MOUNTAIN MOM REPORT

Downtown Portsmouth - Midsummer

2010-07-28T21:11:00.000-04:00

Endless things to do in downtown Portsmouth, NH. Market Square never fails to interest me. So many shops, so many "green" influences. It's a great mix of modern thinking and traditional comforts. The brick buildings and the old church tower with a clock. The fountain was on for summer. Sun dresses were walking down the sidewalk with ice coffees in hand.

It was so exciting to see the girls look new, older and improved in this familiar setting. I realize we haven't been here for months. They have grown so much during the summer.

Some sort of giant wood sculpture. Couldn't get a good picture because my wide angle lens has lens lock. Curse you - lens lock!

Yes, we went to Starbucks.

And they got me to go to Flatbread Pizza.

I love it there. Perfect example of what fun things you can find behind the traditional brick facades of the old buildings, if only you walk in the big front doors.

Made for a very long day but it was fun to do something different in the mid-summer. Now we look on towards August.

Chickens Like Watermelon

2010-07-26T19:28:00.000-04:00

This is what you do in the country, I guess: You get your kicks finding out what chickens will eat.

They like watermelon!

They devoured it. When we came home in the afternoon, they had eaten all the fruit remains, and the white rind and the green rind, everything except the very outermost skin of the melon.

Coming on the end of July

2010-07-25T17:48:00.000-04:00

We're wrapping up a nice weekend, and realizing we face the final week of July. We went down to Massachusetts to celebrate two of several summer birthdays in the family. Got to swim in Grammy Lucy and Grampy Tom's pool at their new condo. The girls very much enjoyed showing off their improved swimming abilities.

Second cake of the week was better than the first. This one was made entirely of frozen yogurt.

You can tell by the look on Julia's face that we liked the cake!

Just home today, which is always a nice way to spend a summer Sunday. The gardens are bursting. Tom made homemade jam. I sewed and did laundry. The girls found creative activities like making mud shakes in the backyard.

Just another afternoon in the quiet woods.

Hazy Hot Summer

2010-07-21T20:14:00.000-04:00

These are the weeks where the sun rays are visible as they dive through the tree tops and pour onto the gardens. Hazy misty air you can see and feel in your throat makes it feel like being under the ocean.

Our sunflowers are in bloom! This is it: this is summer. Only a few flowers still hold out to bloom. We are on the down side now. Summer has peaked and will begin to coast towards fall.

Every Wednesday, an ice cream truck comes to summer camp.

I felt exactly the same exuberance as when I was 8 years old.

Ellie chose well: a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. Julia went with the Scooby Doo ice bar, which turned out to be less than tasty. Looks like chocolate but in actuality, is a fruity ice substance.

What a nice big sister to share bites.

Slow Down Sunday

2010-07-18T21:03:00.000-04:00

The town of Wolfeboro enjoys lots of lake access. On Sundays, you can usually catch sight of the water skiing club practicing on "back bay," the bit of the lake that is calmer and removed on the back side of town. We happened to walk by today... on our way to the town tennis courts.

The girls are interested in tennis. But they wish they could be instantly adept.

We were first on the old courts this morning; but soon enough they were full up with players. It's good to see people playing tennis. I imagine there might even be some sort of organized group. If there is, wouldn't it be great if they had a sign up so other people could know about it too.

My favorite thing about the town courts is the big wooden backboard where I can play against myself.

The rest of today was too hot to do anything very productive. It was a rare day of true laziness and rest for me. Probably a very good idea.

Boston Lobsters Family Day

2010-07-17T21:33:00.001-04:00

Today we drove down to Massachusetts to see the Boston Lobsters play World Team Tennis at Ferncroft Country Club. I bought tickets back in the spring but later heard the call for volunteers. Turns out that volunteering was a good idea because we had a great time seeing some of the behind-the-scenes details of the event.

There were some pro players there including Coco Vandeweghe.

It was fun to bring Ellie and see her reaction to the situations of the day. She was on her best behavior, excited to spend the day one on one with mom in this interesting arena. The idea was for her to hit tennis balls at the free kids tennis lessons; but she decided she was having more fun doing volunteer work with me. I was expecting to throw balls for kids but ended up as a check in greeter helping people register and go in the right direction for their age group.

Couldn't help notice the physical fitness of the pro players such as Jan-Michael Gambil. It was over 90 degrees with high humidity but all the players took turns of about 45 minutes "warming up" before the match. Off and on they were out in the sun for hours and hours, playing high level tennis.

The coach of the Lobsters this year is Bud Shultz. He greeted all the kids and introduced the players. I asked him what he coaches since he only gets to be with these players a short time out of the year and they know so much about tennis already. He said there is a ton of stuff to coach them on, actually. I wish I could see him work all the time.

I got to pose with Larry the Lobster.

Very hot day but a lot of fun to spend it with tennis and my eldest daughter.

Summer's Favorite Day is Friday

2010-07-16T18:54:00.000-04:00

Another week of summer celebrated with another Friday! We have been enjoying the routine of arriving early at the health club and shooting baskets inside the gym before heading outside for the morning's camp activities. I don't know why but I always love the sight of the pool early in the morning, so quiet and "ready" looking.

Friday means free lunch at camp! This Friday was pizza day. It's so cool to see them come in with dozens of pizza boxes. The kids line up for their slices. Kids first. Hungry camp counselors and tennis instructors wait in the shadows for the second round. Cheesy, greasy, fatty pizza never tasted so perfect as after a nice warm summer morning on the court.

Keep those boxes coming!

It's even more fun seeing my very own child enjoying the same thrill of lunch as the rest of us.

Julia decided to do a gymnastics pose for her picture today. Her little kids camp got to jump on the giant bouncy house today, and get a balloon.

Home again in the later afternoon means checking on Ubi. She is doing very well recovering from her eye surgery. I am doing well also, to get over the shock and disappointment of having my dog suffer this sort of injury and consequence. Happily, she is feeling great now and we are all looking forward to the stitches coming out next week. She and I pass the hours inside the sewing room there, while the birds come and go for the buffet.

With all the flowers to choose from, you'd never guess that my favorite is a marigold. I like the scent, sturdiness, and simplicity of this flower. And of course the color. If only they were perennials, I'd have hundreds of them.

This brings us to the halfway point of summer camp. Five more weeks to go. Savor the summer I remind myself. Don't rush to fall. Savor the summer.

Raspberry Picking in New Hampshire

2010-07-11T17:52:00.003-04:00

Don't say we spend all summer laying around because this morning we were almost first in the door at McKenzie Farm to pick raspberries.

Truck after truck pulled in to pick up boxes of fresh fruit direct from this little farm.
I don't know what you call these picker boxes but give me one and let's get out to the field.

Wait - photo opp...

Check out those six foot tall bushes, chock full of ripe berries.

You can sort of look right in the middle of the vines because of the way they wind up through the watering system. I tasted a few from here and there until finding the sweetest section.

Perfect job for kids too.

Look at me mom.

That's what we came for! There is supposed to be a picture of a raspberry pie here but I got too lazy during the afternoon and never made it. There is still a chance I might crank one out for dessert... but probably not. Should have bought the pie they had there at the farm.

Anyhow the berries are top notch so we'll be enjoying them for days.

Home Again

2010-07-10T21:42:00.002-04:00

Today was all about bringing the dog home from the vet. I did errands in the morning and happily drove to my appointment time at the vet.

The veterinary hospital is surrounded by fields on a hill. I waited for the clock to hit 12:30.
Ubi's surgery went well. She isn't exactly photogenic right now but she is on the mend. Now we'll try to keep the house relatively quiet and help her get her strength back. She has her appetite but she's moving slowly with her tail down, resting on her bed most all of the time.
I sewed away the rainy afternoon while the dog napped. Cooked some dinner. Nothing very exciting. Just happy to have the emergency phase behind us so we can start getting back to normal.

The rain cleared out just in time for sunset.

Sew Therapeutic

2010-07-08T21:57:00.005-04:00

I've been sewing. It's helpful to get through the difficult parts of life.

Just sit and sew something to keep busy and have something nice to look at while time passes.
The week started off with heat management. The week is wrapping up with grief management. Because my dog has to have her eye operated on, or rather, operated out. It's a tragic event that has come around as a result of her interaction with a porcupine a couple years back. She had eye surgery then and was OK. But the eye surgeon said that someday her eye might break down, which now, suddenly, it has.

So I feel sad.

We met with the vet. We took her to a specialist. The details are attended to. She will be there tomorrow. She will come home on Saturday. She should be able to recover and live a relatively normal life.

Summer Camp Life

2010-07-06T19:18:00.004-04:00

Another morning at tennis camp. We have three courts. I never get good pictures of tennis camp because (1) I am very busy with a racquet and ball, and (2) I don't want to photograph the kids out of respect for their privacy.

Needless to say spending the morning on the court in 100 degree temperatures is a challenge. We make every effort to cool, rest, comfort and hydrate the kids.
Halfway through the morning, we take them into the pool.
Today it was just so, SO hot! We all kept saying, "It's so hot." One of the kids (sitting innocently there in the rainbow swim suit) pulled one of the tennis teachers into the pool (Trent). As he went in, Trent pulled the other tennis teacher (Allison) into the pool too! Notice that I (the experienced, older tennis teacher), do not sit on the edge of the pool.
Trent then realized his cell phone was in his pocket when he went in the water. Oops.
My own kids say the camp is great fun. I was thinking about how lucky it is that my girls can have an experience of playing tennis and swimming all morning, like a country club kid might get. I mean, there is something to be said for that lifestyle. We don't golf. And we can't afford an extravagant country club life. But here we get a chance to taste the tennis and swim parts of it. To me, that is the fun part, more so than the socializing I guess.
Julia and I were hanging out on the lawn chairs during Ellie's swim lesson. Just one of those things how summer camp can feel like a time warp, where 4 hours can hold as many moments as 4 days in non-camp-life.

It's just something about the experience of being in a camp atmosphere. The whole of it is a big, thriving, mini-community of kids of all ages. All of them here at the same time, learning life lessons hour to hour. Each hour they are in a different setting, often with different camp counselors. I drop my kid off in the morning and by the time I see her walking by the tennis courts on her way to the pool, something new has happened in her life and it shows on her face.

They gain confidence this way. They get tired. They come back again the next day with that confidence and new energy. It builds on itself as a cycle of enrichment.

I can see it in my kids as they develop through this first time at camp. I can see it even more in the older kids who have spent many summers at this camp (or other camps in addition to this camp).

I can't imagine that before this tennis instructor opportunity came up, I was considering just having the kids chill out at home all summer. They would have missed out on so much.

Summer's Peak

2010-07-05T20:13:00.003-04:00

The headline of the day would have to be: HOT! Especially hot if you are spending hours outdoors playing tennis with the kids.

Today was historical as well because it was the first day ever that my own child tried the tennis camp where I teach. She liked it. Hooray! If she can enjoy tennis camp on a 100 degree day, that's a good sign that she might keep on liking it. I wish we had our racquets in the picture.

Eventually I made it home and back into the shade of the sewing room, which is probably the most cave-like room in the house. Sewed some key fobs today.
And this fun zippered pouch made from recycled vintage bed linens. I think it's so funny when people who aren't hip to the trend of upcycling, say things like, "Why would you want to make something with old sheets?" I guess I can see their point of view. But I think it's neat to see something old transform into something new.
In the gardens, I'm seeing signs of the later summer plants. The yarrow is in full bloom. The daisies are blooming. The sunflowers are about hip height now. The roses are past peak. The cone flowers are tall but not yet in bloom.

Carrots for Breakfast

2010-07-04T21:18:00.002-04:00

We produced a carrot in the garden! It was so exciting to the girls that they argued over getting bites of it this morning, well before the first pancake hit the plate.

Not much else to report. I needed the quiet day. Didn't do much to celebrate the Fourth of July. I heard the crackers and fireworks from bed but didn't bother to look out the window since I know all there is to see out there are very, very tall trees.
So I sewed away the 90 degree afternoon in the relatively cool sewing room.

Hooray for Achievements

2010-07-03T21:07:00.002-04:00

Hooray for achievement that follows effort! Today I checked in at Weight Watchers and the scale said I lost another 3 pounds. Yippee! I also got to play a little tennis this morning.

I finished my project sewing 25 zippered pouches for a customer: Hooray! This was pushing the limit on the "hobby" part of hobby business because it required consistency and repetition and determined effort, day after day. How nice to come through ahead of schedule and enjoy the sight of my hard work.
Finally I have sewn a zippered pouch with a cute charm on the zipper pull: Hooray! My idea to do this originated over a year ago and it's taken me this long to make it happen. One month I bought the jewelry tools. Another month I ordered the split rings for connectors. Eventually I discovered the little bee charms at a reasonable price. And finally today I went ahead and put it all together.
Sometimes it's the little steps we take that make the bulk of our struggles seem clear. I work hard all the time at whatever I do; but some days it feels like there is no progress to show for it. I appreciate days like today, where clear signs, symbols and numbers mark my success.

Hooray! (did I mention hooray?)

Hooray! Let there be fireworks!

Wrapping up the week

2010-07-02T21:35:00.003-04:00

The chickens now have a fence added onto their coop house. This occupies the husband and the daughters. (Mama is sewing).

The chickens have a ramp up to their doorway.

The pets are interested in the new chickens too. BlackJack the cat appears all too calm. We aren't sure if he is bored by the slow chickens, put off by the tall fence, or just preparing for his attack at a later time. The dog is less calm so we have to bring her in after a little while of running in circles around their pen. The chickens don't seem to mind the pets or kids or anything.
Ahh, but I am inside sewing as soon as I recover from the morning of teaching tennis camp out in the sun. Mostly I've been sewing my order of 25 pouches but that requires a mental sharpness to continue in duration. Sometimes I sew some other little thing of interest to keep alert. Like fun key fobs.
My new indispensable item is this thread clipper. How did I ever get along without this tool? I have sewn with small sharp scissors for years. I once bought thread clippers but they were cheap ones (4 dollars) that were not effective. These are super sharp Ginger brand clips, very lightweight and super pointy. I love them!
I'm still having fun with my quilt piecing, even though I have no intention (so far) of making them into a quilt.
I wanted a smaller fan of blade shapes so I made myself a miniature template out of cardboard. I can't wait to play with this more after I complete my current bag order.
Another week of summer hits the history books! Hooray. All is going according to plan.

The highlight of my day was when I mentioned to the 19 year old tennis instructors with whom I teach, that I've been tired after work. To my surprise, they said they've been tired too!

Yippee! I thought I was tired because I'm old. Turns out I'm tired because running around a tennis court after little kids for 3 hours or more in the 80 degree sunshine is tiring. Not to mention the commuting and taking care of all the details for my own kids to go to camp.

So we march onward into July, tired but happy.

Got Chickens?

2010-06-29T22:01:00.002-04:00

Husband Tom wants nothing more than to be mentioned in Mama's blog for his new acquisition of 9 chickens. He has been laboring to construct a safe fencing system for the young birds.

I forget what variety they are. The idea is for them to lay eggs for our family to eat. Tom is trying to appease my animal-rights interests by sending them off to a chicken retirement home after their prime years pass. My hope is that these chickens will be treated well. I don't want the kids to think of them as objects. They are living birds.
Since their fence isn't ready and it doesn't seem safe to let them wander the wooded property, Tom let them play in the backyard a little while today. They looked pretty happy about that.
I noticed this flower in my garden. I don't recall planting it. Maybe it was a bulb or something.
Sitting on the front step, taking a break from sewing. How did I get so old all of the sudden?
At least flowers are always young. Does that seem nonsense? Somehow that makes sense to me. I always want to have something to look at that is young and vibrant.
Maybe I am dwelling on age this week. I feel old. I have an aging grandfather who continues to defy the odds by living as long as he likes. My dog is developing a cataract and blindness in one eye due to aging and a previous trauma (porcupine 2 years ago). And then there is me - not too old but feeling so old since I am surrounded by young people at summer camp.

This week I feel like saying to everyone "hold on a minute!" Can't life just freeze so we can all be young again?

Family Style Summer Day

2010-06-27T22:26:00.003-04:00

Today we made a point to be home most of the day.

Lots to do during the summer. I picked up this kiddie kart bike trailer at a garage sale yesterday for 15 dollars. Seems really fun for the kids. Good exercise for me.
In between the house cleaning and sewing and bike riding and cooking lunch, I noticed that the gardens are coming towards the summer peak.

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to the other side of the big lake to meet up with Uncle Jerry and Aunt Eileen. They got to come to NH for a Nascar race, and stay at a lovely hotel right on the lake.

Sure is fun to meet up with relatives you don't see very often.

Doesn't take long before things are comfortable and family-like.

The girls sure enjoyed it too.

Summer Social Schedule

2010-06-26T21:37:00.003-04:00

After a morning full of errands and an afternoon pool party, we drove even further to meet Uncle Jerry (visiting NH from NY) for dinner on the lake.

Turns out I had the date wrong. It wasn't tonight.

Rare for me to make such a flagrant mental lapse. It wasn't until later tonight that I realized what is going on this week: Summer. Oh yeah, now I remember! Every summer we try to plan virtually nothing. Every summer the empty looking calendar fills to the brink with events and invitations and last minute opportunities. The long days end up giving us three days in one, often away from the house. Eventually I lose all track of time and my entire brain goes kerflop.

Don't let the gray sky and sweater convince you of cool weather. Earlier she was in the pool. Temperatures fluctuate through the day in NH.

"Why do these things always cost a quarter?" she asked.

As it turned out, we did end up meeting Uncle Jerry as he was coming back to his hotel from a meeting or something. It was great to say hello. And then we had to say goodbye. But then we said "See you tomorrow on the day we were supposed to meet!"

So we just got some quick dinner and headed home.

Poor Mama. I'm not used to all this summer socializing and planning. I came home deciding to slow down our summer schedule, only to find two new invitations in email messages.

I also came home to teenage chickens. But that will be a blog entry for another day.

My Two Jobs

2010-06-22T21:31:00.002-04:00

Second day of Summer Camp and it's all good. What a lovely day, hot but not super hot like yesterday. The camp is just getting going and not all kids are out of school yet; so it feels easy and uncrowded. It also feels nice because it's my second year, which gives me a calm, confident feeling. Tennis teaching is going great but I think I might write a separate blog post about the details.

The other part of my summer camp is catching a glimpse of my kids in their divisions of camp. Ellie has made friends. She enjoys craft time the best. And swim lessons. And free play at the big pool.
Julia is quite a character. "Is Julia your child?" people say. They never exactly explain but they always seem to suggest she is something unusual. "She laughs a lot," one teacher said. "She is funny," another teacher said. I don't know what it is about her. Maybe she's just cute and charming. She has a disarming nature about her that sets others off their guard. Her sense of humor is probably going to take her to high places in life because she uses it shrewdly in social settings.
Camp for us is a half day endeavor. Today we didn't actually leave the building until 2 pm. How did that happen?

When we eventually arrive home for the afternoon, I switch gears to my much loved hobby-business, sewing things. I'm working on an order of 25 zippered pouches.

Sewing the same pouch 25 times over can be taxing on the mind so after a certain amount of work on them, I allow myself some time for a more creative project.
It wasn't until evening that I finally finished this big zippered bag with horse designs on it. It's always a thrill to finish sewing something that you like but you know you will never sew again. I broke a needle on the layers of thick corduroy where it folds on itself at the zipper and had to finish the last stitches by hand. What a relief to have completed it. I like to sit back and look at it for a minute. That moment is my reward in sewing. Now it is ready to find a new home by means of my shop.

Summer Camp Begins

2010-06-21T15:56:00.002-04:00

We headed off to the first day of Summer Camp with significant trepidation and apprehension. Will it be fun? Will the kids be nice? Will it be hot? Will it rain? Will Julia be too young?

Luckily ---- it was Awesome!!!

Mama is teaching tennis camp. Hooray for me. Hooray for tennis. Hooray for tennis kids!
I put iron on letters on my shirt and sewed them into place.

The weather was about 82 degrees with a breeze. We all checked into our summer camps. We all do a half day at the same location but in different camps. Julia fit into the smallest camp with very kind teachers. She even gets a daily swim lesson. Ellie is in the little bit older group where she is having a good time. I teach the tennis camp. All around a good first day.

Survive the Dance Recital

2010-06-19T19:55:00.003-04:00

Today I took my 3 year old and 6 year old to see the annual dance recital production by the Alton Dance Academy. I learned something.

I learned that dance recitals are for adults.

I learned that for three hours in a row while my child sat on my lap and wiggled this way and that way, trying to see over the person seated in front of us. I learned that during the intermission when she started crying because I got up to get her the popcorn she demanded from the concession, the same popcorn she had minutes earlier declined. I learned that as the heat climbed into the upper echelons of building code safety and I used the program guide to fan this same child while she held off tears of exhaustion. She made it without ruining the show for everyone else. But on the hour long ride home... she melted down. It might take days for me to fully decompress.
Yes, there are children dancing. But they only go on stage a short while. It isn't a children's show. Three year olds shouldn't get free tickets. They should be charged 50 dollars a ticket. Then maybe I wouldn't have brought her in the first place.

Dance classes are for the kids. All year they dance in a studio with a very small window that prevents adults from getting to watch class. I used to wonder why. But it's for them. The dance classes are for the kids to be dance kids and learn with each other and the instructor without undue interference, guidance, or viewing by their parents. They spend the whole year dancing in that studio and then they come out to give a show so we adults can see what they have been learning. The little siblings... they don't really get to see much of either. Maybe the frustration of being a little sibling is the motivation for many of them to become even greater dancers themselves, when their turn to enter the studio comes around, and their turn to grace the stage.

I knew she needed to leave at intermission but the 6 year old said "no, please, let's stay..." This is because we came to review the performance to see whether the 6 year old wants to return to her former life at this dance academy. She enjoyed it there two years before taking a hiatus to experience the dance instruction at her new school (convenient, yet different). I wanted to stay for her. I wanted to stay for me.

Of course, of course, the production was glorious. It amazes me that kids in one school can produce this level of dance in a large production like Peter Pan. They work in all the students one way or another to the story line. The costumes are fantastic. The expressions are priceless. The effort they put in all year long shines through so strongly that you feel practically moved to tears. Thank goodness people have passion for what they do. I hear so many negative things said about teenagers (and other ages). Here is a brilliant example of what incredible quality of work children can accomplish.

It is work. I've heard that dancing is a hobby. But I've seen the girls jump from pointe shoes to splits in the air. It's strenuous physical labor that would render many of us unconscious. They are amazing young people. I can only hope their abilities and dreams of today continue with them throughout their lifetime.

Lake Side Play Date

2010-06-18T21:28:00.004-04:00

We had the good sense to accept an invitation to play at the lake today. Temperatures soared into the upper 80s. The sun shone down against our double coating of sunscreen. Colors popped through my polarized sunglasses. Nature was alive and well. What a way to spend an afternoon.

The kids were adorable. Good mannered, mild natured, all around friendly and cheerful. The played all afternoon without a care in the world.
Play time for Mama as well. I always wanted to jump off a dock like this. We got right into the water and swam out there. I dove in! Great fun. The kids were doing cannonballs. I gave Julia a little ride on the floatie boatie. She's not crying. That's her silly face for the sake of the camera.
The highlight was kayaking. It was so much fun to go exploring with the kids. We saw a big turtle. We saw a baby turtle. We saw a bull frog. We saw geese flying right overhead. We saw hundreds of minnows. We saw spiders that can swim. I got a leech on my foot and pulled it off. I must be a true country-woman now if I survived that! (It was just a little one on my foot).
Every year I want to buy my own kayak and always postpone. Then I get to ride on somebody else's kayak again and feel that familiar lure towards ownership. I'd like a Starbucks version with a nice chair and a coffee holder.

It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the day.

We will all sleep soundly tonight.

Thank you friends for inviting us!

On a Roll

2010-06-17T23:07:00.003-04:00

I've been in a sewing zone.

Mastering the art of sewing the zippered pouch.

So simple. Infinite choices.

Made great bbq chicken (grill version) today with Alton Brown's ring of fire recipe. I will have to get the link again and list it here. The rub recipe calls for cocoa powder as the secret ingredient. You won't taste chocolate. You won't taste the curry either. It all blends into perfection. Trust me when I tell you this one is worth trying.
A good meal is a good thing, especially when you are counting every calorie for Weight Watchers.
Ellie found Tom's old cub scout uniform in the closet. He likes to keep things forever. So cute how she put it on. It's very interesting to see your offspring in your own clothing.

The Straight and Narrow Path

2010-06-13T20:30:00.003-04:00

I am trying to be very good eating this week because I have gained a pound two weeks in a row at Weight Watchers meetings. Obviously I wasn't watching closely enough. This simple veggie soup and whole grain bread is a good dinner to keep on track. I don't have a recipe really. I just chop up whatever we have and dump it in the pot with 4 cups of vegetable stock.

Ellie has been learning to ride a bike. Tom took off the training wheels and off she went!

After dinner we went to the bike path by the lake.

Wild blueberries grow along the path.

Lake cabins dot the shore.

Not many people around on this cool Sunday evening.

Ellie was so proud. We were proud too. Riding a bike is a big deal for any child. Seems even more momentous for Ellie because she tends to be extraordinarily cautious.

Kittery Point: An awesome walk from marshes to sea

2010-06-11T19:58:00.005-04:00

This morning was just another typical, high-strung, zoo-like morning at my house, with husband and children running in circles, arguing, crying, fussing, bickering, rough-housing, wasting time and changing their minds. So I went out.

I prefer a cup of coffee and the tweeting of birds to start the day. I drove my way out of the clouds and ended up somewhat randomly at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, in Kittery, Maine.

I love marsh land. Or is it marsh water? It's peaceful. I like the lushness of it, as if the land there must be rich and soft and bursting with greenery and life. The water is usually calm like glass against the mounds of green earth. And it's usually a wide scene to fill your view.
There is a trail through the conservation lands but the sign refused dogs so instead, Ubi and I walked along the winding road, dotted with millionaire homes and professional landscaping.
It was shady street with occasional views out onto the sunny marshes, or farther out to the sea.

Any house on this street would be fine for me.

To my surprise, the beach at Kittery Point said dogs are permitted! Anytime until June 15, then before 10 am through the summer. Lucky break! I've seen this beach before but only momentarily since only residents are permitted to park here at the tiny lot. This time I'm walking in so there is no parking issue.

The rocky cove appears to trap lots of shells. Everything looked beautiful in the morning sunlight.

Another lucky turn kept me walking farther: the cove comes to a point (thus the name, Kittery Point, I suppose) and then opens around to an entire second cove beach. Double walk! We ended up walking for 2 hours.
Ubi enjoyed the sights and smells. She rolled in the sand. Fine with me since she still smells a little like a skunk in spite of several days and several baths.
The point itself is a rocky outcropping that leaves you feeling at sea. The way the rocks are stacked up like a fortress wall makes it so that you can stand below the level of the waves and look at them. It's like being on a ship out there on the ocean. Or you can perch on top of the rocks and watch the lobster boats go by.

This is the ocean's summer color.

Walk on the sand while you can. The tide will come up to the rocks soon.

Colorful sea side findings.

I had the beach to myself but apparently some others have left their rock sculptures.

I would say this is a top ten walk for sure!