1992, and an afternoon in spring with the robins chirping along as the earthworms slither in the back yard at the bungalow on Flying Fish Row.

Oh to be here.

Another hour of weed pulling. Fun it is, but not as much fun in a pastel pink linen skirt and camisole set as uprooting dandelions in denim shorts and an old t-shirt. Not like back home with all that red clay that turns everything and everyone from little girls to puppy dogs nearly as orange as the sign over an Orange Julius stand. Pale colors in accordance with Pantone, and whoever the buyer is at the boutique by the beach. Nothing darkish brown enough to hide the smallest streak of mud.

my new short fiction piece published over on my Substack if you’d like to read the rest. The image is from Digital Library of Georgia.

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/1992-and-an-afternoon-in-spring-with

Off to the Finger Lakes and coming back later. I’ll send a wire so you can meet me at Grand Central with a bunch of daisies. Imagery from an 1891 promotional pamphlet urging tourists to visit Lake Keuka that was probably paid for by the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad and Lake Keuka Steamers as their timetables are prominently listed. Where my mother went to college and I went to camp, too.

Front cover, Page 7, Image 6, of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/n6/mode/1up

*Bath and Hammondsport Rail Road Docks; Among the Wooded Points – Major Gardner’s Cottage.* Page 8 Image 16 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/8/mode/1up

*Urbana Wine Company.* Page 10 Image 18 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/10/mode/1up

*Urbana – to and from the Vineyards.* Love the sailboat and the canoe, and the tourists posing with the canoe paddle. Page 12 Image 20 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/12/mode/1up

*The Land of Vineyards.* Page 16 Image 24 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/16/mode/1up

Bluff Point (upper image and lower left) and the Keuka Hotel: The Fisherman’s Favorite Waters. Page 18 Image 26 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/18/mode/1up

*Among the Villas (and a nice boathouse too).* Page 19 Image 27 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/19/mode/1up

Camping. Page 27 Image 35 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/27/mode/1up

*Penn Yan: The Piers and Fall Brook Rail Road.* Page 30 Image 38 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/30/mode/1up

Trout caught in the Deep Pools. Page 40 Image 48 of *Lake Keuka* which was copyrighted by the Library of Congress on August 11, 1891. The Matthews-Northrup Company, Buffalo, New York, printers and engravers. In the public domain due to age. https://archive.org/details/lakekeuka00buff/page/n39/mode/1up

Flower pictures from 1867 looking if anything prettier than what’s coming with the robins next month. Imagery from “Floral belles from the green-house and garden,” painted from nature by Mrs. C. M. Badger who was also the author of “Wild Flowers.”

*Azalea, Geranium, Roses, Jasmine, Bretia.* Frontispiece. Page 8 of Mrs. C. M. Badger’s *Floral belles from the green-house and garden.* Published in 1867 by Charles Scribner and Company, New York. John F. Trow and Company, printers. Collections of the Smithsonian Libraries. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/floralbellesfro00badg/page/n8/mode/1up

*Camellia and Bignonia.* Page 19 of Mrs. C. M. Badger’s *Floral belles from the green-house and garden.* Published in 1867 by Charles Scribner and Company, New York. John F. Trow and Company, printers. Collections of the Smithsonian Libraries. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/floralbellesfro00badg/page/n18/mode/1up

*Fuchias.* Page 27 of Mrs. C. M. Badger’s *Floral belles from the green-house and garden.* Published in 1867 by Charles Scribner and Company, New York. John F. Trow and Company, printers. Collections of the Smithsonian Libraries. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/floralbellesfro00badg/page/n26/mode/1up

*Cactus.* Page 30 of Mrs. C. M. Badger’s *Floral belles from the green-house and garden.* Published in 1867 by Charles Scribner and Company, New York. John F. Trow and Company, printers. Collections of the Smithsonian Libraries. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/floralbellesfro00badg/page/n30/mode/1up

*Pansies.* Page 54 of Mrs. C. M. Badger’s *Floral belles from the green-house and garden.* Published in 1867 by Charles Scribner and Company, New York. John F. Trow and Company, printers. Collections of the Smithsonian Libraries. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/floralbellesfro00badg/page/n54/mode/1up

*Tulips.* Page 63 of Mrs. C. M. Badger’s *Floral belles from the green-house and garden.* Published in 1867 by Charles Scribner and Company, New York. John F. Trow and Company, printers. Collections of the Smithsonian Libraries. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/floralbellesfro00badg/page/n62/mode/1up

*Asters*. Page 75 of Mrs. C. M. Badger’s *Floral belles from the green-house and garden.* Published in 1867 by Charles Scribner and Company, New York. John F. Trow and Company, printers. Collections of the Smithsonian Libraries. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/floralbellesfro00badg/page/n74/mode/1up

1949, and a mid-morning in March with a few more dust bunnies to sweep out from under the radiator at the house on Snowdoun Lane.

Oh to be here.

Eagle Lake. Having to clean before the cleaning lady arrives tedious. The children leaving everything in their toy box out in an eternal Noah’s Ark display, like the holiday windows at the big jeweler in Portland, but in plastic and painted wood instead of gold and platinum with diamonded-up hooves. A need to make up for it somewhere, so the lady doesn’t quit like the last three did, announcing that there were tidier families to clean for, even if you have to bring your own broom.

my new short fiction piece published to my Substack at the link if you’d like to read the rest. The image is from Facebook.

https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/1949-and-a-mid-morning-in-march-with

Fans to waft the spring breezes in a bit sooner if only in your mind. The latest fans from Fan d’Eventails, Paris.

Tortoiseshell *brisé* fan, finely pierced and carved. 19th c. Chinese. Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license. https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/oriental-fans/4608-chinese-tortoisehell-19th-century-fan.html

Gallantry fan with a painted leather leaf and mother-of-pearl sticks and guards. by Jeanne Cahulle for the fan-maker Alexandre. Late 19th c.French. Signed Jeanne Catulle and on the reverse *Alexandre.* Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license. https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/19th-century-fans/4614-gallantry-fan-by-jeanne-cahulle-for-alexandre-late-19th-century.html

Hermes et Herse fan. Tortoiseshell brisé fan, pierced and painted with a central panel depicting an episode from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The gorge is painted with chinoiserie motifs; The guards are carved, engraved, and gilded with floral and bird motifs.circa 1690-1720. Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license. https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/18th-century-fans/4604-hermes-et-herse-eventail-vers-1700.html

Japanese birds fan. Lacquered Brisé fan. ca. 1900. Image © Fan d’Eventails, Paris. Fair use license https://www.fandeventails.fr/en/oriental-fans/4628-japanese-birds-fan-circa-1900.html

Visions of a dream world that might or might not have ever been. All of these found in Frank Chouteau Brown and other architects’ 1910 work “Architectural Drawing and Lettering.” Published in Chicago Illinois by the American School of Correspondence.

Front cover. Image 1 of “*Architectural Drawing and Lettering*.” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/mode/1up

*DETAIL OF GREEK DORIC ORDER: an example of conventional shadows and rendering.* Page 17, Image 18 of “*Architectural Drawing and Lettering*.” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/page/n17/mode/1upg

*Section Through Vaulted Ceiling, Showing Conventional Shadows and Method of Rendering.* Page 56, Image 57 of “*Architectural Drawing and Lettering.*” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/page/n56/mode/1up

*Showing Difference in Rendering Stone and Metal.* Page 60, Image 61 of “*Architectural Drawing and Lettering.*” Frank A. Bourne, H.V. Von Horst, and Frank Chouteau Brown, authors. Published in 1910 by the American School of Correspondence, Chicago, Illinois. In the public domain due to age. via https://archive.org/details/bwb_W7-DDB-713/page/n60/mode/1up

Imagery from “Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie.” (Winnica: an illustrated monthly magazine dedicated to women in life, art, and anecdote. A Polish women’s magazine, published in 1925.

*When the bride and groom were alone, Lord Edward Grayton read the Song of Songs to his wife, kissed her cool, waxy neck, and, sitting in an armchair, lit a new pipe.* Inhaling the smoke, which carried all the narcotic aromas of the East that had once intoxicated poor Sulamita, the lord gazed with tender satisfaction at Lady Mary, still awake in her pink pajamas, as if waiting for something. Page 34 of *Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1.* *Number 1.* Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_24139_P-I-573_winnica-2_o_68204/page/34/mode/1up

Page 20 of *Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1.* *Number 12.* Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_87036_P-I-573_winnica-2_o_67928/page/20/mode/1up

Page 23, Image 25 of *Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1.* *Number 4.* Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_87039_P-I-573_winnica-4_o_68225/page/23/mode/1up

Page 46, Image 48 of *Winnica: miesięcznik ilustrowany poświęcony kobiecie w życiu, sztuce i anegdocie N.1.* *Number 4.* Published by the Ateneum Publishing Society in 1925. Contributed by the Library of the Institute of Literary Research PAS. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/rcin.org.pl.WA248_87039_P-I-573_winnica-4_o_68225/page/46/mode/1up

Living a life with entirely different furniture along with entirely new curtains. Rumsinteriör (Room interiors) in Swedish homes. Not much information with these like whose bedroom it was but in the Swedish archives and up on the Internet Archive where lots of interesting pictures live.

Dressing room? leading into the bedroom past the fabric draped doorway with various potted plants and a framed photograph of two women dressed in white standing on top of the desk. One of those fun child motif statuettes, too. 1895-1900. Location not given but presumably in Sweden because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons/Stockholm Digital Museum. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digstad-SSMC003289S-0

Dining room, the chairs having caned backs. Also a clock and marble or ceramic busts on wooden stands on either side of the fireplace with ots mantle covered with various ornaments including? an animal horn with silver mounts. 1895-1900. Location not given but presumably in Sweden because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons/Stockholm Digital Museum. via the Internet Archive https://dn710704.ca.archive.org/0/items/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-2008-1-326/032wYWVnnWcU.jpg

*Parlor/living room, the sofa, table and chairs with their striped upholstery being antiques along with the paintings. The rug looks later, maybe.* So published in 1950 but with the furnishings being much older. Location not given but presumably in Sweden as the photograph is in the collections of the Örebro County Museum and because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-91-102-3964

*Sitting room with the table set for a party with a large potted hyacinth? over on the right.* 1909 image. Location not given but presumably in Sweden as the photograph is in the collections of the Örebro County Museum and because it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-92.149.764-1

Parlor with potted palms, at least one ceramic or marble statuette and a few lamps with ruffled silk lampshades.
Also a three piece upholstered parlor set, a settee and two armchairs. 1890-1920 image. Location not given but presumably in Sweden as the photograph is in it is in Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digstad-SSMC003274S-0

*Rumsinteriör. Fru Åqvist.* *Lady’s dressing room, the vanity with an organdy? skirt and three lamps with ruffled silk shades.* 1957 image. Swedish, exact location not given. Arkivkopia, the Archive of Swedish cultural commons. via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-91-102-12550

*Svartå Herrgård, rumsinteriör. Bedroom. Degerfors Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden. Image published in 1968 with the bed, portraits and the furniture being older.* Collections of the Örebro County Museum via the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/arkivkopia.se-digmus-olm-OLM-91-102-16876

An envisioning. 2020 with the summer sun blazing away at the apartment at Riverslea Bay.

Oh to be here

Marin County. Lunch over, and a couple of hours to do something with ahead of the poodle needing to be picked up from the groomer’s. A work apron needed, then, what with the dog always shedding the minute something comes along that she doesn’t want to do.

my new short fiction piece, published to my Substack at the link if you’d like to read the rest. https://sarahbguestperry.substack.com/p/an-envisioning-2020-with-the-summer