First kayaking of the season...

Today we went kayaking at Thousand Acre Swamp in New Marlborough, MA. In 1962 this swamp was turned into a 133 acre lake by the building a flood control dam.

Our new car passed the kayak carrying test with flying colors. The new racks worked well, were easy to use and kept the kayaks very secure.






Thousand Acre is a fun little lake to paddle around with lots of pond lillies,






Nymphs (what is left after a dragonfly emerges),




Geese families - aren't those little guys cute?




Beautiful wild flowers,




And tons of dragonflies. I wonder if they can swim. I ended up "rescuing" two of them from the water where they were really floundering, wings flapping. This guy was one of them.



The weather was absolutely perfect, warm but not humid with a little breeze. Great day!


P.S. It's amazing how the weather changes things. The first time we went here in 2004 I saw this little wooden (looked like hand-made) boat up against the shore. Each year it gets a little more beaten up. This year I almost couldn't find it. It is becoming part of the landscape!

2004

2005

2006

2008

2010

Pink tobacco barns???

We went for a ride today and went by these pink tobacco barns. They just begged for a picture to be taken. I have never seen pink tobacco barns before.

Memorial Day Picnic

Today we went to our friends Gladys and Carl's Memorial Day picnic. They have a very long back yard that ends in a pine tree grove. Carl has built a little Western village down there. About 9 years ago they had a picnic and Carl had the guys dress up in Western gear that he has. This year they were going to have the kids involved and put on a little skit. Mother Nature had other plans though. Just as the picture taking was finished and it was time to put on the skit it started raining...no, pouring (actually you can see some rain drops on the picture above). The skit was cancelled. Oh well, there is always next year. We all had such a good time!

Happy 9th birthday Marley

Today we celebrated Marley's 9th birthday. Her birthday isn't until the 31st, but she will be up at her other grandparents' camper in New Hampshire, so our side of the family celebrated today.


This year she had help unwrapping her presents!

Playing.....

We had a really fun time tonight playing with our new navigation system. We set it for Szot Park in Chicopee which we had no idea how to get to (neither of us know how to get around Chicopee), then set it to Westover Air Force Base, then to a restaurant in Holyoke, then home. Wow! It really worked. We use to have to go back to I-91 or the turnpike each time we needed to get to a different place in Chicopee.

New car, new kayak racks, new cruise control, new navigation system. I hope our brains can keep up!

Paul's 60th birthday and Mother's Day

What a nice day we had. We went to Lido's for dinner and then back home for birthday cake. I felt bad for Janelle though. This was her first Mother's Day and also the first time Mason was sick. He went to the doctor in the morning and was diagnosed with croup! He was so good all day, and especially at the restaurant (not like his father who went to Lido's one time as a baby and then not again for years!!!) You could tell he wasn't up to par, but he was so good.



Mark and Janelle surprised Paul with a navigation system for our new car. He spent the rest of the day playing with it. Kristen gave us each a pair of socks that she knit (I now have 10 pairs).

Kristen also gave me a really neat gift. It is an old Nancy Drew book made into a journal. They left the first few pages of the book (I even have this book) and then the rest of the book is blank pages. So cool. She went to the Twist Craft Fair in Northampton and there was a booth that did lots of neat things with old books.




Marley made a treasure hunt for Kristen. She is so imaginative!



Our good friends Ralph and Linda stopped over to help celebrate the day. So...for a few months I get to be in my 50's while Paul is in his 60's. Sweet.

Notice any similarities?

Our car April 1973 (1970 Volkswagen Beetle)


Our car May 2010 (2010 Honda Fit)

So sad.....

Tonight we went for a ride. It is really the first time that we have driven for any length of time in our new car. We drove all the way to Stafford Springs to have ice cream at the best place ever (although right now I can't remember the name :)!!)

Anyhow, we came home through Springfield and went by where the Christian bookstore "was" on Parker St. I couldn't believe it. The whole building was torn down, everything was gone!

Paul's mother was, at one time, the manager of the Christian Bookstore and I have so many good memories of that store. The last time I drove by, it was still there. So sad.