Only in Bucks County!

Friday, January 3, 2014

Only in Bucks County: A Walk in the Woods

Some of you know

that I moved from Newtown Grant to suburban Yardley within the past few months.

With all moves... with all change... there is good and bad. So much has changed! There's a lot that's different for me now.
One of the positive things is that I've been making the time and will remain dedicated to going out walking, exploring and photographing again. I've gotten some freelance photo gigs and breathed some new life into my blog.
Even better is that I rescued a new dog, three year old Fergie, so I have someone to go out exploring with me.
And the best is that there are miles of woods right out my back door!
Every morning Fergie and I walk in these woods. It's good for us to breathe in the cool, fresh air together, and we get to enjoy the beauty and serenity that I crave... the peace, that for me; only nature has to offer.

Yardley, PA.

Late December, 2013.

Talk about color in unexpected places!!

~ Can you believe these photos were taken in the ice and cold of winter? ~

Wolf fur? Dog? Fox? What do you think?

Oh, also... I collect pine cones.
But they have to be ones that I find,

so please don't start dropping them off at my front door :)

Snowy Walk

Icy hike

New best friend and adept Squirrel-chaser.

Snow puffs.

A secret fort!

New Year's Color; 1/1/2014.

Always, a little after-walk play time!

"If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere."

~Vincent Van Gogh

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Only in Bucks County: The Best House in Buckingham

I have friends who live in a beautiful 18th century stone farmhouse in Holicong, a small pocket of Buckingham Township here in Bucks County. With rolling country roads, the scent of sun-warmed grass and fresh air, and the scenery of well-kept horse farms, open land, cornfields, and periwinkle blue skies at sunset, I enjoy the 15 minute ride to their house as much as I enjoy being a guest there! Dennis and Armando have a place that is full of beauty, love, and warmth; and they go out of their way to make their guests feel welcome in their enchanting home.

The word that I would choose to describe their home is handsome. It's simply a good-looking house! Large and impressive with pointed stonework on the outside; exposed beams, deep window sills, oak floors and antique fireplaces on the inside. I wander around inside, exploring... and I walk around the grounds and feel as though I'm in an earlier, simpler time.

The road to Holicong

Holicong Road

Walking the grounds

Formal garden

Annual Christmas photo

King of coops

Autumn approches

Side view

Random width oak floors

Super wide sills

I know a secret: In front of their house stands the largest tree in all of Bucks County!

(Armando tells me it used to be the second-largest tree, but the first one fell over in a storm)

iPhone photo that better shows the enormity of said tree ;)

Armando's Cocina al aire libre

Chardonnay among Cornfields

Family

Shadows cast by the warm glow of the fireplace

A wonderful meal on the terrace

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth,

for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire;

It is the time for home.”

Edith Sitwell

(September 7, 1887-December 9, 1964)

And of course.... there's always Ethel.

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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Only in Bucks County: The Summer I Discovered Country Music

Those of y'all that know me know that I'm a pretty positive person. I tend to see the bright side of things and I don't think I complain alot. But summer for me has become a time where I count the days down until the next season. I hate the heat. Hate. It.
It's been constant and inescapable. We've been living with the air conditioning running non-stop since May, and between the heat and a busy work schedule, I feel like I've been living indoors more than ever this summer.
Just this week (of course timed perfectly with the start of school), although it still gets uncomfortably warm during the days, it has begun to cool off at night! We've begun to sleep with the windows open to the sounds of crickets and cicadas, and a few mornings have actually been crisp. Now that I feel assured that my favorite season is right around the corner, I reflected on the past few months.
Two great things happened, really.
I've had to make the trip to Upper Bucks a lot this summer for work. The beauty in this thirty minute drive through farms and small towns, past orchards and open land, showcases everything Bucks County has to offer. Hot or not, I put the top down on the convertible and I go. It's become a ride that I love and look forward to, and the catalyst for me exploring Bucks County again. I have talked Scott into getting in the car and exploring these back roads as the sun is setting on our Saturday night.
The other thing that happened is that I've discovered country music!
Don't ask.
Don't judge!
I am ALWAYS late to the party!
All I know is that I went 48 years without it, and suddenly I can't get enough. I can't answer the question why. It's inexplainable, but it goes hand in hand with the freedom and the beauty of driving around small towns, driving around exploring.
And so!
I will try to appreciate the the warmth, the light, even the heat, of the last days of the summer. With the top down, and some country music blasting, of course.