Cherry Tree

We have a cherry tree.  A very sad cherry tree.  Though despite it's unhappiness it did manage to put out a lot of cherries.   Anna climbed a ladder to pick them and then made both saft and cherry fruit leather.  If you look at the tree, the top has no growth, some of the branches have no growth.  We know something is making the tree very unhappy - but aren't sure what it is.   We are guessing the roots are having trouble getting nourishment, as it's planted near to where there used to be a driveway. Perhaps the ground is too compacted?  The poor tree has been shooting up so high to get to the light, and it has such giant spaces between the branches.  We are going to take down a ton of tree and hopefully get some help from a tree doctor to figure out what ails her.  In the meantime she was generous enough to give us lots of cherries. 

  

Thea on the Boat

We walked Thea to the boat to try and see how she would do.

She loved the dock.

She easily got on and off the boat.

She easily went down below.
Soon we will try again, but this time with a life jacket 

and the engine on and put-putting into the harbor. 

Mulberry and Cherry Saft

Our cherry tree produced lots of cherries this year, and we were gifted a giant bowl of mulberries.   Time to make saft.   It's hard to describe the what saft is.  It's a Swedish drink that is sort of like a juice concentrate, but not quite.  It's made by boiling ripe fruit - usually black currents or other berries - and then straining off all of the solids, keeping only the liquid.  Then you take the fruit liquid, add sugar and boil some more.  It creates a thicker somewhat syrupy drink.  You add this to water or seltzer to create a delicious and really fruity drink.  We managed to make 4 bottles of saft in the last 2 days. 

The Grandmothers Meet Anna Grace

 We took my mom out to see the boat on Saturday, and Anna's mom went on a sail with Anna on Sunday morning.   Having a boat is a family affair and both of our mom's were thrilled to be there!

Moving Anna Grace

We moved Anna Grace.   She was moored in Colchester Bay and Anna and her friend Beth sailed her to Burlington.  She now sits in a spiffy slip at a new marina. 

We are only a stone's throw away from her.

Easy Peasy lemon squeezy for sailing this summer.

First Berries

I usually always take the boys strawberry picking.  This was the first year I went without them. Partly because of Covid 19,  partly because a friends kids refused to go because they couldn't eat the berries in the field due to the new rules since the virus hit, and partly because it was an opportunity to go early with my friend and just get it finished.   When I got home, I still had the kids participate.   Kuba made cream biscuits for strawberry shortcake, and Anders helped me mash the strawberries for jam. Yes, of course I photographed it all.

Little (Yellow) Green

After 15 years of orange, I've painted our front door 

and front steps a new color.

yellow green

Welcome Anna Grace

Welcome Anna Grace!

We didn't get to go to Sweden this summer as planned, 

but we did get a sailboat.

Welcome to our new summer boating life!

Almost Over

The 2019-2020 school year is almost over.

Officially it ends on Friday, June 12.  But honestly - it really will feel over for the boys by Wednesday.  They are finished with all school work and it's just the drips and drags of the end of the year.  We ended early because of the Coronavirus.  So everything feels easier on a weeknight.  Tonight we biked downtown for Tacos and frisbee. Here are the boys are waiting for our dinner.  We grabbed it and biked down to the waterfront to meet up with Anders friends.  S U M M E R.  Almost.

Almost Summer

Anna and I were hanging out on our hammock on a beautiful sunny Sunday...yesterday!

These are our legs, this is our view.

Joy 

Black Lives Matter

On May 25th a black man named George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Mineapolis, Minnesota.  It was horrific.  It has caused major protests throughout the country that continue to this day.  The mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, had Black Lives Matter painted a massive mural on 16th street,  the street that leads up to the white house.  She also named the area Black Lives Matter Plaza.  Mayor Bowser did it because she wanted to make it clear that the street belonged to and honored the peaceful protestors.  Brilliant!  Beautiful.

May we all act as if our life depended on this.
Black Lives Matter

Today's Morning Treasures

This morning I took Thea for her walk down in the Ethan Allen Homestead field.   It was early and no one was around.  We probably walked a couple of miles, of which some of that was along the river.  It was gorgeous today.  Bright blue sky, fields full of almost 4 feet of grass, and of course flowers.  Lots of wild flowers.   Dame rockets, the wild purple phlox, and yellow flags, the wild yellow irises were my favorites today.   But the best of all, was when I sighted a bald eagle flying over the river.  I heard there were eagles, and today was my lucky day.   Absolutely a wonderful way to begin the day.  Thea wasn't all that bad either! Her joy made me happy.

Who's Responsible? We're Responsible.

Over a week ago, a man named George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minnesota.
The police officer held the handcuffed man face down on the ground with his knee anchoring his neck.  He never let off the pressure.
The man pleaded for breath.
The man called for his mama.
The man died of asphyxiation after 9 minutes under that knee.
The horror of this situation is unspeakable.
The country has been protesting and rioting for days.  I am with them.  100%.   I understand.    I am so angry.  I am so heartbroken. I am so disturbed by the persistant and life threatening affects of racial injustice.  I have no words to describe the outrage I feel about our president.  If there is nothing else good that comes out of this unbelievable murder, I hope it is that it activates people to vote. It is our repsonsiblity to speak up - speak out - and VOTE.

Double Rainbow after the Storm

Our neighbor was lucky enough to snap this photo of our home last week.

PIZZA - SOME LIKE IT HOT

Determination is one character trait that Anna is not lacking.

She was determined to build our own backyard pizza oven.
We stumbled around a bit looking for a 55 gallon steel drum, 

but luck has it that a local bakery had a now empty drum that was 

full of honey. Perfect!  We burned off the coating with a big bonfire 

and Anna set about creating the oven.  We had our test run last Friday.

Almost perfect.  We are waiting for our metal grate, and 2 pizza stones. 
We are waiting for a pizza paddle.  I just need to find a good pizza dough recipe.

SUMMER Nights - HERE WE COME!