Delaware County Fair Walton NY

I love county and state fairs. It is so Americana - I love it. When I lived in North Carolina I lived near the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds. Pure Americana - rides and food and local farmers and organizations all celebrating our town, county, and state. I couldn't wait to indulge in the worst possible food for my body but so delicious. I would go on rides that would make me puke my guts out and it was all so fun. Tim and I have never been to the Delaware County Fair in Walton so we decided to go. So much fun, a day indulging in local farmers showing farm animals and all sorts of junk food and local retailers showing their wares. I love vintage trackers and 4H and FFA and all of those things that I grew up with in Texas. We had a blast and it was a gorgeous day and I had to take a huge nap when I got home cause I had too much fun.

It's Official - House Naming

When I lived in North Carolina and summered at the beaches along the coast. It always amused me to see how people named their beach houses. Beautiful, funny names. Wealthy people typically named their homes but our house upstate is on the smaller side and it seemed like it was a little pretentious to name it but we have lived here long enough and love it so much that we felt that it has become it's own character like in a book or movie. So, it had to have a name. When we first started coming up here, we couldn't believe how beautiful the property was when all of the ferns came up and filled the woods all around our house. When you drive up our driveway, the entire frontage of our property is filled with Bracken fern. It's tall and lush and a little invasive but very pretty. Since we are a fern family and Tim's Dad was a fern specialist for New York Botanical Gardens and elsewhere - we thought it would be appropriate to call it Brackenwood. It sounds very GOT somehow. So, while we were over at the Delaware County Fair we happened to come across a booth that made house signs. We decided to do it since I have proscrastinated for so long. It's official - we now have a house sign - welcome to our home, Brackenwood.

Pool Days

Our pool isn't fancy. It's a large-ish above ground pool 10 feet by 18 feet but it has really changed our summers up here. It's so relaxing and cooling and we look so forward to a hot pool day when it is available. We swim around and read on our tube floats and watch the hummingbirds and look at the garden and have cocktails and it is the nicest experience. I don't think we could live without it and I just don't know what we did before we got it. Love.

New Project Transom

We were just going to go over to the Delaware County Fair in Walton when we decided to swing by our newest favorite store in Walton - Yolo. The store wasn't even open but the store's owner - Courtney was there and saw us and opened the door. We didn't want to bother her but she started to show us around new stuff in the shop and something caught my eye. I was in the process of trying to close off the end of our mudroom hallway that leads to our kitchen. I had wallpapered it but needed to have a break before you end up in the kitchen. Courtney had just bought this beautiful transom fixture with this green/yellow milk glass. It was so pretty and we measured it and although it was a little big - it might just work. We bought it along with a few other things. Courtney is this awesome store owner and we love her energy and store. Thanks Courtney.

Bovina Farm Day

Coming Soon! Love the new sign!

Ladybug

In memory of my Mom, I made mw and Tim some Ladybug pancakes. They were cute and tasty and I know my Mom would have loved them.

Crayola Gladiolas

This summer we planted a ton of Dahlias and Gladiolas into pots in the lower garden. The purpose was to have a lot of random color mixed in with the regular perennials so that there was always something blooming. The gladiolas started blooming this week and the color assortment is quite pretty.

Bovina River Walk

I grew up in San Antonio,Texas known as the River City with it's famous River Walk. Imagine the smirk on my face when I heard that Bovina announced that it was going to install it's new bridges to create it's own River Walk and call itself the River City. I chuckled but am looking forward to seeing what they do with the Creamery Field and the walk along side the creek there. Here are some of the pics of the new bridge they installed.

Vines

We love the Hops vine and Scarlett Runner Bean combo on the trellis on our front porch. We planted the Hops vine last summer and it has a process so we just go with the flow. It really did well this year and the Scarlett runner bean adds a touch of color and texture to the combo. I think we tried Morning Glory last year and it was okay. Next summer, I think I might mix all three. It is getting as tall as the lattice across the porch but still has to be thicker and fuller.

Memories

I joined an Air Force Brats group on Facebook. Some of my favorite memories are of growing up as a military family. One of the greatest gifts my Dad gave me was our life in the service. So many amazing places to live and the military takes very good care of the families who are there to support their servicemen. I used to hate it some times - all the travel and having to say goodbye to friends. However, I feel fortunate to have been given the gift of travel and that experience. It has made me the person that I am. I brought my Mom back here in 2015 to take care of her and it was an amazing gift for me to do that for her. When we brought her back, we brought a lot of her things that were souvenirs of all of those years of travel. Now that she is gone, her bedroom remains the same. All of those knick knacks there to remind me of her and our lives together. It's like stepping back in time. I love the comfort of walking into her bedroom and seeing things that I have known since I am a child. Her bottle of Shalimar on her dresser, her old jewelry box which always fascinated me as a treasure box when I was a kid. My Dad bought it for her in Thailand. I miss her so much but the her old room gives me comfort. I miss you Mom.

Night Gardens

Sometimes the best time to view the garden and yard are at dusk. We love to sit out on the front porch and watch the bats come out and see the evergreens silhouetted against the sky and see all the solar powered lights come on for the evening. It can be so relaxing and so pretty.

Summer Gardening

Despite the lack of rain and higher temperatures, we have been having a lovely gardening summer. Lots of new plants and it just keeps getting better!