Blogging from the Finger Piers

Still rather intrigued with being able to blog directly via smartphone. How, I wonder, did I become such a techno-geek?

Eel Pond Treasures

Today I allowed myself to simply wander, something I don't do enough of. Down at Eel Pond Landing I came upon three people: a couple who were engaged in the self-appointed task of collecting cans, bottles, and especially broken glass (as a person who suffered a badly cut foot here while bringing my dinghy out of the water, I totally appreciate and applaud their efforts). I also received a high school science refresher in the form of a local gentleman (who was collecting a seaweed specimen), who reminded me of the order of things: phylum, kingdom, class,genus, family, species (I hope that's right).I was surprised that it was so easy to recite - not too hard if you pay attention to the rhythm and the meanings of the words (or was that kingdom, phylum,class?).

Note: The above blog post was submitted directly from my new smartphone, on location, as a test to see how my Blogger app worked (never in my life did I think I would ever utter the word app.) And it does work, though I'm not too impressed with the quality of the photos.

Anyway, I got some of the biological classification right, too (not bad for 15 minutes later, I'd say (my theory is, if you tell yourself you're at the age of forgetting things, you definitely will start forgetting almost everything. Fight the dominant paradigm! oops, I digress), though it is actually: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. Okay, got it.

Pie Problems

Here are the two pies I baked - pumpkin on the left, apple on the right - early Thanksgiving morning. Pretty, aren't they? This photo was taken on my new smartphone shortly before the pie on the left slid off its cooling rack on my side table onto the floor. Face down, of course.

I have a problem with pumpkin pies, it seems.

When I was a little girl, one Thanksgiving there was a pumpkin pie cooling in the pantry. When we went to get it we discovered kitty-cat footprints across the top.

Then, a few years ago my daughter and I got up on Thanksgiving morning and discovered we had no pumpkin with which to make the pie – usually I use the canned pumpkin called One Pie.  We drove all over the island hoping to find one last, stray pumpkin in a field, but with no luck. We kept driving and when we got back to Edgartown we saw two pumpkins sitting on a porch for fall decorations. So yes, we stole one and took it home, baked it, scooped out the meat and made our pie.

(The last story is not as bad as it first seems – you see, the porch was the office of my sister-in-law’s real estate company. I called her later and told her the story and of course promised to replace the missing pumpkin.)

The good news is, I managed to salvage most of the pie, and it was delicious - though not pretty anymore.

Also, next year we'll have another story to add to our repertoire and we'll have a good laugh: "Remember last year when the pie fell off the table?"

This all reminds me of a little song my mother taught me years ago (and that we sang to baby Ethan yesterday):

A pumpkin ran away
Upon Thanksgiving day,
Said he, "They'll make a pie of me
if here I stay."

Slow Sunday

Somehow, I never tire of photographing this old friend.

From My Window

Some days, I don't have to travel far to find something to blog about.

This tree, in John and Pat Hayes' Main Street front yard, two doors down from me, had been ailing for some time. Pat told me back in August that the town was going to remove it, so I grabbed a quick shot of it while it was still standing - just to have the memory of what it has looked like for years and years, and you'll have to admit, it's a classic look. I took this photo in August, but the bare branches seemed to indicate that we were in the middle of winter. So yes, it was time to get the axe.







Earlier this week, Bob Hagerty and his crew spent a couple of days dismantling the old elm.










I love the new view from my bathroom window. The sky above and around the town clock has opened up dramatically, and I don't have to duck and bob and weave to see what time it is anymore.

Sara

A few self-portraits. Playing with lights and a new black background. Minimal processing; a little softening and sharpening. How strange to be zoomed in on one's own face for a length of time. And how tempting to try and make myself look fourteen again. Nah - I rather like (most of) the wrinkles and bumps. I earned them.

Misty Morning Musings

This morning's was the kind of light that made me grab my camera and run out the door. That doesn't happen very often.

Sweetened Water Morning