While we await the delivery of our RV in late August, we chose to spend the rest of the summer near my mother, in a place where I can write in peace. The god of good fortune smiled on us when we rented this early 19th-century house in South Montville, Maine, a tiny hamlet -- no store, no post office, no traffic, just the sound of a babbling brook. 

Our gracious hosts, the artists Emily and Will Brown, welcomed us to their enclave and introduced us to their friends.  They also told us about the best walks and swimming holes in the area.  Check out Stevens Pond below.

For evening entertainment, we can watch the sun set beyond the blueberry fields.

And nibble the tart fruit as we go.

The West Coast branch of the family joined us for two weeks of togetherness, lobsters, hiking and hanging out.  Meet the family below:

We loved the bike trails and the Connecticut River in the Pioneer Valley, but the house rental was not very good.  When construction started outside the bedroom window, it was time to go.  We got lucky and landed at The Trivet in Deer Isle, Maine.

We locked up our remaining possessions in a storage unit and we were free!  I went to the Grail's Hermitage to write and enjoy the fellowship of those who live there.  Mark went to Washington, D.C., where I soon joined him to enjoy the first weeks of spring.