We let people know that Edwin would be gone in September this year - off in the Alps, leading a group hiking in the Montafon region of Austria, organized through Travel Fever Tours.  The trip went very well - so well that next year there are TWO trips planned for Edwin to lead in September!  (You can check them out on the Travel Fever Tours website. )  In the meantime, some have asked to see some photos from the trip, so we are finally getting a selection posted here.  Some are photos Edwin took, and some are from the 100's of photos others took and shared with the group.
First a broader look at the area where they were - the Montafon, with town of Schruns in the valley (the group's home base for the 8 days):

Trails, and trail scenery:

Alpine lakes:

Not just hiking:

Enjoying the moments, in various places:

Some of the Huts, large and small, old and new, and Alms along the way

And a few more glimpses:

If anyone is interested in joining a hiking trip next year, with Edwin sharing his love of the mountains, the information on the two trips is at:
https://www.travelfevertours.com/hiking-the-montafon-alps-austria-september-2023
https://www.travelfevertours.com/hiking-the-zillertal-alps-austria-september-2023

In the midst of late March snow and so many unknowns about the time ahead, it felt like a good moment to share some photos from last year.  You might have noticed that we didn't post very much last year, except about our travels.  But we were still out enjoying many gardens, and even got some photos.  As we wait for spring to unfold this year, here then are some memories of last year's garden season.  There are a few installation projects we worked on, some stunning plants, nice color or texture combinations, fun or interesting structural details, and general nice scenes.  Taken as a whole it gives a sense of the progress of the gardens from spring emergence through summer lushness to autumnal splendor and late season subtlety. Hopefully you can enjoy the reminder that spring will come as we live through this uncertain, changing time.

(As a note : if you double click on the photo images you can view them larger - and see some of the rest of the photo that gets cut off in the gallery view.)

Moving in to spring in various ways...

The flowers emerge first inside, then out, domestic and wild.

The fullness of summer blooms and color and foliage.

Details and moments and reminders to look up and around

Late summer and fall edges closer.

Some of the projects in various stages of the installation process.  Time to take some update photos this year!

Fall blazes in and then gets more subtle as the season finally ebbs.

Winter is beautiful, too, with a chance to rest and notice structure and gain momentum for springing forward.  But I'll let the memories of those sparking days and long nights be evoked by these words and not photos for now.  And leave with a few photos Edwin took in mid-March of the bulb fields and scenery in the Netherlands to remind us of our connections to many places.

Early March is often a time of travel for us, winter still present, spring not here yet.  Linda had some time in the Netherlands helping daughter Truuske move into a new house, and enjoying the wide Dutch skyscapes and green, if soggy ground.  Then we had 4 days in Ireland together, spending most of the time in the Wicklow Mountains, southwest of Dublin.  We were based in Glendalough, in the midst of the monastery ruins and stonework from the past 1400 years, and surrounded by rounded, heather-clad ridges criss-crossed with walking/hiking trails.  We had a wonderful time.  Now Edwin is spending March in the Netherlands, and Linda is wondering how soon she will have to start in the gardens, since the snow is disappearing so fast.
While we wonder, here are some pictures from the most recent travels.

Sky, water, rainbows, March colors in the Netherlands:

A quick visit to Dublin: St Stephen's Green, Christ Church Cathedral, Peace Park, classic Dublin style buildings, the National Library, live music, and night lights:

Then four days in Glendalough - the valley with 2 lakes, and many hiking trails:

And much stone work as reminders of the 1400 years of church history here:

We enjoyed friendly people,  many pots of tea,  narrow roads lined with stone walls and moss and ferns, a well-situated youth hostel, a rainy afternoon at the coast, and the chance to travel together.   We are grateful.

The long summer days are behind us already, filled with lots of gardening.  We saw evidence of lush growth after the ample rains of early summer, lots of flowers, pollinators of all kinds, more weeds than were welcomed, many people enjoying being out when possible, and others grateful for help as other parts of life took precedence.  Linda continues to enjoy getting to some gardens on her e-assist cargo bike, but Edwin still finds the truck and trailer too useful for now.  Right now we are enjoying the shift to more fall-like weather, with sweaters in the morning, plenty to harvest from the vegetable garden, and dahlias in their glory.

Many of you know that Edwin and our daughter Saskia headed to the Alps for a 2 week trip hiking hut to hut in an area on the Austrian-Italian border, near where the Oetzi mummy was found.  Many people have asked about pictures, so here are a selection from their trip.  Lots of pictures, few words:

Starting in Vent, with green valleys, farms, stonework, flowers. Then heading up into the mountains.

Overnights were in 'huts' that are part of the local hiking and mountaineering system.

Flowers, cows, horses, water in its many forms along the way:

You go to the mountains for many reasons, but 'views' is a big one.  The weather cooperated with many clear mornings and mostly fair weather clouds.  Some of the mountain views that were savored over the course of those days:

The trip started with Edwin and Saskia, but they were later joined by our other daughter, Truuske, and her partner Melvin.  With the four together, they were able to climb a few higher peaks, and with appropriate gear, traverse some glaciers and head higher up.

Every trip has to come to an end - but luckily this one had a train ride to ease the transition back to lower ground.

The lengthening days and sunshine are so welcome, but we still need our patience as winter cold and snow hold on.  Which is why Edwin has taken his annual escape to the Netherlands and I continue to work on my list of winter projects.
In February we took a trip to the Southwest and enjoyed the time and hiking and train ride and scenery and visiting and all that we did while there.
So here are a few pictures to share of what we saw on our travels:

And if anyone is interested in a word description, here is a brief summary:Trip to the SouthWest, 8-24 February 2019

If you ask about our trip, we'll tell you we had a great time – we really did. Pictures can give a sense, and be a reminder, so we took lots of them. But here is a short word summary of our time away from Vermont:
We traveled 4522 miles by train, round trip (Springfield, MA – Albuquerque, NM), 48+ hours each way – plenty of room to sit, sleep, enjoy the country going by, and see an amazing cross-section of people as fellow passengers.
We clocked 1300+ miles in our rental car (a Kia Soul, silver, summer tires – almost made it everywhere we needed to go).
We hiked more than 40 miles of trails in various places – mostly mountains.
We crossed the Continental Divide 4 times.
We spent 6 nights in our tent, with temperatures near or below freezing at night, but much warmer during the day.
We spent one night in a motel, when it was snowing and the temperature was in the 20'sF.
Other nights we were with family or friends, or on the train, of course.
We were at 5 different hot springs venues, and soaked in one hot spring 5 times – conveniently situated near our tent site.
We saw lots of mountains, and lots of cactus, not many green leaves, but some spring wildflowers in the desert.
We visited 2 brothers, one in Tucson, AZ, one near Durango, CO, and a friend from Vermont now in Truth or Consequences, NM. We met countless other interesting folk along the way (in the train, on the trails, at the campsites), and had times where we saw nearly no one.
We visited petroglyphs, cliff dwellings from 700 years ago, Wilderness areas, mountain islands in the desert, high parkland plateaus, a slot canyon, Saguaro forests with blooming wildflowers, the amazing Tree Ring Laboratory in Tucson, and a too snowy for our rental car southwest Colorado. We saw tracks of wildlife (perhaps even a mountain lion), enjoyed a few moments watching a wild mountain stream bird (Dipper), heard stories from fellow travelers, and were impressed by the beautiful and interesting places we found wherever we stopped.
What's not to like about traveling?! Except that being home, in your own bed, has its joys, too. And there is plenty of beauty to find here as well. It's just different!

September started as full summer still, but we have gratefully made the transition to fall here at the end of the month.  The weather still isn't settled, but the foggy mornings, shifting colors and sweater producing temperatures are all signs that we are truly past the equinox.
The late blooming hydrangeas have been in full glory:

It's also been a stellar year for marigolds:

Even if not overflowing, other plants catch our eye this time of year, too. (A couple of the photos seem to be on their side - I'll post this and see if they straighten online - we can always hope, right?!)

And then a few glimpses of an installation project on Western Avenue that many people seem to have noticed.

And now on to October!

Between the heat and humidity and monsoon rains recently, it is hard to remember how dry it was back in June.  As we wake to yet another grey, soggy morning, I wonder if the dampness will take over inside as well as out.  The few days of clear air and sunshine stand out as welcome breaks. 
Despite our grumbling and wondering about the weather, garden work has continued of course.  The weeds are thriving in a tropical jungle kind of way, so maintenance is ongoing.  Edwin has also completed some installation projects.  He adjusted his tempo and timing a bit because of the heat earlier in July, and more recently was working between (or even through) the downpours.
I tried to take more pictures this past month, and especially enjoyed seeing how many different kinds of insects were active in the flowers - more power to the pollinators!  I have a new phone/camera and am finding out what works and doesn't with it for good photos.  I'm sharing some of the scenes and close ups that came out well, or well enough.  The gardens are always beautiful, but capturing that beauty in a photo is a different art than gardening...

We've made it through last week's beastly weather and have been glad to have long sleeves in the morning again - for now at least.  June held a variety of garden work for us, including finally finishing up the first round of maintenance (and immediately going back for a second visit in a few cases!), and moving on to installation projects, large and small.  Garden work is full of variety, and we appreciate having different gardens, and different projects, to keep our bodies nimble as we switch activities.
I am including some pictures from June's glories here, mostly from our garden, I realize, so I must not have gotten my camera out enough in other gardens. 

It's nice to be reminded of the details we saw, especially as the gardens change and other features now catch our eye.
We have a couple of ideas for a next blog post - one being 'lunch places we get to enjoy at work' or 'views from lunch'.  Any other suggestions?!

As expected, the long wait for spring meant that May was full of busy-ness - and lots of blooms, too.  We are just now feeling that perhaps our spring 'to do' list can be retired as we turn towards summer and start to tackle the projects on our summer list.  As we have a couple of days of welcome moisture to revive us now, I'll share some pictures I took along the way in May.  Some already feel as if they were taken ages ago - but each moment has its glories. 

What a difference some sun and warmer temperatures can make!  Two weeks ago we had to wonder when winter would give up.  Now we can see new growth each day - buds, blooms, green grass, and innumerable little maple seedlings appearing, and the last bits of once mountainous snow piles sinking away. 

We know it is really spring as we get various water elements bubbling and flowing in their garden spots.  Above is at Jeanne and Ray's in Guilford, below is Margaret's fountain in Dummerston:

And being in the gardens is even more fun when we work together:

Thanks for the photo, Lois!

We look forward to more happy encounters as we work our way up and out of the lowlands of Brattleboro into the awakening hills.