Memorial Day at the Camp

Memorial Day is traditionally our weekend to open the Lake Champlain camp. There's storm shutters to remove, grass to mow, floors to sweep, and the dock to scrub, but with 8 or so family members the chores don't cut into the weekend fun too much.

There always seems to be at least one person crazy enough to jump in the water and earn the dubious honor of "first in the lake" for the season. The water is about 50 degrees, which sounds tolerable, but isn't. Wearing next to nothing in 50 degree ambient air temperature and jumping in a 50 degree lake are on two entirely different planes of cosmic experience! The first is sort of like, ooh, this is a little chilly, better put on a sweater. Jumping in the lake at this time of year knocks the breath out of you, and you come up gasping and sputtering in a panic to reach the ladder. This year, Uncle Preston won the title (along with Timber), though I think Aiden would have joined him if he was allowed. He spent all weekend begging to splash on the dock, which was about 4 inches underwater and looked to him like a giant lake-sized puddle.

Uncle Preston sraping all the algae off the dock. Thanks to Sarah and Aunt Chris for many of these photos!!

On Sunday we helped Sarah and Joe move from their house in Winooski. They have been living in Rhode Island for awhile now, but their house in VT just sold, so we packed up a giant U-Haul with all their stuff that hadn't already been moved. In the afternoon the ice-cream man chimed his way down the street a few times, so we had to take advantage. I think he was happy to have the our business, since he wasn't drumming up much interest otherwise. Would you let your kid take candies and frozen sweets from a stranger named Mr. Ding-a-ling?!

My parents' Golden Comet chickens are getting pretty gawky as they grow and molt their feathers. We've all lost track of which one is which at this point!

Aiden's First Fish!

Uncle Micah should be proud! Aiden caught his first-ever fish this weekend on none other than the SpongeBob Squarepants fishing rod that Micah and Becky got him for his birthday last year. Granted, fishing in HaPa and Grandma's pond is a little like angling for plastic duckies in the overcrowded pool at the county fair. No patience required and not exactly a precision sport. He was very excited, and after touching the fish a few times with his index finger, Aiden was anxious to return the fish back to his watery home. I'm sure Grandma took it off the hook for him. All things in good time...

Meanwhile, Andy and I went on a half-day birding tour of Berlin Pond in VT. We actually missed the tour due to some miscommunication (they met at the park & ride and we went straight to the pond) but it wasn't a big deal from our perspective. We still got in 4 hours of uninterrupted birding and saw many new birds for our year list, including two Bay-Breasted Warblers.

This huge rock on the Berlin Pond loop road made me smile :)

Mother's Day Weekend

It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and we were definitely due for a weekend at home with “nothing” to do. Nothing, by the way, consists of washing and hanging to dry 17 loads of laundry, cleaning the entire house, going to the dump, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, gardening, and attempting to get some exercise. As well as some fun stuff, like hiking, going out for a Mother’s Day lunch, walking to the library, and spending way too much money at the local plant nursery/farm stand.

Aiden with his hiking gear.

Low Plain, our closest destination for an interesting hike.

It was a full weekend for Aiden, who took a major beating to his noggin when he face-planted into the coat rack during “dance-party” on Friday night. For the uninitiated, “dance-party” is the half-hour between dinner and bathtime when we blast raucous Irish tunes like Great Big Sea (Aiden’s favorite) on the stereo and the three of us jump around like maniacs in a padded room. Did I mention that our living room has a huge bay window looking right out onto the street? I know the neighbors and local dog-walkers are frightened. But Aiden loves it. He always wants “Whack-Song” first, which is a cheerful tune about clubbing seals on the ice off Newfoundland. So anyway, during Whack-Song he tripped on the edge of a rug and smacked his forehead on the foot of the coat rack, leaving a long raised purple welt. One frozen-peas compress and one bandaid later, and he was ready for bed.

Note the band-aid on Aiden's head...

Other activities this weekend included masterpieces created in crayola non-toxic paint, and picking dandelions (this is a never-ending pursuit at our house). Andy finally broke down and hauled out the mower to chop them all off at the base. As he has astutely noticed, however, the dandies evolve over the course of the season so that by August they’re making flowers just low enough to escape the mower blade. It’s fun to whack them all off in May though!

Andy's own private hell

When can i drive?

Not til you are at least 3...

ok, SOME play...

We've already cashed in one "comp day" this week - Andy and I spent all of Monday on a birding 'date day', just the two of us. First we went to Herrick's Cove in Rockingham, VT (southwestern VT, on the Connecticut River) and birded the shoreline for warblers and vireos and orioles. There wasn't too much action, but it was just amazing to be able to concentrate on any one bird for more than a minute without a toddler tugging at your sleeve or threatening to jump into the river to 'play'.

Herrick's Cove

Gray Catbird

Curious Chippy

Common Yellowthroat

We stopped and had lunch at a little cafe in Brattleboro, and then went to a spot right near downtown Brattleboro (Retreat Meadows) to see a Bar-Headed Goose that has been hanging out there with a bunch of Canada Geese. We did find it, but it wasn't very close so no decent photo. It's most likely an exotic escapee from someone's waterfowl collection, or from an animal sanctuary or petting zoo of some sort, but still a very cool looking bird.

Brattleboro, VT

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We ended our day at Pisgah State Park, New Hamshire's largest at 13,000 acres. It's huge and undeveloped, with lots of trails and woods roads to explore. I think it covers 4 towns or something, so there was no way we could investigate everything in one afternoon. We chose a 3 mile hike to Lily Pond in Chesterfield, NH, and heard and saw many of the warblers that had eluded us in the morning hours. The blackflies were borderline intolerable though, so we couldn't stay in one place for too long. I think we'll be back someday though.

Pisgah State Park woodsroad


Me at Lily Pond

Pisgah view

All Work and No Play...

I have been hard at work lately running trainings and field work days. The season has definitely started with a vengeance. I already am scheduled to work at least 7 weekend days this spring and summer :( and Andy has his own share too. We'd rather not work weekends, but when you work with volunteers outdoors, it's usually a necessity. We'll take equivalent time off during the week for compensation though, and hopefully fit in some really nice vacations and long weekends! Looking forward to the sunshine and fresh air. But not the blackflies (argh, they're already here...)

Geocachers clean up the Forest Society's Bockes Reservation in Londonderry, NH. The trash included a rusted car body and an entire unauthorized and elaborate paintball course in the woods! I learned a lot about geocaching, and will definitely see if Aiden is interested in this "e-treasure hunting" when he gets a little older!

We held a chainsaw safety training last week too. Imagine fifteen chainsaws running at once in a relatively small area... very LOUD, but it was also very controlled.

Visit to Mass

Last weekend Aiden and I drove down to Mass for the day while Andy had to lead a hike for work. We spent the day in Lancaster, and I got to catch up with my oldest friends Bek and Karen. Aiden got to spend the day with Oliver, Bek and Nate's little boy, and learn a little bit about how cool it is to be "three" (he is in awe of anyone over age 2).

In the morning we went to a Kid's Day in Bolton, which featured firefighters, police, EMTs, school groups, summer camps, and other assorted groups with interesting exhibits for kids (read: fire trucks, ambulances, etc.) and lots of free stuff. Much sugar was consumed. Ollie even got a free safety helmet, which he can definitely put to good use on his new "big boy" 4 wheeler. It has several speeds including "turbo" which lets him tear around the yard doing donuts at warp speed! Aiden was so amazed. He kept saying "LOOK at THAT ONE!!" But it was a bit much for him to handle, so he happily put-putted around the yard in Ollie's hand me down "little boy" 4 wheeler.

Ollie's 4 wheeler

Ollie pets a horny toad

Back in Lancaster, the boys got back to their 4-wheeling and got good n' muddy in the garden with a floatilla of trucks. I was reminded how difficult it is for two toddlers, both obsessed with certain kinds of toys, to share said toys. There was always one thing they both wanted. A green tractor, a red shovel, a garden sprinkler, you get the picture. Nate made a heroic effort to keep both Aiden and Ollie happy and well-behaved, but meltdowns were inevitable. Especially when neither of them had a nap. I did get to catch up with Bek and Karen for a little while before we reached the end of Aiden's rope, but need to get back down for another visit soon!

The green tractor, favorite toy of the day

Meltdown!