I’m sure you may have noticed the lack of posts the past few days and that’s because I travelled to our east coast home and as usual, it takes me a day or two to get my bearings. My flight was delayed 2 hours {one of those hours was sitting on the airstrip waiting to take off} and then because I wanted to score an extra 1,000 bonus airline miles I checked a bag {which I hardly ever do because I dislike waiting around in baggage claim immensely}.
Anywho… the bags were delayed because of a lightning storm {obviously workers cannot be expected to be high up on a metal ramp during a storm} and so I had to wait around an extra hour for the dumb bag making the trip 3 hours longer than normal.
Oh well. I’m here. And that’s all that matters, right?
I pulled weeds and planted a bunch of vegetable seeds before I left last time and paid the neighbor kids to weed for us while we were away. When I arrived I was greeted with a nice little harvest of onions on the back porch and a nearly weed free garden. HOW COOL IS THAT?
I still have some weeding to do behind the house over the next few days but let me tell you Bob, I could live here forever. 
A few months ago I tossed some tomato seeds into the ground and let mother nature do her thing. No extra watering, no staking, nothing. Just soil, rain and sunshine. Imagine that. No fuss heirloom tomatoes.
In fact, the entire garden wasn’t watered one time while we were away. And yet, we still were able to grow a nice little crop of vegetables. 
I’m planning on harvesting the basil tomorrow morning to make a batch of freezer pesto. 
I also need to harvest a batch of strawberry runners and transplant them around the yard.
This year we planted Lakota squash. It’s a winter squash and I am excited to try it. Do you think the airlines will let me carry it home on the plane?
Butternut squash… I hope they make it before the first fall frost. 
When you neglect your turnips… they go to seed. 
Each little seed pod holds 3-5 seeds. I’m going to clip all the little dried pods and harvest the seeds. I should have enough turnip seeds for the next 5 years! 😉
In the backyard there is a white hydrangea bush. Or at least that’s what I think it is. Does anyone know the variety?
I don’t know about you… but I’d much rather live in the land of farmhouses and cornstalks than high maintenance suburbia any day of the week. I wish I could only convince the HH to live here full time. I’M WORKING ON IT THOUGH. Trust me…
~Mavis
P.S. There are so few things about my life I don’t share on the blog, but the location of our east coast home is one of them. So if you know where it is, or where it might be, please refrain from mentioning it in your comments. Just know, I’d rather be here, than the land of snoopervising.
Carla says
Why do you have homes on both coasts?
Mavis Butterfield says
Because we are both in LOVE with the east coast. My husband grew up on the east coast and we are planning to retire there. Just can’t do it yet.
Diana says
I love the pics of your East Coast home. Kinda makes me want to move back north… and I would if there wasn’t so much snow, lol.
Your hydrangea looks a LOT like one I bought this year. Variety is called Shooting Star, but mine has multiple florets, not a single row like yours. It could be the variety at the link below – but it’s beautiful whatever it is…
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Identify+Hydrangea+Types&view=detailv2&&id=69BB971F240B65F2CB11797106A42DE08CDE540C&selectedIndex=70&ccid=eVhxSU%2fe&simid=608013717340883632&thid=JN.FpStshK5oh%2bXG7PVTgksCA&ajaxhist=0
Henrietta says
OH Mavis, I am also in love with the east coast. I visited Boston a few weeks ago and also got to see some of the countryside outside of Boston and fell in love with the farms and homes there. I would love to live on the east coast!!
Diane says
Mavis, the hydrangea is a hydrangea paniculata, but it could be one of MANY varieties. If you want to look for it, I HIGHLY recommend http://www.plantlust.com, which encompasses thousands of plants in a single site. Just type ‘hydrangea paniculata’ in the search box, and look through the results (most include photos). Enjoy your trip, and travel safely!
Marcia says
OMG is that your house?? So beautiful and green and rolling hills. What state?
I am originally from Western PA and my spouse is from Upstate NY.
We were back east for 2 weeks this summer. One week each place with a train trip between. And the scenery was a lot like that house picture up there. Rolling green hills and forest. I kind of miss it. Especially considering the CA drought. Every where we went was GREEN and so pretty.
But the winters man. Not sure where your house is, but the last couple of winters for our families were brutal.
Kim says
A white farmhouse…………….sigh………………….what could be better? It will be a barrel of fun, someday when HH retires, to see you put your special touch on this piece of property!
Meanwhile, you are plenty entertaining!
🙂
Rene says
I just got back from visiting my son in Burlington, VT. It was so green & lush. My husband noticed that we never saw any sprinklers watering the fields. So unlike Southern Oregon where we live. It’s gorgeous there but, I would want to be a snowbird & winter somewhere warmer than 10 degrees!
Renee says
You’re so fortunate to have a home on the east coast…I’m here in Everett three years now,but moved here from Virginia and before that Michigan and before that Louisiana where I’m from and I have to say I hate it here! I’d love to be back in Michigan or Virginia any day! Louisiana is way too hot for me!
Debi says
I live in the U.P. of Michigan and would not move to FL, CA, the south, etc. Love it here. May have the snow, but no hurricanes, mudslides, earthquakes, tornadoes are downstate in the Lower Peninsula. Just love it — I would take the snow any time.
Rebecca says
Hi Mavis,
I don’t think you mentioned before that you were planning to retire to the East Coast. I am in Maryland and love the land of farms and snowy winters, too! I did get to visit Seattle two years ago, and that is also beautiful. So, I think you are enjoying the best of both worlds right now, except of course, the snoopervisors!
My butternut squash look like yours. We had so much rain this spring and it took awhile for the summer to get going. This is my first year growing it, and like you, I have fingers crossed wishing for a successful harvest.
Your garden pictures and advice are my favorite things about your blog. Thank you for sharing them with us 😀
Mavis says
Thanks for the praise. And yes, I feel like I do have the best of both worlds!
deborah says
Mavis,
Here is a picture of one day’s tomato harvest from my Vermont garden. And omigod, today I picked 25 POUNDS of cucumbers and they’re still coming. The 30 chickens are getting 3-4 a day, but I guess I am going to have to learn to love pickles…
Oops, I guess the comment feature won’t allow pix. Just visualize a massive shallow pasta bowl filled with red, yellow, orange tomatoes of all sizes and varieties. Awesome deliciousness.
Hope you manage to come east soon. Tell HH early retirement is the best decision he will ever make. Life is too short to work into your 60’s or 70’s. So many other wonderful things to do with those years.
Delores says
Well, I have no idea where it is. But it looks lovely!!!! I am kinda jealous. 🙂
Sharon@MLT says
West coast girl here all the way. Washington Oregon California or Hawaii. The only places I want to live. The DH turned down a great job because New Jersey .
But I’m glad you are happy Mavis.
Lynn says
Hi.
Not trying to find out where your house is AT ALL. Just wondering if that white house is yours or just some random strangers house.
Anita Ink says
Well…I think I might know what state your new home is in, but don’t worry; your secret is safe with me (if indeed I am right!). And, IF I’m right, I think it’s a great choice!
I’m just wondering how you, an absentee gardener, managed to grow squash without constant attention to keep the bugs from ruining them. Any secrets up your sleeve?
And do you have any links to previous posts about the new house? I’ve missed a lot of posts and had no idea.
Mavis says
You’ll find some of those posts here: http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/tag/east-coast/. And I think I just got lucky on the no-squash-bugs thing.
Lacy says
I love that you have homes on both coasts! So jealous of both of your garde s too! That variety of hydrangea looks like a “quick fire”. They have reddish stems and they can tolerate more sun than most.
JC says
Yes the east coast is where it’s at. We currently live in Upstate NY, where I was raised, but hope to move to VT, where my fiance is from someday soon (NY politics eek!) I’m super jealous of that house. I would love to have one that looks just like that some day.
Lana says
Hubby and I are road trip fanatics and we logged over 5000 miles this summer. One trip was SC to Boston and when we travel up the east coast we stay off the interstates and drive farm country. We absolutely love it and your house is a great example of all we love about the scenery. Enjoy!
Helen in Meridian says
I have a feeling that is just a wonderful country house you photographed, since you never publish pictures of your own home. You never told us if you ended up renting your east coast house to the young band members who wanted to practice and record in your rental home.
Melinda says
East coast is nice. We live in VA. But to be completely honest, it reminds me of Iowa, where I’m from. Farms there are bigger, and it’s much cheaper to live. Kansas City is a great place to visit to get a big-city vibe not too far away. Makes me laugh when people say they love the farms on the East coast because I think of fast-moving cities first before the farms and I think of the Midwest when it comes to farms. Congratulations to you!
AlysonRR says
I think what I miss most about living in MA, then MD, is the tomatoes in the summer. I know I could work really hard and get some tomatoes (other than cherry/grape tomatoes – they grow well here) growing here in the PNW, but it was just so easy on the east coast…
Also, fireflies and cicadas!
I do NOT, however, miss the heat and humidity in the summer (yes, I know that’s why the tomatoes are so good…). I’m a wimp about that, probably because I spent my first 26 years in the Northwest.
Carla says
I can’t imagine missing the cicada’s. They have been deafening this year!
Mavis says
I don’t mix well with humidity either, but the pros just outweigh the cons!
Libby says
Mavis – I’m thinking you should road trip to Burlington, VT and visit the mothership for the catalog Gardener’s Supply some time. You might fall in love!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Vermont is on my radar! 🙂