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chelidonThis pic was taken while my son and I were making up Mother's Day brunch -- I love his expression. I think at this point I was teaching him how to separate eggs in the shell, a somewhat messy job, to be sure. But many of life's finest things are quite messy, if ya do 'em right... Our brunch menu included fluffy whole-wheat Belgian waffles served with pear and granny smith apple fruit compote I sauteed in a cinnamon/cider/maple syrup we got from a local farm, topped with homemade maple whipped cream, along with farm eggs (made with a good sharp cheddar) to tide everyone over while the waffles baked, big juicy strawberries, and the trimmings -- fresh juices, delicious company, good coffee, pretty Spring flowers, and nice music. Somehow I forgot the champagne in the fridge, but one of our housemates is allergic, so it was probably for the best... I don't get a chance to cook very often, and I can't begin to touch Paul or Claudia's culinary skills, but it's nice to play a bit, and give my ravishing partner a long leisurely day of doing whatever she likes, for as long as she likes, punctuated every so often with good food.
Pic #2 are some moose tracks -- looks like a young cow moose, which left its tracks in the mud on our bridge left after I cleared the drain holes. The stream at that point was running very high, probably high enough that our local moose would much rather take the bridge than ford the stream...
Speaking of water, yeah we got a lot...a week solid of clouds and rain, more than a foot of water in a few days, and more last night, and perhaps more over the weekend. While some areas of New England saw some serious flooding, and a few of the town roads around here flooded a bit earlier in the week, and the Sugar River was up to a few inches under the bridge in the center of town at one point, I have to give great thanks to whomever did the original situating of our house exactly where it is. Though literally a stone's throw from the stream, even when it's running as high as it's gotten (worst storm for many years, the locals say, perhaps since the 20s), we're dry as can be, and our bridge is solid and well above the flow. And timing is everything -- I am grateful for having put a new roof on the house just the week before the storms. We finally got a little sun early yesterday, and it was glorious. One thing for sure, the blooms should be incredible this year, and hmm, I'm not looking forward to the likely bumper crop of mosquitos we may have with all of this water coming down in May. Speaking of house design, I finally (after almost three years!) took a look at the correct declination adjustment between magnetic and true north off one of my local topo maps, and accounting for that, it just so happens that the long axis of the main house here (running along the ridge beam) is oriented precisely, exactly to true north (with the fireplaces/hearths in the south, natch). I'd thought we were a bit west of north, but I forgot the deviation between magnetic and true north is more than 15 degrees this far north. Nifty.
We're off to camp for a few days with a few hundred of our closest friends ;> It looks like perhaps more rain over the weekend, but that's a good excuse to hang out in tents and cabins and share songs and stories!
Pic #2 are some moose tracks -- looks like a young cow moose, which left its tracks in the mud on our bridge left after I cleared the drain holes. The stream at that point was running very high, probably high enough that our local moose would much rather take the bridge than ford the stream...
Speaking of water, yeah we got a lot...a week solid of clouds and rain, more than a foot of water in a few days, and more last night, and perhaps more over the weekend. While some areas of New England saw some serious flooding, and a few of the town roads around here flooded a bit earlier in the week, and the Sugar River was up to a few inches under the bridge in the center of town at one point, I have to give great thanks to whomever did the original situating of our house exactly where it is. Though literally a stone's throw from the stream, even when it's running as high as it's gotten (worst storm for many years, the locals say, perhaps since the 20s), we're dry as can be, and our bridge is solid and well above the flow. And timing is everything -- I am grateful for having put a new roof on the house just the week before the storms. We finally got a little sun early yesterday, and it was glorious. One thing for sure, the blooms should be incredible this year, and hmm, I'm not looking forward to the likely bumper crop of mosquitos we may have with all of this water coming down in May. Speaking of house design, I finally (after almost three years!) took a look at the correct declination adjustment between magnetic and true north off one of my local topo maps, and accounting for that, it just so happens that the long axis of the main house here (running along the ridge beam) is oriented precisely, exactly to true north (with the fireplaces/hearths in the south, natch). I'd thought we were a bit west of north, but I forgot the deviation between magnetic and true north is more than 15 degrees this far north. Nifty.
We're off to camp for a few days with a few hundred of our closest friends ;> It looks like perhaps more rain over the weekend, but that's a good excuse to hang out in tents and cabins and share songs and stories!
