Bird + Seed

Bike Adventure

Such a nice weekend 'round these parts.  We did all sorts of nice home spiff-ifying things.  Like planting perennials and putting up a clothesline.  But what was really great?  Our Minuteman Bikeway adventure to Spy Pond for a picnic. 

We also stopped for beers along the way.  A very leisurely Sunday.  Damon has tomorrow off for Patriot's Day/Marathon Monday [in which it seems like the entire city has the day off- and for good reason- the marathon prevents vehicular traffic all day] but I have work.  yay science.

S'okay.  With such a relaxing weekend I'm [sorta] ready to go back.

That turned into a longer break than anticipated

I'm not going to try to play catch-up or explain myself.  I just needed to not feel like everything I did had to be recorded for blog-sake.  But I'm back at it now, but keeping my expectations modest.  Blogging shouldn't be a chore, but a joy.  I think we all go through this.  So, that said, how is everyone?

Boston Light [House] Swim

Damon is an open water swimmer, which is a different sort of crazy all together.  And I'm a marathon runner, so I know crazy.  But Damon swims out in the middle of the ocean- which requires a boat to follow you, Coast Guard patrols and lots of Vaseline.  On Saturday he and three friends comprised a relay team for the 8 mile long Boston Light Swim- from the light house marking the beginning of Boston Harbor, to shore in Southie.  

I took absolutely a million pictures, as I was the troupe's designated photog- it was how I earned the right onto our chartered boat.  The weather was wonderful and so still- I've seen lakes less calm than the harbor.  

You know, sometimes living in the city it's hard to remember that we live on the ocean [harbor].  My apartment is about 1.3 miles from the ocean.  But it rarely plays into my life.  A day like Saturday helped me remember the grandness and beauty of the sea, just a step outside my house and my city.

Everyone had a blast, and they finished under time.  I don't remember... 3.5 hours?  Damon will correct me in the comment section, I'm sure.  But the 4am wake up, combined with lots of traveling [for Damon] and work [for both of us] made us pretty much dead to the world after the deal was up.  I hadn't taken a 3 hour nap in a long long time.  But now we're rested, and now I'm about to swim.  And by swim I mean wade through the massive puddles to the bus stop.  :( today is not a good biking day
 
 

Escape the Heat

Please excuse the lack of posts recently.  The heat has kept me far away from my computer and it's hot little keys.  And let's be frank, when you're sluggish and hot there isn't anything interesting enough in the whole wide world to stir you to blog.  Except an escape to the Cape [Cod]!  Our friend has a family house right on the tip, so across the bay we went.  Because summer Friday evening traffic is a mass exodus of the entire city we opted to forgo the drive and take the ferry!  We loaded our bikes up with bags and panniers and loaded ourselves onto the boat.  An hour and a half later we were in beautiful, old, gay Provincetown.  The actual first landing site of the Pilgrims before they made their more permanent settling across the bay in Plymouth.

We wheeled ourselves off the boat and then 8.5 miles along a dark and hilly seaside road to our destination where friends, food and drinks awaited.  I had never ridden Toulouse that far all at once before.  Sure, I ride at least 7 miles a day, but that is commuting in stop and go stressfull downtown traffic.  This was straight going- carrying stuff.  And hills.  Oh my the hills.  But we made it.  We really picked the best weekend to be there.  Even though 85 is really warm for the Cape, Boston was suffering through 105 degrees.  And when the ocean is just there, nothing really can go wrong.

There was plenty of widelife to spot.  We swam, and played wiffleball and frisbee.  We built sand castles.  I ran and spotted Damon while he swam a mile along the coast.  

And we picked pounds of wild blueberries on the hill behind the house.  What to do with them?  Muffins?  Coffee cake?  Unrelenting shoveling of berries straight into my mouth?  The answer is all three.  And with a huge freezer bag stashed away until January I will be savoring and remembering this trip for a while.

Craft fairs are great places to find birds

Somerville Artbeat is one of my favorite parts of the summer.  Craft fair + food stalls + Davis Square weirdness is my perfect equation.  [Hint:  the answer is AWESOME].

And I especially love how in Cambridge/Somerville fairs & festivals Indian food stalls far outweigh everything else.  Fried dough and burgers?  Hard to come by.  Samosas, pakoras & mango lassis?  Hell yes.  

And of course friends.  Especially when friends are so good as to match my raspberry lime rickey.  

But the highlight of the day [for me] was this shop.

I've admired her wares before at previous craft fairs and a shop in Providence, where she is based [etsy shop here!].  Everything was very cute and lovely.  But oh. my. god.  I made an impulse buy that I do not regret.  I even told my friend before we got to the craft fair that I was probably going to buy something with a bird on it.  Cause I'm just that kinda gal.  But this, this is meta.

This is going up on the wall above the couch.  Next to the yellow bird print... which is below the egg painting. Which is across from the other bird print.  Yeah.  And for all you uninitiated, I welcome to the club:

Favorite Routine: The Farmer's Market

Going to the farmer's market is one of my favorite parts of the weekend.  We're lucky to be about a mile away from ones on both Saturday and Sunday.  We went to the Saturday one this weekend because today [Sunday] Damon & I planned our long exercises for the morning.  [He:  2 mile ocean swim.  Me: 13 mile run].  

There aren't as many stalls at the Saturday one, but all our favorites were there.  Like Grateful Farm.  They have just the best selection of greens.  Plus, the bonus about going to the Saturday one is that it's in the parking lot of an elementary school- so just locals go.  Sunday's is in Harvard Square.  And there are tourists swarming the place, not buying anything but picking up and touching/photographing everything.  

Damon's favorite, of course.  He is the bread-man.

Toulouse & I are loaded up and ready to go.  We know we've bought enough veggies for the week when I can't fit anymore in my pannier.  So what did we get this week?  Salad greens [with flowers!] green beans, cucumbers for pickling and eating, kale & of course shortcakes.  Lots of green things this week.

 

Basking in the River

I

I see the Charles River everyday.  I cross it on my bike to get to and from lab.  I run along it's many manicured [and rocky and dirty hidden] trails and paths.  I've sat on its banks watching fireworks, dragon boats, regattas, and concerts.  But I've never swam in it.  Damon beat me to it this weekend.

Damon and a group of about 100 other foolhardy souls swam a mile loop down by the widest part of the Charles [between the Mass Ave & Longfellow bridges for those who know/care]  The water was actually 69 degrees and the day was sunny, albeit a bit brisk during the early morning hour.  But Damon swam, and swam well.  He placed 2nd in his age group even without a wetsuit- which many of the men [but not women...] wore.  I'm told that wetsuits help with floatation and thus make open water swimming easier.  I have no idea myself.  

Later in the day we headed 2 miles up river from the swim to bask along the banks at Cambridge River Festival, an annual cultural, musical, family friendly hippie fest.  If you want to understand Cambridge, come to River Fest.  The giant puppets, the booths of vegan Indian food, the crafts, the toys and games all laid out free for all to share... 

...and the Independent Taiwan dancers next to the LGBT society, next to the Socialist Party, next to the Greater Boston Buddist Cultral Center booth, next to the Bikes not Bombs booth.  Yup, this is home.  At the end of the event giant puppet-carrying people stand over the Harvard footbridge and sing chants to the river.  Alas, we had friends to entertain and bars to hit so we didn't stay for that part of the crazy.

While I will never swim in the Charles [Damon is the swimmer, I am the runner] I am hugely greatful for it.  It is a small swath of natural beauty carved right in the middle of the man-made bustle.  And it serves as a useful barrier keeping BU kids out of my town.  

And how was your Memorial Day weekend?

Our good friends [who got married in this post] came back into town [from Quebec], toting their incrediably adorable and well behaved daughter with them.  

We had a great dinner at Beacon Street Tavern, played pass the baby, and decided that we all wanted to take her home.

- I sold my old bike [featured here] to a friend.  Yay!  Lola is off to a good home.

- We had dinner at Henrietta's Table.  It was our four year anniversary.  Damon made the comment that Henrietta's Table is a lot like yuppie Cracker Barrel.  That totally killed it for me.  Because it's true.

We beached it in Marblehead.  The sun finally peaked out and we both got pleasently brown.  

Over all, a really great weekend.  How was yours? 

Happy April Fools Day

But this is no joke.  It's snowing.  Wooooot! [that was a sarcastic woot]  I feel sorry for the poor flowers... the crocuses just started to bloom.  

Goatz & Sheepz

No real news today.  Just goats and sheeps.  Or as I say.  Goatz.  and Sheepz.  

Super fuzzy Nigerian pygmy goatz.

And a baby sheep named Huckleberry Finn.  

It's good to have friends in high [or fuzzy] places to bring us up close and personal with some of my favorite critters.