A Man and His Fish

Eben and I went to Maine for the first part of the holiday weekend to visit my parents.  Saturday was pretty low key.  We played some home run derby, which to Eben's chagrin, I won. We lounged around and explored the new garage.  That night we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie, which was a fun.  It fell right into place after the earlier three.  I really liked that they didn't try to pretend that Harrison Ford was thirty years younger than he is.  

Sunday Papa came home from a week long fishing trip with his fire department buddies with 5 fish (the legal limit).  He got one salmon and four brook trout.  He's going to get the largest trout mounted, but the remaining four became dinner.                                                                          

To minimize a lasting fish smell in the kitchen and because the weather was beautiful, we opted to grill the fish.

The salmon was cooked on a cedar plank which gave a nice woody, smokey flavor.  The small trout was seasoned with just salt and pepper, while the two larger trout were breaded in a mix of Cajun spices.

 The cedar board was soaked for several hours before we cooked on it, but it still caught fire.  The flames actually seared the skin on the fish nicely, but we kept a spray bottle of water on hand to put out the flames so the board and fish wouldn't burn completely.  (Eben climbed down from the tree he had been lounging in for this photo op.)

Garlic butter carrots, lemon garlic asparagus, and Eben's fresh squeezed lemonade accompanied the fish for our  backyard, screen house feast.  All three fish were yummy.  I think my favorite was the small trout with just salt and pepper.  I don't remember ever trying trout before, but I now know that I am definitely a fan!

Dinner was followed by a highly competitive game of spades where Eben and I were ultimately beaten into submission by my parents.  

It was a fun weekend!  Since I normally have one day off each week, to get three days in a row off was amazing and just what I needed!  

Tomorrow, I'm off to France!

More Friends!

This morning Dela and Corduroy were riveted in the kitchen window looking at what appeared to be the sky.

Upon closer inspection, they were looking at our next door neighbors' gutter.

There were two little heads poking out from the gutter looking down at our kitchen window.

After at first thinking they were rats, I realized that they were two baby squirrels (you can't see their tails in the photo, but we did see the fluffy little things when they were moving around), and they were just as interested in the kitties, as Dela and Corduroy were in them.

Turns out they were actually two of four babies living with their mother in a nest which is probably a collection of leaves in the gutter of our neighbors' house.

(If you click on the photos you can see them much larger)

We're surrounded by animals. Pretty awesome!!!

Meet Garden

We have a new family member in our Somerville menagerie.  Granted he lives outside in a large hole in our tree, but we welcome him all the same.  We call him Garden.  Our first sighting was during Simon's visit.  Simon thought we should name him Gordon, but 'Gordon' through a Scottish accent comes out 'Garden'.   It stuck.

Meet our raccoon Garden.

Middlesex Fells Reservation

The Vespa has opened up a whole new world for us.  On the weekends that we're not already busy, we've taken to looking at the map, finding green spaces, and hoping on the Vespa to explore.  Two weekends ago, we discovered the Middlesex Fells Reservation.  It's just two miles from our house, but it is two miles north, a direction we never seem to go unless on the highway.  It's a huge forested area with several reservoirs, a pretty brook, and a large pond.  We stuck to the east side of the park so we were unable to get close to the water (you have to keep a certain distance since it's the water supply for the surrounding towns), but I think you're able to swim and canoe at Spot Pond on the west side.
There are many miles of mountain bike trails throughout the park as well, and both Eben and I really wished we had mountain bikes that day.  The forest felt like it was on the cusp of blooming.  Here and there you could see bursts of bright green young growth on the forest floor, but the trees were still holding out.  The birds were enjoying the promise of spring and were singing happily which made for nice atmosphere (if it weren't for the hum of interstate 93 in the background we would have felt much farther from home).   Little brown and purple buds we on the tips of the trees ready to unfurl into tiny baby leaves.  In the two short weeks since we've been there, I'm certain there's been a dramatic transformation from grey and brown to bright spring green.  We'll have to go back soon and compare!

Playing Hooky

Last Thursday Eben and I skipped work to spend the day with his friend Simon (it's a huge feat to get Eben to miss work during the week, so you know Simon is extra special!). He was visiting us from Scotland following this semester's med school finals. It was really great to meet him since I've been hearing for the last two and a half years that Simon is one of Eben's 'favorite people in the whole world!' He lived up to his reputation and was a wonderfully fun and kind person.


We had a great time showing him around. We took the canoe to Walden Pond in Concord and went for a paddle. While crossing the pond we enjoyed the sunshine and the surprisingly clear water (I guess it's not warm enough for most algae just yet). We visited the site of Emerson's house where he wrote 'On Walden Pond'.
I usually go to Walden in the summer for a swim, but have never been there this time of year and it was disorienting to the see the forest pre-leaves. Leaves or no, it's really a beautiful spot for canoeing, hiking, bird watching, swimming, reading, or just relaxing outside the city and now that we've bought a year pass, we can go more often.
Speaking of swimming, the boys went in; I did not! The water was probably around 50 degrees and there was a hearty wind that day. Since I was wearing my sweatshirt and had a towel over my legs while in the canoe, I decided that swimming was not a good idea for me! Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful day, but it would have become quite unpleasant for me and my companions had I gone in the water. I'm happy to report there were no cases of hypothermia and that we spent the rest of the afternoon hiking around the pond.