Monkey Lobster

Zucchini

This morning's harvest.

Tonight's dinner.

Tomorrow's breakfast.

We've got zucchini growing out of our ears and we're taking recipes and takers.

not too far from home

We took a long weekend trip to the North Shore of Boston this past week. We were looking for some good sea kayaking and the Essex Bay caught out attention. We stayed in a hotel right outside of Gloucester, biked down to Good Harbor Beach, and expolored Gloucester a little bit too. 

But we really came to do this particular paddle.

We put in at the town dock in Essex and parked our car in the public lot right behind the fire station. We paddled up through the salt marshed and over to Choate Island which is only accesible by boat and has a trail from one site of the island to the other and the continued onto Crane Wildlife Refuge.

It is about an 8 hour trip or longer if we had stayed on the beach. We traveled in and out with the tide. The paddle would have been possible against the tide but much more challening, and although our kayaks were ideal, canoes would have made the trip as well. The salt marsh horse flys were pretty brutal but a long sleeved shirt and a hat covered in deet would made a big difference.

We returned to the town dock biten, sunburned, tired and stunned a the endless beauty we had just experience, and on the car ride back to the hotel we were scheming our return trip.

harvest helper

Cyrus loved this activity so much, when he was done he tried to put all the garlic back into the ground so that he could pull it all up again. I have since planted beets and turnips in its place in hopes that come fall he'll enjoy that harvest just as much.

not too far from home

Enjoying the lazy pace of summer this year.

 

Grout Pond We will have to come back here to camp this summer. The dozen hike to or paddle to sites have fire pits and tables but feel like the winderness, and the sandy beach by the put-in is a nice place for little ones to swim.

party people

I love having her friends over. I feel like it is a peice of her life that I get to share that not every parent is invited to. I'm sure that the time will come for her to push me away, but for now I still get to party with the girls. I like to pretend I am one of the girls.

10 years ago

Ten years ago this kid changed my life forever. She is the kindest, most non-judgemental, accepting, and thoughful person I know. I am glad to have her in my life and look forward to sharing the next ten with her.