The Cabin becomes "The Lodge"

Mr. Bechtel and I went to inspect the cabin today.  Whoa!  It became a lodge while I was in England.  Without feminine influence heavy beams were stained rugged walnut colors, rough cut stones were installed around the fireplace - with a mantle that should support at least 2,000 pounds.  Mr. Bechtel is crazy about it.  He said something like, "this is what my taste was like before we got married..."  I was not reassured by this comment.  But the longer we stayed there the more I liked it and decided it just needed a few area rugs, soft pictures, and throw pillows.This is the loft - my favorite area.  I can imagine grabbing a book from the bookcase at the top of stairs and settling in for a lovely afternoon. 

 I can't resist showing a few of the things I decorated the bookcase with:
Uggh, this is a horrid picture of the bookcase.  It was just in it's "beginning stages".  However, I must point out Grant's checker board, Dad's old coffee pot, my red candle,  and Braeburn's old stripey canoe paddle.  I am confident the canoe paddle is going to be what sells this place!

And look!  We are on the cover!  I love the computer generated grass in front of "The Lodge".  In reality, it is a big mud pit with old wood scattered around.  Don't we love computers?

Let me know if you want to buy this attractive, affordable cabin.  I'm accepting offers.

America for Me

by Henry Van Dyke

'Tis fine to see the old world, and travel up and down

Among the famous palaces and cities of renown,

To admire the crumbly castles and statues of the kings,-

But now I think I've had enough of antiquated things.

So it's home again, and home again,  America for me!

My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be,

In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars,

Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.

And that about sums it up.  England was wonderful, the countryside was lovely beyond description, and you couldn't turn around without finding something of historical interest.  But my heart is in the wild, open spaces and I am happy to be home.  

God Bless America.

Leed's Castle Birds of Prey

There was a great falcon show at Leed's Castle when we were there.  I thought of Sam in My Side of the Mountain.  They flew an Eagle from Africa and the Peregrine Falcon and both birds were incredibly fast and powerful as they would zoom over your head.  There was a family of geese right down on the lake and the falcon headed for the little goslings.  Both parents stepped in front of the babies and shielded them from the attack.  We all held our breath until they escaped!

London Temple & Hever Castle

The London Temple has beautiful gardens around it with paths for strolling on.  It was a peaceful oasis that I loved visiting.

Hever Castle is the ancestral home of Anne Boelyn (second wife of Henry the Eighth).  There was a ton of info on this part of English history in here, plus a great hedge maze we figured out and gardens galore.  Sensory overload.

This hedge is carved as a chess set.  See all the pawns in front.  I love the knight - he looks like rabbit!  

And finally, the lovebirds.....

White Cliffs of Dover

Clark says the white cliffs of Dover are "whiter" than he imagined.  They really are white.  You drive through this little village, around some windy back roads, park the car at the edge of a little hedgerow, hike a little further up the road, and suddenly, there is the ocean.  Green on one side of you and a huge expanse of blue on the other, with a tall white line separating the two.

What beautiful skies!  The weather was perfect.  At the half way point in our hike we took a breather in the tall grass - no ticks, no mosquitos!  Really fabulous.

The weather was so clear we could see clear across the channel to France.  The cliffs of Calais were perfectly clear.

In the background you can just see the little harbor where the ferries and cargo ships come in to dock.  The trails go RIGHT to the edge with no fence.  All the black rock on the bottom is the under layer of the chalky cliffs that remains when the white rock has been worn down and washed away.

Canterbury

Canterbury looks just the way I think it should!  The whole old downtown area is walking only (no cars or bikes) so we strolled up and down little winding streets with an occasional glimpse of the cathedral in the background.  Very easy to imagine the early pilgrims coming in from all quarters to give their offerings at the cathedral.  

We spent several hours  in the cathedral, toured the monks herb garden, and then had a fabulous picnic lunch in a sunny courtyard.  There is a private school right next to the cathedral and the high school aged kids would walk 2 by 2 in uniforms with their books on a string through the courtyard between their classes.  

It made me happy for homeschooling!!!

This is just one of MANY stained glass windows in the Cathedral.  Each circle depicts a different  scene from the bible or a Catholic Saint or an event from early Catholic history.  There is so much history, history, history, that after awhile you get immune to it and just walk from room to room looking at gold and silver chalices, altars where Thomas Beckett was murdered, statues of old saints, burial statue for the "black knight", Stained glass windows like this, monks quarters, etc.  I was actually happy to emerge from the dark building into the bright outdoors where things were alive and growing.

This is the Monk's herb garden where the monks would grow their herbs for medicinal use.

Cricket

Sunday afternoon on our walk we came upon a game of cricket.  At first I thought it was baseball in strange uniforms - I had to be informed that this was "cricket".  

The pitcher starts about 20 feet back from the pitchers mound, starts sprinting for the mound, leaps in the air, whips his arms around his head and throws.  Except for he doesn't throw to the batter, he aims for the ground about 15 feet in front of the batter, where the ball bounces once (like in ping pong) and then the batter tries to hit the ball as it bounces up to him.

The batter uses a bat that is flat on one side for hitting.  The only guys we saw hit the ball all fouled out, so I don't know how they run the bases.  We had to press on with our walk.  Love to all of you.