September Holidays Begin

Pam and Nick (Bruno parents) arrive on Friday and we are already off to a good start. The weather is good. There are plans for canoeing, a trip to D.C. and a little time viewing colors in New Hampshire and Vermont. Oh, and reading books, taking naps, drinking tea, having cocktails on the deck and some nice meals too..

Mimi's 90th Birthday Party

This weekend Sheri traveled to Keyser, WV to celebrate Mimi's 90th Birthday. The party was a lovely luncheon given Cindy and DiAnn (Sheri's mom). It was a beautiful day and great to see cousins, aunts and uncles. The party was held at The Candlewyck Inn, the best place to dine in Keyser. The Candlewyck is a lovely Victorian style Inn on Mineral Street and the owner Fred and his wife Sherri are well known in town to Mimi's friends and to her visiting relatives too. I caught up with many cousins, including my first and dear cousin Christy (see photo) from Texas. I also heard from David and Tammy a tip on some bluegrass talent in the family , Travis' progress on the local car-racing circuit, local country politics in Capon Bridge from Uncle Bill, and so much more. It was a very fast 48 hours, but well worth it! I hope I am having as much fun when I am 90 (see Mimi and my Mom, DiAnn below).

Just Peachy

Every year the garden is a little different, which makes things more fun and more challenging. There are moments of frustration, like when your potato plants have succumb to a Colorado potato bug seemingly overnight. Then there are moments of joy like when you spend a Tuesday evening preparing peaches pulled from the tree in your own backyard. The pink and yellow peaches that are revealed when you pull away that rough skin, mmmmm. Visions of peach pie, peach crumble, peach preserves, peach Melba...dance in our heads. Come on over, we'll be serving peaches.

Canoedooling in September

This posting on our Labor Day paddle (Sept 1st) is a little late in coming, but better than never. We had a beautiful day with blue skies and warm temperatures to explore a new section of the Pawcatuck River. It was a bit scratchy at the start. Okay, let's say we did a lot of walking while trailing our little canoes behind us. Occasionally this involved lifting the canoes completely out of the water for a bit. This is the beauty of a 12lb canoe. It was spectacular, nonetheless. We shared the river with a few turtles, a blue heron (maybe someday we can get a photo!), and some funny creatures wearing rubber boots to their waists and who made annoying grunts as we paddled past. Fly fishing in RI... well I never! You can check out the remoteness of this route at Google earth (<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=ashaway,+ri&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=41.546231,-71.705875&spn=0.0952,0.159645&z=13&layer=t>). It is amazing you can be so close to I95 between NYC and Boston and be surrounded by a wilderness that seems untouched.

Biking to Work

If you appreciate environmentally friendly news, biking, living in Wisconsin, or folk music check out Peter Mulvey's concert tour this fall (http://www.petermulvey.com/news.htm). We saw Peter Mulvey perform at the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret CT earlier this year and really enjoyed his music. It was impressive and encouraging to learn of his plan to bike to his tour venues in Southern Wisconsin this September. This story also brought nostalgia and envy since we have fond memories of biking in countryside outside of Madison during the fall. We hope you have the chance to hear Peter Mulvey, take a ride on your bike, wherever you live, or find a small way to reduce your impact on the place you live.

September Produce Face

September 1st! Where did the summer go? With bright blue skies and a hot sun it still feels like summer, and the garden is still going strong. The September Face of Produce feature a carrot, a runner bean and apples. This Labor Day weekend we are filling jars with produce, and plan to bike, paddle and be outside as much as possible. S&B