a little warmth

There once was a crooked little stove pipe in a crooked little cottage...

And it is so nice to have a small woodfire going on chilly mornings! Looking forward to much more coziness this winter... as is Peach as well!

Olive Street guest & artist

MJ Clifford has created more of her beautiful seasonal cross-stiched cards again this year. They are  5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches with matching envelopes. Sold as a baker's dozen for $10. Also available the adorable little magnets for $1 each. Shipping & handling on your entire order would be $5

Please contact MJ via email at emjsee@yahoo.com

little green

 

Not quite the bounty of community grown veggies I had hoped to have been growing on Olive Street this season... but still a wonderful thing to see! Tomatoes, some beefstake and some cherry, peppers, broccoli that may or may not produce... blueberries are coming in plentiful as always... it's something, it's a start!

More volunteers are requested for next year to make our gardens grow.

self-serve tea

The studio space at the Sugar Tree Cottage will be unavailable until sometime in mid-June, so the tea spot has been moved to the porch at the Perkins House.

It is currently BYOWater - as I can not be relied upon to bring freshies every day at this point, and you should maybe BYOCup too....   so really all I'm providing is some tea and a way to heat water, along with a place to sit; but the flowers should be blooming soon, and the sound of the brook is always amazing, so a sit down will do your soul good. 

Feel free to take your cup of tea across the street and enjoy it on the porch of the Gardener's Cottage instead if you wish.

Just remember, the grounds are under construction still...  be careful where you walk, and be aware that progress related eyesores are present. Just overlook them and find beauty where you may.

updated logo

Keeping the pennyfarthing, of course, and adding a little bird and some wildflowers. New tag line "art : gardens : tea" is a throwback to the original plans for the Cottage on Olive Street (formerly known as the Sugar Tree Cottage), and elements that we hope will continue to be found at every cabin in our project. 
 

cats, dogs, lizards, fish

The indomitable MJ Clifford took these photos of my Peach & her Willow enjoying some sun upon the porch of the Sugar Tree cottage last September. Peach is a permanent year round resident at the cottage now, and Willow has her run of the place for as many weeks as she desires each summer. [She is Queen and was there first]

In 2021 we fostered a litter of wee kittens and their mum at the cottage, and are open to foster another furry family again this year. Indeed I'm a 'cat lady' and simply can't imagine a home without a cat or two.

We've never been asked before - though if we had been the answer most likely would have been yes - but as we figure out lodging in the other camps and cottages for the 2023 season, we invite guests to inquire about bringing their cats, dogs and other friendly creatures along. We ask for a little information about how well your friend gets along with others and such, and we will need to limit the number of those we do allow, but here is the general announcement that we welcome your companions!.

Of course we will also be sure that at least one of the shared residences remain pet free for allergy and other reasons!  

the force of water

We, like many others in the area, had downpours of rain yesterday. Hayden Brook filled and swelled and raged past, and for a bit of time flowed ... yes, flowed... under and around the Sugar Tree cottage itself. 

Other than a sprint I took up the small hill to Hayden Street when someone called to say the roof of the Tower House was on fire - it wasn't, but a tree branch had fallen and ignited itself on the powerlines by the neighbor's, and from the individual's perspective it looked as if flames were coming from the TH roof - the strong winds and continuing rain made me think it best to stay sheltered and not venture too far in the dark of night.

The sun risen and the rain ceased, the brook has now returned to the confines of its path, though still quite high; and the banks indeed quite reshaped. 

On this morning's walk I found the heavy metal bridge frame at the Gardeners Cottage bent and twisted, and looking like it fought it's hardest against the water, ice, and tree branches the brook had accumulated along it's way.  

waiting for snow

Peach at the Sugar Tree cottage sharing tea time, and waiting for snow.

Borrowed mugs at the ready for hot chocolate to offer to cross-country skiiers later in the season; when the porch becomes a warming area.

But first we need the snow. 
 

late October at the Sugar Tree Cottage

Instead of the bustling list of activies I had in mind, things are taking a slower pace on Olive Street this October.

Hot spiced apple cider is a regular happening.

An extra quilt or two has been placed on the bed.

All of the potted plants but the mums and cabbages have been brought in from the cold and are currently enjoying the porch, now fitted with its winter hot-house style panels: there are still peppers and tomatos growing. Harvested carrots and pototoes are tucked into their respective baskets in the kitchen.

Peach, the cottage cat, and I have woken up to frost-covered fallen leaves on the ground and trees outside the window.

The theme at the Sugar Tree cottage include sugar skulls my son and I made from molds and decorated years ago - carefully wrapped in tissue paper and stored away each November 2nd for the next October - and a few colorful felt flowers. 

October will be ending too soon. November... brings the woodstove.

October on Olive Street

October is such a beautiful time of year! It brings with it slowing down and a chance to breathe in the cool air. The bright flowers of summer give way to the muted colors of mums, the squirrels start to get a little more serious with thier gathering. On Olive Street it means the transition from the summer season to the winter and the change of activities.  A tiny flea market in being planned to take place at the Tower House this month, as we let a few things from storage go and offer handmade goods from the Sugar Tree Cottage. [contact me if you would like to set up a table here as well]   We are also still seeking volunteers for Halloween to decorate, dress up, and hand out goodies perhaps.... and if there is enough interest we could do a haunted house! Or two or three even? 

November will see us continuing projects, including the repairs to the bridge for my Sugar Tree Cottage, so we can again be welcoming nordic skiiers in for hot chocolate this winter; and the small studio space will be available. Studio space will also be opened at the Tower House. What comes next after that is shifting the Perkins House on it's axis to set a little further back from the corner, and make way perhaps for planting more apple trees next May. Through the rest of the winter the Brook House will be completed, as well as the new Gardeners Cottage... and maybe another surprise or two. 

Right now we are enjoying the last few opportunities to dine at the Lakewood Inn Restaurant, and looking forward to the actor's awards banquet for Lakewood Theater in a couple of weeks. Though that side of the brook gets sleepy soon, we remain to watch the ice and snow arrive, and melt again. Cozy in our cottages

bathtub tomato

To my surprise, this morning I found there is a tiny green tomato growing an an orphan plant in the bathtub at the Sugar Tree cottage.

Happy to see blossoms on the tomato plants in the containers on the deck, baby cucumbers on the vines. 

However, I also did have to take note that the snails may be the only ones to enjoy the cabbage, and the pepper plants have not grown any taller. The berry bush that I have allowed to push it's way into the light by squeezing itself up between the deck boards will bear no fruit. 

And the morning glories are in the middle of a rather aggressive takeover of the tiger lillies.

My green thumb skills are lacking to say the least. Later this month I take over one of the most beautiful flower gardens on Olive Street and I'm not feeling ready! 

Yikes!
 

tiny studio into guest room

The transformation in the corner of the Sugar Tree cottage from tiny studio to special guest room has begun to take place... which can only mean one thing... we're getting ready for the return of MJ & Willow soon! 
 

sunrise & the new season

Watching the beautiful sun rise over Lakewood Theater from my porch* with my cup of tea & the cat.

This comming week marks new beginnings, with three new theater guests moving into the Tower House.

Colton Bagley is returning to the costume shop to lend his talent, and will also be found waiting tables at the Lakewood Inn Restaurant.

August Thornton returns to our stage -  you may remember him from  Mid-Summer and  Living on Love in 2021 -  and can be seen in  The Girl on the Train  playing June 9th - 18th, and  Great Expectations which runs September 1st - 10th.  He will be one of your waiters at the Inn as well.

Travis Harden is making his debut on the Lakewood Theater stage, in The Girl on the Train.

Tucker Atwood & Autumn Stupica are going to be staying in the Perkins House again this season. Autumn will be making her Lakewood debut in Critic's Choice  which runs June 23rd - July 2nd, and will also be in  Anything to Declare  September 15th - 24th. . Tucker can be seen in  The Drowsy Chaperone  July 7th - 16th,  and  Anything to Declare.

Arriving later this season, MJ Clifford & Willow-the-cat will be my very honored guests at the Sugar Tree Cottage again, with MJ performing in  Halfway There  July 21st - July 30th while Willow keeps an eye on the cottage and soaks up some sun: and then returning for Great Expectations. 

Already here on Olive Street of course is Jakob Sutton.  Jakob will be in the opening production of the year  Drinking Habits  May 26th - June 4th, an ensemble member in both of the musicals -  The Drowsy Chaperone  July 7th - 16th &  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels  August 18th - 27th - and in the closing production of the year Anything to Declare  September 15th - 24th.

Looking forward to the 2022 Season!

*The theater building itself may be hidden from view in the photo by the porch screen door frame in this photo, but it is surely there, standing fast. One of the benefits of being at the cottage through the late autumn to early springtime is the view during and following abscission, through the time of budding.

 

keep the light on

You may be familar with the ghost light in the theater -  a single bulb left burning whenever the theater is dark* - but I have been enjoying a ghost light of another sort this off season as well, as the large light in the Lakewood Theater parking lot has remained lit nightly, a clear and steady beacon visable from the Sugar Tree cottage. It brings me comfort. 

Like my personal lighthouse in the winter fog.

*A theater being "dark" means that the theater is currently not open, not just the state of physical lighting. No shows, no rehersals, no sets being built. In general, some say the light is on to keep away ghosts, some say it is to light the way for the ghosts that already inhabit the theater (which is more the case for Lakewood)... and some even say it is on to keep the stage manager from tripping when he first comes in to work

Peach

This is Peach. She's been at the Sugar Tree cottage since August, staying mostly hidden, being very shy. Seems to be enjoying winter cottage life and these months later is becoming a little more social; demanding, in fact, special attentions of belly rubs. Has she quietly been making plans to become the official cottage cat?

All the same, when Willow returns during the next Lakewood summer season, she will still be Queen, and Peach politely her lady-in-waiting. 

snow

Feeling happy to have a little snowfall here, and very much enjoying the repairs/remodel to the porch at the Sugar Tree Cottage as a place to observe the light as air flakes drift to the ground. 

Our hopes & plans are to be able to use the porch as a warming area for Cross Country skiiers coming down our way from the Lakewood Golf Course trails once enough snow piles up! We'll have tea, cocoa & coffee... and of course some cookies too.

Keep watching for more snow!

hues of calm

Took a minute or two, or maybe lost myself for a half an hour or so, just staring at the beautiful autumn colors again, and listening to the calm on Olive Street today after a bit of rain... which seems to make everything more vibrant. The brook was singing it's song. The occasional leaf fell through tree branches. A slight chill in the air.  It was good for my soul. 

It could be good for your soul too.
 

unfinished

Showing the flowers last gasp of autumn colors perhaps. Could be. Acrylic painting tucked in the corner, unfinished, untitled, in the little studio room at the cottage.

Some works of art, in any medium, are simply like that. Put on pause. You have to set them aside for a while and come back to them again later. Don't over-think, don't crowd the colors. Step back, take a breath. There's no rush.

ready for her close up

Now appearing at the Sugar Tree cottage....

Hand sewn linen figure over wire formed arms, vibrant hand painted features, intricate gown. Artist unknown.

An antique store find, she drew me in, as something about her just seems so familar. 

wonderful rain

The fantastic rain has grown Hayden Brook beautifully! Not a very artful video, but I just had to share its incredible flow beneath the bridge at the Sugar Tree and onward to the lake