P-ville Indian Summer

We had a wonderful time in Parishville over Columbus Day weekend, on our annual fall trip to the farmhouse. Micah and Becky had ato go to a friend's wedding that weekend, so we were a bit short of our usual crew, but we made due. The weather was perfect this year- warm and clear - and the leaves were at their peak. Aiden was in heaven as we let him have this last "indian summer fling" where he didn't have to wear a sweater or a jacket most of the time (he prefers as little clothing as possible).

We did all of the old standbys - dutch oven dinners and breakfasts, perusing the shelves of used books at P-ville's BirchBark Bookshop, walking the meadows, and just chilling out on the porch. And we threw in some new twists this year too- we went to the Asian Buffet in Potsdam (a truly amazing and disgusting all-you-can-eat Chinese-Japanese-Korean-Thai-Etc.-Etc.-Etc. restaurant. Your stomach cheers when you walk in the door, and curses you on the way out.) We also went to Blake Pond in the Adirondack Park, to let Aiden and Timber play in the water. It was about 70 degrees out, which Aiden (and Timber) clearly thought was warm enough for the full-body plunge! Warming up while making pies and castles on the sandy beach was fun too.

Dutch Oven Delicacies

Our outdoor cookspot




"Mountain Pies" - berry, apple, chicken n' cheese, and egg n' bacon!



At Blake Pond, before his swim

Jaws!

It's warm!

I'm wet!

Dadoo was not convinced to go for a real swim...


Can I go back in now?

Andy and Dad went out dutifully with their muskets every morning and evening, like clockwork, but there were no deer in evidence. They had close encounters of the camouflage kind with squirrels, turkeys, woodcock, hawks, and songbirds though, and got to spend some quiet contemplation time in the woods. I didn't hear much complaining.

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The guys returning for breakfast in the morning.

One thing Aiden spent a LOT of time doing was watching and listening to the Red Raven record player that Mom brought up for him. Great Grandma Rising located this favorite of Mom's childhood on e-bay and it is pretty mezmerizing! A little carosel of mirrors goes around with the record, and as it spins and the record sings, repeated images on the record itself animate in the mirrors. If it sounds pretty trippy, it is. We had to play the "Old MacDonald Has a Farm" record at least a thousand times. Another favorite one, "The Little White Duck" is STILL stuck in Andy's and my head.

Since we had one whole day more than we usually do each year, we decided to drive to Massena to see if any large tankers were going through the locks in the St. Lawrence Seaway. Unfortunately, we just missed the last big boat of the morning, and the next one was not scheduled to pass through until well into Aidens naptime. We did find a small boat though, planted with flowers, and since Aiden didn't know what to expect, I think he was satisfied. The things we can still get away with while he's only 2....

Random Photos of the Past Week

The leaves are just about peak in NH right now- seems a bit early...

A grump in a box

Bekah & Nate Stevens came for a quick overnight visit since they had a wedding to attend in NH. We gave them a quick tour of the house and New London and played Wii bowling, golf, baseball and boxing until we (especially the guys) were exhausted and sweaty. Aiden missed Ollie this time but we're hoping to catch up again soon.

The New England Asters are in full bloom now.

This weekend was gorgeous so we went to the Seacoast, which Aiden loves. We were birding (can you tell?) at Ordione Point State Park.

The wind up...
The release!

Yay! I NEED A HAIRCUT!

Fall Birthday Visit

Since I had to work on my birthday (Forest Society's annual meeting) and Andy was at a conference in Pittsburg, PA, Mom and Dad (Gee-ma and Ah-Pa) came down to watch Aiden and go out for a birthday lunch for my and Dad's bday. As you can see from the photo above, Aiden had lots of fun enjoying other people's birthdays! Mmm... strawberry ice cream. Aiden is sort of a maddening ice cream eater- he takes about one good lick from the top every minute and meanwhile talks excitedly about his wonderful ice cream with exclamations of "mmm... delicious!" Then he bites the bottom of the cone, so it starts to drip out onto his pants. It's hard to watch if you are the type who likes to prevent messes before they happen.

I put Gee-ma and Ah-pa to work digging in perennials in front of our house, and we went to Spring Ledge Farm and another local plant sale to buy even more plants. Aiden got his own pumpkin, which he is currently keeping in his room (clearly not sustainable over the long term). Then we made an upside-down gooseberry cake (I didn't take a picture because it didn't come out exactly as we had planned- still tasty though) and Micah and Becky drove up from Gloucester for our b-day lunch on Sunday. When Andy got home Sunday night, he found his little boy all bathed and ready for bed, but look what Gee-mah did to his hair!

Not too shrubby (anymore)

We like our new house in New Hampshire a lot. But it doesn't have much curb appeal. Sort of a gray vinyl box with some overgrown shrubbery out front. A landscaper used to live here, and I think they had a bit of the "shoemaker's children go barefoot" syndrome. I'm sure the last thing they wanted to do at home was landscape, although there is a nice brick walkway and circle by the doorway. Anyway, several weekends ago we decided to wipe the slate clean and start over.... which meant removing about eight 15-year old, very tenacious shrubs from the front and around the side of our house. Here is what it looked like when we started...

A few (like, 2) of the eight shrubs came out pretty easily, lulling us into a false sense of satisfaction with our progress... THEN we hit the yew bushes. Yikes. We dug all around and almost completely under those suckers and when it looked like there was nothing left attached, the stump still wouldn't budge one inch! It was amazing, really. Each one took about two hours to dig out.

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Aiden says, I got this one under control mom, you can relax.


We decided to leave the one somewhat charming looking piece of vegetation, a hydrangea tree in full bloom near the front door. But that's it. It looks really bare right now, but we're planning to plant a large perennial garden out front. In a few years it should be beee-autiful :)