Flowers, Phin and Spring!

Although still life photography is not really my forte it doesn't stop me from pursuing pretty images.

I love the Ranunculus. Their colors are so varied and beautiful! Trimming the stems every few days and changing out the water help to keep them fresh and crisp. The sweet tag with a birds nest came in a gift-tag variety pack from Homegoods. 

The yellow and white Bee hand towel came from a small, old time store in Little Compton, RI called Wilburs. Here's a little video about the town and Wilburs, if your interested. How I love the Farm Coast region of Rhode Island * sigh *

A few pretty Peonies just past their prime. Seems they come and go in June like a popsicle on a hot afternoon. Rain can take them within a matter of hours.

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As I get older every day seems to be a journey. Someone important to me recently relayed the thoughts below. They strike a chord with my soul.

I think they're words all of us should try to live by. All we can do is our best.

And then there's Phin. I just happened to come across this photo last night and thought it would be a good image to add to my blog. All the white you see around the edges? That's Lily's head, neck, and leg. Her fluffy white fur appears like clouds.

FINALLY spring is here! No peepers quite yet but this morning for the first time I heard a Nighthawk. The Robins and Cardinals are singing before the sun comes up. And the blackbirds have returned in prolific numbers, only to clean out my feeders in one big swarm. Warm days cannot be far off.

Has spring returned to your house? For me it always feels like I'm coming back to life again.

Spring romance

The rain, oh the rain! It's been like a deluge here in New England over the past several days, but finally the sun in shining and we're jumping right into summer with a heatwave beginning this Thursday. 

Thank you to everyone who commented on my previous post. Quite frankly I'm shocked that anyone reads my blog at all anymore, especially since I only publish once or twice every 6 months or so. But I really do thank you. 

This first image was taken in Little Compton, RI and every time I see it the view makes me sigh ... such a beautiful area. I'd move there in a heartbeat if it were feasible. 

Newburyport, Mass

How is your spring? Have you been out shooting much? 

If only our cameras could capture all the beauty the season holds. All the little nuances of budding flowers, lilac scented breezes, thick green grass, and even the return of the ever challenging dandilion. Once again the sun shines through the leaves and the Catbird cries as I type at my computer and sip a vanilla latte from Starbucks. These are the days we longed for in mid February. Finally they are here in all their glory. Relish every moment.

As we bid adieu to May, sweet June is knocking on Mother Natures door. Oh what a sweet month it is indeed.

Little Compton, RI

These images were taken in late May 2011, on a trip to Rhode Island. I have to say, the area I stayed in has to be one of the pretties places I've ever seen. Little Compton personifies the true, down home, old time beauty you can still view in a New England town. 

United Congregational Church is located on the commons, as well as the cemetery. Just around the corner from the church is the Art Gallery. The perfect place to stop for a cup of coffee, a snack, and some unique shopping.

The wisteria was so much larger and more prolific than I see here in NH. As were the amazing brilliantly colored azaleas. I'll have to look and see if I have any photos of those. 

My goal was to arrive in Rhode Island while the sun was still up, and luckily I accomplished that goal because the next day was non-stop busy with an overcast sky. I'll always be grateful for the photos I captured when the sun illuminated the local beauty. Lately I just keep thinking about going back. Next time I'd like to go a bit more south to view some of the mansions in Newport.

I hope you enjoy the view!

Riptide Oysters

Riptide Oysters in Westport, Massachusetts

Now this is one place I instantly felt at home. Anywhere near the ocean just feels right to me.

A young couple (on the upper right), Kerian and Kristin, own Riptide Oysters. They started the business without any competition in the immediate area. It's a tough business, working year round through all sorts of New England weather, but I imagine the independence is worth the trade off. On the bottom left is their little girl. Isn't she the cutest thing ever?!!! I could have photographed her all day long!

Kerian was an excellent speaker, giving us all the details of oyster farming and demonstrating where they live and grow

Above: Riptide's boat
Below: a view of some young oysters

I believe they said it takes 2 years for the oysters to fully mature before they can be harvested and sold. Hopefully I'm right on that. It was one of those moments where I really should have taken notes and didn't.

The whole day was overcast but once we arrived by the water the fog was rolling in.

The Paquachuck Inn

The Harbormaster building

As I said, I really loved this place. It almost pained me to leave because I wanted to walk around and take more pictures, but we had one last place to visit before the long drive home ... a local farm. That will be the last part of the tour. Phew! We packed in a lot of stuff in one day!

A visit to the Art Cafe

Here we go again . . . off to visit someplace else! I told you it was a very busy day-trip to Rhode Island!

The Art Cafe is located next to the town square in Little Compton. Honest to goodness this place has such a quaint hometown feel. I just loved it.

Food, jewelry, art ... there's a little bit of everything in this shop!



I had a hot mocha-latte. My favorite.

Don't you wish you were there too? The town center is utterly adorable. There will be more pictures of that later on.

If only I lived closer, I'd stop in for a mocha-latte more often.

Almost directly across the street from the Art Cafe, about 12 feet up in an old tree, was a hive of honey bee's. I'm not a bee person at all so I was a bit freaked out. But, they are just honey bee's so I figured it would be okay.

A little fresh honey with your tea perhaps? Good luck!

*Still two more places to visit. I do hope you're enjoying the trip as much as I did.

Sakonnet Vineyards

Picking up where I left off with my previous post ... we finished up browsing the shops at the Four Corners in Tiverton, now it was time to go back to the Provender, pick up our boxed lunch's, head out to Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, and enjoy a delicious sandwich on the lawn of the Vineyard.

(Provender front porch)

Don't all the boxes look so wonderful? The ladies at the Provender did such a nice job. Inside was my yummy Turkey and Cranberry Chutney sandwich with sprouts, a Poland Spring water, and a fancy bag of chips, with a napkin of course.

After lunch we were invited inside to sample the wines. This is where I am lacking. Because I hadn't slept very well the night before (being away from home will do that to me), and I don't usually drink, I watched a video instead with a few other ladies about the vineyard. Which by the way can also be viewed on their website. The bar area was quite nice, making me wish I'd taken a few pictures so I could at least show you the vast selection of wines.

Being that it was the end of May, the berries were just starting to come to life. For a wine connoisseur, a trip along the Coastal Wine Trail in Massachusetts and Rhode Island would be one heck of a fun trip!

Tiverton Four Corners shops

The Itinerary

9:00 a.m. - 9:30 - Welcome breakfast at Provender. (3883 Main Road, Tiverton, RI 02878-4843)

9:30 - 11:45 - Strolling through Tiverton’s charming shops.

12:00 - 1:00 - Picnic lunch and wine tasting at Sakonnet Vineyard.

1:15 - 2:00 - Coffee and dessert at The Art Cafe.

2:15 - 3:00 - Watch the catch come in at Westport Harbor.

3:30 - 5:00 - Survey the local food scene with tours of Silverbrook Farm and Round the Bend Farm.

5:00 Depart...exhausted, but thoroughly inspired!


As you can see by looking at the itinerary, our day spent along the Farmcoast was quite full, but I never felt rushed even for a moment. With so much to see and do I took over 400 pictures, which honestly I didn't think was that many considering how many shots turn out to be duds, and are deleted.

Usually I can make a post out of a simple jaunt to the beach, so how am I supposed to condense a non-stop day? For this post I'll show you some of the shops we visited before lunch.

Right from the get-go Christine had things organized. She made name tags, business card holders, had Farmcoast bags for all of us, and folders with maps and organized information from local businesses. All this and she has an infant!

A few of the ladies arriving from around New England at the Provender restaurant, located directly on Four Corners in Tiverton.

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After a delicious breakfast of coffee and a blueberry-lemon scone at the Provender it was off to our first shop: Nankeen

Beautiful bags, clutches, totes, etc., await you in this bright, fresh and modern store. Loved the hats too! All the fabric is hand printed from hand carved stencils. A historic and time consuming process.

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Because I love home stores, The Cottage was one of my favorite shops. I could have spent hours, and a ton of money in this store. Seeing as how I'm trying to be thrifty these days, and I had time constraints, I just took plenty of pictures instead. Wonderful products though, and so much more then I can show you here.

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Roseberry-Winn

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The other store I was head over heals for was the local flower shop:

Sayles Livingston
website
and
blog

The ladies were working on arrangements for an upcoming wedding and bat mitzvah. It smelled like heaven. Notice the woman who's arranging flowers with a baby in a front pack? So cute.

And I almost forgot, they gave us all free flowers too! Thank you, Sayles!

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Courtyards

I'm diggin' the green umbrella

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No small town would be complete in New England without at least one antique shop

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Milk and Honey Bazaar


I know I posted a lot of pictures, but there were several shops I never made it to. You'll just have to go there yourself, if you want to see them all!

More to come . . .