farmstand glories...

every summer i mobilize my kids to a place in the woods with a pool club and the pool that is in its center. 

it is nothing like what i luckily grew up with, since my back yard plus a 7 story drop downward, was edged by a creek. salt water swimming has no comparison for me, since i've done it all my life. i felt i would shrivel up if i couldn't swim in the salty waters below my bedroom. it was a privilege sharing refreshing waters with the indigenous marine flora and fauna as i cooled off. it never mattered if a little bit if crustacea got swallowed while dog paddling(our dogs),crawl stroking around "the hole"(a deep spot that was especially good at low tide) or doing backwards somersaults for kicks. 

later i studied marine biology for the first time at a shack at a bend in the creek up towards the lagoon turn around in the aqueous cul-de-sac ( my teacher was Dr. Ernie Ernst... who later ran a NY aquarium facility... i forgot which one. still he helped me formalize my love of the creek and its marine qualities).

now as it is reverting again into pool season, i am thinking of all of its composite trip elements. 

the club that has been in existence  for around 50 years, is about 25 minutes away from my home. it is always cooler there no matter what it is doing in town. many of my friends are here... honestly and truly, i love it.  it is a free-form summer camp for adults and kids alike. it is unimaginable  to consider summer without going to this place. i have been a member with my family going into my 14th year (yikes, i think it may be my 15th season). time is flying! 

and yes, as much as l LOVE the ocean, the creek and fresh water ponds, i am always a sucker for an aqua colored concrete basin.

 i can't help that i am so consumed by color and that aqueous, one in particular. 

unfortunately, the membership fees are increasing as my "disposable" income is  going the way of the dinosaur. the translation of this, is that i will have two kids in college next september. still i have the youngest of my brood who is counting on going. i must  suck up my lust for vintage stuff and bottle my internet/etsy spending to accommodate my need to spend summer there. it may be the only way i can continue to make my treks as i have for many years past. 

one of the many cool things about the travel arc to the club is that i can go any number of different ways to get there. all roads seem to head there. my car is pre-programmed if i don't think too hard about it. i can even miss an exit and still get there easily and intact. i have been so many times, i really do feel it is an automatic pilot guidance system flowing through me. 

along the way, there are more rural homes than where i live. it isn't that this place is completely obscure, but it is in a more woodsy and less urbane locale.

we are rather densely packed into our plots and are defined by city constraints. 

{ there is a saying in my area, that you know it is summer, 

cause you can hear your neighbors flushing their toilets}. 

 the homes en route, have the added benefit of loads more space around their homes where bushes, trees and garden plots are creating good things to eat or admire. 

often they enjoy an increased yield of food production from their yards.

literally, there is a huge blueberry farm on one of the main, yet countrified roads on the way. also there are raspberries, flowers, herbal bouquets, potted plants, basil, corn, and squash. loads of squash. 

all of these little side yard gardens and road side stands are unmonitored. there is that old fashioned thing that speaks to me... a honesty payment system. a box or carton is left on the table stand. the gardener posts pricing signs for the daily selections. each day the stands can have very different offerings which keeps me trying to remember which way to go. i think the trust system must work, since it is there day to day, and the flowers etc. change as the seasonal shifting does. 

it is this charming trust adventure that i admire. it serves also as an inspiration. 

so much so, that i have made a few necklaces based upon the changing bouquets set out. 

all of the necklaces were made last summer, but it is now time for me to start making them again. here are last summer's pretty pieces and the last is one that is underway... to kick off this season. 

"FARMSTAND GLORY"

the original

"FARMSTAND GLORY-too"

"FARMSTAND GLORY: III"

"FARMSTAND GLORY: IV"

"FARMSTAND GLORY:V"

"FARMSTAND GLORY:VI"

thanks so much for visiting.

 i always appreciate it. hopefully, i will add more of  2011's

"FARMSTAND GLORY"

 necklace bouquets as i make them up. 

for now, i am mid "FG" as is seen below. 

{more dangly things and some rhinestones need to join in the compositional games}

"FARMSTAND GLORY: 2011.1"

in progresso

two days later... and 
Ta Da!!!
FG2011.1 is completed... 
just needs a couple of rhinestones set-in.

xoxox

W.