Shortcake and Daiquiris

It's strawberry time and the picking is marvelous!  I brought along my stool, as well as the box I bought for $1 a couple of years ago.  I'll be darned if I'm paying an extra dollar every year to buy a box!  

Anyway, I set my alarm for 30 minutes so I know when to stop picking, otherwise I have no idea how long I'm there.  Then, after 30 minutes I look at my box and think "that's not very many" so I pick for another 15-20 minutes, then I look at my box and think "wow, that's way too many strawberries".  I'm going to write myself a note for next year "STOP picking after 30 minutes and WALK AWAY!"

I picked nearly 10 pounds of berries and spent $22 ($2.25/#).  That will make a lot of daiquiris and  shortcake!

A perfect specimen

10 pounds worth

I always joke with Bill that everywhere I go, I'm underdressed.  I rest my case!

My once-a-year daiquiri was good but had a lot of foam, I think it's the new blender.  And I need to remember to add sugar along the rim, before I fill the glass!  

The shortcakes were delicious.

I gave some of the berries to Lori, as well as Wendy & Dan.  I will be putting most of the rest in the freezer.

I stopped to check out the blueberry bushes on my way out.  They are loaded!

At least I know where to go if ours don't produce well.  

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Arrived at the gardens in Boothbay just in time for lunch.  We ordered from the outside window and enjoyed our meal in the veggie garden.  It was nice and warm and the food was okay...nothing special but pricey!

From there, we walked and walked and walked.

 Giant alliums...

 I love this rabbit...

 and this rock labyrinth...

We brought home a nice map of the gardens but I can't find it so my descriptions might not be the best.  Oh well...

This was an area of dogwood trees, all in bloom.

Lady slippers... I've only ever seen pink ones. 

We walked down the hill, passing these ferns

and this sculpture

on our way to this reflecting pool and meditation area.

I think this might be my favorite area of the gardens.  The Sheepscot River is in the background.

Everyone should go to the gardens looking like a butterfly!

We passed the Fairy House Village, where you can build a nice fairy house.  

This sculpture is titled "Mother Earth".

We reached the azalea and rhododendron garden just as it started to RAIN!

and then it POURED and we were as far away from the visitor's center as you can get.  Needless to say, we were soaked by the time we walked up the hill, and everyone knows I HATE BEING WET!!!  Put a bit of a damper on my day but by the time we got inside and went to the bathroom, it stopped, so we visited the places we missed before heading home.

The Children's Garden...

These wolves are made of metal and used to be along the entrance road but it is being upgraded so they have been moved into the gardens.

This reminds me of fireworks...

Proof that it rained...

Soaked and still smiling.  He is such a good sport.  Me...not so much ;o(

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)

What's for Lunch?

We headed into Portland for the Greek Festival and ran into a good friend, James Vander Schaaf, Anna's husband.  We enjoyed spanakopita, Greek salad, good conversation and memories of Anna.  

We brought home some baklava and Greek wedding cookies for later.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

A Friendly Surprise

Our friends, Archer and Karen Ann, are returning to Maine for the summer from Florida.  They were supposed to leave Sarasota a couple of weeks after us but unfortunately, they both suffered some medical issues which prevented their leaving until this past Tuesday.  They should arrive at their condo in Kennebunk on Saturday.  They have a short amount of time before heading west for a river cruise along the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  I thought it might be nice to spruce up their front garden so they had a little summer color when they arrived and didn't have to try to get some plantings done in their short window of time.

I picked up some impatiens and got them planted today.  Hope they like orange.

It was a fairly small area and 24 plants filled it nicely.  Now for a little rain!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Back Cove Walk

After Bill's Dr appointment, we chose to walk the 3.5 miles around the Back Cove in Portland.  It was HOT, 90ish but with a good breeze, it was tolerable and we did remember to bring water.

Lots of these iris blooming; they are so pretty!

It took us over an hour to make the loop and we really only stopped to use the port-a-potty (ugh) and take a couple of pictures.  There is a kind of Ninja Warrior course on one side of the loop, looks like fun but I bet it isn't.

These were just a couple of the half dozen or so obstacles and this was the short wall.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Riding to Bug Light Park

After weeks of cold, wet, cloudy, dreary days, seems like summer might have finally arrived. Although it was predicted to be in the 90's, we took the bikes and headed for Wainwright Fields in Scarborough for our first bike ride of the year.  From there we rode to Bug Light Park, one of our favorite destinations.

It was hot (90*) but there was a good wind blowing, at about 10-12 mph.  We stayed for about an hour, having snacks and enjoying the spectacular day.  When we are in Florida, I forget how beautiful the coast of Maine is.

The ride back was a lot of work, pedaling into the wind but we enjoyed our afternoon.  This field of tall grass blowing in the wind was a lot prettier than the picture...

These flowers were blooming in bunches all along the trail.  I call them wild Sweet William but I'm pretty sure they are called something else.  

We also saw one of the 100+ cruise ships coming to Portland this summer, lots of flying kites and could hear music from the Old Port Festival.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)