Vermont was quite a treat. We had passed through the state a few years back, when we returned from a trip to Maine, but this was the first time we could look around, though time was short. We were on sensory overload, as we tried to take in the mountains and countryside, the quaint shops and buildings with years of history. We wished we could have taken our time on back roads and stopped more along the way. A vacation to Vermont is definitely in our plans for the future.

Posted: July 22nd, 2008 under road trips.
Comments: 2

It was lunch time Saturday when we arrived in Waterbury, Vermont.  We were a couple hours early for check-in at our motel, so we continued on another half mile, to the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. It was a hot day, and the flavors beckoned.   I chose Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road. George had a banana split with three yummy Ben and Jerry flavors.   We don’t usually just eat ice cream for a meal,  but in this case,  we made an exception!

Posted: July 21st, 2008 under road trips.
Comments: 3

We arrived home last night from our weekend trip to Vermont. We drove up partway Friday night, and continued on to Stowe on Saturday for the wedding. Yesterday we made the return trip in one long drive of seven hours. We gave ourselves a little treat, and respite from the roads, though, by taking the ferry across Lake Champlain from Burlington to Port Kent, New York. It was a rainy crossing, but thankfully, we had umbrellas in the back of the car, so that we could get out and look across the water.

Posted: July 21st, 2008 under road trips.
Comments: 3

Wishing there was less work, and more time to enjoy summer. We are getting ready to head off this weekend for a whirlwind trip to Vermont, for a wedding. We will barely have time to unpack our bags, before we will be headed back home again. I hope there will be just a little time to relax, take in some new sights, and breathe in the summer air.

Posted: July 16th, 2008 under day-to-day.
Comments: 4

This is the best time in the summer, for color in the yard. I enjoy walking around in the evening, seeing the different plants and flowers we have growing now.

This was a second packet of hollyhock seed that I planted last year. The flowers remind me of the “carnations” we used to make out of tissues, for decoration, when I was younger.

I bought this perennial at the garden shop. It looked pretty desperate for a home and some water, and now it is perking up, and I love the colors.

Our tiger lilies were a nice surprise this summer. The neighbors had pulled up the bulbs last year and offered them to us. They looked pretty sickly when we put them in the ground, and we weren’t sure they had survived.

These are some of the wildflower mix George spread around out front last year. I love the delicate color.

Another hollyhock surprise, shorter but the most colorful.

This is the one lone lily left after our midnight visit by a deer. There would usually be at least eight blooms around our lamppost.

Then there is the grey of rabbit and squirrel, together under the bird feeders, cleaning up the seed.

Posted: July 12th, 2008 under day-to-day.
Comments: 7

I wonder sometimes if I will recognize young birds when they appear out back. This morning I could tell right away with this young mourning dove. It appeared on the deck with the others, but obviously smaller, and a bit more speckled I thought.

It tried to join one of the adults at the feeder,  but was scolded and pecked at.

I felt bad for the young one, but I guess it’s all part of growing up.

Posted: July 8th, 2008 under birding.
Comments: 3

That’s where you’ll find Mustard. I’m not sure that she should have her head resting on Garrett’s paper cutter, but it must have been in the line of a breeze.

After dinner the storms came through, cooling us off a little, and making for an interesting sunset.

Posted: July 7th, 2008 under day-to-day.
Comments: 2

We have stayed pretty close to home all week. Gas prices have been a big factor.

Since my vacation is almost over, we wanted to get out of town for the day. Our local paper had highlighted a not-too-distant attraction, so we headed out mid morning.

We had been to Steamtown, or what it was in its earliest stages, back in the mid-90’s when Rebecca was in school at Lehigh. Today we spent a few hours walking in the train yard and museum, experiencing times gone by.

From trains to ships, lunch was in a pirate ship, complete with illuminated port hole. At Cooper’s Seafood House I had wonderful seafood crepes. George had alligator soup, and the soft-shell crab sandwich.

We returned home by way of the Interstate, making better time than the backroads we took going down. It was good to get away, and good to get back home again tonight.

Posted: July 5th, 2008 under road trips.
Comments: 3

We spent a quiet day. There were birds to watch, clothes to hang, and yard work to do.

The past two days were hectic for George, getting his summer run worked out and on schedule. He seemed happy today to stay put.

He worked some on his model, and I began a new cross-stitch project. While looking for my cloth and threads, I came upon this sampler I made one summer long ago, appropriate for the 4th of July.

Garrett had forwarded a new chicken recipe earlier this week, knowing George couldn’t resist something with hot peppers and a mix of spices. After a trip to the store for the ancho and guajillo peppers, the marinade was prepared, and the chicken cooked on the grill for our early dinner out on the deck. It was pretty good, and something to consider for a steak marinade in the future.

Throughout the day, we watched a crew tear down the neighbor’s deck and move the plantings that had been around it, to other locations in the yard. It was a day’s entertainment for us, but a great deal of anxiety for Martha. She’s glad it’s over.

Posted: July 4th, 2008 under celebrations, day-to-day.
Comments: 3

A busy day, and very productive. I feel that I accomplished many things that had been neglected for too long. George had to head back to work, beginning his summer run this morning, leaving the house at 6 a.m. I got up with him, and started on my many projects, and had to force myself to stop and take a rest after lunch.

An exciting part of my day was spotting a female rose-breasted grosbeak early this morning, and soon after, the male arrived at the feeder. It is so rarely that one comes, and the male lingered long enough for a few good pictures.

It was another good day.

Posted: July 2nd, 2008 under birding.
Comments: 5