summer walks

this weekend take a walk through the fields.... and through the flowers

photo by kristen bach

pines + rain

photo by kristen bach

magnolias

boy, if you ever get a chance to study magnolia flowers, do it! they are so elegant and mysterious and grand. not to mention the richness of their white petals, so creamy!  i studied and drew magnolias while they bloomed. here's a magnolia study for you.

photos and words by rebecca wood

insects

photo by Kristen Bach

a beautiful barn

barns are one of those buildings that can stick in your head.  i have passed this one several times on random country drives and every time i say....that is the best looking barn!   it is one of those that i drive by just to look at.

photos and words by kristen bach

ombré roses

a few weekends ago my cousin got married, and a bunch of our cousins got together to do the flowers. we brought things from our gardens, things from friends' gardens, and also things from elsewhere. the roses were at their peak this weekend, so we (luckily) had lots to work with. the next day, i hated to throw them out, so, after giving some away, i made them into this ombré on my porch. so beautiful...

words and photographs by rinne allen.

deer tracks

photo by kristen bach

mint and honey spritzer

our herb garden is overflowing with mint right now.  they other night we had some friends over and i wanted to make a refreshing little drink.  i whipped up this simple mojito inspired spritzer for our guests.

ingredients

a bunch of mint (leaves only)

3 limes

honey

sparkling water

directions

-in a food processor, process mint & honey until finely diced 

-in a pitcher, mix in sparkling water and honey to taste

-pour thorough cheese cloth or a colander to remove mint pieces

-enjoy over ice

****you can add a light rum if desired

photo and recipe by kristen bach

petunias

photo by rebecca wood

pottery sales

this past weekend was the semi annual pottery sales out in nearby farmington. there are lots of good potters out there, and so much fun to drive out in the country and visit all the studios.  not to mention fun to see all the creativity.  i buy some pots for inspiration and to support these people i love, who, like me, are pouring their energy into trying to make a living doing what they love.  got to support that.

photos and words by rebecca wood

tree + sky

photo by rebecca wood

it's chartreuse time

this spring we have had record rain,and so this spring has been one of the greenest in recent memory. usually,you get a first flush of chartreuse all at once. everything is chartreuse.  it lasts a couple of weeks before things start to turn a darker green,until everything is the same dark green of summer. but this spring the chartreuse time just lasted and lasted because things just kept putting out new growth.

photos and words by rebecca wood

another magnolia

photo by rebecca wood

house of dance and feathers: new orleans, louisiana

kristen is going to new orleans soon, and it reminded me to share photos from a trip i made last year. we spend as much time as we can in new orleans… we love it there.

on our last trip, we visited the house of dance and feathers in the lower ninth ward. we were greeted by the warm grin of the proprietor, ronald lewis. he shared his enthusiasm with us for music (he was dancing the whole time we were there) and the mardi gras indians. i will keep it brief here, but i have long held a fascination with the indians – the few glimpses i have seen of them in real life have left me breathless. they are like magic. each indian creates their own costume, often over the course of a year, beading most of it by hand. mr. lewis told us that he and his friends often bead together while they are grilling out, and i just loved that image. the day we visited his backyard museum, it was the night of st. joseph's day – one of the biggest nights of the year for the indians, so they had the grill fired up.

there is a book about the house of dance and feathers and it is available from the Neighborhood Story Project.

words and photographs by rinne allen.

oak leaf hydrangea

photo by rebecca wood

building a bouquet

I made the bouquet for my cousin's wedding a few weeks ago. I pulled together some of my favorite ingredients and laid them out onto my drop cloth as I thought through how they would fit together… then I started placing them in the bouquet, until I had finished it.

words and photographs by rinne allen.

little purple blooms

photo by kristen bach

garlic scape pesto

before moving south, i spent a few years as an organic farmer.  our farm grew a ton of garlic.  each spring we would harvest the garlic scapes which will eventually turn into flowers.  you do this so the garlic plant will focus it's energy on the garlic bulb rather than the flower. the scapes are quite lovely on their own and so tasty prepared.  i think i have made just about everything with garlic scapes but this pesto is one of my favorites. the scapes add a little kick that regular old garlic doesn't always deliver. 

ingredients 

6-8 garlic scapes

3 handfuls of basil leaves

olive oil

4 oz pine nuts

1/4 cup parmesan

directions

-using the top 10 inches or so of the scape, dice them into 1 inch pieces 

-put all ingredients into a food processor

-turn on and add more olive oil as needed

-salt to taste

i tossed the pesto in with some roasted potatoes....a made a perfect spring side dish!

photos and recipe by kristen bach