Wanna Ride?

It has been a spectacular run of beautiful weather, not just our week at camp but the following week when the kids were there.  It continued through today!  Wendy and Dan asked us to join them on a bike ride along the Eastern Trail.  Initially, we declined because there were chores we wanted to complete around the house and the AWS Volunteer Appreciation Dinner was tonight.  I was looking forward to saying "hi" to some of my favorite volunteer "peeps" and catching up.  Oh well, the best laid plans...

I was actually angry that I needed to CHOOSE between the two.  I'm not working, I have no real commitments, I don't want to have to choose between two different activities; I want to do them all.  It goes without saying, that's not always possible.  Bill finally made the decision that we needed to take advantage of this perfect weather and go riding.  

 So that's exactly what we did.

We met them behind Thornton Academy in Saco and rode the rail to the Scarborough Marsh.  We haven't traveled the entire Eastern Trail but this is our favorite section of the parts we have traveled.  We left around 3:15 with clear, blue skies, a light breeze and temps around 80.  We pedaled steadily for 7.5 miles and arrived at the marsh in under 50 minutes. It was a picture perfect day.

We took a short break, had a snack and snapped a few pictures (because a blog post is boring without pictures).

Photographic proof that they really rode their bikes ;o)

Time now for ICE CREAM at Bayley's (at least the route is uphill).

OMG!!! sea-salted caramel with hot fudge

More hot fudge

I can't remember what Wendy and Dan got but clearly they looked yummy!  More calories than we burned, that's for sure ;o(

The ride back to the car took about the same amount of time, partly due to the fact that I stopped to take pictures 

We've been keeping an eye on this rock wall/pathway project

and some of us stopped twice to pick wild black raspberries, a tasty fall treat!  

Sweet treat close to trail's edge

Some of the bushes were loaded!

 Wendy even saved a few and shared them with Bill when we caught up to him.

This is a nice, easy ride, mostly flat and takes about 45-55 minutes.  So glad Wendy and Dan were interested in spending time at the end of their vacation with us and glad Bill made the decision to skip dinner and enjoy a beautiful, late August day.

Life is soooo good!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Farewell Sweet Sassy

Sassy traveled over the Rainbow Bridge today and collected her wings.  Is there any decision more difficult than determining that a pet's quality of life is suffering and making the decision to let them go?  Not many, in my mind. 

Sassy was somewhere around 108 18 years old and lived a good life here.  She was the Queen of the castle, small in stature but mighty in attitude!  They say Torties have an attitude and in Sassy's case, it could not have been more true.  She didn't like to be picked up and would not hesitate to scratch if you tried.  If she wanted to be petted, she would crawl into your lap and rub her face over you, depositing her scent as approval for your attention.  She was quite happy to spend hours of her day under the front steps, in the cool and damp shade or sprawled out in the bathroom window, away from the prying nose of Sir Titan.  She was highly independent, seldom came when called (unless it was to eat) and a good mouse/chipmunk catcher (often bringing them to the door for praise and approval).

She tolerated the dog sniffing her butt and chasing her if she chose to move faster than at a snail's pace.  She slept in boxes and laundry baskets, on tables and chairs but never, ever would you find her in a dedicated cat bed!  She was above that sillyness. 

She preferred to eat her food fresh every.single.time and would cry impatiently as though she was starving, although we knew otherwise.  Although she had fresh water available, nothing was more fresh than a lightly dripping faucet.  She had no problem dunking her head under a running faucet to quench her thirst; however, it had to be dripping at just the right speed.  I must admit, this little quirk drove me crazy but Bill always willingly accommodated her. 

She had one of the biggest litter boxes made by man and could still spray litter everywhere.  

She handled all the foster puppies with cool indifference, even though it meant she was moved from her laundry room accommodations, into the smaller office area.  She seemed to enjoy sleeping on top of the warm computer printer, based on the footprints found there.

Her health declined over the past 18 months, after being diagnosed with kidney disease.  Although we purchased the very expensive special kidney diet food, she refused to eat it, as though starving herself to death would be a better option.  So, she won, we lost and she continued to beg and plead for her preferred Little Friskies. 

While we traveled to Florida the past four years, Sassy spent her winters with some very special people in Maine.  Many thanks to Jerry, Julie, Beth & Barry for fostering her through the cold, snowy months until our return in the spring.  We knew she was well loved and well cared for during our absence.

Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, Sassy had virtually stopped eating, grew very thin, lost an abundance of fur, showed signs of labored breathing and cried more often than not.  The time had come to make the decision to free her to fly among the angels.

Good-bye Sweet Sassy, thank you for sharing your life with us; we will miss you very much.  Now...go play ;o)

Lounging in the bathroom window

What do you mean this is your spot?  I don't think so!

She used to rub us the same way when she wanted attention

Enjoying some time in the warm weather

Good-bye Sweet Sassy...8/19/13

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Fun at Camp 2013

And fun it was, unlike last year when there was a lot of this...

Rain, rain, go away!

Not so this year, the weather was spectacular!  There was a whole lot of this...

Clear sunny skies and warm temps.  Oh yeah!

There was some rain on Tuesday but we took advantage of it to shop the sales in No. Conway.  

Scott and Trevor joined us for three days, enjoying a variety of water sports,

On their way again once the spider massacre had been completed

 

a little baseball

Swing, batter, batter

and some quiet, bonding time.

Trevor has gotten really tall and swims like a fish.

 He did, however, grow weary of having his picture taken ;o(

Hello Mr. Grumpy Pants

After they returned home, Bill and I had a few days to ourselves to just chill out, read, eat and relax.

We took a trip around the pond in the kayaks and even tried the paddle boards that David and Paula brought up.

 

Tunnel to the other pond

Not great form but I didn't fall off ;o)

One of the best things about this camp is waking up in the morning with the pond at your feet, the sun coloring the sky as it starts a new day and the fog that settles over the water during the night.

I love sitting on the water's edge with my coffee watching the fog make curley-ques in opposing directions.

Greg and his family arrived late Thursday afternoon to help us finish out our week.

Diva pose

Wendy even stopped by on Friday afternoon.

It was a great week, looking forward to next year!

 

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

There's always an outtake or two...

oohhh, too close!

Whoa, I'm not ready

some of us heard "funny face" and some of us didn't