Nice slow day here at home… Temperature is rising so I’m camped out in an air-conditioned room. Chai is in here with me too

What a great thing that happened today as we got a wedding announcement from our friends Elsa and Sarah. Like many other folks they had wedding plans that’s a pandemic changed on them. They did it anyway. They’re a wonderful match… Can’t wait to see them in person. Congratulations you guys… Hope to see you soon !

Nite all, nite sam

-me

We decided to take a vacation day and do a little bit of exploring of northern Vermont. After a quick doggie walk… Diane and I pack everything we have in the car to allow for hiking, running, or bike riding

First stop was to drop by the Y cc and talk to ‘Kyle about doggy care .

Next stop is Johnson where we got our bikes up and rode about 14 miles on the lamoille valley rails to trails

It was really nice riding… In the woods and along the river most of the way

When we got back to the car we decided we’d head up to see our friends Lucie and victor. That is always been part of the plan… But we thought we might go hiking too. We were just feeling too lazy. We took the scenic route up there and stopped at a lake near Eden Vermont to have a picnic. The lake is full of frogs and tadpoles and leeches… All very cool

Next stop with Lucie and viktor’s in Richford Vermont. Their house actually backs up onto the Canadian border. It’s such a beautiful place

We sat around talking… At one point we were talking about sharks and I happened to notice a cloud going by… Actually above Canada… That look like a shark

It was fun exploring their land… They have a bout 150 acres. Including a pond lots of berries, goats, flowers, hay fields

And it’s a short shuffle to the actual Canadian border… As always I went up to it… But didn’t cross it out of respect for the law

Around 4 o’clock we said goodbye to our friends and headed home

We love seeing them… We’re gonna come back soon and maybe give them some help on the farm

I got home about 5:30… Got the dogs a walk… And then headed over to Mason for his birthday. He was showing outdoor movies today tonight was Raiders of the lost Ark

Super fun to see her friends there Albiet at a distance

Final stop at the evening was to take ‘Kyle back over to the farm to make sure all the chickens were there. She had chores today. Diane and I got to walk all around the farm helping her look for chickens… They have about 250 of them but they were all closely huddled

What a great full day…

Vermont in the summer is gorgeous… Even during the pandemic

Nite all, nite sam

-me

We got a package from Max and Becky today… Inside it was a note that said “some people take the tiny house thing to far”… And here’s what was in the box : A 2 1/2 inch tall replica of our house that Max had 3-D printed

It was so very cool… I immediately thought of other things we could print in that shape… Chocolate, wax, metal… So cool

It made me think of this Billy Collins poem that I like

Some days – by billy collins

Some days I put the people in their places at the table
Bend their legs at the knees
If they come with that feature
And fix them into the tiny wooden chairs

All afternoon they face one another
The man in the brown suit
The woman in the blue dress
Perfectly motionless, perfectly behaved

But other days, I am the one
Who is lifted up by the ribs
Then lowered into the dining room of a dollhouse
To sit with the others at the long table

Very funny
But how would you like it
If you never knew from one day to the next
If you were going to spend it

Striding around like a vivid god
Your shoulders in the clouds
Or sitting down there amidst the wallpaper
Staring straight ahead with your little plastic face?

Thank you Max!… I love it… I love you

Nite all, nite sam

-me

It started pouring early this morning… That usually means trouble for us as our basement still leaks. We recently hooked up a sump pump that we can pump out her basement when the water gets deep… It’s a major hassle to have to go down there. A couple of days ago I decided to use the home automation we have to try to automate the process. I’ve always had a leak detector down in the basement with signals me when the basement is starting to get water in it. I finally completed a code pattern to turn on the sump pump Whenever there’s Water in the basement. I’m not sure why I never did that before. Anyway that works… But the problem is that without going downstairs you don’t know that the sump pump is on or that it’s working.… So a couple of days ago I use the same home automation to turn on the model train that runs around the top of our kitchen whenever the sump pump is on.

So now when it rains… It trains!

Nite all, nite sam

-me