it was a race against me and the birds. guess who won?
this is me racing up to the porch from the far reaches of the yard to drop off a shirtful of peaches, then racing back down to harvest the rest.
i’ll get a bird net asap because i have another variety of peach on this same tree that are just beginning to grow bigger.
these are the juiciest sweetest peaches in the history of ever. i made a pie this morning and i’m going to make more pie filling in a few days and put it in a freezer bag. my sister thus advised me.
and school is out for the summer. my wonderful aides and i told the kids a story this week about a little girl in a rowboat who lost her paddles in a storm. there were puddles as deep as oceans, and storms that lasted for months, talking squirrels, a bolt of lightening, claps of thunder, horns, fangs, a tiny light in the distance which the boat magically floated towards, and a reunion with ma & pa. it was the perfect story. all made up on the spot. i wish you could have heard it. a lovely classroom moment and the kids were entranced.
at the end of the year assembly i gave charlie the award for art and he said, “mith moth i’m a weal awtist now!!!”
the only girl in the class left for hawaii for a 5-day family vacation where she planned to use all of her time to look for real mermaids on the beach. because they exist. because they’re real. because they just are.
i woke up this morning and went for a cool misty walk down this path.
and saw among other things, bees having parties in the scotch thistle.
blossoms from the cow itch tree.
now it is summer and i find myself with 66 glorious days spread before me. oh! what shall i do first!
… all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
-mary oliver
how are you? keep me updated. i’ll just be here, working, playing, living, eating peach pie.
I have goosebumps! The story you told to the children, Mary Oliver….that is absolutely one of my favorite quotes from her poetry collection. someone sent that to me many years ago and it just makes my heart fly. It was like coming home to see it here and to remember how much it means to me and how much the person who sent it to me means to me.
and that gorgeous pie! WOW!
The peach pie (I didn’t know you were a baker) looks spectacular! I’m fairly convinced that California has such amazing soil that one can put a peach in the ground the the very next day, an entire tree will have sprung forth (theory probably not correct.) I’m enjoying all the videos in class hugely – thank you for whipping up this rich and peachy concoction! By the way, I have a female squirrel that spends ages hanging out (literally) on the pool screen and i know she’s the same one because she licks the screen mesh. Apparently it tastes like ripe peaches?
Yes, you are Charlie!
Way to go, Miss Moss, with your story telling
and ahhhh 66 days before you.
Your photos and your writings are welcome bright spots. Thanks for sharing, as always. 🙂
Oh that pie looks scrumptious. NOMS!!!! Me I’m whipping a key lime cake in my crock pot. That is what I am doing on a day that has been filled with much sadness yet again for so many. I am grateful for all the little things that make life rich and wonderful, like enjoying wee peeks into the lives of people I am ever thankful are in my life through their art and photos and blog musings. Thanks Mary Ann for being such a sweet constant! Enjoy every single, second of your 66 days off the clock!
Glorious! Loving the peaches, painted, photographed and made into PIE!!! The three P’s of peaches.
Gonna need to get you a peach gathering basket, Ms Moss, although I was enjoying the mental picture of you scurrying back and forth with them in your shirt! Have you made peach jam or marmalade? MMMM!
I just got back from a country yard sale where they had all manner of vintage farm equipment and garden tools etc. I almost bought a wonderful galvanized tub for only a dollar, but the lady didn’t really want to sell it and took it away. It seemed her husband snuck it in the sale. DRAT! Instead, I bought a very vintage small shopping cart that rolls VERY well! I am pumped! It will make a wonderful rolling cart for art supplies. I am debating if I should paint it because it is a putrid color that I can’t even describe. Puce??? LOL. It is flesh colored. I don’t really know what color puce is, but I imagine it to be this ugly color. Years ago I went to another sale at this same place and bought a brand new ship’s captain bell, which we mounted on a post. The grandchildren love to ring it, and man is it LOUD! I also bought an amazing wagon wheel in perfect condition. My husband let his company use it for some shindig they were having, and someone dropped it and messed it up. GRRRR.
I am still waiting for supplies for my OMG book. I had bought two paint by numbers which I love, but noticed his morning that someone else has the same painting for their cover. Good taste:). So anyway, I am now exploring other options so I can have a unique, one of a kind book. I have time, since my paper and binding supplies are still somewhere out in the world. Patience is a virtue.
I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend full of art and creativity!
PS. I forgot to tell you that I have a cherry tree just loaded with cherries. They art the tart pie cherries, and I don’t use them. I am so enjoying watching the critters help themselves to the fruit. This morning there were robins, starlings and two squirrels in the tree, going nuts! I will, however, get nets for my two blueberry bushes, which are going to ripen soon. I planted them several years ago, and they are FINALLY bearing fruit, so not sharing with the fauna. My generosity goes only so far.
yes, i know what you mean about wanting a one-of-a-kind sketchbook. looking forward to seeing what you get up to with those covers!
peach gathering basket sounds excellent. velvet lined of course.
Visiting my in-laws on Maui. Their condo is right on the ocean, overlooking the swimming pool. Yesterday we went to Kula and had lunch at the Kula Bistro. Then we went to a local farm stand and I bought 11 protea plants to bring to my farm on the Big Island. I have been looking for plants for 5 years so I was very excited to buy an assortment of varieties. Tree ripe peaches sound very delicious. Any hardware store or garden supply center should have some bird netting for you. For your tree I would recommend at least a 10′ x 10′ piece if you can find it. Easier to put on and take off than the long & narrow kind that would be good if you were growing vegetables.
Sweet peaches! Is there anything better? yum.
By the way, I love peach pie and yours looks perfect!
Hi Mith Moth!
Have a wonderful summer of rest, refreshment & a lot of arting. I’m still enjoying the squirrels outside. The mommy squirrels were visiting me on my patio and I would give them their own special treats. The rest of the gang (including the birds) get fed around the tree down yonder. Today I decided to watch You Tube of videos of people and their pet squirrels. They are a hoot and so adorable! Other than that, still arting and maintaining my lifestyle. xoxo
mith moth needs some squirrel visits STAT. or maybe some youtube videos will do…
Peach pie. The flavor of summer.
I think I want to move to be your neighbor, but in actuality southern CA. is not my favorite.
However, you are making me re-think my LA stance… Have a lovely day in that beautiful garden with your paints and brushes.
Peach pie looks yummy and those flowers are beyond gorgeous. I don’t know a word meaning beyond gorgeous, but if there was one I’d use it for sure.
I opened your blog this morning after yesterday’s news that my wonderful 12 year old grandson’s heart defect is getting dangerously worse, and my 94 year old aunt’s condition is worsening (who I take care of.). Your magnificent photos, stories of your students, and your daily doings brought me joy and perspective. As Mary Oliver says so exquisitely, life is still amazing even in the midst of great difficulty. Thank you for my morning smiles and inspiration.
aw betsy. i am sure sorry about grandson & aunt 🙁
beauty wonder pain heartbreak love. so intertwined we can’t separate…
thinking of it all.
Would you mind if I copy your thistle picture to attempt that little bee and flower party scene in acrylics? I’m a student of acrylic painting, and I love that picture. Your whimsical style and wonderful art is very inspiring.
Thank you so much! I will enjoy painting this.
yes yes yes!! do do do !!!
What an absolutely beautiful area, wow. I loved the bee and the thistles – you know you must paint that…how fun!
Those peaches look delicious! I want to come over to steal one, but by the time I crossed an ocean and a continent they will all be gone!
Me waiting for paper to arrive so that I can make the sketchbook for OMG. Sorting through all my pictures from Sweden. We loved Rosendals Trägård (thanks again, we would never have found it without you!), but we totally fell in love with Gotland. The landscape, the ocean, the light, the flowers, pure magic! You have to go there one day!!!
oh sabrina i’m so glad you loved RT…i’m going to see your IG feed and get updated (#_steinwaelzer_) now i’m curious about gotland. must investigate and also ask my swedish friend, ingrid (that i will see again this year) about it! soon i will be walking at Rosendals myself.
Peach pie is my favorite and the pie you baked looks so perfectly delicious!
What a cute children’s book your “beating the birds to the harvest” story, would make, especially if you illustrated it with your charming painting style!!
Loved your peach paintings and the photos from your walk. That wild and crazy story you created, for your students, sounds amazing and it must have been so much fun to see the children enjoy it, with you.
I know you will make the most out of your vacation days. Can’t wait to hear what you do with them! I really hope that little girl does see a mermaid on the beach, during her Hawaiin vacation, too !
Your teaching style has surely inspired the student’s imaginations and I’m certain they will miss you and think of you, all summer?.
hey thanks susan. your story idea is an excellent one. even if it only happens in my mind i will enjoy creating it.
Ah….is there anything like the start of summer vacation? I don’t think there is. Enjoy it. Every. 66. Days. Of. It. I know you will.
Me? I doing volunteer work for our town’s annual art festival, currently in it’s 59th year. It’s a ton of work but so worthwhile. Money made to spend on public art, art scholarships, special projects. I love promoting the arts in my little corner of the wide, wide world.
Loving OMG. Won’t get to working on making my sketchbook until Monday, but I’ll get there.
Waving wildly from the Pacific NW. I see you down there, to the south, half hidden in all your subtropical flora!
XO
59th year. wow. that’s somethin’!
looking forward to seeing your sketchbook.
waving wildly from down south where today is gray and cool and i’m wearing a cotton sweater.
Awesome pie! nothing more satisfying than using your own straight from the tree…
Today I’ve been doing some cooking for family dinner tomorrow and watching my OMGouache videos… I’m wearing out the hole punching one, replaying my favorite smile inducing bit….xoxo
Congrats on winning the peach/bird war. And wow! What a prize winning, gorgeous pie! We are overrun with squirrels up here in Northern CA and have pretty much given up getting to eat any fruit from the garden. They can be seen dragging avocados almost as big as they are, up a fence or tree trunk, where they gorge themselves, then scamper off to decimate something else.
Love your peach painting – is it just me, or are they mildly erotic?
Savor every peach and every one of those 66 days!
oh i do love the wittle squirrels no matter how poorly misbehaved they are 🙂
Oh gosh! I love those flowers, and the bee, and those peaches, and the paintings of the peaches. Just so you know I just got in my car and I’m on my way, so maybe in about 4 days start another pie and I’ll meet up with you, it sure looks tasty!
Your peaches and peach pie have me drooling ~ all that is needed is some home-made peach ice cream!
Enjoy your 66 days!!!