Into the Woods

May 7, 2017 (127/2017)

"There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it." - Washington Irving. This weekend's project: Cleaning out our "woods." The reward: Planting ferns, hepatica, jack-in-the-pulpit, brunnera, and trillium -- plants indigenous to Wisconsin woodlands. These trillium have moved three times!

Elated

May 6, 2017 (126/365)

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life." - John Burroughs

[I was elated to find this purple finch nest in my potted fern!]

French Friday: Le Petit Hameau

May 5, 2017 (125/365)

« Nous avons fait un beau rêve, voilà tout... »  - Marie Antoinette

The opulence of the Château de Versailles is world renowned, but I've always preferred le Hameau de la Reine (The Queen's Hamlet) -- Marie Antoinette's rustic retreat in the park of the palace. Built in 1783 near the Petit Trianon, it was a rendez-vous for the queen and her closest friends to enjoy nature and life's simpler pleasures.The hamlet includes gardens, orchards, meadows, lakes, streams, a classical Temple of Love, a grotto, and cascade. The farm produced milk and eggs and included a dovecote, a boudoir, a mill, and a lighthouse. In the tempestuous political atmosphere of pre-revolutionary France, the hamlet was understandably quite controversial.

Guilty Pleasure Confession: I love this scene from Sofia Coppola's 2006 film, Marie Antoinette (almost as much as this one where they eat macarons and try on shoes!)