Evan Abrahamson (American, 1985) "Sunlight Clouds" Acrylic, Oil, Pen & Ink.

Harry Brioche (British Artist, born 1965) "A Ray of Hope", 2023. Oil on Board, 40 × 30 inches. Private Collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

'The Path in the Garden,' by Gustave Caillebotte, 1886

'Ophelia,' by Pierre-Auguste Cot, 1870

Julia Barminova Watercolor

I’ve been listening to this site for nearly 20 years and it still seems almost too good to be true. Classical music 24/7, courtesy of the Swiss government. The selections are briefly identified in your choice of DE, FR, IT or EN language. No advertisements or other interruptions. Just perfect!

To say that it rained on our parade would be an understatement. But no worries: We had Bernie! Independence Day parade in Warren, Vermont, 2026

I came upon this classic Vermont garden cart at the end of a neighbor’s driveway. The tires were flat and it had clearly been left out in the weather. I pulled it home, took it to pieces, cleaned the rust/oxidation and replaced all of the hardware & plywood with stock I already had squirreled away.

Jim Farrant.

Frances Seward, abstract landscape photographer based in New Mexico #WomensArt #WOMENSART @womensart1

'Symphony in White, No. 2,' by James McNeill Whistler, 1864

Good morning all! Another sunny day, so breakfast in the garden. 🎨Michael Schlicting - Summer Breakfast #art #food

Preparing, as best we can, for the coming heat wave 😰 Cherry popsicles

My wife reported hearing an unusual birdsong yesterday morning. I fired up Merlin sound-ID in time to identify it as a male Scarlet Tanager! Alas, we couldn’t spot it, even with binoculars. And Lo! first thing this morning, there it was in the garden…my first ever!🕺🤗

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before-more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle. ~ C. Dickens, ‘Great Expectations’ (1861) #Painting, E. Munch

Choose kindness, gratitude, and compassion, and the world starts reflecting them right back. The beauty you see in your day usually starts from within.

Tous les livres du monde Ne t’apporteront point le bonheur, Mais ils te ramèneront sans tapage A l’intérieur de ton être Là, tu trouveras tout ce dont tu as besoin, Le soleil, les étoiles, la lune Car la lumière que tu recherches réside en toi.

Daniel Garber Tohickon, Delaware River in Pennsylvania, 1920

This one particular view of Lake Champlain (Colchester, Vermont) could easily pass for Lago Maggiore near my wife’s family home in northwestern Italy. I never pass it by without taking in an eyeful.

We’re celebrating the strawberry harvest with shortcake and ice cream. The shortcakes smelled wonderful coming out of the oven! It’s our 4th season making this recipe.This time we replaced both the heavy and sour cream in the recipe with vanilla nonfat yogurt…tastes just as yummy to me 😋

"Kilometers of Joy" Cycle de France St Etienne ca. 1950s

Arcadia Bluffs Jef Bourgeau

Lisa Benson Lunar Light

When the world is measured in dollars, even a living forest becomes invisible.

I may have a new personal record for fruit diversity in my morning oatmeal! 🤗 🕺🥳 Our own garden strawberries, haskaps, blueberries and raspberries. Store bought (but still organic) cherries, bananas, mango and raisins. Plus almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds. Water, of course (not shown)

NPR is calling the Mamdani-backed candidates “far left” which I guess is shorthand for “would like to give healthcare to their constituents somewhat”

My wife and I, in our early 40s, going to dinner on one bike, because adding spice to life has become a priority. She's reviewing the menu ahead of time. 🤳😉

Meadow at the Forest Edge, Oil on Canvas, Isaac Levitan, 1898.

"Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling" James E Starrs

Q: Why couldn’t Mozart find his music teacher?

Phyllis Shafer - Moonrise, 2015, oil on canvas, 32 x 38 in

“Chocolats Favoris” in Montreal hit the spot on a hot day 😋

I’ve walked past this house on Main Street in Montpelier these past forty years but today was the first time I noticed this window. It’s on the side of the house, but still, it prompts me to wonder how many beautiful things pass by me unnoticed in my hurry to get someplace else?

‘Little Brother.’ #Painting by Norah Neilson Gray (1921) #art

“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.” — Simone de Beauvoir, attributed in Successful Aging: A Conference Report, by Eric Pfeiffer

Albarrán Cabrera, 2016

I’ll attend the 4th of July parade in my neighboring town, same as always. But this year has me wondering what exactly am I celebrating? …the fact that we’re not quite yet living the worst case scenario? The American Experiment hasn’t failed so much as we have failed it. Painting by Gerard DuBois

Or even as our first resort… “In the last resort it is our love for people which counts for more than our love for principles.” William Gass, “The Case of the Obliging Stranger”

Mike Hall

Good night, all. Sleep well.

Stanley Kubrick captures a moment of quiet contemplation aboard a New York City subway train in the 1940s.

A friend gifted us four Haskap bushes last summer (Borealis & Berry Blue). I wasn’t expecting berries this soon but we picked a half kg today. Even this was kind of exciting, having never grown them before. The berries made 550ml or 2.3 cups of preserves. I particularly like the dark cherry color!

My wife’s new t-shirt

'Wer wohnt denn hier' #FotoVorschlag Egal wer, jedenfalls traumhaft schön.

Yesterday was my first outing on my new bicycle; a second-hand Linus Roadster 3i in pristine condition save for a couple of scuffs to the paint. It’s my first “upright” bicycle. What’s lost in aerodynamic efficiency is more than made up in riding comfort. I already love it! 😊

'Mein schönster Moment aus 2024' #FotoVorschlag Sommerferien in Schweden!

This is the guy in my mirror every morning…although I’ve come to believe (via Hume/Parfit) there are a bundle of selves behind every face. “I am multitudes.” Walt Whitman What binds our many, often disparate, selves together is a shared love for others. The gears mesh when they turn for others.

Lunch here is most always homemade soup and bread. White bean-cabbage today (my mom’s recipe) with sourdough-olive bread.

Ich liebs...