Mount Sunapee Beach

There are beaches on Lake Sunapee in the summer, but in very early spring there's also a beach on Mount Sunapee. There is no water, except the frozen variety, but there are lawn chairs, beach umbrellas, barbecue grills, and everyone is sporting sunglasses. Spring skiing at its best. Last weekend was perfect for "the beach" - high 40s and abundant sunshine- and after some great runs on the slopes (no jackets required) we enjoyed some time hanging out with friends and relaxing. Jeni, Glen, and Ciara joined us too, since they were returning from a trip to Vermont to bring their rescue dog Izzy back to her former foster home. It was not a happy outing for them, but spirits were definitely lifted watching Ciara and Aiden attempt to slide down a ski slope with paper plates under their butts! When the sun finally went behind the mountain, it dropped 20 degrees in 2 minutes, and it was time to head back to our house for some pizza before the Camerons continued on their journey home.

Ciara!

Glen and Ciara  

The rest of our weekend was pretty low-key, with lots of chores accomplished and a nice hike at Low Plain to continue soaking up the warm weather. Our hike did have one exciting/terrifying moment when Kimball wandered off onto the marsh ice and fell through a soft spot. I was on my way out to low-crawl to her and hopefully grab her collar to give her some leverage when, after some struggling, she was able to pull herself out with her front paws. It was a bit scary, but in retrospect Andy and I noted that in the spot she fell in we could both probably stand at chest height, so it was not really as bad as it seemed. We would have gotten wet, but we'd have got her out fine one way or another. As it was, it was so warm and sunny she was dried right off by the time we got back to the car.

Haley at Low Plain

Beavers got "stuck" on this one

The weather has turned colder again for a bit, but in the past two weeks I've been noticing sap buckets on maples everywhere, and seen several sugar houses spouting clouds of maple steam. Our family is really going to miss sugaring this year, and if we do manage to make syrup at Timber Hill next year, we will miss my Dad's cheerful presence and his knowledge in the sugar house. Still, I hope we can sugar again, or find ways to get Aiden and Haley out and actively helping in a sugar woods at this time of year. It's one of the best ways to say goodbye to the dark and cold of winter, a sweet and warm pursuit for very early spring, which can otherwise be one of the ugliest and most depressing times in a New England year. And it's one of the best ways we can remember my dad, I know that much. So, we'll figure something out. In the meantime, I'll have to settle for a sap and soda and writing about sugaring... A recent guest post on a friend's baking blog is here. Enjoy the sweet season!

The kids did not appreciate daylight savings on Monday morning

Andy's first published bird photo in "Birds of Prey of the South"  He was even paid!