TheSwirl.org

Kathryn says: “Today was a fruity sort of day.  The other day we had cut a mess of rhubarb with the thought of making rhubarb juice.  So today, while Eric played with his buddy Trevor, I cut and stewed and strained rhubarb and canned the juice.  The end result was 6 jars of rhubarb juice, which turned out to be a very pretty pink color.

It seemed a lot of work when I don’t particularly care for rhubarb, but Jim says the juice is good when mixed with ginger ale.  I also have a recipe for rhubarb margaritas and maybe he will try that someday. And I must admit there is something very gratifying in looking at those gleaming, filled jars.  I imagine my mother might have felt that way after canning all that fruit she used to do.   Meanwhile, I only used half of the rhubarb we cut, so I expect I will repeat the whole process tomorrow.

After finishing my canning,  Eric, Trevor and I headed into the woods in search of wild strawberries.  I had scouted out three good sized patches when I took my walk this morning.  There were scads of ripe berries and the boys thought it was just too cool to be able to graze our way along.

By the time we got through the third berry patch, the boys claimed they were getting full.  We headed home, at which point their appetites revived enough for bowls of macaroni and cheese as a follow-up.”

We had a very nice camping trip on 13^th Lake. We did not rush out on Friday morning since the weather looked so questionable. We stopped to purchase fishing licenses and checked out a camp on Adirondack Lake that we used to rent.

The lake itself was quite windy and somewhat choppy but we were OK. We got the best site on the lake at Elizabeth Point - a beautiful large site on a point, a rock to sun on and beautiful views in three directions.  There was another campsite adjacent to it, and we fended off a few interested parties so that nephew Mark and his wife Danielle could have it.  I hate doing that, but we did it anyway.  We figured nephew Matt and my great-nephew Nathan could share the large site with us.

13th Lake is a very pretty lake.  It is easily accessible so in years past it has been heavily used and there were other canoes and fisherman on the lake, but it was quiet.  As we were canoeing in., an osprey that had just caught a fish flew right past us, not very high up.  We could see the fish was still wiggling.  It was cool.  There was an American Three-toed woodpecker at the campsite, which was also very cool.

We got there about 2:30pm.  We cut wood, played camp bocci and did some fishing. We saw a monster dragon fly. 

Eric has had a loose tooth for weeks, which finally exited while we were camping. Fortunately he was OK with saving the tooth until we got home.  I am not sure the tooth fairy was prepared for a camping trip.

The others did not get there after 7 (they said they got a late start then ran into heavy traffic).  It was a long wait, for Eric who was anxious to play with his cousin.  By the time they set up and we ate it was dark and bedtime.

We hung around Saturday morning since the weather looked so nice.

Fortunately we left the rain tarp up as we got a thunderstorm and quite a downpour around lunchtime.

We got another downpour when we were almost - but not quite - to the take-out.  So we and all our gear were wet when we got home.

Last night Kathryn and Eric returned from visiting her dad in Rochester.  We packed hot dogs and strawberries and took the dogs on a short hike across the road where we cooked dinner.  Upon our return to the house we saw this deeply colored rainbow which looked like it ended in the fence line.

Eric and I went into leadline classes at the Barneveld Horseman’s Association (BHA) Hunter Show courtesy of Ellen and Trevor. Friday afternoon Eric practiced riding Onyx at a walk and Sunday we joined Ellen’s barn at the horse show to participate in two lead line classes. Eric and Trevor had a lot play time before the classes and it was a trick to keep them clean.

Rachael gave Eric some help tucking his coat sleeves.

Even three year old Maggie was ready to show. Unfortunately she fell asleep horseback as we were all entering the class and couldn’t be wakened to participate.

Eric and Onyx on the way to class.

This is why they call it lead line class.  Believe me- it was a hot day to wear a dark sports coat in the full sun.

The judge asked each rider to drop their reins, touch their nose and then pick up their reins again to determine if they knew how to get proper hand position and length to their reins.

Fortunately the judge didn’t make us parade around in the circle very far.

Eric got a 4th in lead line equitation and a 2nd in lead line suitability along with a candy bar and a model horse.  Onyx got a carrot.  In this picture she is looking for the remnants in my hand.

Eric attended Little Acorn Pre-school for two years: Tuesday and Thursday mornings as a 3 year and Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings as a 4 year old.  Friday we attended his graduation ceremony.  The ceremony consisted of a procession followed by pledge of allegiance and some favorite songs.

Each student received there individual diploma presentation. from Mrs. Nash.

Following the ceremony there was cake and lemonade.  Below Eric and best buddy Trevor celebrate their acheivement.

All in all a very successful day!