Independence Day and Blog Change

Hello.
It's Saturday here and it's beautifully sunny (and a bit windy) outside.

 

Earlier this morning, I changed this blog. It will always be my 'Scotland blog' and the posts from Scotland will always be available on the left. Realizing where my life is now though, this summer, this upcoming final year of college and beyond, I knew I needed a change in title. I'm still not sure what this blog will become, but I want to continue doing what I've done since August 2012. The posts may not be exciting as they were when I wrote about my experiences in St. Andrews, but I hope to blend ideas, thoughts, experiences and photography woven into some type of (Northern) New England experience. I continue to feel inspired by so much of what I read and see and hope to share it here.

Independence Day.
The day was warm, humid, exciting and busy. Much of my Mom's extended family joined us at home and there was plenty of celebration. Electric fans and swimming kept us cool and the weather was too hot for the swarms of mosquitos and the nearby raccoon family to make an appearance.

I missed the warmth and sunshine this past spring as the U.K. suffered a longer winter than usual and a cold spring. Now, after weeks of heat, humidity, constant re-application of sunscreen and bug spray, daily thunderstorms, waking up to humidity and dizziness, and darkening skin from the sun, I might be alright with cooler weather. Rivers and lakes are extraordinarily high in Vermont and New Hampshire and summer crops have drowned. We're still eating summer berries and vegetables as often as possible though and the stillness of the woods remains beautiful. I went out this morning to gather sticks and branches. The solitude and quiet of the woods was so calming. Layers of fern, bark, oak leaves and pine needles lined the ground among the slugs, spiders, moths and caterpillars.

I've picked far too many wild daisies this past month, and was delighted to find wild (but tiny and bitter) strawberries. I've felt for awhile that I really hope to leave New England next spring or summer once I graduate. I know I'll be back someday though, and there is so much here I love. The white puritan churches in small towns, the covered bridges, bright foliage in the fall, the white and green mountains,  light snowfalls and beautifully green summers, wildflowers, long grass, preserved farms and barns, the Maine coast, lighthouses and the tiny historical towns.