Update

 

Mark is on vacation for the next two weeks. He and Greg are heading north first thing Saturday morning and plan to come back Tuesday. They are going old school, hard core camping. Above are some of the supplies they have been gathering for the last week. Last night they were talking about all the flashlights they were bringing I though perhaps they would like a generator.

I’ll be working Saturday and Monday. Camping isn’t really my thing. Above is the new computer I got about a week ago. It’s a Dell Studio 1749, icore 5 with 8 gig ram, 1 terabit hard drive, ati 1 gig graphic card etc. My other one was 3.5 years old and tediously slow struggling to handle new software. Anyway, we’ll all be playing in our own way.

Paradise in the North

 

Greg and Mark came back yesterday evening from their Maine get-away. They both had a great time riding the trails and stopping to explore. The weather was perfect – upper 70’s with low humidity.

Above is what some of the easy trails looked like. Others were more like goat paths with large rocks and boulders and at one time had been part of logging operations. Mark’s ATV hit the 500 mile milestone on this trip.

 

They stopped to explore a stream along the trail. It has been fairly dry and the water levels were low. Always the optimist Mark was hoping to find some gold in the creek. He did bring me home a very sparkly rock.

They also explored the banks of the Sandy River near the town of Strong. The water was not that cold and it would have been a great place to swim on a hot day.

They came upon this hunting camp along the trail with some trophy antlers mounted above the entry.  Most are very rustic, but this one looked like the windows had been recently replaced. Notice the ATV reflection in the upper window.

Mark and Greg’s Excellent Adventure

This is it, they are predicting one of the best weather weekends of the summer. The temps are high 70’s to low 80’s with low humidity. Greg’s ATV is fixed after their last attempt at the start of the summer.

The boys are loading up their equipment and checking it twice. They’re off. Mark gets ready to pull out of the driveway.

Wait a minute, forgot something, better bring the wrench set. One never knows.

And they’re off. Heading 3 hours into Maine.

The boys will be back tomorrow hopefully tired from lots of fun and with good stories.

Before and After

  

My summer science project of watching the wasp next isn’t progressing that much. I was looking at it last night wondering if they threw in the towel. Perhaps they decided the location was too busy. On the left is at the start of the summer.

 

The garden photos on the left are at the start of summer and the right is current. I have been enjoying eating the summer squash. This is the best garden I’ve had in many years. I think the hot, dry summer has contributed. I’m thinking I’ll expand it some more next summer.

Those Crazy Kids

No, I’m not referring to my kids. I’m talking about my parents. Saturday Dad called and said they went blueberry picking in the morning and had so many that they’d like to bring me some. I thought he was joking but he said he meant it. They arrived around 7:30 p.m. It had been awhile since they made the trip and he forget the exit to get off and ended up taking the Pike to the end, right in to Boston. They stopped for directions and Greg guided them on the phone and they made it without any major issues. They did however take a tour of the Big Dig tunnel on their way up.

Above are some of the most well-traveled and expensive blueberries straight from NY. The bucket on the left is how they arrived and the photo on the right demonstrates how many there are after cleaning them up.

Yesterday we all went to the Topsfield common to enjoy a concert. A different group performs each Sunday.

 

 

 

There was a wedding going on at the same time. I couldn’t resist taking a picture.

 

Mark even got Grama and Grandpa to take a spin on his ATV. Like I said, these kids today…

Not too bad considering all the things dad has been through since March. They went back home today. I guess when you get into your 80’s spontaneity comes back.

July 4th weekend

I know I’m a little behind with this post, but better late than never. Last week we were able to spend the holiday weekend in Fulton with family. On Saturday, Sheila had a great cookout and we also celebrated Kelly’s soon-to-be 5th birthday.

 

Sheila’s house has a great view of the river. It’s very relaxing to watch the ducks and boats as they travel up and down it.

Our boys especially enjoyed the time they got to spend on the Whitaker Road. Derek even had fun playing with his nieces. It’s nice to see him slow down a little and relax.

 

 

I enjoyed getting to spend some chatting time with Paula, my sister-in-law.

Sunday we headed back east to MA. This Fulton time was a rare event in that all of us were together, something I will always treasure.

 

On Monday, the 5th, our town had its annual 4th of July parade. It’s a small event made up primarily of old cars, kids on decorated bikes and lots of fire engines from surrounding communities. Its very quaint and I was glad that Greg I and were able to attend it this year.