It would be hard to beat Saturday for gloriousity, it really would. Sunday tried its hardest.

We started the day by walking the dogs to Green Turtle Pond. They love being off leash. The trees are fully leafed out and lush. Instead of walking from our house we drove to the access road and parked. Two reason for this: it’s a long walk and it was pretty warm; we usually take the wooded path through the woods to get to the access road rather than walking the dogs along the busy roadside but right now the ticks are really bad.

Bella the water dog! There’s nothing she loves better than wading. We can’t get her to swim though.

We had company on the pond in the form of two Canadian geese who were not bothered by us at all. In fact, they glided up pretty close to inspect us.

Alex was wondering if he could somehow get closer to them.

Everyone finally just decided it was okay to share the pond. Standing at the edge and looking at that serene water made me want to go home and get the canoe. When we return from our cabin trip we will for sure be putting the canoe on the water again … soon.

After showering and making sure we had not picked up any ticks ourselves, we took Mia to Warwick for the opening day of the farmer’s market.

They still don’t have much at this time of year but we bought some beef jerky from a new vendor, some maple sugar (for sprinkling on popcorn), and some kale for making kale chips (which didn’t come out quite right).

Wild asparagus.

Exotic mushrooms.

Tomatoes. Really? This early?

Another new vendor was selling this:

They were also selling huge ostrich bones for dogs. I’m not sure how this will go over in Warwick, NY!

Yesterday was a glorious day! We’ve been waiting and waiting for weather like this: sunny and warm with a touch of breeze. Ah, YES.

The first thing I did was wash the sheets and put them on the line to dry. Nothing like fresh breeze-blown sheets!

We did some chores around the house and yard while Bella and Alex practiced being Siamese twins.

After a trip to the grocery store for supplies for dinner (BBQ ribs, coleslaw and corn) and a quick lunch we pulled Mia out and gave her a wash.

She was so shiny after her bath that I was compelled to grab the camera and started taking photos. The reflection of the trees on her hood was too good to pass up.

 

 

 

While taking these photos I realized that my reflection was there as well. I had fun snapping some silly shots. Can you find me?

 

 

After her bath we couldn’t just put her back in the garage on such a perfect ‘tops down’ day now could we? No! So we went for an hour’s drive.

We have several favorite routes that take us along wooded two-lane roads. And there is no such thing as a straight road where we live, so the little roads are perfect for Mia’s cornering abilities.

I like to shoot straight from the passenger seat on the sports setting for realism. Here is a sampling of our drive.

 

 

 

 

Read the sign!

 

The beautiful Warwick Valley (NY) in the distance.

 

A glimpse of Greenwood Lake, the largest lake in New Jersey which is shared with New York State. Our house is less than ten minutes away.

Today is supposed to be cloudy with some rain moving in later. We are planning on taking the dogs down to Green Turtle Pond then off to the opening day of the Warwick Farmer’s Market. I hope you enjoyed our Saturday!

Lately I’ve been noticing reflections and shadows around the house. Maybe it’s the angle of the sun this time of year because I don’t always notice them.

Here are a few I’d like to share with you.

Reflection of lights in our new cookware.

Shadow of window blinds.

Outdoor light shadow on the house siding.

The next group of photos are all due to the glass in our front door at various times of the day.

This is the same spot as the above photo was taken by the grandfather clock but at a slightly different time of day.

The window pane pattern repeated on the front entry walls.

Besides walls it also decorates carpeting ...

...and dogs as Hailey demonstrates in this photo.

hello my adoring readers! it’s me; bella! i know i haven’t posted for a long time but i’ve been pretty good. well … good for me anyway. mommy says i never have a halo over my head but i don’t know what she means by that. who would want something hanging over their head anyhoo? beats me.

we haven’t really had any winter here. i love snow, so it’s been kind of a downer. but, as they say in dogville, when winter give you grass instead of snow — make grass angels!

here’s how you do it.

first pick a nice patch of dried up grass in the yard. make eye contact with the person you want to make laugh (or annoy). you choose.

then you start the roll like this: (are you watching??)

make sure you take full advantage of the situation while still on your back! be sure to wiggle your butt and kick your legs!

finishing up on the other side

and if you’ve done it properly you will end up looking like this:

you might have to try it a time or two to get it right. it does take some practice. if you like getting brushed you will enjoy this activity even more. if you don’t, well, be prepared to stay outside until you don’t have any more grass on you because your mommy will be annoyed with you and not let you in the house.

let me know how you make out!

Neighborly crocus!

I struggled with what to call this entry. It’s a mishmash of stuff really. I’m sure you are wondering how it all goes together. Truth is; it doesn’t!

Alex continues to improve daily. Tomorrow I don’t think I am even going to give him the same amount of pain medications.  Tonight I will start weaning him off and within a few days he will no longer need them. I don’t think he needs them now but I don’t want to stop him, shall we say, cold turkey.

I won’t be here tomorrow. I have to report to jury duty!*** Blech. I’ve never had to do this before and I am not looking forward to. Especially since I have to drive down to Paterson (not a pleasant place) to do it. I will no doubt spend the day in the selection room with a bunch of other potential jurors waiting around. I hope they see something in me that they don’t want in a juror and sent me packing. I am taking my iPad and a good book.

I am doubly not happy as the weather is truly glorious and will continue so during this week. Not a week I want to spend inside a stuffy courthouse!

Not in my yard but neighbor Luke’s. I love the striping.

My guest room do-over is now on hold until I know about this jury thing. Last week it was Alex; this week jury duty. Excuses, excuses. But really, I can’t move forward unless I am home. Very frustrating but I’m sure it will all sort itself out.

If you live in the U.S. and have been watching the news lately, you are familiar with the term “pink slime.” It’s a by-product of beef that has had the fat spun down out of it and ammonia added in to the whole (rather) digesting mix. This process is widely used (who knew?) in ground beef aka hamburger.

Now, I have to admit that one of my favorite meals is a really good hamburger. I might have to rethink that. When we make our trips back to Colorado/Wyoming for our cabin trips we are always struck by just how good the hamburger we buy at the grocery tastes. Like real beef.

With that in mind we set out to grind our own chuck yesterday. We bought a chuck roast at the Market Basket in Franklin Lakes (stomping grounds of the Real Housewives of New Jersey), unearthed the meat grinder and ground our own “hamburger.”

In the second photo please notice the dog (not in focus) in the background. You can just make out the blaze. It’s Alex.

The whole grinding process got attention. (Bella in front; Alex in back)

No pink slime here — guaranteed! The hamburgers were delicious! None of my photos came out and I think that was because I was so excited to eat it that I didn’t have the patience to get the shot right. You’ll just have to imagine in your mind’s eye how wonderful it looked and how good it tasted.

If you don’t hear from me for a few days you’ll know I’m being held captive at the Passaic County Courthouse!

***Actually as I am typing this entry I don’t know for certain that I will in fact have to report to Jury Duty tomorrow, but since my Juror number is 0004 I am guessing they won’t cut it off at Juror 0003. It’s a given I will have to show up.