Is it summer yet?

Summer has come to Ithaca.  The laundry is on the line... often getting rained on, the campfires have begun, the garden is booming, and the grass feels good on bare toes.  Almost every morning Emmett drags me to the front door.  He likes to check on the birds and then go outside and check for rain.  He puts one arm out first and then walks out into the grass.

Sarah is working her tail off getting the garden secured from pests.  The tulle worked so well last year that she put it over the cabbage again this year.  Hopefully we'll be able to remove it without ruining it this time around.  We put up a new fence as well.  The chicken-wire had gotten too ratty.

Some of my favorite fires start out as daytime brush burns.

A random walk.  We don't walk as much as I want to, but we're doing pretty well.  We'll keep trying to improve every day.

It's funny to watch how Emmett learns what his toys represent and how to use them.  He has definitely figured out what wheels do.

Reading with Mama.  His reading endurance is increasing, which is nice.

Not a desert tortoise, but she's pretty cool anyway.  The red eared sliders and snappers and painted turtles all like to lay their eggs in the cinder along the trail.  In a few weeks, it'll be littered with the remains of the shells and the next generation of turtles will waddle into the pond.

A hot day at the market!

Self feeding is still in its infancy.  It's definitely more theoretical than practical.  Still, the little dude does like to try.

A brisk dip in Cayuga at Becky and Phil's beach house.  We had such a good time grilling and chatting and hanging out with Becky and Phil and Moe a couple times last week.  It was so great to catch up and hang out and eat good food.

Summer time brings mountain biking.  I woke up early Saturday morning and watched the moon set while I loaded the bike onto the Subaru.

Everything is so lush and fecund.

On Saturday the trail was pretty slick and washed out from all the rain.  It was a stressful and dangerous, and not that fast.  It was more like the trail rode me that the other way around... still, it was a better day than one without a bike ride.  Sunday's ride was much better.

Hanging out at our friend Heather's birthday party.  Next month, her daughter, Lara, will be one of the babies at the Brooktondale Babies Birthday Bash.

We finished up the evening at Zach's new place.  Lots of kids, lots of good conversation.

BCTC

This weekend marked my fourth annual philanthropic trip to Cooperstown NY. As part of our volunteer work, Erik and I built a fence to nowhere, between nothing, on a seemingly arbitrary line, for no apparent reason. We quoted MASH a lot and made references to Catch-22 and public education.

As usual, the planning seemed to be both secondary and engineered by committee.  After standing around for awhile, I volunteered us to put up fences since it would A. get us working, B. get us away from the front gate, and C. get us in a golf cart.

I got a twix that you stole a golf cart.
No I didn't; it's right here.

This isn't a beer tasting.  This is an insane asylum.

After putting up a couple fences, we headed out to the parking lot to help people move their stuff into the campground.  This is awesome because we get to overload golf carts and drive recklessly and also chat with brewers who are grateful for our help at first, and later, grateful to arrive at their campsites alive.

On the lookout, like the good Samaritans we are.

We camped with another group of brewers/friends this year.  It worked out really well despite the fact that they are really into dressing up for these things.  I finally committed and made a reel to reel tape recorder from recycling and put together a Raleigh St.Claire costume that I was pretty happy with.

The campsite was great this year. A couple pop up canopies and some big tents gave us plenty of room to relax. We had two Coleman stoves to cook on, tables to sit at, and Erik's nice, light cream ale and helles on tap. 

The boys, pre gaming and building some pretzel necklaces. 

Erik put together a great Peter Venkman costume. Brandon went as Bill Murray's Lost in Translation character. 

Erik really stole the show. We couldn't get more than a few feet without someone stopping him for a picture. His pack was built out of garbage from his garage. Scraps of wood, flower pots, a Home Depot bucket lid, and some extra hose. He glued it together and painted it black. It was so good that a couple people remarked about how expensive it must've been or asked where he bought it. We all got a kick out of it. 

 I had never bothered to check on who the band was going to be. Incredibly, Murder by Death were on for the 9pm show on Saturday! It was a phenomenal show. I danced and sang so loud I was horse the next day!

Stay Puff!

We got back home early Sunday morning and joined Zhora, Sarah, Emmett, Margaret, and Sebastian for a great playtime. 

Sebastian driving Zhora to the river. 

Looks deep there, Erik. Is the water a bit chilly?

Still cookin'!

It's been a fun and eventful early summer here at 54 Ridgeway. We've had many guests, lots of project support, and plenty of sunshine.  As you may know, May is turkey season here, in central New York.  As usual, I said I wasn't going to go this year.  Too early.  Don't want ticks.  Not a huge fan of killing anything, even though I love to grill it.  Then, May first came around, I bought my hunting license, and dug out the camo.

Also, as usual, I did not shoot a turkey.  On a particularly annoying morning Tony and I sat under the tree the turkeys were roosted in.  Getting close to the turkeys is good.  Getting that close to the turkeys is bad.  Anyway, we had fun, got to see many sunrises, saw some cool activity and animals that the majority of people never experience, and I didn't have to deal with my guilt.

Our friends Sam and Heather are expecting a child and hosted a baby shower, so we went back to the sewing machine.  I managed to stitch a few scraps together into shapes that resembled burp clothes without too much blood loss.  Sarah made a beautiful blanket.

Dude got a new grill!  On Memorial Day weekend, we took advantage of a sale and picked up a new, old school Weber charcoal grill.  Although it takes a little longer, I am really enjoying the ritual of grilling over charcoal.

And there's nothing like making some charcoal of your own.

We don't eat burgers too often, but we couldn't help christening the grill with the traditional meal.  I made some macaroni salad to go with it and drank a little Mexican style beer.

We set up the slack line for the first time this year.  Zach and Kristin and the girls had a great time on it.  Zach had so much fun that he went out and bought one for himself.

I got a new hat for the summer.  Keep searching for that perfect piece of head gear.  What I'm really looking for is a great lifeguard style straw hat made in the US, but this will have to do for now.

We have a nice tradition of hanging out at Zhora's house every couple of weekends.  Bob does a great job on the grill, and I'm taking notes.  Watching Zhora and her friends run around and scream in the hose reminded me of the great summers of childhood.

Mom and Dad H came out last weekend and worked like champs.  Between them and Veneta we feel like we are in pretty good shape.  It was lovely to get to visit with everyone and we enjoyed pretty low key fun... hiking, chatting, grilling, painting, and walking the dogs.

Everyone relaxed after a long day of working and hiking and chatting.

Grandma Cressman sent a dock box, which was expected and exciting as well as the collapsible picnic table from Fox Haven, which was unexpected and very handy.  We look forward to getting lots of use out of it.  Thanks Grandma!

We got a new camera and I've been playing around with it a bit.  Sarah watered the garden this morning.  We've been lucky with the garden so far this season and have put in some extra work to protect it from chipmunks and moths and the like.

This afternoon, we went over to Erik's and hung out at the river.  It was wonderful!  We watched the kids play and chatted and waded in the river.

This is Zach and Kristin's daughter, Nora.

The moon tonight, and the swamp.  It's been a nice weekend so far.  Looking forward to seeing you all soon.