nature | Apothecary Shed

Big Dog, Little Girl

January 10, 2023

gem dogs, farm, hiking, nature, trees iulie, moonshine Leave a comment

Look at that smile on Moonshine’s face.

Tree elf.

Chopsticks

Little creatures are exhausting.

Ginko Yellow

December 7, 2022

gem dogs, nature, plants, trees blandy farm, fall foliage, ginko, moonshine, trees Leave a comment

This is apparently the largest Ginko stand in North America, found at Blandy Experimenal Farm in Virginia. We went during peak color change with Moonshine.

Lets Almost Go See a Waterfall in Norway: Vettisfossen

November 11, 2022

gem hiking, mountain, nature, photography, travel hiking, mountains, nature, Norway, photography, travel, vettisfossen, video, waterfall 2 Comments

The day could not have been prettier. Light rain, but gorgeous light. And peak Fall leaves. And waterfalls everywhere you look. The funny thing is, though we hiked about 13km, we never made it to the big waterfall! Ran out of light.

I guess we’ll just have to go back

THIS is not the one! But look. Spectacular does not even begin to describe this walk.

We had some very late lunch very near the top at an old farmstead and village.

The turn around point.

Kongevegen, Norway Hiking and the Stave Church

November 8, 2022

gem hiking, mountain, nature, travel gøran, hiking, kongevegen, Norway, nova, romey, stave church 1 Comment

The trail, built by hand with horses and carts through steep mountain passes, is incredible. Like a movie set. This is one hike in Norway not to miss. We did a few kilometers day hike to the Stave Church completed in the 1180s.

The Kings Road is what Kongevegen means, BTW. The scenery at peak Fall is stunning and magical.

Romey and the logo bench.

Just up over the pass the first view of the Stave Church.

We approached from behind (with a herd of sheep). These are not the sheep!

Our fearless leader Nova.

Don’t eat the mushrooms.

A quiet moment of conversation.

A boy and his dog!

An impressive waterfall on the drive home.

Coffee stop.

And back home for beer and a small fire. This is the only kind of smoking that I like to do.

A Hike to the Backwards Waterfall

November 8, 2022

gem hiking, mountain, nature, photography backwards waterfall, gøran, nature, Norway, photography, reindeer, romey, video, waterfall, waterfalls 1 Comment

It’s pretty far to get to the waterfall, and the directions are tricky.

Maybe it’s that way?

Should we follow the reindeer?

And you have to stop by the visitors center snack place where they have really nothing. No coffee today, no waffles, nope, no water, sorry only candy made from juniper berries.

But there it is! Upness in a waterfall.

OK. Not the best waterfall in Norway, or really even the most interesting. But there were reindeer!

Peekaboo romey.

On the way home we dreamed of bubbles.

Music in Madison with Ritt and Wilder

October 17, 2022

gem art, music, nature, party bows, butterfly, hinge, josh henry, madison, monarch crysalys, music, ritt, ritt deitz, united, violin repair, wilder, wilder deitz, wisconsin Leave a comment

We had so much fun playing for the Hinge release in Virginia and in North Carolina that we did it again!

First things first, though, the violin must be transformed into tip top shape. Thank goodness Josh Henry, my esteemed bow guy, also doubles as a violin guy.

And then we were ready for some action!

Sound check in the street.

Load in and a fabulous bar. Real drinks and intimate music. Yes please.

The opener.

Ritt and Wilder pre-fiddle.

It was pretty fun watching, but way more fun playing!

We rocked the house.

And the best part other than performing? Visiting the Wilder Dietz School of Music! Walking for hours in Madison (one of the prettiest university towns in the US). Spending quality time with the extended family of Ritt and Vic.

Monarch Crysalys

My seatmate on the way home was a dog.

Lets do it all again!

Get Hinge here.

First (and last?!) time on the river 2022

September 5, 2022

gem nature, river, who knows gem, kayak, nature, photography, river, romey, shenandoah, shenandoah river, skaggs, video Leave a comment

We are way too busy. During COVID the river was a key respite for us. Time to get back to our roots.

A run in September is just what the doctor ordered.

Honestly, they did answer…

Boyle’s boat looking grand.

A run of the class 0 rapids (with one hand).

Here’s to more Fall runs during 2022.

Palacio de Cristal Madrid: El Retiro

July 29, 2022

gem art, nature, travel art, el retiro, madris, Palacio de Cristal, park, romey, spain, travel Leave a comment

Crystal Palace they said. Worth a quick visit. But wear your sneakers. We were dressed up for dinner on our last night out.

Wrong shoes and bad art aside, we were glad to walk through the Madrid equivalent of Central Park.

The art inside the palace was awful. We think it was made by the box head guy below.

Spare no expense! Use the GOOD duct tape.

Anyway, there were turtles and ducks.

Passeggiata al Bariosco (near Rialmosso, Italy)

July 20, 2022

gem hiking, nature, travel ave maria, bariosco, hiking, italy, opera, passagiata, rialmosso, rosazza, shooka Leave a comment

On my last day in Rialmosso (Italy) after all three performances were behind us, the hiking boots finally came out. Sadly the boots were massive overkill since the “hike” was really just a walk and the walk was really just a stroll. But, I lugged those boots all the way here from Virginia, so on they go!

Anyway, the stroll in the park was behind Rosazza on a mountain trail that was well tended and obvious in the Italian way. Gorgeous, filled with green trees, burbling creeks, and an ancient Italian village at the top.

I like listening to the woods as much as looking at them. The sounds were curative.