As I Walked Out

'As I walked Out One Evening' is the title and the first line of a W.H. Auden poem, and 'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning' is the title of Laurie Lee's second autobiographical work. I love the idea of 'walking out,' and I did so myself this morning. It wasn't evening, and it certainly wasn't midsummer, but a mid-morning in March in northern New England has its own special appeal for those of us who love it here.

My choice of footwear today determined that my walking would be on our road and the main road.

Another day I'll trek up the hill but it is still too wet and muddy for regular shoes yet.

This little William Baffin rose will be gorgeous before you know it just like the big one by the gate.

The process of heating with wood is ongoing, always a provider of physical fitness as well as cozy warmth.

These are definitely not flowers, but they are popping up out of the lawn. They are molehills.

I'm kind of fond of the chickadee in flight - probably as close as I'll get to an 'artsy' photo.

I walked a couple miles thinking it was time I posted about the neighborhood. It began with a few farms, and amazingly there is still a lot of open land. The people who bought the divided farms have a fair bit of land so there aren't a lot of houses. There's a long tradition of children building on the family land when they grow up. The woman from whom we bought our house had grown up here. Her adult house was just down the road from her family farm. The son in the family across the road has recently built on his family land. And the latest addition to this tradition is (drum roll please) our daughter! She and her boyfriend want to build on this land in the lower south pasture. The animals haven't grazed down there for a few years, and most recently it has been used as a logging yard. The wood you see was cut during last year's logging operation, which Tom fully intends to write about in his farm and weather journal.

Now I'm down on the main road. Our neighbors celebrate the seasons in a lovely, whimsical way. The Christmas display is magical, and the Hallowe'en and Easter ones are just plain fun.

This is what the weather and the traffic do to the road.

The logging yard on another neighbor's property. Yes, we are officially in mud season now.

The new home of our neighbor's son and his family. He has a child who is the same age he was when we first moved here. Ah, time.

The former home of the late woman who sold us our house.

The oldest house and original farm on the road, along with ours which is off the main road. There was a young man on a ladder scraping paint, and I'm wondering what the new color will be.

Crow in flight, one of the signs of spring around here.

About half a mile from our house is the home of our 'blueberry man'! An older lady, and Tom and I buy so many blueberries from him that he took down his 'blueberries for sale' sign, and he just calls us when he has a crop to sell. We have enough for blueberries on yogurt every single morning, with some left over for desserts. Heaven.

Tumbledown stone walls are everywhere. They were all cleared from the area fields. Someday I'll show you our cellar foundation stones.

Always one of my favorite views. It reminds me of an English lane.

Patching some of the winter road damage.

On my way back home again.

The spring and summer arrangements of porch, terrace, and patio. Let the warm weather begin!