Hurricane Sandy was far from a direct hit from us and we were lucky to have escaped most of the destruction;  not so for the H.M.S. Bounty.

My thoughts are with the crew members; survivors and those who were lost, and their families.

***

I have an immense love for tall ships;  deep down inside I am a true romantic.  I grew up in the deserts and mountains of New Mexico and did not move to the Ocean State until I was 36, so it hasn’t been a very long relationship.  The first time I ever saw a tall ship was when a fleet of them came to visit Newport in 2007.  Ever since then, I have devoured Patrick O’Brian novels, watched all the Pirates of the Caribbean umpteen times, visited the USS Providence berthed in Newport and built here in Portsmouth.  I get this thrill in my chest and I break out in goosebumps whenever I see a tall ship.

This is one of my favorite poems:

“Sea-Fever”

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

By John Masefield (1878-1967).

When the Tall Ships came back for a visit this summer, a friend of mine asked me to bring a care package to her brother.  He was second mate aboard the H.M.S. Bounty- the one ship I was most excited to see (the square riggers are my favorite)!  We met him and many of the crew.  He was very kind and offered to give us a personal tour of the ship, but as we could see he was very busy, we declined and just toured her ourselves.

I didn’t hear about her troubles until Monday when my friend posted that she was worried about her brother and the crew- and ever since then I can’t stop thinking about them.  My eyes are welling up as I write this.  And yes, I am crying for the crew, the horrible ordeal they suffered, and the friends and families of the crew member who perished, and the captain who was lost at sea.  But I’m also crying for that beautiful, beautiful ship and I tell myself it’s just a boat.  Yes, I am grateful for the survivors and for their heroic rescue by the US Coast Guard!  Still, I can’t help but mourn the loss of this ship.

This is how I will remember her:

And this time, RSE’s mascot Russell (the frogdog) has entered a costume contest at Facebook!!

To vote, click on the facebook link below, then click the small red “vote” under his photo- but not the big orange button which takes you to the main contest (you may have to “like” the Petco page before voting).

You can vote once a day.  Russell and I both thank you!

Here is the link:    Russell the Frogdog

Wow- I’ve kept my mouth shut for a whole 2 weeks!  Okay, maybe not on Facebook, but I’m starting to see cobwebs here and I’m not sure if it’s because of the season or the lack of posting!

I’ve been busily at work at your custom orders (thanks again!) and will be busy up until December, getting your goodies ready in time for the holidays.  Apart from a few items I had ready and shipped out immediately, the first packages will be going out early next week!

That is not to say I haven’t taken a break now and again to enjoy the beautiful fall weather here in New England- here are some recent photos!

These first two were taken during my son’s Eagle Scout project, on the path to the canal he was rebuilding.  Before and after:

Yes, it really is the same canal!  Some other fall pics:

These wild turkeys think they run the place!  They won’t get out of the way!

And finally, we went to our beloved Simmons Farm’s pig roast fundraiser, and I took a rather gruesome photo, so for those of you with fine sensibilites, I include a link to the photo so you won’t be surprised by it:

Roasted Pig photo

The end of June is a crazy time of year in the Gonzalez household- the twins’ birthday and mine are 2 days apart!  Their birthday was Friday, but since this weekend is the America’s Cup in Newport this year (part of it, anyway), poor John had to work on his birthday, and Saturday and Sunday.  We took a cake to West Marine where he works, but he’s still exhausted and none too happy to be working!

Katie was upset to be turning 17, but was wishing with all her heart she could be 13 again.  Also- she was a little preoccupied as her boyfriend’s baby sister was born the night before!

Yeah…. I wish I was turning 13, too!  Heck, I’d settle for 23, really.

^ This chick! ^

She laid her first pair exactly a month ago.  The eggs take anywhere roughly from 65 to 120 days to hatch depending on temperature, so I expect in a few weeks we will begin to hear the “schwucka schwucka” of little sticky feet.  Methinks we may be overrun with baby geckos.

This is Katie’s senior project, breeding crested geckos, which was started 6-8 months early because of the time it takes from initial introduction to actual hatching.

This is dad:

He’s a dalmatian.  He’s missing a tail, because this species will drop its tail when provoked, but does not grow it back.  He dropped it at some point before coming to us, but he gets along just fine without it.

Here is the first set of progeny:

Katie hasn’t named them yet.  I offered up “Humpty” and “Dumpty,” but I don’t think she liked my suggetion much.  They are dirty here from being laid in sphagnum moss.  They always lay eggs in pairs, about a month apart.  I’m pretty excited about this project… stay tuned for baby pics, hopefully!

JULY 2:  UPDATE:  Well, a third pair was laid June 28.  No babies yet, but the first pair of eggs look more like golf balls now than the elongated shape like in the photo above, which was over 2 months ago.  Still waiting!

It was a wonderful experience setting up a table at Simmons Farm’s winter CSA last Thursday;  we will be back again next week!  If there is anything special in the catalog you are looking for, please contact me to see if it’s available and I will bring it with me on Thursday.  Contact and catalog links are at the top of this page.

I had a great time meeting all the CSA members, but I think Katie had a better time getting to know a newborn little friend:

See you on Thursday!

Rising Sun Earthworks has just been invited to set up a table at our local organic farm, Simmons Farm !

They are trying out a new idea, having different food-related artists and artisans setting up their wares on CSA days. I will be there from 3-6 on February 16 and 23, during Winter CSA pick up days, and if all goes well, will continue once every month or so.  Check the schedule for dates (link at top of page).

We are lucky enough to live just 1/2 mile down the road from this beautiful farm, and we love to visit there.  They have a petting zoo full of tame goats, sheep, ducks, cows and more.  They have both summer and winter CSAs- for veggies, eggs, milk, meat and cheeses.  I’m excited to be invited to participate in this new venture!

I’ve been good and working in the studio 4-5 days a week, but I did take some time to help Katie dye her hair:

And to set up her new aquarium and now I can’t get Dory’s song out of my head…LOL.  “Just keep swimming, swimming….”

She is setting up a planted aquarium and has been pretty excited about her new project. We set it up last weekend:

Then I got bitten by the aquarium bug HARD.  I’ve had aquaria and ponds all my life, from little 10 gallons like Katie’s to a pair of breeding oscars in a 100 gallon tank, and Mike had a reef aquarium (*coughmoneypitcough*) for a few years, but for the past few years it’s just been the ponds.  And they are no fun during these long New England winters.  So I started searching Craigslist and found a 56 gallon aquarium!  I didn’t really have room for a big tank, but the 56 gallon is a tall tank with a small footprint and I have the perfect place for it.

Craigslist kinda scares me.  The last time I responded to an ad, I met the guy in a parking lot and took John with me, and all was fine.  If I put an ad in Craigslist, it’s usually to give away baby koi or water lilies, and they have to come to my home, and that’s really scary so I haven’t done that in awhile.  But I couldn’t really ask the guy to meet me in a parking lot with a big fish tank, so I brought my dear friend Nancy with me as a bodyguard, LOL!

Turns out I bought an aquarium from Ben Kingsley. Well, he kinda looked like Gandhi.   A nice little bald guy and his wife who teach school.

I’m going to wait a few weeks before starting to work on it (first project:  a stand), because well, I did promise to take some custom orders!  And I need to sell some customs before I can start buying fish!  And I certainly don’t want to horn in on Katie’s fishy excitement.

Yesterday’s harvest.  I think this says it all.

I just found out that the kids’ summer break has been extended one day thanks to Irene.

We had a great summer, ending with a trip to visit my in-laws in Chicago (Hi Grammy and Toto!).  We rushed back just in time to batten down for Hurricane Irene, and the only casualties we had were the food in the freezer since we were without power for more than a day.  We count ourselves very lucky as the same cannot be said for thousands of others.

Soon RSE will be buckling down again, filling up inventory for upcoming shows (next show is my favorite- the Norman Bird Sanctuary Harvest Festival, Oct. 1 and 2).  Also coming right around the same time- I will start taking custom orders for the holidays!  So keep your eyes open and make sure you are on my newsletter list if you have plans for an RSE Christmas .

RSE is taking the rest of August off!  Three weeks… and one has already passed.  While relaxing, I notice that the zinnias I planted on the rock wall around the entryway have filled in so nicely!  I’ve never planted zinnias before.  What a happy, easy flower!

And the lotus in the pond has reached a new record in leaf size, I think!

We have also been indulging in a lot of crazy, giggling watermelon seed fights here on the deck:

Enjoy the rest of your summer!