Let's Review

caywood station -- What's the speed of blogging? In our case, it's fits and starts.

Here's a review of the things that have been happening offline for the last few months.

Fun homework: Note the early spring surroundings in these photos and compare to upcoming pics of summer!

Gardening: One of our main activities-- breaking sod... just like the early settlers. Only our lives don't depend on it.



But a small sample of the rocks removed from the garden!



When you think you are done with the rocks, there's always the roots...



But then you plant a seed and it's all worth it.



Riding in the vineyard, accompanied by our friend and neighbor, Shady.



An early spring view from our deck. The garden directly opposite Karen is our neighbor, Jay's. To the right of the tall, A-frame-type structures (which are Jay's tomato trellises-- they work much better than tomato baskets!) can you make out the plot of land we cleared for our garden?



Ruby and Anisa enjoying a moment.



Here's Karen's family up for a visit to celebrate Karen's Birthday, Mother's Day, and the end of the semester.



If you live in LA and are ever clutched by the (crazy, ill-conceived) idea to make a Princess Cake, why not just head on over to the Farmer's Market on Fairfax and buy a slice instead? The vast amount of time you spend on the freeway will be but a small fraction of the time it would take to make one. But no, I'm not bitter.



However, if you do make one, make sure Emma is around to help you decorate it. She's a natural!


Baby Birds: Spring and birdsong go together. A robin built a nest over the porchlight downstairs, which proved a stressful site for her since she was always having to swoop down to ward off passersby. Karen, good neighbor that she is, was very interested in concerned about the family, so called on them daily.



Here's how the babies looked early on...


Everyday, on the way to work: We check out what the specials are.



When Jim, Karen's brother-in-law was here, we begged him to take us mushroom foraging. The grail: morels. Along the way, we saw these trillium flowers, one of Karen's woodland favorites.





Our harvest. As far as we could tell, it wasn't a morel.



Old barns: We like them. Also, this summer, Ithaca History Center is documenting a bunch from the region, before they all fall down.



Stairs! Spring brought new stairs and easy access to the backyard. One feels quite grand descending them. When Darren and I were young pups, we stopped in at a diner in the Angeles National Forest. Chatting with the waitress, she referred to the place's "friendly counter" so named because its circular shape allowed everyone sitting there to see and visit with each other. As you can see, the landing on these stairs is shared with our neighbors' unit next door. I think of it as the "friendly landing" because we often find ourselves gathering there for a visit.



Social Event of the Season: Definitely Customer Appreciation Days at Countryside Produce, the Amish farmstand about 10 miles away (and one of Karen's favorite food emporia EVER). There was plenty to eat, two greenhouses full of seedlings for your vegetable or flower garden, some rare birds in an enclosure (not sure how those fit in), and, best of all, this tiny calf! We were amazed at the number of cars parked all around when we got there-- you'd have thought it was free frisbee night at the Starlight Speedway! It's safe to say the proprietors made some serious bank.

That's our neighbor, Lucy, befriending the calf.



Oh, there are more springtime photos I could show you, but I think it's time to resume our regularly scheduled blog!

Thanks for reading!

7/25/08