Love Letter to Boston

A family friend commented that my Instagram feed reads like a love letter to Boston, and I thought that was fitting. Sharing some Boston love from my feed on the blog today!

My condo downtown that I love to death. Coming back was so strange at first, but now it feels like a comfortable old shoe again.	I was at a Sox game during the marathon, and the energy was nuts when the jumbotron cut to the first runner crossing the finish line. Crying, hugging, cheering.
This was the first blooming tree of the season!  After this past winter, spring felt like an absolute miracle.	The Boston Marathon is just as inspiring now as it was the first time I saw it as a student 12 years ago. Support and good energy take over the entire city.
Riley and I have been taking long walks by the Charles River, which I had missed so, so much. Riley enjoys sunning himself on the dock :)	Oh, Boston Public Library, you are a gem. One could spend an entire day exploring the halls or reading in one of the beautiful study halls.
A day at the beach in Hingham with Riley and friends. Excellent rock and shell hunting was had.	Spotted this pair in Harvard Square. The entire scene is so fitting, from the argyle vest to the wire haired dachshund.
A grocery store across the street from my condo is under construction. Folks, this is HUGE.	An old church downtown. Seems there's one more beautiful than the next on every corner.

Storm After Storm

Like everyone else in the eastern half of the country, we've been slammed with storm after snow storm. If you are on the sunny west coast or some other mild climate, I hope you are soaking up the heat and laughing all the way to the beach as you read this. If you are in the thick of it like we are, I hope you are bundled up by a fire, taking a snow day and staying out of this mess! Please enjoy this sampling of shots from the eye of it.

Snow piled on the house, the garden taken over	Fields of snow
Brown and white, the winter palette	Snow banks have reached the barn windows
Rode out one storm at my weaving teacher's house	And loved the contrast of her sun porch garden against the snowy outdoors
Riley among the mounds	Deck view
3' composting bins just about buried	Birch branches against the winter sky

California in Instagram

Last week's trip home to California in Instagram! (you can follow me @littledogvintage)

Morning light	Oranges growing on the neighbor's tree
Flowers blooming in the neighborhood	Mom's kitchen
My parents' dogs, Chico & Carmen :)	Flea market haul
Deck view	Camelia blooming in the back yard
Obligatory trip to In-N-Out Burger	On the way to the dog park

A New Trail

Apologies for the lack of posts over the past weeks, guys. Truth be told, nothing particularly exciting has been happening around here. We're taking a break from house projects, focusing on getting back to work. Josh opened an office to see chiropractic and nutritional patients in town, and I've been spending a lot of time in the barn, stoking the stove to stay warm and tackling my huge pile of half-finished projects. Fear not, though, we've got a long list of outdoor gardening and earthworks projects lined up for the spring, including creating a tiered landscape along our entire hillside, digging a pond, and a million other ideas.

The snow keeps a'coming, and Josh has been taking lots of walks through the woods with Fern. This week he checked out the new trail cleared by our neighbors that connects our road to the barn on their property. The barn houses a zebra (yes, you read that right), cat, pony, and a number of other barn animals I have heard about but not seen. Once over the summer the zebra and his posse got free and came over to our yard. We weren't around at the time and they were rounded up before we returned home, so I was pretty confused about how a pony sized dump ended up on our driveway until I heard about the "jail break." Country problems :) Anyway, the trail is nice and wide with a gentle grade perfect for walks, cross country skiing, and four wheeling (a popular pastime around here). Riley and I joined this morning and I snapped a few phone shots along the way. The landscape is bleak this time of year, but I love the rusty red color of the bare branches jutting out out of the fresh snow. There's a real beauty to it all.

Melt Off

Our little town has been bundled in a cloud all day. Heavy snow earlier this week followed by warmer temps today created heavy fog. With everything so soft and dreamy, I couldn't help but snap a few shots.

Images above:
1. The house, barely visible from the bottom of the driveway
2. Fencing at the neighbor's house
3. Fog pooling at the base of a mountain
4. The garden and barn
5. The barn
6. Fern and Riley
7. My favorite tree
8. Deer tracks in the yard
9. Bare branches
10. View of the yard

Tomorrow morning we are off to Boston for Christmas with Josh's family. Hoping all of you have a safe and happy holiday! See you all back here later this week.

Evergreen + Twinkle

The folks in Woodstock really know how to do holiday decorating right. Most shops and homes in town have a simple wreath on the door and a few twinking white lights. The foot of snow on the ground sure doesn't hurt, either. Even a plain red door with no decorations looks festive against a blanket of pure white powder.