Yesterday we worshipped in the Temple of Nature. Right here.

And if this little cove was our temple, then this was the altar.

It’s been extremely hot here this past week with no rain, temperatures in the 90’s and the heat index up to 107! Saturday morning the heat wave finally broke and we got over 2 inches of much needed rain.

We vowed to each other that when we woke on Sunday morning we would feed the dogs and cats, throw on some clothes, toss the canoe on top of the truck and head out to Green Turtle pond again. We were on the pond by 7:30 a.m., which is pretty good for us.

The morning mist was still hovering near the surface of the water, leaving an almost monochromatic look to the scene.

But soon the sun burned off the mist and we were left with beautiful blue sky and still waters.

And look who was back again: Mr. Great Blue Heron. Same bird (probably). Same rock. Only this time I had my zoom lens.

A morning perfect for paddling as no breeze had yet started. We’ve figured out that the breeze starts around 8:15 and it usually catches us paddling back up the opposite side of the pond. We timed this trip just right.

My muscles were still a bit sore from last week, but it still felt good. I can’t tell you how peaceful it is out there in the early morning. Birdsong floats down through the trees and bullfrogs croak from the reeds.

I liked the colors and reflection of this fisherman.

After our paddle around the pond we came home, took showers, and headed off in Mia to the market in Warwick. Goat cheese (for our lunch), bread, and blueberries were on our list.

Lunch was a new recipe of Planked Figs: fresh halved figs dipped in Calvados and ground pepper, left to marinate for about 20 minutes, then wrapped in pancetta and topped with fresh goat cheese and a little fried pancetta and cooked on a cedar plank on the grill.  After cooking they were drizzled with wildflower honey. Delicious!

Eaten poolside, of course.

The rest of the day was spent in and around the pool. All in all, another lovely Sunday.

Yesterday we threw the canoe on top of the Suburban and headed down to Green Turtle Pond before it got too hot. The road, which was never very good, is deteriorating back to dirt. Not much is left of the pavement and what is still there makes for a very slow and bumpy ride. It is pretty though, like a dark green tunnel.

The pond was pretty quiet at that hour of the morning with only a few fisherman bobbing around the edges in their boats.

The canoe is such a thing of beauty, isn’t it?

It was a lovely morning to be paddling around. No breeze had as yet kicked up and the only ripples on the pond surface were from the prow of our canoe breaking the glass-like surface. Our oars dipped in and out of the water with a satisfying rhythm. As we passed the shoreline we heard a big PLOP! and looked in time to see the leftover wake of what was probably a turtle awakened from his on-shore slumber by our passing.

We stopped often to admire the view and the reflections.

We weren’t the only ones enjoying this beautiful morning. We disturbed a heron along the way.

(Sorry for the blur but I didn’t have a chance to change settings. Even though it’s blurry I still wanted to include it here.)

Some areas along the shoreline look like little planted-on-purpose gardens; like these reeds.

And these—all shimmery with sunlight.

I was totally captivated by the damsel flies and dragon flies in the shallow, more boggy parts of the pond. They zoomed and zipped around us at death defying speeds. I tried to capture a few flying by in the sunlight, but this was as close as I got. Can you see them?

Some used us a landing pad, either on my paddle or on the canoe, like these beautiful turquoise damsel flies. I remember my Mom used to call them ‘darning needles.’

We found this smallish bird hopping around in the reeds and spooked him up into the trees. We think it’s an immature double-crested cormorant. We watched him for quite a while.

(Right about now I was truly kicking myself for not bringing along my big zoom lens! Darn!)

They don’t call it Green Turtle pond for nothing! This turtle was sunning on a log until we paddled by.

We saw several other turtles in our trip around the pond; just heads poking up above the surface of the water. Every time I tried to capture them with the camera they ducked back underwater. Sly turtles!

All in all, a lovely paddle trip!

Yesterday was a lovely, sunny day. We spent most of the afternoon in and around the pool soaking in the golden rays. These kinds of days have been pretty far and few between this year so we have to take advantage of them as they come along. It was nice having Rick back home again too.

Late in the afternoon we decided to take the canoe down to Green Turtle Pond and paddle to the area where I had seen so many mushrooms earlier in the week. The lake was full of people enjoying the day. Some were swimming, some were floating, some were paddling around in kayaks. As we were unloading the canoe one man said “Nice stripper!” I assumed he was referring to the canoe and not me.

We paddled over to the little lagoon and beached the canoe.

We found a few mushrooms, but most of the ones I had seen were gone by now. Rick demonstrates how big this one was.

Another purple one, this time cupped enough to be store some water.

This one I thought was pretty.

Back in the canoe we tried paddling over to this turtle sunning himself on a rock, but he was too shy and plopped into the water before we got close enough to get a good shot of him.

A little further on we came to this flock of geese enjoying the pond too.

We got too close for comfort for them too, and they took flight.

That was yesterday. Today is a whole different story outside. Take a look.

Oh well. At least we had a good day yesterday!

There is something very sad about Christmas decorations after Christmas is over with. Just look at these reindeer in my neighbor’s yard down the street. They’ve keeled over from the stress of it all, while the one left standing looks on forlornly. I’m afraid there is no rescue for these poor little reindeer if last year is any indication. (Last year they left them up until Easter.) Take them down, put them away, and get on with life after Christmas folks!

We certainly did. On Sunday the tree and all the trimmings came down and got packed up and put away. The living room looks naked without the bedecked tree but we’ll get used to it. It’s nice to have the house back to normal again. A fresh, clean house to start the new year with.

As for the weather, it bounces back and forth. We had a bit of snow on New Year’s Eve which is still around in spotty bits, but right now it’s raining. At least I think it is but it’s too dark outside to really tell. I think it’s freezing rain. That is something I can’t quite get used to. Here it is 31 degrees F and it’s raining instead of snowing. I can see icicles and a good coating of ice on the deck’s railings. Yuck. When it gets lighter I will try and get some photos if it’s worthwhile. But by the time it’s bright enough outside to take photos the ice will probably be melting. We’ll see.

I think canoeing is out of the question, don’t you? Green Turtle Pond now belongs to the ice fishermen.

As for me, I am feeling pretty much back to normal thank goodness. Still coughing some but it’s a dry cough instead of the one I did have.

How is Bella doing, you might ask. She’s doing just great. Growing like a weed in rich soil. She weighs in at 50 pounds now at 4 months of age. I think she’s going to be a big girl. I can’t even write about her misadventures much anymore because she’s turned into a little angel. She’s really a very good puppy. Well, most of the time. She still has her moments. Like when I just now tried to take her photo and she started barking at me.

Poor thing. I just let her out to pee and it’s so icy out there her legs went in every direction trying to squat. I can see now that everything is coated with ice. Lovely.

Did I tell you that I saved a bird’s life the other day? We came home from running errands and saw Sam staring intently at a female downy woodpecker just sitting in the snow on the other side of the glass door. I knew just what to do as I’ve done it many times before when we’ve had birds stunned from flying into the glass. I put my gloves on and went out and picked her up. At first she tried to fly, but couldn’t. She soon settled down in my cupped hands, turning her head this way and that looking at me. I stroked her feathers every so lightly, trying to warm her up. After a while I opened my hands and she still just sat there. I was hoping she wasn’t hurt internally when all of a sudden she took flight. Hurray!

With the nasty weather outside I’ve decided not to go anywhere today. I am going to make this Irish stew this afternoon, complete with cheddar scones. Just the meal for a day like today, don’t you agree?

Last Sunday we loaded up the canoe and drove the less than one mile to Green Turtle Pond. I just love having this small body of water so close to us. You can see how much the trees have changed at our house in the photo above.

It was a beautiful morning: blue skies and no wind. A perfect day for paddling!

The lake’s surface was very calm and perfect for reflecting the autumn colors.

A few other people were enjoying the beautiful morning too, mostly fishermen. Since Green Turtle is a wakeless lake, only trolling motors on boats are allowed. This makes for a very peaceful paddle.

As we paddled around I couldn’t decide how to place my camera. Should I take the sky and trees or should I go with the reflection? I have to admit that the the reflections won out over and over again.

Either way, the colors were stunning.

Paddling close to the shore I spied this beautiful paper wasp’s nest.

Some trees couldn’t decide what color to be.

We paddled into my favorite part of the lake, the little cove.

And with one last look, our little trip came to an end.