Today we’re going to mix it up, a snow walk and a garden give-away all in the same post! MUSICA for slow dancing, Girlfriends. . .
Yesterday, for the first time in weeks, maybe even months, we had 
a sunshiny, lovely 42º. We scrambled into our boots and RAN ourselves out the door, for the first walk in all of that time!!! Our lawn is still covered in snow, but it’s quietly beginning to melt making a continuous little river down our driveway, joining the slightly bigger river on the street, and heading down hill to the harbor. We weren’t sure what the dirt road that takes us out to the ocean would look like, but we were willing to try, especially when we saw what was going on in the maple tree outside the kitchen window:
The photo isn’t clear, but that’s OK, those orange spots are Robins! If this beautiful day is good enough for them, it’s good enough for us!
so here we go
. . . walking very gingerly . . . It was melting, like a slushy in some parts (the good parts) but there were long lumps of shiny wet ice, and some nice stretches of mud. . . We plot which direction we should fall in case we need to, realizing no one brought a phone, if he breaks his leg, he lays there while I “run” for help. It would be sad.
The birds were singing, Joe’s trying to figure out where the sound is coming from . . .
See him? Way up top in the middle of the picture? He looks white but he’s a goldfinch, he can’t clap his hands so he shows his happiness with song.
The goldfinch has a really nice view! When we walked out of the canopy of the woods, we had our first view of the pond ~ we could see it was still partially frozen . . .
But I have to say, despite how cold it looks, the warm sun on our faces felt as much like spring as breathing into a bouquet of daffodils! Off came my hat and gloves, unzipped goes the jacket. THAT’S how nice it was out there!
I’m always behind him . . . he waits, as the ever-patient guy that he is, hands on hips . . .
Can’t just walk right by this little red fisherman’s shack and not stop for a photo . . . crazy man.
See those broken square-looking things on the ground (talking mostly to the Californians and Floridians right now)? They are giant ice chips. When a car goes through a partly frozen puddle, the ice breaks up and scatters. That’s something you don’t see all the time. See how patient Joe is while I take pictures of them?
We made it to the water, and I have to tell you, it wasn’t easy…. First we had to go through the deep snow in the yard of our friend’s house, then across their deck . . .
And down that very furthest set of stairs ~ see it back there? After that, finding a high-ish tide, we had to climb over each rock-piled breakwater, maybe five of them . . . yes, you’re right, I know what you’re thinking, it was heaven out there. (BTW, while we’re away from home, we had our bedroom windows wide open (for the first time this year); the ceiling fan was on full blast blowing out winter air and exchanging it for fresh spring air, and we knew we were going to sleep like babies after our walk to the sea!)
We discovered that others had been there first.
And then, beach booty! Big piece of dark blue beach glass!
More ice chips. I kind of love them. Like to break them with my toe. Makes a good noise. Two nature things happened out there that I didn’t take pictures of: A.) (Pat, you should probably skip this part.) Because some rather large animal was dead. I didn’t look because in my accidental half-second glance I could see it was all elbows, knees and feathers and other less identifiable furry parts, and despite my well-known interest in science, this was really not my cup of tea. Joe looked, he decided it was a coyote AND a turkey, entwined together on the beach. Wow! We skirt by it, my eyes covered with my hat, and we fall immediately into Morning Science discussion: First off “are there coyotes on the island?” I didn’t think so. Otherwise I’ve been living in a fool’s paradise thinking we had no kitty-eaters on Martha’s Vineyard. So, let’s say it was a deer. A deer and a turkey? 
“They don’t fight, they don’t eat each other.” So then here’s what must have happened: That thing (whatever it is, but it can’t be a coyote) killed the turkey, then, sadly, but deservedly, choked on a bone, fell over and died on top of it. (I just realized, this is kind of like talking about Downton Abbey.)
Anyway, lovely leaves embalmed in ice. The other nature thing we saw was a pair of birds mating on the road. That was a first, I have never seen birds do that. As a scientist, I had never thought about what those little devils did when we left them alone. We thought they were dead at first, they weren’t moving at all, we didn’t even know there were two of them, till Joe looked closer to figure out which side was up, because this was one weird looking bird. More Morning Science ensued when all of a sudden, the girl escaped! OK, I did get a picture of the chase . . .
This is the little father, in hot pursuit! Ah, spring. Quite the adventure!
Tire tracks become puddles . . . Look around, where is the best place to put your foot? Safest would probably be IN the water.
Time to go home . . . so far we have 100% not fallen down!
And we manage to keep it that way! Usually our walk is 45 minutes, yesterday it was an hour and a half. That’s from making sure we didn’t break our necks.
Front row seat to the melting of the snow. (OMG, is he not the most adorable thing in the world?)
So we all know the snow will go . . .
And waiting for us, under all the ice are our little snow drops (these are from last year, this year’s crop is frozen stiff right now, but soon). Because, it’s coming, only another week until official . . .
And in honor of the moment, when we are all teetering on the verge of spring, I would love for one of you to enjoy my favorite garden book of all time . . .
It’s called Kitchen Gardens, an unassuming little book wonderfully written by Mary Mason Campbell with illustrations by Tasha Tudor.
But it’s by far the most inspiring garden book I’ve ever read. There are other books with much more detailed information, and definitely glossier pictures, but no book has ever moved me into the garden faster and happier than this one.
It was published in 1971 and I was lucky enough to happen upon it as my first garden book. “I love how Mary Campbell wrote about the “sunshine, fresh air, and privacy of our gardens. . .”
I thought I would sign this book for you and also add a watercolor bookmark (I’ve been cutting up the bits of paper I use for testing my pen or watercolors and making bookmarks out of them).
If you want to be entered for this giveaway, all you have to do is scroll to the bottom of this post and look for the tiny word “comments” — and leave a comment. Your comment can be just one word if you like; that will be enough to enter you for the drawing. For those of you who get my blog via email, you will have to go to www.162.240.10.175/~susanbs3/susanbranch/ and scroll to the very bottom of this post and find that tiny word . . . “comments” ~ for some reason, they don’t seem to send a “comment” button in an emailed blog.
Last but not least. I told you I finished the new calendars for 2016? I thought I would give you a little preview . . . This is “October” for the wall-calendar, and don’t worry, there are pink 
pumpkins on the bottom part.♥ For thee, from me. ♥
Something else for thee: click on “shopping” at the top of the blog, scroll to the bottom of the column on the left, click on FREE STUFF! Spring-themed stationery, bookmarks, tags — and computer wallpaper!
And just one more thing I wanted to tell you: My (our, because I’m always thinking of you when I’m writing) new book is being edited even as we speak. That means the writing part is almost done, after that I’ll paint it and add the photos and hopefully we’ll have it in about six months, maybe by the time we make our first fires next autumn. I know the title. But I’m afraid to say it out loud yet. So let me get used to it, maybe next time! You’ll be the first to know!
Until we meet again . . . Love you, love us.♥ XOXO
P.S. Don’t forget . . . St. Patrick’s Day is coming!
I do love kitchen garden books – my favorite has always been “In the French Kitchen Garden”, which also has lovely little watercolors. Fingers crossed that I can add another to my little collection! ::Jill
I love that you take us on your walks around your area. It really encourages me to get out and look around more carefully. It is 50 degrees here today and sunny. Isn’t it wonderful after the hard winter.
It’s a wonderful give-a-way you are having and I love cookbooks. This one would be so special to me because of the drawings of Tasha Tudor. I look forward to your blog posts.
Another avid Downton fan,
Shirley
Hi Susan,
Gosh, your skies are so blue; they are enticing me to travel. I have a neat book about Tasha Tudor with pictures of her house and gardens. Your book would look good next to mine…
Thanks for the new spring-y wallpaper.
Cecelia
A Kitchen Garden……just what I want! I have just the spot for it
right out my window:)
Thanks for the spring-y inspiration!! I can finally see my grass (in Dudley, MA)….so, it’s a good day!
Oh, what a wonderful dream! To get back to the garden, to get our hands back into the dirt, to see the beautiful delights of Spring rejoin us once again! Such special blessings Spring brings, and even more delights with a special giveaway. Susan, thank you for melting our hearts with the hope of what’s to come!
Thanks for inspiring us to get outside and play. After a winter where one could almost see penquins on the icebergs floating in with the tide, it was wonderful to walk Ogunquit Beach yesterday. Although it was 36 degrees, there were lots of folks out. Dogs and their owners looked very happy to be outside. Thank for the nudge out the door.
Such an adventure!
I love going on your walks. Thanks for sharing.
I have bought several of your beautiful books over the years, but for some reason didn’t discover your blog until this week! Thank you for your beautiful work, it cheers me greatly.
Welcome to the neighborhood Luisa!
Oh how I would love to visit that beautiful island. Thank you for sharing it all.
Love Love that cookbook I’ve been searching for it for years, it’s a little Nancy Drew private project of mine. Breathe in the Spring it is coming 🙂
I have just recently discovered you, Susan! How have I gone all this time without knowing you? I am totally in love with your work and your blog!! And I love reading the comments of all those kindred spirits out there. What a wonderful circle of friends! The world seems a much nicer place after I read your blog. Thank you! I would love to have a copy of “Kitchen Gardens” 🙂
Nice to meet you Sheryl, happy to have you here!
So glad that you are finally seeing signs of spring in snowy Martha’s Vineyard! Yay! The gardening book is the perfect thing to bring hope to us all that winter has had its last hurrah! I have had that particular one on my “wish list” for quite some time to add to my Tasha collection. You always seem to come up with just the thing I’ve been wanting!
Yesterday, I had a Tasha Tudor print of hollyhocks framed that has been in my stash for years. I also have a large print of her home in Vermont that she painted in the snow over a mantle in my bedroom. There are bunnies, curious little guys, in the foreground. Just like Tasha to add cute bunnies!
Thanks so much for sharing your precious find!
So glad you trugged along slow and careful! Couldn’t wait to see the ocean! And what a beautiful piece of blue glass, I bet it’s on your kitchen window sill now, waiting to be seen in another one of your wonderful blogs! Shame on you two disturbing those two love birds!!! Lol! Don’t want to think of the other thing you saw! What a cute little book, love T Tudor, Her illistrations are beautiful! Haven’t seen this book before! Happy spring Susan, our snow drops are still up and happy as can be!
Hugs to all!
Thank you Susan for sharing your art and your life with us. You are obviously doing what the Lord put you on this earth to do. Blessings, Beth
Oh Susan…….
Thank you, thank you and thank you some more! …..for taking us along, delighting us, sharing with us and gifting us! You gift us on so many different levels and we can’t thank you enough for that! oxo And a kitty book?! What a thought! 🙂 so glad you were gifted as well with a beautiful walk even if it was slower, longer and more careful, glorious and happy birds and songage 😉 and then that brilliant piece of blue glass! More gifts from the winter storms besides the blankets of white beauty, icecles and drifts. I suspect there will be more gifts on the beach 🙂 (I’d still be there 😉 but the beach is still pretty new and SO beautiful, intriguing and mesmerizing to me and I don’t want to miss a thing so I have a very hard time getting myself to leave!) Just yesterday between appointments and errands spied what I presume was a piece of coyote jaw bone with a slight bit of fur and many teeth. Thank you again and happy thawing to those of us still doing that, Happy Spring and St. Pattys Day!
Happy St. Patty’s Day to you Juli, and to ALL!
How fun and refreshing it is to walk with you and Joe to the shore!
Being in Florida, with 85 degrees as the high, a bit of snow and cold would be welcome!
Happy Lucky Friday the 13th! What will we do now that Downton is over for the year? Hope you make it all the way to Colorado on your new book tour–we have some wonderful independent bookstores in Denver and Boulder if you need any recommendations!
We tried to go there on our last trip, but found out we’d sold out of books before we got that far … so disappointing! We’ll have to try again.
I love reading your blog.It always fills me with inspiration and joy. Thanks for making the world a better place. Judy from KY
You so inspire me to put down the mouse and pick up the paint brush. Maybe today…Love getting your e-mail blogs. You just bring a smile to my heart.
Hi Susan, thank you for sharing your home, art and lovely walks on Martha’s Vinyard with us. I hope to visit some day.
I would love to have Vanna pick my name this time.
thank you for the opportunity.
Hi Susan, so glad you finally got to go on your walk and you both made it safely! :o) Wonderful giveaway…thank you for a chance to win this lovely garden book! Looking forward to your book coming out! Love ALL of your books!
Happy Spring!
Smiles, Deborah :o)
What a beautiful book! And your artwork in a bookmark! What could be a nicer gift.
Oh to have a garden book that has inspired you would be WoNDerFuL! We are kindred spirits……..gardening, drawing, quilting, homekeeping and the likes. I have a secret goal to visit Martha’s vineyard to practice water color……ah exciting! But will continue to draw pictures of my own yard to practice coloring. I would So EnJoy the book!
What a lovely little book and the most precious kitty only coming in second to my adorable Honey!!
I love todays blog! Happy Friday the 13th 🙂 I am a huge fan of Tasha Tudor, and the gardening book with her illustrations would look really good on my old Welsh Cupboard shelf. Have a wonderful weekend, and may the snow melt fast.
You always brighten my day, thank you for sharing your beautiful island life!
Enjoyed your post today, Susan. Yes! Spring is almost here. 🙂
I have never read a garden book, and this year I am starting our first garden! How exciting it would be to have this book for inspiration. Also I have to tell you we just adopted two kitties!! We have been putting it off because we have three daughters, a five year old, Zoë, two year old, Charlë, and 4 month old, Penny.They take so much attention and love already we were afraid of adding more to the mix in our small little cottage. But we just went for it one day without even thinking and we are so glad! Their names are Sadie and Henry. Best decision we have made this year so far 🙂 Happy (almost and counting down the days) Spring!!
The perfect family! Won’t you have fun in your garden!
Loved the picture of your walk. Our Indiana weather is just like yours right now, but the blue birds are back, so we are looking forward to Spring! I love garden books, and I especially love Tasha Tudor’s illustrations. Thank you so much for the great give away!
OH NO…I’m wondering if this is the book I passed by at the EXPO antique show. It caught my eye. How could I miss a gem like this? (I think because my husband, like Joe, was several feet ahead of me and I felt rushed!) Enjoy your “end of winter”…we are in an early spring here. We plugged and sanded our yard and I’ve been admiring the shells that are in the sand! I’m ready to get to the beach!!!
We would love some of that snow here in Northern California!! My tomato seedlings are set out and hardening off already, but it will be a challenge to keep them watered this summer. Looking forward to seeing your garden after the melt! XOXOO
Me too, I went out today and freed some trapped bushes from the snow. I could hear them thanking me and sighing with relief!
LOVE your blog with pictures from your walk and the commentary. Thank you for sharing that wonderful day with us! I also love Tasha Tudor. what a marvelous and interesting lady, so thank you for sharing her (in an illustrator’s sense!) book with us.
Thank you Susan for your continued inspiration! Happy almost Spring! I would love to win that kitchen garden book, especially since it is illustrated by Tasha Tudor. I have a collection of all her children’s books. My daughter and I enjoy her very much!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you so much for sharing your and Joe’s experiences. Everything you share with us is so exciting and interesting. It makes me feel like I am there with you. My biggest dream since childhood has been to visit the New England states. I am planning on retiring this year and hopefully will get there next year. First I need to have a total knee replacement so I will be able to walk far an enjoy all the beauty there. Another thing I would love to do is start a kitchen garden so if I am lucky enough to win the book, I can begin that soon. Love to you and Joe; hoping you will have a great Spring. Blessings, Judy
Thank you so much for sharing your and Joe’s experiences. Everything you share with us is so exciting and interesting. It makes me feel like I am there with you. My biggest dream since childhood has been to visit the New England states. I am planning on retiring this year and hopefully will get there next year. First I need to have a total knee replacement so I will be able to walk far an enjoy all the beauty there. Another thing I would love to do is start a kitchen garden so if I am lucky enough to win the book, I can begin that soon. Love to you and Joe; hoping you will have a great Spring. Blessings, Judy
Thank you for all of your beautiful offerings over the years Susan. I even use your website with my elderly memory-challenged Mom. You blog/website is a beautiful, peaceful place to visit on our days together. I plan to start cooking from your exquisite cookbooks,too, instead of merely admiring their artful designs as I have done over the years.
Hugs to you and your mom Diane xoxo
Oh, I would love that sweet garden book!
When many of us would be whining and pining for spring, you see the beauty in your present surroundings. You, Susan Branch (with Robins upon it), are the embodiment of “bloom where you are planted!”
Thanks for sharing with us, Susan! I love your beautiful blog. Keep safe while that snow and ice continues to melt. Thanks for the giveaway.
Susan, always look forward to your posts, and your giveaways. That is a wonderful book, full of inspiration. The world would be such a dreary place without Tasha, Gladys and you!
Thank you!!!
P.S. I love, love, love your black border filled with those beautiful colorful birds !! Love from Michigan.
I have had herbs planted outside my back door for years, would love to know more about kitchen gardens! Lovely illustrations on your blog! I DO love all of your books, as well as your blog!
Susan – Thank you for your blog, your books, your time and your kindred spirit. Could not begin to tell you how much I enjoy your art and your books. Thanks a million.
(And BTW, please enter me in the drawing!) 🙂
Ramona
It would be so lovely to win the Kitchen Gardens book!!! So glad you made it out for a walk!!!
Thank you for this giveaway! I love your book reviews & recommendations, your blog, your calendars, and so much more!
Oh happy day!
It is Friday13th maybe my lucky day ….listening to old Frankie crooning in background whilst preparing stir fry supper after a seed planting day in the garden with the spring sunshine warming our bones( just keep out of the wind) .Hubby and son have been barrowing aggregate down garden in readiness for shed construction over Easter
I have so enjoyed your snow ……we have had none this year ( suffolk England ) only wanted a little bit, but not to be snowdrops had to suffice ……..May your spring soon come through
Yippy, skippy…….It’s Friday the 13th!
Hope all is well with you, Joe, and kitties!
Would love, love, love the Garden Book!
It’s finally warming up in Wichita KS. Daffs are up about 3″-4″! Can’t wait!
Have a great day!
WHAT? Another “Sandy Fox?” That’s my name as well, only I sign off as “Sandy from Chihuahua Flats.”
You know those Fox’s ….they have big litters
lovely!
For so many reasons October is my favorite of the months in your calendars. For you to preview October is just perfect to me! Thank you, as always, because reading through your blog is an instant pick-me-up to any day.
good morning Susan and good morning girlfriends. have an interesting spring project set up for myself, a deer topiary, well I guess that’s what one would call it. I have an old reindeer yard decoration from Christmas, all the lights blew out and since they don’t make replacement bulbs for it any longer, I decided to recycle the deer instead of throwing it away in a landfill. somehow I have to get the frame filled with a good potting soil mix and moss and somehow manage to get it all to stay put in the frame and plant some kind of plant like an vine or an ivy plant to grow around the frame and make it a deer topiary. anybody have any suggestions, all are welcome as I have never done this before and its got me stumped already on to get it all together. I want to put it in the front yard by the front garden so the sprinklers hit it and keep it watered, saves running out to water it everyday. any thoughts, suggestions, ideas and comments are welcome and appreciated. right now I am trying to figure out how to keep the soil and moss in the frame, do I use floral tape or floral wire to hold it in the frame??? like I said I have never done this before so this is going to be fun to say the least and interesting to say the most. off to run some errands, let me know what you all think. hugs…. 🙂
Is the decoration hollow? Can dirt go inside? Otherwise, you could wrap it in chicken wire and then sphagnum moss and then fill it with dirt, which sounds like a horrible idea, and you would probably lose the deer shape. My dad might have an idea . . . You could stand the deer upright, get him secure, then plant ivy at the base around him, and as the ivy grows runners, you train it to crawl up cover the deer?
You got it Sue …forget all that frame business ..plug it into solid ground and plant Ivy starts all around the legs …train !ivy shoots to follow deer’s form ….trim and shape as needed
hmmm that does sound like an idea, using chicken wire and lord knows I have enough of that laying around here. maybe use the chicken wire to hold the moss and dirt inside the body and let the vines just grow around the rest of the deer. I can stand it upright, and I do plan to secure it to the ground to keep it upright. the deer is hollow so a mass of moss and potting soil could be wrapped in a chicken wire form, and secured inside the body and just let the ivy take over and grow around the deer. good idea, thank you.
I would think watering would wash away all the basic substance through the chicken wire …..
well that also had me wondering the same thing, so I am more and more liking the idea you had, stick it in the ground and plant ivy by the legs and let it grow and fill up the form, easier than doing it the way I had figured.
good idea blog daddy, thank you!!! hugs…. 🙂
Thank you for taking us along on your beach walk, snow, ice and all! We had a treacherous driveway here for a while as the snow melted and turned to ice at night, making it dangerous to walk on. Our garage isn’t attached to the house and is a bit down hill to get to, so I was walking through deep snow instead of the slippery path to get to my car, and trying to sidestep all the ice. My husband put some gravel down and that helped a lot. Now it’s melted as temps have been in forties and low fifties last couple of days. I saw robins here for the first time today, all over the place! I’m still looking for bluebirds to come back as last year they beat the robins. I can’t wait to be able to get out and work in my flower beds. Glad you’ve got your calender done and thanks for the pink pumpkins for October. Will be looking forward to your new book being released hopefully by fall, where we can sit by our warm cozy fires in the evening and read it! Have a great weekend and Happy St. Patty’s Day1
I thoroughly get lost in memories as I read your posts and look at your photos. I miss snow and the first real hike of spring.
I love to know you left the bedroom windows open with the fan on to blow out the winter doldrums. Thank you for sharing your simple joys.
You make my day in this hectic world. I love to cook and collect books, have read A Fine Romance sooo many times and it continues to take me away. Here’s to SPRING!
I am entering the drawing for this special book for my friend Sandy. She has been a follower and admirer of you and your work for years, Susan. My family immigrated from England when I was a child, but I think my friend is more English than me…..definitely a Royal. Her greatest adventure would be to vaccum at Buckingham Palace.
When I first saw your Kitchen Gardens I thought of Sandy because she loves bunnies and flowers. She is also a devotee of Beatrix Potter….need I say more! This book deserves a continued life and Sandy would read the ink off the pages. It would be well-treasured and cared for eventually being passed to her niece Sophie.
We too have kitties and love them like nothing else…..they are our guardian angels…..who rescured us, not we them.
Susan, you have brought much cheer and conversation to our lives…it’s as though we’ve known each other for years!
Health and Happiness to You, Joe, Girl Kitty, and the scamp Jack
Oh my goodness , if she’d like to vacuum the Palace just imagine her joy if they let her do the bathrooms ….. :~)
My dad is a nut. xoxo
A very, very good nut! 🙂
Tasha Tudor and a kitchen garden – what could be nicer?
My daughter (now in her 30s) brought the illustrations of Tasha Tudor to our home when she (my daughter) was in elementary school, and we’ve loved Tasha ever since.
With my best wishes to the eventual winner (who might even be me!),
Barbara
I have never had a kitchen garden, however, I am of the opinion that you are never too old to begin something new. Should I win, I will try to create a lovely kitchen garden just in time for my 65th birthday. The Lord has truly blessed you with fabulous artistic talent. I enjoy your work immensely.
Thank you Isobel, and for the garden, be sure to start small.
Hi. I would love to have this book. Thank you the the opportunity. 🙂
Love this inspiring posts and the lovely pictures, AND…I would love to be entered in the give-away. Vintage cookbooks and gardening books are my favorite! 🙂
Love this inspiring posts and the lovely pictures, AND…I would love to be entered in the give-away. Vintage cookbooks and gardening books are my favorite! 🙂 I live in Georgia, and we have been experiencing some perfectly delightful-like spring weather this past week! We have enjoyed our afternoons outside!
Thanks for sharing your world!
Hmmm,those O’Quinns are always repeating themselves…..
I love your books, blog, Willard, and Downton Abbey! We have a spot outside our back door that is perfect for a little kitchen garden. Fingers crossed!
I’ve always loved Tasha Tudor’s illustrations and have several books but not that one. I am anxious to get into my garden but it will be a bit of time before our heaps of snow slowly melt. I can’t wait for your next book and its sequel. Your art and words are a treasure.
I wish you would write stories/books based on the adventures of Jack & Girl Kitty. We would LOVE them! Stories/pics of Jack and Girl Kitty are always the highlight of any post 🙂
Sure hope this is the comment spot to enter your contest.
I am enjoying your website so very much!
Thank you.
Elaine, when Vanna dives into the big tub of contestants, she swims around mixing all those names up as good as she can — you’re in just the right spot because you’re HERE ….good luck! Blogdad
Gardens…lovely !
Isn’t it wonderful that the snow is finally beginning to melt – spring is in the air!! So excited about your new book – can’t wait!
Martha from CT
I love the picture of Jack! Just the perfect little gentleman looking out the window….
Your posts are so uplifting at the end of this long long winter.
Thank you, Susan. You are as inspiring as the Springtime!
I live almost an hour north of Chicago and we’ve been waiting for lady spring & she has arrived!!! The snow is melting. It’s 60 degrees outside & my daffodils are peeking up!!!
Delightful!!
Thank you for taking us along on your walk. It’s almost spring!
Dear Susan, my Great Grandmother always loved her gardens. My Mother said she called them her Victory Gardens because of WWII. I knew my Great Grandmother, we called her Big Grandmaw. Her son was my Grandfather. She lived a long time so I got to have her in my live until I was 21 years old. My twin sister and I love to garden also. And so I enter this drawing with a hopeful heart and knowing Big Grandmaw would approve.
Lovely story!
Living in Texas.. if we had as much snow as all y’all.. Our governor would declare a state of emergency and schools would be closed indefinitely! lmao.
So enjoy your blog Susan! I was quite intrigued by the dead critters – give us an update if you ever find out what it was.
Would love to win the Kitchen Gardens book. After 9 years of city life, we are finally back in suburbia and I have started a garden! Can’t wait to grow our own veggies and herbs, and flowers too of course!
Keep sharing!
It will be unlikely I will find out, unless Joe wants to go back and really get into it, which I’m fairly sure he won’t want to do!
I love your many pictures showing your landscapes and finds. Sea glass looks wonderful!
with nature and kitties, what more delightful could I want?…SPRING!!!!! I will be okay, loved this today!
I enjoyed taking a walk with you both down to the sea and back!
As someone who lives in Georgia, I enjoyed living vicariously through your walk in the snow. Maybe someday!
So excited to discover another Tasha Tudor book! I have so many of hers and being a gardener this is extra special!
Thank you for all you do, Susan, to lead us into the delightful things of life!
Blessings!!
thank you.
Hooray for the anticipation of Spring & all things green!
Thanks for the blog. I too love cracked ice pieces and when you said you liked the sound, I remembered from long ago as a child cracking ice in puddles. Spring is nearly here.
Is it too late to enter the giveaway?? I hope not, thanks.
love Tasha Tudor….love Susan Branch?
Maybe I read this on this Blog. But Charles Dicken’s said something like this – a Spring day is Summer in the sun and Winter in the shade. So true. I sit outside up against the south facing wall of our house and just soak up the sun. This is with out a doubt my favourite Blog. Thank-you, thank-you.
Thank you for sharing the magical seasons of Martha’s Vineyard with us.
Crystal
I would love the book!
Thank you for giving us a glimpse of your lovely snow walk. ;-D
Waiting for that first day when the emerging grass , leaves that scent of Spring in the air !
Just looking at your pictures makes me all wistful for the seashore, meanwhile in our yard the rain has moved on and left puddles for jumping along with a nice spring breeze. It’s about 65 degrees! The little book looks delightful, too. Hugs from Louisiana!
Tasha Tudor one of my favorite artists!,, a new book, can hardly wait and I love the calendar page!,, thank you for taking us on your walk so lovely. We have no robins yet in Indiana but raining all the dirty snow away today. Always look for robins so we know spring is not far away.
My husband and I went for our own spring walk along the shores of frozen Lake Erie just today. We heard and saw many spring birds (and winter ones too). I didn’t find any beach glass but did find two lucky stones side by side! I gathered a few beach stones to add to the succulent planter that I repotted just yesterday. We came home and I sat down to reply to your blog (and enter to win the cute garden book!) and my own dear kitty jumped onto my lap to “help.” I enjoy your blog very much.
I love this book – there is something about opening a book, not written by Tasha Tudor and finding her illustrations – with her simple loving touches – like the corgis in her drawings, one squat little up on a chair, waiting patiently.
And I’d be honored to mark my place in this beautiful book with your “paint wipe” – for me it would be a small masterpiece.
Hi Susan
I’m also a Downton Abby fan. I can’t get enough of it. I wish we didn’t have to wait a whole year for season 6. Isn’t it wonderful to get out into the fresh air after a long snowy Winter!
Susan,
I would like to meet you someday, I think we are kinderd spirits. That may not be spelled right, but you know what I mean. Your blog about the walks you and Joe take are awesome. Your art just makes your travels more real to me. I just read about your garden journal you kept while in England. Got me to thinking, why don’t I start one. I like to travel and look at flowers and fauna. Thanks for all the good ideas you share.
My pleasure Margie!
I would of liked to have seen that Turkey. Wonder what happened to it.
Wrong place, wrong time!
Would love this book!!! Thank you.
I am most anxious for spring!
I enjoy reading your blog every week. I have all of your books and you have introduced me to many I didn’t know about! I have Tasha Tudors books but never knew about Mary Mason Campbell and her Kitchen Gardens. Thanks for all your sharing. Like you, I am still in ice and snow but slowly melting. Dug out lots of my ‘Spring” magazines and garden books to start planning! Have a super weekend.