The End

This is our last night in Winthrop. All of our possessions are boxed up and ready for the movers, who will be here bright and early tomorrow morning. We were lucky to have one final sunny day here. And as I'm writing, a cool ocean breeze is blowing into our apartment.

To be honest, I've been wanting a larger home and more land for so long now that I never stopped to think about how much I will truly miss this apartment. I doubt that I will ever be able to live in a place like this again. I wish that everyone had the chance to live on the ocean and to experience everything it has to offer- the sights, sounds and especially the smells.

I had posted earlier that my favorite time to take in our views of the Atlantic is early in the morning, when the air is still and all you can hear is the distant sound of seagulls. I thought it was only appropriate to bid farewell by sharing some of our favorite pictures taken during this time. Goodbye Winthrop! We'll miss you!

Balcony Plants

I thought I'd do a post on what I have currently growing on my balcony. In a little over two weeks, we will be closing on our new house...every exciting and stressful at the same time. I hope my plants enjoy their new home.

Unfortunately, my strawberry plants are not producing well this year. These are plants I started from crowns a year ago. Some of them didn't make it through the winter, which is to be expected. I should have re-potted with fresh potting soil...oh well.

My dwarf top hat blueberry bush was loaded with flowers this spring. Too bad the birds have gotten to most of the fruit. I'll have to consider making a fruit cage or at least apply some netting in the new garden.

My lemongrass has definitely seen better days. It was started from a few stalks I purchased at the Asian market and flourished throughout last summer. It even overwintered pretty well inside our apartment. I think I set it out too early this spring and the ocean chill got to it. I'll probably chuck it and start all over again next spring. I'd like to come up with a plan to grow lemongrass in my garden, freeze most of the harvest in the fall, overwinter a few stalks inside, and plant the root divisions the following spring.

My kaffir lime is doing very well. I purchased it as a start back in January. It came in a 2 inch pot and has since put on considerable size. I'm hoping to be able to harvest some leaves and fruits within the next couple of years.

Finally, my rosemary is looking lovely again this year, deep green and tinged with burgundy. I hoping it will flower one of these days.

Belle Island Reservation

Saturday, we went to the Belle Island Reservation in Winthrop/Revere, MA to explore the salt water marshes and wild greenery. Here are some of the more notable pictures of our visit.

Boston Harbor Islands

I went out onto the deck at dusk to take a some pictures of the Boston Harbor Islands. I wish I had a wide-angled lens to capture properly our view of these islands, which stretch across much of the eastern horizon. Between us and these islands is a vast and open space of water frequented by sail boats, cargo ships, and fisherman. And for a time during the year, the surface of the water is speckled with lobster buoys. My favorite time of the day to take in this view is early in the morning at low tide, when the air is crisp and the distant sounds of seagulls is all you can hear.

Boston Light on Little Brewster Island, which "was the first light station established on the North American Continent".

Graves Light, named after Charles Graves, who was an early settler of Charlestown, MA.

Stormy Weather

Today brought with it more rain to the Boston area. Unfortunately, our windows have remained closed for much of this summer so far. The howling northeasterly wind that accompanies the incoming Atlantic tide brings with it an ocean chill more reminiscent of December than July. Oh well, you can't fight Mother Nature. But what you can do is post more pictures from this past lovely weekend.

The salad greens began to bolt a few weeks ago and have now gone to seed. I really don't mind so much since the accompanying yellow flowers are so pretty - another reason to let the plant complete it's life cycle (aside from saving seed).

Happy Fourth of July!!!

After days (or has it been weeks) of seemingly endless rain and gloom, it's a special thing to be able to celebrate the 4th of July with perfect sunshine and, of course, barbecue. We'll be in our new home in less than 24 days, but for now, we'll try to soak up as much of the view as we can. Indeed, our panoramic views of the Atlantic is by far the most special (and beautiful) thing about living in our Winthrop, Massachusetts apartment. These past two years have gone by way too fast. The most memorable times in life seem to last the shortest, and then you have to move on. I hope the next tenants enjoy this view as much as we have.

Here is a coastal view from our balcony facing due south. Very New England if I do say so myself.

And Here is the same view tonight. Happy 4th of July!