It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, we’re surrounded by beauty that we quickly take for granted when we see it everyday.  There’s an old Armenian proverb that translates roughly into “Habit is the friend of the ugly woman and the dearest enemy of the beautiful woman.”

Some of our guests come every year, always at the same time, always to meet up with old friends.  These dear people can see the progress we make on our projects through time lapses of 12 months.  When I see a sign that needs re-painting, they kindly remind me how good the roses look after the severe pruning I gave them last year.  When I worry that the buttercups are pushing their way through the hostas, they talk about how nice the pea stone looks on the beach stairs.  I see what needs to be done, they see what has been accomplished.  Other guests come in for the first time and if they’re “our kind of people” they slowly absorb the atmosphere we work to create…they discover the bench that overlooks the tiny waterfall in the stream, they find the carvings in the woods or discover the heliotrope I’ve tucked into a boardwalk garden simply because its vanilla scent blends so beautifully with the perfume of the rosa rugosas.  Because this campground has been an art project of 15 years, many of the things they notice have long slipped my mind until I see a photograph or overhear a conversation while I’m wiping the counters in the bathhouse (One day I’ll write a posting…Things I Overheard in the Bathroom).

The photos in this post are Sarah’s…the little things she saw while she was here.