Verrill Farm

Today Jay and I took the girls to the Strawberry Festival at Verrill Farm, in Concord, Mass.  The farm was packed, so we skipped the strawberry picking and went straight to the music tent to listen to one of our favorite bands- Ben Rudnick and Friends!  They are a bluegrass/jam band for kids.  The band members are excellent musicians-- especially the mandolin player (how is such a big guy able to so quickly and delicately pluck the strings on the tiny instrument??),  and the songs are great.  It doesn't hurt that they played at least 4 Grateful Dead songs, either....

Watching the band play

There was also a cool marionette show!

Pretty day in a beautiful part of the country!

Summer Rains

A few days ago, this was the scene:

Swimming at Lake Cochituate

But today we enjoyed summer rain.  We took advantage of the warm summer storm by going for a wet walk and creating rain art.  Our "paintings" were created by using washable markers to draw on stiff Bristol paper, and then allowing the rain to soak the art, causing the colors to run and giving the girls a chance to really see how colors combine to create new colors.  Plus, it is always fun to get wet and messy :-)

Rain art

Summer Solstice

Happy Solstice!!

The weather here was just what you would hope for the longest day of the year and the first day of summer-- 80 degrees and blue skies.  We marked the day with classic summer fun:

Barefoot tree climbing

Banana-peach (coconut) cream smoothies with crushed homemade graham crackers

Happy sun in fingerpaint

Bike riding through the neighborhood (gotta love the black rain boots on this hot day!)

Summer concert series on the town common (OK, this was actually last night...)

The Peace Abbey and Rocky Narrows

We are gearing up for a fun adventure in the sun tomorrow, but last weekend we ventured out during a break between rainstorms to visit a favorite place-- the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, a town adjacent to ours.  The Peace Abbey is part nondenominational spiritual retreat, part vegan information clearinghouse, part animal sanctuary, part pacifist museum and memorial, and a great to connect with like minded peaceful souls.  We were lucky enough to come on a day that some kind of vegetarian convention was taking place, because a vegan ice cream truck was parked at the abbey when we arrived.  For the first time ever, Indigo was able to order an ice cream like a "normal" kid!  It was way exciting and she was as pleased as can be.  After, we walked around and visited the animals for a bit.  The Peace Abbey takes in rescued farm animals, like the famous Emily-- a cow who escaped a local slaughterhouse and evaded capture for days, cheered on by locals, until she was found and allowed to live out her days at the Peace Abbey until her natural death.  It is so touching reading each animal's story and then visiting with them.  You can't help leaving the Abbey feeling a little more optimistic and peaceful.

Afterward, we went for a little hike in Rocky Narrows, a greenspace administered by the Trustees of the Reservations. Thee are supposed to be amazing views of the Charles River from a rocky overlook but we became disoriented in the maze of trails (and discouraged by hungry, whining children) so we missed them.  It was nice to be in the woods on a wet day, though.  It SO reminded me of home!

Grave of Emily, the sacred cow.

The Pacifist Memorial on Conscientious Objectors Hill

Indigo enjoying her allergy safe ice cream.

A beautiful monument lined by plaques memorializing great figures in the peace movement (Ghandi is at the center).  

Hiking in Rocky Narrows

Strawberry picking at Hanson's Farm

After days of cold and rain, we were rewarded with a spectacular day today.  The girls and I made the most of it by spending the morning strawberry picking at Hanson's Farm, a sweet family farm that has been owned by the same family since 1901.  We brought home two quarts of strawberries and enjoyed them in pie form after an afternoon swimming at the lake.  A perfect day!

Indigo is Three

A few photos from the day...

Her big request-- playing at the mall playroom.

Her other request-- triking at the park.  Here she is just hanging out.

Cake request--Wheat, egg and dairy free chocolate, chocolate chip cake with chocolate frosting.  Can you tell this kid likes chocolate?

Her favorite gift.  When she saw it she said "Now I can finally be the rock star I always wanted to be!!"

Crane Beach, Ipswich, MA

A beautiful day at Crane Beach on the North Coast (Massachusetts)....

Over the dunes to the beach

Grandma and Willow in the surf

Plimoth Plantation and Plymouth, MA

My In-laws are visiting this week, so we have been busy enjoying the local sights with them.  On Sunday, we drove to the South Coast town of Plymouth, Ma, site of the 17th Century Plymouth Colony where the passengers of the Mayflower settled.    Plimoth Plantation is a re-creation of that colony, and includes a re-created Wampanoag  home site, as well.  The Plymouth Colony portion is staffed by costumed historians who play the role of various members of the colony.  Their knowledge, accents and attention to detail is so impressive.  Of course, visitors were constantly trying to trick them into speaking in modern terms but I never saw the staff break out of character.  Seeing the well built, but still drafty and dank, homes that people lived in made me feel so grateful for the comfort we live in today and impressed by what they were able to accomplish without our modern conveniences.

Looking down through the center of the 17th century English village towards the Atlantic Ocean.  So beautiful!

Woman in 17th Century garb turning the hay.  I can't imagine how hot she was with the many layers of clothes and underclothes.

Willow in costume as a colonist. She gave us a very serious demonstration of life in the colony.  This experience really captured her imagination!  

 

 Admission to the museum includes admission to the Mayflower II, a full scale, working re-creation of the Mayflower.  It was amazing to see what the 102  passengers (and assorted animals!) endured during the two month journey on the tiny ship!

Mayflower II

The building behind Willow houses Plymouth Rock.

Plymouth Rock in its little cage.  Not the most impressive sight to behold (and only representative of the place where settlers first set foot)

The building surrounding it is pretty in this setting, though.