Fireflies

Last night, my friend Dilenna from San Diego came over because she was in the area visiting her brother here so she stayed a night at my place. We ate dinner on the patio and had a lovely evening. After dinner, she and Dave and I took the canoe out to go watch the sunset on the lake. The view was blocked by trees, but it was fun anyhow. There were some "crazies" out on their motor boat and started shouting at us "Go Canada!" and "yeah, Olypians!" and "Maple leaf!" all just because there was a maple leaf on the side of our canoe. I thought it was pretty funny so I played into their little comedy... why not? Anyhow, we got back to the dock and unloaded and there were fireflies everywhere out on the lawn. I'd never seen fireflies before and they were soooo cool!!! If I hadn't been getting attacked by mosquito's the size of small birds, I might have stayed out and watched them longer. I didn't think that I was going to be able to get a picture and Dave insisted that "it's all about timing". Well, I gave up and he got the picture!!! There is only one in this picture, but I think we're lucky we got a photo at all!! Yea us! (The firefly is the one little yellow dot on the big black photo.)

A Birthday Post

Well, since my birthday was exactly one month ago, and I've been way too crazy busy to show and tell, I'm here to tell you all about it.

David and I went to Newport for the day. I had wanted to go do something that we don't do all the time, so that was the choice. I had never done the cliff walk or seen the mansions that everyone raves about, so we went. It was a nice day, a bit chilly but not rainy. It took us about 1.5 hours to drive down there and we spent the day doing some driving to scope out the sights. Then we figured out where to park and walked along the cliffs and saw the mansions from afar. We probably should have tried to tour a couple... but that just means we need to go again!! After our lovely walk, we toured the harbor area to see what there was to see. We ended the evening at a fantastic Italian restaurant "Puerini's". Really spectacular food. We had such a great time! I wish more of the touristy things had been open like Eisenhower's house and Fort Adams... but again... another time.

Dave made an awesome breakfast for us to start the day off right!

Eisenhower's house

crazy cruise ship that dwarfed everything!

This was about all we saw of Fort Adams :( I was sad because I like touring old forts.

The official beginning of the Cliff Walk.

Another gorgeous house on the water in Newport.

Not one of the mansions, but it reminds me of houses you see in fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.

Artsy picture of one of the mansions through its fence

Mansion

Did you know Dave could be a model? He's got the look...

I'm not quite model material, but I smile nicely for the camera. This was along the cliff walk too.

Another mansion. I'd really like to tour the inside sometime.

Another artsy photo I took of Dave. Seriously, maybe I can sell these to Ralph Lauren...

Us on the cliff walk. I'm not joking, he deleted the one good photo of us because he thought it looked bad. But you can't tell on those little camera screens! I was not happy, but this one is ok.

Farm Stand Lettuce

Yesterday I went to my local farm stand and came home with two HUGE bags of produce for $16. I love New England for this! The produce is usually very good and always fresh. Although it isn't "organic" it was usually grown locally and I like that. What I like to do is to wash and prep all the fruit and veggies when I get home from the store because if I don't, it sits and rots in my fridge never to be eaten. If it's already prepared, all I've got to do is open up the fridge and wha-la, it's ready to eat. So last on the list of things to wash and cut is lettuce because it means that I've got to soak the lettuce first then spin it in the salad spinner. I reached into the bag to pull out my head of lettuce and it is by far the most beautiful specimen I've ever seen. It makes the finest grocery store lettuce look wilty and gross. The leaves are so thick and green... with amazing texture. I can't wait for my sandwich today because it's going to be full of it!

Garden and Pets

OK, so I just realized it has been over a month since I posted something here!! Wow... shame on me! I've been crazy busy, so that is why. My birthday was the 17th of May and then my parents came out for a visit and we went to a wedding in Cooperstown, NY and then I've been busy busy at work and with things here and there. I'll write a few posts on the various topics to catch you up, but here's the quiet time I've been having at home.

Remember my Canada Goose that I told you about? Well, they had babies! There were 3 but one of the babies and momma got hurt by something. They were both limping. And, sadly, baby didn't make it and now there are only two. They are growing so fast. They are best seen early in the morning on my lawn picking at the grass but they occasionally stop by in the evenings and mid-morning. Did you know that geese mate for life? True. This family is always together.






I've also been doing some "gardening" in little pots outside my apartment. I rent, so this is about all I can do, but it adds such a nice touch! I asked Dave to help me pick plants and it was so awesome how he really put effort into helping me with this. This is my first attempt to getting things to grow, so I'm pleased with the results. I'm also growing a Basil plant. I bought a small little one from the grocery store for $1.99 and planted it and it's more than doubled in size. I think it's time to make some pesto!!