Some Letters I've Been Meaning to Write

Wow, I haven't done this feature in awhile, eh?  Monday just seems like the perfect day to write hypothetical letters to various forces in your life.

-----------------------------

Dear Cypress,

Thank you for your enthusiastic greeting on Saturday upon my arrival.  Belly rubs and excited whining are the absolute best.  I'm also glad you enjoy your AngryBirds dog toy.

----------------------------

Dear Maine,

You know how today it is 60 degrees and sunny, despite the fact that it is November? THIS is what I've been trying to tell you.  More of THIS in the winter and less SNOW and COLD.  

----------------------------

Dear Eastern Time Zone,

Daylight Savings Time was created for farmers.  Most of us do not farm. Can we just quit with these shenanigans and change Maine's time zone so it's not dark at 4pm anymore?

----------------------------

Dear Arizona,

Thank you for being such a hospitable host.  Now please ask your illustrious governor to cut the racism and to also stop defunding state parks.  /politicalrant

----------------------------

Dear Cypress's Dew Claw,

I don't know what you do exactly but I don't appreciate your presence.  Especially because you are growing far too long and Cypress won't let us cut her nails (and I'm too scared to).  So, stop growing or disappear entirely please.  

----------------------------

Dear Writer's Block,

Please cut it out.  This is annoying. And I'm resorting to writing fake letters.

Back to Our Roots

Rob and I are originally from a tiny, rural region in Maine that no one's ever heard of and for which you have to provide multiple reference points when answering the question, "so where in Maine are you from?"

It's a 4-hour drive from where we currently live, and since this weekend is Father's Day (both of our fathers live down here) and since I booked a family shoot for Sunday, we made the soul-sucking trek down the highway and finally into the deepest reaches of nowhere earlier this afternoon.

First we drove to my grandparents' house to help my dad with a few projects. Then we met up with Lindy to photograph some of her wares for her Etsy shop and prepare for a (shh!) giveaway...coming soon :)

So after all of those adventures we're finally back to my childhood home, which is tucked at the end of a 4-mile dirt road on the shores of a beautiful, clean lake.  I love how quiet it is here, minus, of course, the occasional loon or more frequent mosquito.  It's like a whole other world down here.  Seriously, take a look at this location:

Beautiful, no? I feel very privileged to have grown up around so much green and natural awesomeness.

You think I'd be well-versed in the temperature difference between our current home (in the west, by the mountains) and our hometowns (by the coast), but I still managed to plan poorly.  When we left home it was 65 degrees, perfect sandal and dress weather.  When we arrived, it was 56 and cloudy.

Idiot.

Now I'm wearing jeans under my dress and a sweater.  Yay summer!

What did you do today?

P.S. I saw the first iteration of my matryoshka tattoo, you guys, and holee. crap. It's amazing.  Ten times more amazing than I ever imagined.  Think gypsy skull, lace, and Cyrillic.  When the design is finished I'll post a picture and try not to have your mind blown. LEMON OUT.

Rainy Days and Fun Finds

Photo Credit

There are a lot of depressing seasons in Maine, my least favorite, of course, being winter. I believe that I have written at length here and on Twitter about my hatred of winter. In Maine this horrible season stretches from November until well into March.

But another atrocious season is that sort of half-winter-half-spring, and that's what we have going on now. Everything that you hate about every season--cold rain, snow, mud, bugs, allergies--all combine into a month called April. Unfortunately this not-quite-season also has absolutely none of the natural beauty of either season. Trees are still dead, grass is still brown, and bushes are merely random collections of sticks along the road.

Can you tell I'm a summer person?

Anyway most of today was spent, as most of my days are, working inside staring forlornly at the rain. Because my husband is awesome I've managed to avoid having to walk our dog in the mess. Today, however, due to my husband's busy school schedule, I had to take her on a half-mile walk, braving cold rain, wind, thick, feet-sucking mud.

If you have any doubts as to how unpleasant this was, allow me to let you in on one more glorious aspect of this walk.

Cypress and I found a Ziplock bag on the ground. With a horrible-smelling mass inside. And a SPINAL CORD and RIBS sticking out of it.

In all fairness, we didn't actually find it first. My husband essentially woke me up this morning as he left to warn me about its presence in case I found myself walking the dog. He assured me that it only smelled bad "if you hit it right."

It was like Mother Nature (along with this winter's snowmobilers) was sending me a huge middle finger in the middle of a depressing shitstorm.

Mother Nature, I'm ready for warm, I'm ready for sun, I'm ready for green.

Any time now, you heartless bitch.