Fetch with Ms. Fiona

As I'm getting ready to move (TOMORROW!!!) and am in the midst of packing stuff I've also had to start saying my goodbyes to my fuzzy wonder girl. I was thinking I would go to the beach yesterday to kind of celebrate my last day of summer, but instead I thought I should take Fiona swimming so I could get some nice time with her. She had a blast, lots of fetching, rolling in the dirt, and sniffing things. The stick you actually see her carrying had to have been at least 6 feet (it was significantly taller than me). I had been throwing her puny, manageable sized sticks in the water but she saw this one and she decided she had to have it. Since it was so long I had to throw it for her "jav-huck" style (our family expression for when you toss something like a javelin, whether out of frustration with the object or necessity). After getting Ms. Naughty Pants thoroughly exhausted I took her back home (where I soon found I had some leech removal to do, ick!) and we rested up lying in the hammock. Perfect day (except for the leech)!

Where's waldo?

As I mentioned, my Mom and I went to Snell Family farms where they have some great lily pads and lotuses along with a number of endearing amphibians. So if each frog is named Waldo let's see if you can find Waldo in each picture.

Can you find him here?

How about now?

If you can't find Waldo in this picture then you may have a slight eye sight problem.

Okay, this is a tricky one!

Just so no one dies of frustration, there are NO frogs in this picture!

Last day of summer

There are usually kids swimming everywhere and swinging into the water from rope swings strung all along the shore. Sometimes they even jump off the bridge. Last year when kayaking I received a marriage proposal from one of the older jumpers, I hate to disappoint but I did have to say no, haha.

Today was my Mom's last day of summer, alas she has to go back to school tomorrow. So to go out with a bang we went kayaking on the Saco River this morning, had some delicious ice cream, and visited Snell Family farm.

Thank you cows!

Thank you cows of Smiling Hill farm for all the delicious goodies you make!!

Portland Skyline

When I saw these clouds the first thing I thought of was Italian renaissance frescoes

Now this reminds me more of Mary Poppins, can't you see someone swooping down with an umbrella?

The view from the ferry

Goose?

It's been a long day, and I just got back from doing interviews at a homeless women's shelter, so I thought a little goose action was needed. Doesn't everyone love geese (being grumpy while looking at a goose is pretty much impossible, try it sometime).

Exciting news

I have now reached the 10 day countdown for my move to Boston (EEEKKKKKKK!) and already I have some homework for grad school. Luckily I have some great news on top of all my anxiety, one of my photographs will be displayed in an art show. The thrill of that has been helping me overlook the fact that this little island girl will soon be moving to a big city!!

Proudest I've ever been

I CAUGHT A FISH!!!

Can you tell I'm pretty excited about it? We cooked it whole and it was delicious, we also threw some into our paella that we grilled.

Garden favorites

Nothing like Asiatic lilies to make you happy. Now if I could only capture the scent in my blog too!

Green Bay

Sun setting over the bay

This dragonfly hung out with me for a good ten minutes, I didn't offer to share the guacamole though so he flew away!

Didn't know Green Bay had coyotes, did you? This is not a stunning picture capturing the grandeur of wildlife, instead it shows the tacky cardboard coyote that work as a goose preventative for the back yard.

Trying to kayak after having a couple of glasses of wine is extremely amusing. We were laughing so hard that capsizing was a serious possibility, which would be alarming if we were in water any deeper than chest height.

Over the weekend my sister and I made a trip to Green Bay to visit with relatives at the family cottage. It was a great weekend full of good conversation and great food (no, there were no cheese heads involved).