Oar and Paddle Regatta

Went to see my cousin leading the pack at the Oar and Paddle Regatta this morning!  I had a great spot up on the "Jaws" bridge to catch him as he was going under from the calm pond to the choppy seas!  Go Percy!

Best friends

How cool is this, 

my mom and her best friend Carole

me and my best friend Julie (Carole's daughter)

Tomatoes galore!

I do believe I have had a successful crop this year.  Many years I plant 20+ tomato plants and they struggle along.  This year I hovered over one Bid Boy tomato plant, a grape tomato plant and a couple cherry plants (chocolate cherry and yellow pear for example) and look at this week's crop so far!  Success at last!

How does my garden grow?

The garden is doing better this year than it has in years!  Finally, I have some decent tomatoes!  I usually have about 20 plants and get about 20 tomatoes.  Only planted 8 plants this year and look at them - they are loaded!  Cucumbers were also a success, have already made 2 batches of pickles and looking at another batch tomorrow!  One plant and cucumbers everywhere!  Herbs and perennials all did well this year too!  Here is a quick tour!

Big boys!

Pickling cucumbers - can't pick them fast enough!

Hydrangeas are exceptional

Nasturtiums have taken over!

Yellow pear

Chocolate Cherry - can't wait to try these!

Good year for basil too!  Bring on the fresh mozzarella!

Butterfly bush

Butterfly wee

Striped Bass

My cousin dropped off this gorgeous filet of Striped Bass (ok it was a couple weeks ago and I've been negligent about downloading my camera and posting!) Lots of fresh herbs from the garden, lemon and tomatoes - not only did it look good but it was delish!

Survival of the fittest in the woods

Missing my new friend Millie!  At least I know where she is sleeping to stay safe from the predators, i.e. raccoons! 

Fair Winds and Following Seas

Another Change of Command for my brother-in-law as he finishes up another tour and off to the next adventure.  

Speech!

Another ribbon!

His proud parents!

and the traditional cutting of the cake!

Goodbye Great Lakes, HELLO Guam!

Rhode Island Red hen

It's nice to have company in the garden and I have had a regular visitor this month.  Not sure where she came from but she loves to hang out with me in the garden and had made herself right at home.

The bottle tree

My mother has a love for blue glass which she has all over her house.   I found a new way for her to enjoy her blue glass in the garden!  She loves it and what a great conversation piece!

First lobster of the season!

A gorgeous day on Martha's Vineyard so we went to Menemsha before the crowds arrive and enjoyed a fresh lobster on the docks!  A few other locals had the same idea as well as a few visitors who were fascinated with our lobsters!  We got some rather large ones so we got 2 meals out of each lobster!  

A fishing boat filled with skate fish unloaded while we were there.

Billy's Crab House

Today was the annual Memorial Weekend trek to Billy's Crab house in Pope's Creek, Maryland. My friends Mary Deane and Dee and I have been going there for many years on the same day to kick off the summer season with a few crabs before the tourists eat them all up! It's also Rolling Thunder weekend and we had to go right by the Harley Davidson of Washington DC meeting area so there were bikers everywhere! Lots to see!

These guys were mighty tasty!

Great view from our outside table

And part of the ritual is a stop for soft serve on the way home!

Happy Mother's Day!

Spent a really nice day with my Mom! Gave her a card with a picture of her and her girls taken in 1969 in Sturbridge Village, MA, I told her I guess I did not need to ask her if she practiced attachment parenting! Love you Mom!