problems with the willow--
one limb, difficult to lop off, hangs dangerously low over the house,



Woodpeckers have punched many holes in the trunk and it's become a haven for many insects.
It sheds its small but numerous leaves endlessly over the lawn and the porch.




When our Storytellers came they asked how, if we had this quote in our house, we could think of cutting down an honest tree.

Well, maybe we won't. Maybe we'll start a little tree nearby and when that gets older and bigger, the willow might just be ready to relinquish it's place to another generation. Maybe we'll let the willow decide.

A Tulip Story

Here's a little story about Tulip (who likes to swim and loves sticks!)

Toby has, once again, created a path through the lily pads for us to swim out to the raft. He meticulously marked this path every three feet or so with pieces of wood tied to string somehow anchored on the bottom. It's been a delight to weave our way around the lilies following the wooden markers to the raft.

Last week in the middle of a very hot day we hopped in the lake for a cooling swim. Tulip usually sits on the dock and barks at us as we get further and further away. This day she jumped in and followed us.

She didn't know that she could follow the markers, but two-thirds of the way to the raft she encountered one. Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed the piece of wood in her mouth and started swimming back to shore. She's a fast swimmer, but I was close by and tried to wrestle that piece of wood out of her mouth. She wouldn't give it up--she had an iron grip on it. I swam beside her. When she started to slow down and sink a little I got worried and tried to hold her up by the fur on her back, saying "We're almost there, Tulip--hang on!!" She's not so young anymore--maybe she just can't take these long swims. But we got back to shore, and when I pulled the wood and the string up, there on the end

was this heavy brick.

Tulip had lugged it all back--no wonder she had trouble!

She slept most of the rest of the day.

The Storytellers came...



and settled in right away with Jay--telling sparks
(short little stories inspired by a single word or image),

then working on longer stories...



here I am, preparing my Peace Corps story--45 years in the making!




Jay and Carole figuring out a story together.




We talk in the barn about our stories, our dreams, our goals.
And have fun-- Katie's on the swing.


Actually, play is a BIG part of the days together---



walking to Heron Pond--Toby's testing his story out on Jay,




swimming in the lake--we had three gorgeous, cloudless days,




eating very delicious meals,




dancing before breakfast to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."




And of course the infamous "dress-up" night. The theme was "French"--Toby's from the Left Bank and I'm Coco Chanel.




Pam, a French garcon with a tiny mustache,




Steffan, a very aloof Henri Matisse.




Jay as a Chilean tourist in gai Parie!




The house, lake and the mountain starred--
they spoke silent stories of their own, all about peace and magic!

Chocorua-Just About Ready



Well, a lot of progress has been made up here in the last few weeks. Toby and I have been working round the clock. With the help of Thad, we got the pump installed and now we have water to the barn--finally!!




Endless sweeping out of the barn




and scything of lily pads from the lake.




Thad and Harry replaced rotting boards on the porch.




Tom and Clarice came over for the weekend to add their help.
Tulip really took to Clarice--no barking, lots of tail wagging, and here concentrating on a flea AND Clarice's sandwich.




There was time for play: here Clarice throws a long, hard ball.




Tom gets it--quite gracefully.




So now the red lanterns are out,




the lake is ready,




the mountain too.
All waiting for the story tellers to arrive on Sunday!

Relaxing in Chocorua

So far in the week and a half that we've been here, there hasn't been much time to relax.



We had to dig out the pipe behind the barn to see why the water wasn't flowing.




It was hard to work in such a tiny space.




Next we had a giant tree cut down that was too close to the barn.




I love the writing on the side of Jim's car: indeed the tree was in a tight place.




Then Tulip woke us early one morning barking at a porcupine sauntering around the barn. Toby set the Have-A-Heart trap and, almost instantly




we caught him (hard to get a good photo--he was quite scared). We released him in a nearby forest.




In the intense heat of this last week, it was pure pleasure to go down to the lake and fix up the beach.




And we did have a relaxing meal with Malcolm one night,




with Tulip sleeping peacefully on the lawn nearby.