With this many anti-oxidents, I'll never age

Guess what we did today? 

I don't know why I'm asking you to guess.  It's totally rhetorical.  And unnecessary.  Sorry.

The Fresh Air Kid  Nephew

The Boy

The Husband

(No, I won't discuss the Stihl hat.  Suffice to say:  we disagree)

 So, yes, of course we picked blueberries today!
 

And a few raspberries.  And a random green apple.

Except Baby M.  She picked rocks. 

{of course}

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Birthday Bounty

A gift from the flower and vegetable gardens of my parents this morning:

Leaping for joy

We have the privilege of having a Fresh Air Child for the summer.  Well, kinda; he's our nephew.  We abducted him from the Suburbs and are teaching him how to split wood and other useful things. 

So, when we realized that Nephew hadn't yet trod on the beautiful new upstairs floor, we frog-marched him over and ordered him to appreciate it.  {Not really.}

Baby M was so enthralled, she flitted around like a little butterfly.  See?

Our Summer

Here's a taste of our summer (so far) in the North Country:

My father's garden ~ May 30

My father's garden ~ July 2

Baby M watching the older cousins swim on July 3

Casa del Sol with Bob's fam ~ July 7

Cookout (and flying lesson) at Uncle Jamie's ~ July 9

My mother's birthday tea ~ July 10

Hike on the Titusville Mountain State Forest High Falls Trail ~ July 11

VBS (or, let's be honest, the playground at VBS) ~ July 11-15

Canadian Cousins' Reunion ~ July 16

Pontoon party at Chateaugay Lake ~ July 17

Annnnnnd:

(drumroll, please)

Our first swag from my father's garden!! 

(minus the two squash and handful of green beans we ate tonight for dinner...)

It's been a great summer so far, and we're only halfway done!

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Shiny new floor

Bob doesn't like to brag, but I don't mind, so I'm just gonna say it:

That upstairs floor is SO BEAUTIFUL!! 

The Husband put the polyurethane finish on the floor on Wednesday and I finally got a chance to take a look at it last evening.  The photos just don't do it justice --  in person the finish brings out the grain and highlights the ...  woodness of it all in a way that is simply breathtaking. 

I walked around on the loveliness a short while and then we continued on our way to eat at Casa del Sol in Saranac Lake.

 They have a delicious Mango Margarita with cinnamon sugar on the rim of the glass.   Yum.

Completed Fire Pit

I went up to my parents' house yesterday, on that beautiful warm North Country day, to see the completed Fire Pit of Epic Proportions.   And....  wow.   It's gorgeous! 

My father started landscaping behind the seating boulders, and it really helps the fire pit nestle into the landscape:

Here's a view from a distance, for perspective:

And speaking of growing things:

Pop's garden is coming along nicely, don't you think? 

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More floor

The upstairs floor now has a coat of sealant on it, but since it's a matte finish it's difficult to see anything different from before.  But I promised pictures, so here we are:

Isn't that a beautiful floor?!

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