Tall Ships

Sail Boston puts on a great Tall Ships event! We went down to Beantown to enjoy the sights.
We've been to plenty of tall ships activities before...but never quite like this one. There were dozens of ships in. Only a few were docked to be open to the public. Many were at private docks around the harbor. The floatilla of ships viewing from the harbor was worth seeing on it's own. While standing in line to board La Amistad (which had another ship rafted to her) we watched another of our favorites go by in the harbor, the Roseway. I can't say that we've ever watched tall ships go sailing (under motor) by while boarding another ship before. We really enjoyed the Picton Castle the most I think. As we approached there was a piper blaring out a tune on the bagpipes. Her home port is in Nova Scotia. The atmosphere on this ship was just happy. Most of the crew were young people and they were clearly having the time of their lives.
If we had the time we'd have gone back for another day of it. What a wonderful event!
~Rachel

June

June was, well... April! It rained every day but 3 and those were a far cry from "sunny". The pattern has been continuing into July as well-only not as cold.

Here are a few photos of some of what's been going on around here. We replaced our dead GPS with a new used one and we are caching again.

The youngest boy is raising a small flock of chicks.

And, boys will be boys and play with swords. It is a common thing now to hear sudden foot noises in another room followed by laughter and "parry...repost" or something like that. Lessons are off for the summer but they have been a fun thing this winter/spring.

~Rachel

Camp

What a place to spend a long weekend. Thanks again to John's folks for hosting us in this wonderful camp. We did such exciting things as napping, fishing and boating. Ahhh.

I'll let the photos tell the story....

~Rachel

May

Big puddles are lots of fun...when you have your daddy's boots on to keep you dry. I think he's just so cute out there. This boy is certainly an outdoor boy and he's spent many an hour during May outside, on the ATV, in the sandpile, weeding in the garden, playing in puddles, shooting the BB Gun, collecting flowers. There's a world of opportunity out there!


On this rainy day we noticed a single turkey who just seemed to think it would be nice to be a chicken. She stood out there, shaking the rain off and staring into the coop for a long time. We have so much wildlife wandering through. Usually right around where that turkey is. They seem to use the bridge to cross Miller Brook at the foot of our driveway and then hug the treeline up to our bridge to cross the stream. Then off into the next big chunk of woods. We had a doe and her yearling son wander through the day before and our resident grey fox was greeting John from the middle of the horse paddock the next night. Many of our neighbors gave up on keeping chickens as the wildlife was such an issue. When we moved in we had a domestic "wildlife" issue so we went straight for the electrified netting. It has been so worth it. It kept out a large dog, and continues to keep out the fox who lives here, the fisher we've watched passing through, as well as any raccoons or weasels, both of which we've seen nearby. The coyote seem to have moved further away this year than they were last year. We had scat daily in the back field last year as well as many a loud howling session at night. Hawks continue to be a threat to the birds with this setup, but our scrappy little rooster took on the last Peregrin that made a try for the birds. The crows who nest in the pines by the barn seem to chase off most of the hawks as soon as they arrive. The chickens head for the coop at the first crow warning call. They are bi-lingual we think!
We got to setting up the pool when the sun came out. I think these boys are a bit confused...sledding or swimming? It's sort of like the front hall which as of late had everything from snowpants to sandals hanging around. The weather shifts in spring are amazing. I'm finally done putting away the snowpants and boots for the season. Summer is just around the bend now.

Happy spring.

~Rachel

School

Some schooling happens in interesting places. Here is our oldest on the last day of lifeguard training. He's certified now for lifeguarding with CPR for the Professional Rescuer. He hopes to continue working at a local farm as well as get a part-time guarding job for the summer. I'll give him credit for that class for sure!

Here is one just finishing off a book for book club. I think that one was Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. I think such a book should be read outside in "the wilds". Or on a chicken coop's south roof to gain the extra heat from the sun.

How can I hold back the water? A question many engineers have been asking for eons. Sandpile science is a great way to start!

~Rachel

Trick Photo

What a fun thing to do with your camera. Here she is, holding her smallest brother. She won't be able to do that much longer! He's already up to my chin and growing each day.

Dad is going to hop away before his son can smoosh him! Hope you enjoy our fun as much as we do!

~Rachel

April showers

Ahhh, this is the view from here. Need I say more? A dry trail on a warm day with a good friend and a healthy horse...spring peepers and NO biting bugs! This is the good part of April for sure!
And this is the "other" part of April. Look at the yard work we have to do! The ice storm in December has left plenty of "slash" thoughout the woods. Our youngest will have plenty to do with his ATV in pulling all of this to the burn piles. We don't have tons of woods, mostly fields, but there is plenty of work out there to keep us busy for some time. I see lots of campfires this summer.

This is the stone bridge and it has quite a flowing stream after the rain early this week. This year is no where near the flooding of the last 2 springs though. We had water up to the top of that bridge and it was shooting out this side. It was truly frightening. This year it is rushing, but not at all scary. I just love this bridge!

I hope your April is going well too.

~Rachel