Happy Birthday to Bella! She turned one year old on Wednesday. I like the above photo, blurriness and all because it shows movement. It wasn’t planned. Just what happens when you try to take photos of a moving dog as it’s getting dark. Which it seems to be doing earlier and earlier every night. The seasons they are a’ changin. No doubt about it.

She got plenty of new toys to play with and chew on. Grandma Vicky (her breeder) even sent her a present. She enjoyed a dessert of Frosty Paws too. I think she had a good birthday.

It seems like just yesterday she was a puppy. She grew so fast it’s hard to believe she was ever that little. She had her first bath and blow-dry at the groomer’s yesterday; another rite of passage. And, she left most of her juvenile coat on the floor and walls there. It’s time for that adult coat to start making an appearance.

Next week she gets to learn all about the cabin as that is where we will be by late afternoon exactly one week from today. Dog paradise. People paradise too. Can’t wait. (More on that in another post.)

hey look at me — i’m clean!

We went back to the Ren Faire. Again. I guess we just can’t get enough. Our reasons for going were twofold: (1) because we wanted to see more silly acts and (2) because the puzzle ring that Rick got there for his birthday ended up at the bottom of the blender while making pina coladas last weekend. oops. Too mangled up to put it back together so we went to see what our options were. We think the gold can be heated up and made new again. Good news!

It was hot and humid again (but thankfully not very sunny) and had rained pretty hard the day before. Rick didn’t want to dress up again in full regalia, so he opted for cargo shorts, his flowy shirt and belt. I thought he looked cute but he did get some razzing from the people working the booths there for not having proper pants on. When you dress the part you get more interaction with the people that work there and it’s more fun. Lots of good humored bantering back and forth and bawdy comments. Why, one gentleman even wagged his dragon’s head in my direction. Oh my!

I dressed up again but this time I had bought a short sleeved peasant blouse to wear under my bodice instead of the heavier long-sleeved one I normally wear. Much cooler! I added a layer to my costume too—a pretty hunter green overskirt. I swear I could wear that outfit all the time! I would get some pretty strange looks around the Shop-Rite I’m certain. People might even think I was weird or something. Can you imagine?

Due to the rain there was lots of medieval mud around. And lots of muddy puddles. Ladies’ dress hems dragged through the mess and I thought how appropriate it all was. Just like it was back then. Pretty messy but somehow is just added to the experience.

The shire is in a lovely setting and it’s pleasant to stroll around and take in all the sights. I love all the different buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, very pleasant indeed.

A little taste of typical faire food: Rick’s turkey leg and dragon chips.

The Ren Faire is also a good place to people watch. Just take a look.

This gentleman is a regular. I remember taking his photo last year. He’s quite congenial and will talk your ear off if you let him. I listened to the story of how he was stung by a bee on the roof of his mouth one year. Thankfully he said he had consumed so much ale that it made it alright somehow.

Now Warrior Princess here ruins her whole look by texting her minions. Great costume though. Next time leave your phone at home Xena!

I think one of these finely dressed men was trying to get Robin on the phone.

These two have never seen the show What Not to Wear. They give belly dancing a whole new meaning. (Sorry girls, you were too good to pass up.)

A mushroom is a perfect seat for a little princess!

And talk about a bad a**. Here is Xena again only this time seen from behind.

Nothing like a muddy jousting field. (and yes, that threatening sky did rain on us!)

There are other things to do besides watch people. You can take in any one of the many shows and acts. This is my favorite theater, The Sherwood Forest Stage. Here we saw “Hey Nunnie, Nunnie” a comedy act by two nuns. Very entertaining!

You can get revenge on this evil looking man hurling insults at you by pummeling him (or trying to) with tomatoes.

You can laugh at the antics and watch the juggling act of Two Stoopid Guys.

All this makes for a very entertaining day. If you let yourself go a little bit you’d be surprised at just how much fun it really is. An escape from the day-to-day reality. A chance to be someone else for a day. A wench. A lady. A pirate. A knight. A fairy. You see them all here at the Faire.

But alas, it’s time to unlace my bodice and hang it up until next year.  Fare thee well, Sterling Forest, until then!

LOOK OUT! Here it comes! Don’t let it get near you!!!

 

 

Good grief. This has been happening at least twice and sometimes three times a day! I think it’s Bella’s way of cooling off with our hot temperatures over the past five days. This is the downside of having lots of rain and moisture—the boggy part of the woods in our yard stays full all the time.

I can understand that the mud feels good on her feet and legs, but can anyone tell me why she sticks her nose in it too?

 

 

Whew! Who turned up the heat? I guess I should be careful what I wish for. Temperatures soared this weekend into the high 80’s and with the humidity of 99% to 100% it felt more like the 90’s! Our good friend Carolyn was down visiting us from Rhode Island this weekend.

Even with the predicted heat we dressed up in our medieval garb and went to the Renaissance Faire. As you already know, I love dressing up for the Faire! Just a wench at heart I guess.

I don’t know how they wore the clothing they did back then and not keel over from heat prostration! We managed to catch a few shows, have some libations and lunch and walk around a bit, but four hours was about all any of us could take of the sun and heat.

I’m not sure why this guy they pulled out of the audience to assist Dextre was smiling. I don’t think I’d be smiling with a guy tossing fire brands over my head while squatting on my shoulders, would you?

Then we came home and went to a resort where the three of us bowled; Rick and I played nine holes of golf and a game of table tennis; Rick went wake boarding on a ski-doo, participated in a bike race and played frisbee with a dog; and Carolyn flew an airplane around the island. Pretty cool, huh?

On Sunday we went to the Warwick farmer’s market. It was the most crowded I have ever seen it! What was strange was to see the varieties of apples and even a few pears showing up already. The summer-less summer has everything confused. We bought everything we needed for our pear salad for lunch right at the market. These plums looked yummy but we didn’t buy any. I just liked the way they looked.

The rest of Sunday was spent floating around the pool. Heaven.

And, oh, in case you’re wondering about that great resort we went to on Saturday, you can check it out here:

We never had to leave our comfortable air-conditioned home!

Had you going, didn’t I?

Sometimes it just hits me in the face how beautiful it really is here in New Jersey. Forget about the crummy summer we are experiencing with all the rain and 100% humidity. (Hey, it’s good for the skin!)

Yesterday I drove to our CSA to pick up our share. I took the back roads instead of the main road. The back roads are twisty and turny with plenty of hills. I pass all kinds of styles of houses nestled cosily in the woods. No cookie-cutter housing developments here. Some make me want to stop, knock on their door, and ask I can come in and tour their home. My Mom was always wanting to do that. I think she would have made a great realtor. Has it really been two years since her passing?

I also pass two or three (or is it four?) small lakes with their clusters of houses. Some are log cabins which must go back to the days when this was a popular place to come in the summer from the city. Now they are permanent homes for some lucky family. I love the look and feel of these small lakeside communities. My favorite is Lindy’s Lake. There is so much foot traffic going back and forth from houses to the private beach that they put out orange traffic cones. As I drive slowly by keeping a sharp eye out for stray children, I get a quick glimpse of kids swimming and splashing while the moms chat in small groups or sit on beach towels in the sun.

Also yesterday there was a bear parade down the street in front of my house. Patches had the kids out for a stroll. I stood in my driveway and tried to snap a few photos. They were on the move so the photos are not the best. First came Patches.

and then the three amigos.

The went into our neighbor’s yard and then their woods, coming back out on the road again. Patches was curious about our new driveway (We had our driveway resurfaced on Monday and the asphalt smell is still very strong.) and she came over to have a sniff.

She was probably planning on coming into my front yard but she knew I was out there so she changed her plans and took the family on down the road.

It was midday and very hot. I was pretty surprised to see them out and about. But that would not be the only bear encounter of the day. Oh no, not the last.

Several hours later I let the dogs out after their meal. Bella didn’t show up at the door to come back inside and I knew she must be up to something. The dogs never want to stay outside when it’s as hot as it was yesterday. I went out to see what she up to and I could see her back by the fence. I called her. She ignored me. I walked a little further and could see she was just sitting there at the fence intently staring back into the woods. Hmm ... very suspicious! Sure enough, there was Patches sitting at the base of a large tree, and looking up I could see the cubs in the tree. I got Bella back inside and went out with my camera, hoping to get some shots of the cubs up the tree.

Patches was laying down when I approached the fence. She picked her head up and looked at me. I went to the fence, and standing on a rock, positioned my camera on the top of the chain link, preparing to take a photo of her. She stood up with her front legs on the tree as if to climb it and I figured I was making her nervous and she was going to call the cubs down from their perch high above. As I stood there, quicker than lightning, another bigger bear came charging at her from somewhere on my left making scary noises. I didn’t get my photo but I nearly peed my pants. Where did that bear come from? Patches went up the tree and there was a lot of vocalizing going on in bear talk. I was still standing there dumbstruck when the bigger bear turned in my direction, looked straight at me and started walking at a quick pace towards me and the fence. I have to admit I was pretty scared (especially not knowing what kind of scene I had just watched the bears play out). So what did I do? I backed away as quickly as I could keeping my eye on the bear at all times. I knew it could come over that fence in a heartbeat if it wanted to. (And speaking of heartbeats, mine was pretty rapid right about then!) The big bear got almost to the fence and then turned around and went back to the base of the tree where Patches and the kids still were. Holy crap! I have never witnessed anything like that before. I stood there in the yard for a little while trying to peer through the trees to see what was going on. I saw a cub come down the tree and the bigger adults moving around, but no more confrontations. I left them to it and went back inside to call my neighbor Aileen to be on the lookout for them in case they headed in her direction.

I don’t know which bear it was, but it was big. Much bigger than Patches because she looked like a cub next to it!  Yikes.

When I told Rick my story he had this to say “Gee, too bad you didn’t get it on video.” Not gee Lynne maybe you should be more careful or how scary or anything like that. No. He’s wishing I had gotten it on video. Well, now that I think about it and my heart rate is back to normal again, I’m thinking how very cool it would have been to have it on video. Think I should try again?