More Taps, More Orchards!

Aiden ready to head into the sugarbush, with taps around his neck and a thermos of hot water

Slowly but surely, we are getting Timber Hill ready for it's first year with sugaring lines.  I think we got the last of the tubing and taps set this past weekend- 250+ in total.  We're getting the hang of it, is all I can say, and I hope we still remember it all when spring rolls around and half the lines are on the ground thanks to deer, winter blowdown, ice or whatever else!  It will be a learning year, for sure.  Aiden was a good help on Saturday, holding the hot water thermos we use to dip the line ends in so they'll  be pliable enough to squeeze on fittings and taps.  Haley, not so much... but she'll get there eventually.  She did discover that the fairy house she built with Phoebe a few weekends ago was still intact, which pleased her very much.

Haley and Phoebe's fairy house

Mom's baskets on sale at Boyer Orchards in Monkton

  We also had time for some fall fun after stringing tubing and moving tanks around. We visited Boyer Orchards in Monkton to pick some beautiful Bosc and Bartlett pears, as well as two big bags of Honeycrisp apples.  Mom's baskets are on sale at Boyer's and were getting many compliments when we were there.  She's already sold a number of them.  In the evening, we had an outdoor fire to roast marshmallows and carved the first pumpkins of the season.  Even though they weren't really pumpkins, but overgrown zucchinis!

On Sunday we headed to Shelburne Orchards for their annual local food fest.  We arrived right as it was opening, which was a great thing, since we were able to sample some delicious foods (duck salad sandwich, Maple Wind steak & cheese, grilled chicken skewers, maple chai, apple cider kombucha, maple lemonade, and wood fired pizza) before there were any lines at all.  An hour later, it was madness in the food tents.  The kids had homemade popsicles from Adam's Berry Farm - raspberry mint and blueberry peach- for dessert while the adults had brownies on a stick smothered in dark chocolate and rolled in toffee- whoa.  

Aiden and Haley played on the hay bale playground for a good while, and Aiden had a ride on their sweeping rope swing that sends you way up into the tree canopy.  We went on a hay ride, and made our own rope out of twine too!  This is why we love Vermont.  It's so wholesome you can't even stand it sometimes!

Late Summer Delights

I had been planning all summer to take the kids on a hike up Mount Kearsarge, but it just didn't happen for one reason or another.  Finally, in September, we did make it up the mountain with some friends.  We went up by the shortest route possible, to give Haley a chance to actually hike it herself.  She didn't make it all the way, but she definitely improved on the 10' feet she hiked last year on Mount Sunapee before declaring, "pick-a-me-up."  Aiden and his buds fairly raced up the mountain, and I just saw their little behinds disappear around the first bend and left someone else, Kyle or Cristine, to chase them down all the way to the top.  Heidi and Rich and Haley and I sauntered up more slowly and met up with them on the summit.  At the top, we had a picnic lunch in the sheltered rock depression below the tower and the kids scrambled around on the rock faces, making forts and poking at wooly bear caterpillars.  I'm glad we did make it up this year, better late than never.

We've also been harvesting in our little garden lately.  Tomatoes are still green for the most part, but we've got beets and kale and swiss chard galore.  Aiden is growing a pumpkin, and Haley's got sweet orange carrots, much better tasting than the big yellow ones we've grown in the big garden.  String beans were good this year too, and we managed to put away 8 jars of dilly beans, which, after we wait 5 weeks for them to be ready, will be snarfed up in about 2 days.  Timber stayed with us this weekend too, while Mom was sailing in a regatta with Uncle Brandt and Aunt Sandy on Long Island.

On Sunday, we succumbed to Autumn and went apple picking.  Gould Hill Orchards is our favorite in New Hampshire- there are great mountain views and lots of strange varieties of apples to try if you are adventurous.  And cider donuts, fresh from the fryer...  we invited the Backstroms to come with us since Haley has been talking about her last playdate with Mya for weeks on end.  While they were picking Cortlands, the girls noticed some sounds coming from the grass at their feet.  It turned out there were four just-fledged cedar waxwings huddling in the grass, trilling for their parents to come feed them.  The kids were fascinated, and the waxwings were very lucky they weren't trampled sitting right under some ripe apples on a busy weekend at the orchard.  After awhile, we were able to pull the kids away for cider donuts to give the birds some peace.

Labor Days

Labor Day weekend is supposed to be the last hurrah of summer, when you try to fit in all those activities you haven't been able to get to yet this summer but you really wanted to do.  Tops on that list for us were squid fishing in Gloucester, and going out on the Honeybadger.  We tried to check them off the list over the Labor Day long weekend, but life just wasn't cooperating with our plans.  Despite reports of amazing squid fishing two weeks ago, Micah reported zero squid on the Thursday before Labor Day, so we had to let that one go.  Maybe next year we will hit the squid bonanza right.

Just to spite the squid, we went to Gloucester anyway for the day- a gorgeous warm Friday- and spent the day with the Gloucester Deans and also Wendy, Max, Ava and Stella at Good Harbor Beach.  Aiden had an amazing day learning how to really boogie board.  He's had a boogie board for a few years but has never been on a beach with a nice gentle slope and perfectly rolling breakers to use it.  He had a great time, and caught a few good rides too.  I have to admit even I had a lot of fun boogie boarding!  It's been about a million years since I've really done that, and I forgot how fun it is.  Haley and Phoebe and Fisher were so totally happy just to splash and play in the shallow pools left by the receding tide.  They played for hours and got incredibly sandy, and then sticky with drippings from lemon and watermelon Italian ices.  When we got them back to M and B's house, it was time for a tubby for the little ones, and Micah, Aiden and I hiked out and had a quick dip in the freshwater quarry pond to get the salt off.  Then, lobstah for dinner!  It doesn't get much better than that for sealing up the summer goodness in one day.

The rest of Labor Day weekend wasn't as nice, weather-wise, but we still had some serious fun.  No Honeybadger, thanks to the constant threat of thunderstorms, but we did hit the Montshire Museum and UVAC Splash Park with one of Aiden's school friends, Kaelen.  Aiden also had soccer practice, and we made it to the Hopkinton Fair- the biggest fair in NH.  It was fun to check out all the goats, pigs, cows and chickens in the ag tents, and of course catch some rides at the midway.  Oh, and there was the 1/4 lb of bacon on a stick....not to be missed!  We did opt out of the fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the fried twinkies, Oreos, and candy bars.  Have to leave something for next time...

First Days of School

Aiden has just started attending the elementary school across the street from our house.  He is enjoying his new teacher, Mrs. Knapp, and the other students in his classroom so far.  Already he has brought home some challenging math and spelling homework, which is keeping him on his toes.  Second grade is going to be a lot tougher than first grade, but we know he can handle it.  

Haley is starting her first year of nursery school at Windy Hill.  She is very used to the teachers, students, and even the classroom since it is where she went for "camp" over the summer...so not as big of a transition for out little Doo this year.  In just two more years, though, she'll be at the "big kid" school with Aiden.  It's amazing how fast the time goes.  Love these kiddos!