After a long arduous hike... Chocolate Babka

Following a long arduous hike to Mts Flume and LIberty we are rewarding ourselves with a Chocolate Babka from Vintage Bakery.  We suspect we may need another long arduous him tomorrow to justify this work of art.

Kokee Six Week Update

Kokee had a 6-week follow up from her TPLO surgery with Dr. Pond.  The TPLO procedure recreates a knee joint with a metal plate and will give her a new knee that will get her back into her normal level of activity.  Dr. Pond was pleased with her recovery and complimentary of the physical therapy we had done.  She has the OK to be off-leash, to walk, run, do stairs and anything that doesn't include throwing balls!  The next step is to rebuild the strength in her leg and give her time to grow her hair/fur back.  We are all happy she can wander in the yard and come along for longer walks.

Sheri's visits Colorado

Sheri traveled to Estes Park, Colorado a few weekends ago to spend time with Kerry, Brandon, Jerry and DiAnn (who flew in from Raleigh).  She started the visit taking a a tour with New Venture Cycling. The tour starts at the top of Rainbow Curve in Rocky Mountain National Park and affords stunning views in all directions with a fun ride all the way back to the park entrance.  Brandon and Kerry are fantastic guides, and offer fascinating history about Estes, the Stanleys and the local geology, flora and fauna.

Sheri and her Dad spent time touring Rocky Mountain National Park and relaxing in various place in Estes Park.  She also enjoyed the time with her mom staying at Murphy's River Lodge which is a short walk to where Kerry, Brandon and Jerry live, and into town. It is also a popular spot for the Elk to graze.  Highlights also included a dinner at the Stanley Hotel with Kerry and DiAnn (girls night out!) and a hike to Deer Mountain with Brandon and Kerry.  It was short but very sweet visit.

A popular accommodation in Estes Park

Dinner at the Stanley Hotel

Sheri and Jerry spend time in Rocky Montain National Park

Kerry and Sheri on to po Deer Mountain

Wildlife in the garden at home

At one with nature!

Watershed watch

This summer/fall we have signed up to help monitor the water quality in one of our local streams.  It is part of the University of Rhode Island "Watershed Watch" program (see http://web.uri.edu/watershedwatch/uri-watershed-watch-monitoring-overview/).

We get to take samples from the Shunock River in North Stonington every two weeks and test the water temperature and oxygen content.  Each month we also take additional samples and drop them off at URI for more complex testing (pH, microbes, turbidity, etc).

Today was the first sampling point of the season, so we duly took our samples, ran out chemical tests, and drove to Kingston to drop off our samples.  This gives an opportunity to practice our chemistry skills and help to preserve our local environment.

Sampling point at the Shunock River.

Testing the samples for oxygen content.

Early May Harvest

A few weeks ago we uncovered the garden beds, assembled the irrigation and planted greens, radishes, potatoes, kale and leeks.   In one of the beds we discovered some fingerling potatoes we missed during the harvest last year.  What a treat they were for dinner.

Spring visitor

Last week it rained for a few days and we we were luck to have a visit from a spotted salamander. 

Learn more at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_salamander

Mother's Day with the Hancocks

Last weekend was Mother's Day in the US. We couldn't be with our families, so we celebrated with a hike to south and north Hancock peaks. 

The trail was mostly smooth going, but we hit ice and "mixed conditions" on the way up south Hancock. We were lucky that we had packed our micro-spikes just in case. 

It was a cloudy day, so the views were not fantastic. But the temperature was warm and we had a great day in the mountains. 

Dunkelweizen

This Saturday was dry and warm - perfect conditions to try out the new home brewing equipment that Santa Claus delivered in the cold months of winter.  By mid-morning we had five gallons of Dunkelweizen bubbling away in the house.

Dunkelweizen = A dark take on the German wheat theme, dunkel (=dark) Hefeweizen have the same banana and clove notes of their pale cousins but also have earthy, toasty, and chocolatey notes from the addition of dark malts.