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.

Emmett and Sarah go to Ohio

So, I wasn't around for any of this, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.  It's ok.  I'm in a place in my life where I can admit that.  It does mean that the writing is going to be limited.  This may be an explicit pleasure for some of you. 

Chatting with G-Grandma H

Staring down Maggie

Guys, I can walk!  If only you'd let me try.

My tub at home is definitely bigger.

That's enough visiting.  Time to recharge.

Learning from the yogi.

Meanwhile, back in Ithaca...  I had to take pictures of myself cause there was no one else around.

Zach and I got a ride in.  I love mud and rocks and bikes.]

Hobbs and I hung out and whistled MASH

Checked out a beaver dam in the canoe.  

And missed my babies.

If you have a story to tell about the Ohio trip, leave it in the comments or post your own blog.  I'd love to hear more about it.

Thanksgiving

First off, before any mistake is made, lets be clear that the first four pictures are ones that I took.  All the rest were taken by Darren.  Another way to say it is, if it looks good, it wasn't taken by me!  Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday... and by always I mean for the last few years when I've been less excited about tearing off the wrapping on a GI Joe.  This year was a great one, too!  Most exciting, our friends Livia and Darren came with us.  Livia is going to Cornell for her MBA and Darren takes amazing pictures and makes great food.  Livia helps out with both of those things, too.  Darren was kind enough to play the role of Grandpa Harrington, always behind the camera, so we have lots of great pictures.

A rare picture of Darren (check out that dapper vest!) without his camera.  He had to put it down to use his fork.  He and Livia contributed a phenomenal Chinese dish to the dinner with spices and beef, cooked spinach, and peppers.  Everyone raved about it.  The turkey was perfectly cooked, there was mashed potatoes from G'ma H, curried fruit from G'ma Rockwell, Grandma Gin's carrots were prepared by Becky under Grandma Cressman's tutelage, mashed sweet potatoes by Pat Harrington, cranberry compote by your's truly, eggnog corn cake and potato soup by Jenn, an awesome salad by Sarah that mostly got saved for Saturday, of course a cherry pie, and stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.  I ate so much I have amnesia.

Jonas was a riot, trying to fit into Maggie's bed.  Here it looks like he's trying to will his tail to hop in.

Sarah and I threw a small soirée at Veneta's on Saturday night to celebrate the beginning of our second decade together.  More on that in the next post.  It was so much fun to have a fire in the fireplace and totally reminded me of christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Cressman's house.

Zhora got SUPER dressed up for Saturday's party.

The photos below were all taken by Darren.

Livia and Zhora read for awhile before dinner.  Livia joked that they were both learning the alphabet.  (In reality, her English is fantastic, and so is her sense of humor!)

Speaks for itself.  Beautiful girls.

Zhora helped out a lot.  She set the table, helped Grandma Karen around the house, and put the sherbet balls in the glasses.

A meeting of the bald and bearded.

On Saturday morning Livia and Darren went to the barn with Sarah and Veneta.  They made fast friends with the residents!

This is Will.  Veneta is his person.  He's quite the character and we all love him a ton.

Looks like somebody got Darren to relinquish his camera.  Such is the power of the John Deer.