Garden

Two shots (a month old) of our garden this summer. The vegetables are coming in now, and the girls love to forage. Top picks are peas and fresh tomatoes. We added two raised beds for a total of three this year, and will have five next year. I think we'll try out carrots, maybe potatoes, cukes, and chard. As long as the girls enjoy picking and eating the veggies, we're happy.

Front: pumpkins, zukes, pole beans
Middle: tomatoes, lettuce, peppers
Back: tomatoes, onions, basil, peas

The sprinkler is the best part!

Boundary Waters

I'm just back from a week with Carleton friends in the Boundary Waters. I hadn't been there since the summer of 1992; I hope the next break isn't so long. The best part was spending time with far-flung friends, but the terrific weather and gorgeous scenery didn't hurt. Photos of Kelly Lake, South Temperance Lake, and Sawbill Lake respectively.

Fundy and beyond

We spent two nights at Fundy National Park on the way to Cape Breton. The site had a great view of the water, and the park wasn't very busy. There's quite a bit for the under-3 set to enjoy there - a large playground, a heated salt-water pool, and some beautiful short trails for hiking. Dickson Falls (below) is on a 1 km loop with lots of boardwalks and stairs that the girls enjoyed.

The drive from Fundy to Cape Breton is a long haul, but we all survived and enjoyed the last hour especially as we drove over Cape Smokey at dusk. The campground at Ingonish was much busier, but we had a nice spot close to the trail to the beach and the playground.

Moriah organized all the footwear outside the tent!

Below she is busy digging at the Ingonish beach.

A gorgeous short hike is near Black Cove beach. The trail takes you up over a small hill with a great view to the rocky headland north of the beach. We didn't do the whole trail along the headland, but had a scenic snack then came back closer to the water. The geology here is fantastic, to boot.

I think it was quite a treat all four of us to spend time together. Below, Doug and Bridget at Corney Brook (west side of Cape Breton).

Cape Breton

First photos from our fantastic trip to Cape Breton. Bridget at Arisaig, Corney Brook; Moriah hiking on Middle Head and playing at Fundy. The two of them hiking around Middle Head. More soon.

Acadia

A few more pictures from Sand Beach. We took the girls 4 or 5 times - none of us could get enough of it. Moriah is quite the sand castle engineer, and is very keen to wear hats. Bridget loves to play with sand and RUN!

Watermelon

From the backlog of shots:

Nothing tastes as much like summer as ripe watermelon! Extra good if you've been playing unclothed in a large dirt pile with your friends all afternoon.

Moriah enjoys the recent addition to the backyard - a slide, swingset, sandbox combination. Let the fun commence!

Downeast

I have tons of older pictures to share, but since thought I'd use this opportunity to post a few photos from Bar Harbor. We've been having the BEST time with the girls. They love going to the beach, hiking, going for boat rides...all of it! They talk with exclamation points all the time! Like this!

We try to get outside all day to take advantage of Acadia and Bar Harbor. We had afternoon snack on the tidal sandbar that gives Bar Harbor its name. Moriah was very concerned when the water started to come up - she grabbed her sandals and started to run! Here is Bridget enjoying her snack.


Since Doug is teaching during the day, we try to do something with all of us after dinner. We went up Cadillac the other night. Moriah wanted to explore all the rocks, and Bridget is showing you which way the glacier went over the top of Cadillac!

North Berwick

The summer tour continued to southern Maine this past weekend to see Grammy, Granpa, Dave and Mouse. Of course, I have no pictures of the family with the girls - we were too busy having fun!

Saturday was such a gorgeous morning that we took the girls for a hike up Bauneg Beg. Moriah loves to hike!

Later, we went to see the trains in Wells. The girls were very excited about this, and are looking forward to having their first train ride soon. Moriah is a very good friend to her baby, and was anxious to make sure that she was in the picture! I love the expression on Bridget's face in the second picture below.

Camping

We had a BLAST camping on Flagstaff Lake! The girls were fantastic, the weather was gorgeous, the view was spectacular...it's just a litany of superlatives.

The adventure started with several canoe trips - one to bring the gear over, the other to transport folks. We stayed on the small island. There was just enough room for us and our friends to get out tents set up, enjoy the cooking/fire area, and play on a small sandy beach.

The view of the Bigelows was unparalled, as was the sunset. Since we went to sleep with the girls, we didn't stay up to feed the mosquitoes but we did get to enjoy a beautiful starry night without a fly on the tent. The best part is that Bridget and Moriah can't wait to go camping again!

Almost solstice

We're off on a short camping trip soon to Flagstaff Lake. We're hoping that everyone will wear themselves out so much that they'll be begging us to get in the tent. Of course, the blackflies may help that out too.

Paradise in the form of several yards of loam arrived in our yard Saturday morning. We're expanding our raised beds. This summer we're constructing several, although I think only three will be planted. We still need to put up a fence around the perimeter to discourage snacking y those on four feet.

Bridget is VERY excited about all this dirt.

Moriah is too busy helping to fill the wheelbarrow to pose.

We went on a hike up Potato Hill last weekend, followed by a swim at a friend's nearby camp and dinner at Giffords. It was a perfect afternoon. Below are a picture of the girls enjoying a snack at the top, and a little bit of the view - Saddleback in the distance, looking up the Temple Stream valley. It's a great short hike that I'm sure we'll revisit many times this summer.

Green Grass

I arrived home to find the girls better than ever. The diet of Fritos, diet Coke, and poptarts that Doug had them on really gets results. They're quite the hams for the camera, and I have to take pictures before they run all the way up to the camera and out of focus.


Our yard has become incredibly green, and we're really appreciating all the fun the girls can have outside. We planted rhubarb and raspberries earlier this spring which they will eagerly show you, and they also like to check the garden most days. Moriah is holding onto a flowering rhubarb stalk in the bottom picture. Various cars, bikes, trikes and other riding machines are hauled up and down the small hill in the driveway, usually at great speed. A short walk from the yard is a small stream that runs behind our property and a trail that is for "running!!".

Maritimes

Quick pictures from the Maritimes. Short version of the trip includes great geology and too much rain. Mont Albert above, Mt Carleton below.

Imps

Who's up to something at the playground? I know they're planning to have lots of fun with Daddy while I'm away with the students. I can't wait to hear about all their adventures when I get home.

Dining al fresco

They murmured something about not having real plates, cloth napkins, and a flask of fine red wine, but mostly they were very excited to eat outside. Maybe we need a grape arbor on this side of the house?

April revisited

April brought lots of snow, visitors, and treats! An outdoor Easter egg hunt wasn't in the cards, but they had a great time hunting for treats inside. We'll start with a pastoral shot of the backyard, early April.

Great egg hunters of the northern indoors:

Granma and Granpa came for an overnight visit, so someone was finally able to read book after book with the girls and build them snowmen.







If you're wondering why all of the indoors shots have weird exposures, it's because there was snow on the ground pretty much the entire month. Lots of it. Alternatively, you may believe that the house has been surrounded by spacecraft with bright lights and that I have been replaced by a Republican. Your choice.

Happy spring, and congratulations to Uncle Dave and Mouse who are going to get married sometime, somewhere!