Fall, that bittersweet time...

We adore Blue Hill in the autumn--the Foliage Festival, the crisp days, the apples--but Dan the Flower Man brings his final bouquet and we know that the end is in sight and we feel sad.  A highlight of our week is seeing Dan or his wife Leslie come through the door with a big bouquet for the inn. 

Do you know we have free guest passes to the local YMCA?  It's just big enough, staffed with knowledgeable helpful folks, and very convenient.  A gentleman asked if he could walk there from the inn.  "Well, that would be a great start to the cardiovascular portion of your workout."

The beet salad from Aragosta in Stonington

Fall always means more time to read (and time to get back to the YMCA myself).  A delightful guest, Welles Brandriff, gave me a copy of his books, A Secret in the Shadows, and Born to Soar.  I thoroughly enjoyed A Secret and now it's back on the shelf at the inn.  Born to Soar is still on the bedside table but I'll let you know when you can borrow that one, too.  Mr. Brandriff uses his own experience as an Air Force captain stationed in Okinawa to guide his writing.  Sandra Paretti's The Magic Ship is a fun historical romance set in Bar Harbor in 1914.  Candlemas Bay by Ruth Moore delighted me as well.  This is a story of generations of a Maine fishing family, told from varying viewpoints with details that feel spot on for this area.  Have you read anything good lately?  I do have to tell you a story about a guest who visits with his wife almost every year.  He mentioned over breakfast that he was halfway through a book when he checked out last year--it had an orange cover, it was about dogs and fighting...   Did I know which one it was, as he was looking forward to finishing it. After a few questions, I was able to go right to the shelf and find it for him.  His page was still marked!

So many things I cannot resist at the farmer's market--River Wind Woolies is one.  Robin makes the most useful, colorful woolen things.  Today's splurge--angora fingerless gloves.  Sticky buns from Millbrook Bakery is another irresistible item but you don't have to wait for farmers market day--there's now an actual cafe in Sedgwick where you can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on the day, or just a sticky bun.  Smith's Smokehouse, where our bacon comes from, has summer sausage and smoked cheeses and great jerky.  Luckily you can order online from them.  I often see Chris Leith at the market--I was wearing one of her gorgeous scarves the other day.  You can visit her website anytime and she has a beautiful studio as well. 

We've been delighted to welcome Cynthia Winings and her gallery to Blue Hill. She's closed the door for the season but bRoz Somer, Buzz Masters, Tom Curry...
e sure to look for her opening in the spring.  She's working with a great bunch of artists, including

Cynthia Winings

Grid Modulation  Book with box: birch, found metal, turpentine
transfers, colored pencil. Anne-Claude Cotty

We went to a great Pecha Kucha at the Opera House.  If you haven't heard about this yet, you must look into it!  The format of 20 images with 20 seconds on each lends itself to a kaleidoscope of inspiration.  Among other presenters in Stonington were Ellen Booraem, on the process of creating her latest novel, Maureen Farr on her latest artistic endeavors and her new gallery space, Deer Isle Hostel on growing and preserving food of all sort, and Anne-Claude Cotty on her latest artist work and book making.  Anne-Clause and I are planning a book making workshop this fall.  Let me know if you would like more details.

If you haven't planned some fun fall reading and creative activities, do it now!