Still getting used to being outside

I'm pretty manic right now. This is a rough time of year for me because I still feel like every sunny day is a gift that can be snatched away at any moment and we'll be sent scurrying back to the wood stove. The upshot of this is that every time I see the sun, I want to drop whatever I'm doing and get the bike down, the boat out, lace up my running shoes, put on the hiking boots, head into the woods, down the trail, out onto the road, down the river and away from responsibilities.  But now I am older and more mature, so I can't just head out at every whim.  I mean, I do... but only like 90% of the time, and at least some of the time I feel guilty about shirking responsibilities... at least for a few minutes.

"Papa, slow down!  I'm trying to explore!"  We haven't had a late hard frost for the first time in three years.  As a result, the flowers are in bloom everywhere.  We compared flowers and cones and catkins and buds.  This one here is on a river birch, I think.

At the arboretum last weekend.

Awesome lichen on a tree branch

More lichen and some moss.

On April 23 we celebrated the Earth Day weekend with a big hiking party on a new trail.  A couple of friends met us there, too.  The trail was muddy, but very fun.  We saw trout lilies, hepatica, may apples, trillium, and ramps and lots more.  We also got our shoes super muddy.

It's always nice to have a helper.  "How about this?  Does this need yanked on?"

"How 'bout if I pull on this, here?

"What about that thing?  Want me to whack that thing?"

Grilling has been super satisfying lately.  We bought a couple books, one about cooking with fire and one about campfire cooking.  I've been going through those books and looking for different ideas to try.  Grilling corn is pretty basic, but damn is it good!

And, of course, I have a helper.

Had to pull over the other evening to take this shot.  Our house is just out of the shot on the left about 2/3 of the way up.  That's the swamp in the center there.  I LOVE where we live.

Spring peeper on the door during a thunder storm Thursday night.

Turkey season is here, so not only am I up at 4am (nothing new), but I'm outside listening to the world wake up.  Good stuff.

I came home this morning and picked up my own little turkey to go for a walk.

What alien thing is this?!

My grill helpers this evening.

Looking good!

Anybody remember that lifetime when I was a vegetarian?!  How about a beer boiled, bacon wrapped, grilled brat on rye bread with Ommegang Gouda cheese?  Don't worry, we steamed some green beans and sliced some pickles too. 

Hope everyone is well.

Just a bunch of turkeys

Spring has officially come to Brooktondale.  You can tell because there are far fewer snow storms and more just really cold rain.  None-the-less, the plants, the people, and the other animals are determined to reemerge from whatever dark perdition they've inhabited for these last 14 months or so.  Just kidding.  It's all good.  We had a nice winter.  It's great to have the sun out at 7:30 though and we've enjoyed rediscovering a new line of toys and wardrobe.

The turkeys are doing their normal thing.  Gobbling and strutting and putting on a show that will last right up to May 1, when they all mysteriously disappear and I wind up sitting in the cold rainy woods, looking like a dink with my shotgun slung impotently across my knees.  Amazing animals.

And now for something completely similar.  More pictures of Emmett.  Seriously, what did I used to do with my camera?!  This is from his early spring hipster collection.  Obviously he's too enthusiastic and happy about life to go full hipster.

On the cusp of walking... or at least not falling down as fast. Our little arborist. 

Tree covered in lichen from an early morning hike.

Swingin with mama!  

Goin to the show!  Sarah and Emmett and Zhora came to the Saturday show of Anything Goes.  It was so much fun!  Emmett is becoming quite the patron of the arts.

Mountain bike season!

We've gotten a couple nights of grilling in lately.  Steak one night, hamburgers another.  Last night Zach, Kristin, Nora, and Charlotte came over and we made foil wrapped potatoes, grilled veggies, veggie burgers, and Piggery brats.  We had so much fun.

On Saturday Sarah went to get her hair done and then to a workshop about wills and the like.  Emmett and I spent the day adventuring.  We went to the farmers market and tasted their leaves and bark and wood chips...

Then it was off to the Children's Garden to smell the flowers... maybe not the one with the bee in it.

Doing his best dock worker impression.

We found a deal on craigslist and hooked the Element up with some new bling.  I had the usual supervision as I worked out the details.

On Sunday the family worked together to transplant the blueberry bushes and do some general garden tending.  Emmett was great.  He wasn't sure about the tickley grass under foot at first, but he soon got into it.

I love this picture.  

Just like papa.

Later on Sunday we met the Stickles for drinks and conversation at Argos.  We had a lovely time with great drinks and lots of laughs.  Zhora got "all dolled up" as they say.

Newspaper was a new technology, and a little tricky to figure out. 

Emmett's busy week

Week or so... It's been awhile again.  Emmett's been busy.

Helping Papa learn his lines for Anything Goes!  At 38, I'm making my high school drama debut with a cameo role as a bartender on a cruise ship.  Tenure here I come!

We've been getting a lot of rain lately and a good amount of snow fell late in the season, so the melt has produced quite the spectacle at all the falls.  This is Buttermilk, which was a dry rock road when Leanna saw it last summer.  Now it is nearly breaking its banks!  The kid LOVES being outside and the sound of water.

Sarah showed Emmett what his uncle does for a "living" with the toy that he got from Aunt and Uncle Vegas.

The dude was real proud of sinking the floating plane.

Last Saturday was the open house at the vet school at Cornell so Chops and I hung out all day.  We had a marvelous time, but missed Mama.  We had breakfast and got cleaned up and dressed.  Then we picked up some lunch for the girls (Sarah, Jenn, and Zhora were all working the Animal Farm at Cornell) and visited a favorite antique/junk shop.  We found a tie clip and some cuff links for me and a stegosaurus (the first of what will probably be a collection of dinosaurs) and a bell for Chops.  We stopped at Cornell for a bit, but it was lousy with... people.  So we did  a quick tour, petted Minnie and headed out.  On the way home we stopped at Brookton's for awhile and had lunch, chatted with neighbors, and played with their cool toys.

Of course we went for a hike.

We've been on the South Hill Recreation Trail before, but not often, so we had a good time exploring, even though the temperature was dropping.  Pretty soon we were cold and hungry again, so it was time to head home and find the mama.

This isn't a good photo, but it gets the point across.  We went to The Nines for a pizza pie.  Emmett was transfixed by the dumb waiter they use to raise and lower the food between the floors of the converted fire station.  The kitchen is actually on the second floor.  We had so much fun!  The human (smart and nice) waiter was a really good friend and made lots of small talk with Emmett.

Gotta run.  Somebody is stirring.  He's ready for another adventure.  Headed to the dump!