rote

the sky is wider when you go north; bluer, too, though i'm not sure if that's a function of atmospheric change so much as it is a question of contrast between earth and sky during mud season. and mud season it was at the rote farm up in maine, where the yawning mud flat that was once the driveway made you understand why it is that most mainers prefer 4WD vehicles. the mud. and the snow. and the wild roads. and the...but i digress.

in honor of my birthday, dom and i decided to make a whirlwind trip upcountry to visit my sister. it's not something i would necessarily recommend to everyone--two days' travel for one day's vacation--but if you have a destination like the rote farm, i can't encourage you heartily enough. go. go now. seven hours is nothing compared to a day on the farm.

the rote farm is beautiful, and sprawling, and a wonderful place to play even when it's surrounded by vast pits of mud. the field adjacent to it is ringed by trees, shielding it from the road; it's heaven for my sister's corgi and her playmate malcolm the labrador, who happily bound through the snow and skid around with abandon. the field is more heavenly for humans in summer, when hammock beckons and the fresh heat demands quality laziness (just do not under any circumstances forget your mosquito repellent), when the lobsters are cheap and the tomatoes are blooming and you can see more stars than you had any idea still existed.

this is not to say that the entire place is more habitable for humans in the summer--far from it. winter means fires in the wood stove, tapping maple trees to make syrup (photographic evidence to come at some point), dogs and cats (including the feline equivalent of me), strong coffee, the world's best four berry pie and the magic of dilly beans, bluegrass jamborees in the living room and much more.

i'll be the first to admit that i'm a complete city slicker (much to dom's chagrin); but sometimes...i definitely see the appeal of going rural. and think that i might even enjoy it once i got past the fact that there is nobody around there who would deliver sushi to me at 10:30pm on a tuesday.