Day of Dates

We could not lie today if we had to, that we indeed live near Boston (for now).

We started out the day watching a little bit of the boat race, also known as 'Head of the Charles'. Thousands of people flocked to this event from many far away places, but for us, we were able to walk down to the river, found a grassy spot to sit, and watched the strong crew teams whiz by. The day was so beautiful, autumn at its best, so we had to drive out to Lincoln one more time to see the foliage, and say hello to our wonderful playground, Blue Heron Farm.

We didnt' stay out there too long. We had dates to attend in the afternoon! Claire with her Daddy, and Momo with me.

Jim was the doctor on call for the Boston Ballet today. He gets two free tickets each time he has to 'work'. Today's show was La Sylphide, at the Boston Wang Center. Of course, he wanted to take his darling daughter Claire with him. She was so excited that she wanted to get dressed and ready for the show at seven this morning!

Momo and I didn't have such a sophisticated plan, but it was a good one, nonetheless. We walked into Harvard Square, and took the subway train into Boston. We had lunch at Legal Seafoods before visiting the New England Aquarium. Then we reconvened with the other half of the family at the Boston Public Garden where the Make Way for Ducklings
reside. We saw the swans, climbed a tree, played in the dirt, admired the changing of the season, before taking a taxi home (that in itself was a treat - no carseats - and crazy Boston cab-drivers).


Could we have been more Bostonians today? Short of walking the Paul Revere trail, I think we maximized our life in Boston pretty well today, at least for a young family like us.

Just for you

The kids and I tried to find the best maple tree to photograph so that we can share this beautiful fall day with you.

When we found just the right tree, they were sound asleep in the car, tired from the fun they had at the Fall festival at Blue Heron.

The thunderstorm last night cleaned up the air, and the sun came out just in time for the first annual harvest festival to raise funds for the farm's irrigation.

The kids had a blast on hay rides. They painted pumpkins, and ate yummy pumpkin treats. The farm was in full swing: music was playing in the flower labyrinth, the chickens were frolicking in the woods (afraid of the hawks flying up above), new friends were enjoying lively conversations.

It was a fall day in New England as you might imagine. Short of sending you fall leaves and warm cider, we hope you enjoy some of the photos we took just for you!

French Onion Soup

This was the first time that I made this soup, surprisingly. It was very easy to make, and quite tasty, if I may say so myself.

Organic purple onions, and leeks from Blue Heron, good french baguette from Iggy's, and fruity-tangy gruyere cheese from France.

A perfect fall soup, except that it's 70 degrees and rainy outside...

Collecting

The leaves are really changing colors now, and falling, naturally. We walked around our block this afternoon, collecting pretty maple leaves, amongst other things (rocks, sticks, dirt). We came home and pressed them in one of Jim's big heavy medical books, and also made leaf mobiles with them.

Fun afternoon

I made a new friend, Mama. Claire told me as she walked over to me at the playground. What's her name, I asked. Anna, said the new friend. Come, Claire, let's play! Anna was far from being shy. She had two other sisters who joined in the fun. Momo didn't mind being the only boy. They all had a blast, as you can see in these photos!

Berries and things

A prelude to the holiday season... But we are in no rush for that time of year. Really!


We are not even in a rush for Halloween... Remember last year's?

Rainy Day Exploration

Momo wanted to ask Ellery whether frogs hibernate in the winter (from our little conversation in the car before we got to the farm today). The rain had been coming down off and on all morning, and it continued that way while we were at Blue Heron. While none of us were too sure about the answer to Momo's question, Ellery brought up the idea of vernal pools (something I had not thought about since I left New England many years ago).

She went on to tell us that there is one such pool on the farm. Can we see it, the kids asked. Sure, said Ellery, let's put our rain coats on! As some of you may know, our California boy does not like to wear anything that is not mandatory, or really, essential. So he tried to get his way out of wearing a raincoat. Then we can't go, we said. And we won't get to find frogs, we said. That was good enough to make him reluctantly put on his (new) raincoat.

The four of us walked along the circumference of the farm property to go find the vernal pool. Surprisingly, even in the rain, the kids did not complain, or wanted to be picked up. The thought of finding something new was so exciting to them that they forgot about the walking itself.

The vernal pool lies just beyond the gourd and pumpkin fields. It's dry right now, of course, as it is recovering from a very dry summer. Yet there were ferns and moss and lichen growing at the bottom of the pool, giving us a glimpse of what this place could become in a few months time.

It is hard to believe that in just about 5 months, around the spring equinox, this pool will be filled with water, and will become home to many frogs, salamanders, newts, toads, and who knows what else. We will make a trip back there at that time, and report our findings!

Brother-Sister

No stories per se. They were just loving each other. May they come back to these photos some day when they are all grown-up, to remember the good times they had together on this day.

Family Weekend

Great fun family weekend with grandma, grandpa, and even Daddy took a day off! More stories to come!

Ristras

These ristras are too pretty to just blog about on the Blue Heron Blog. Ellery and I made them today, decorating the farm stand, transforming it into a little New Mexican hut.


Many customers were smitten with them right away. How can you not be? Bright red peppers, hanging in a neat row, absorbing the late afternoon October sun. New Mexico or Massachusetts, they will make any of us happy!

Colors of Fall

Though the days are still warm, the trees know better. The Fall equinox has come and gone, the squirrels are munching on acorn, and the leaves are turning vibrant colors before falling down to go back to where they came from. Nature has it so that the last burst of life is firey, and warming. The reds, oranges, and yellows of the trees and leaves are about to give way to the browness of early winter. Until then...enjoy these colors!

Sunday

Started the day at Blue Heron where they played with old farm tools, picked raspberries, and had lunch in a wheelbarrel.



Then we went to wait for Jim at a railway station in Lincoln (Jim had to work in Boston this morning, so he took the commuter rail out to meet us - he didn't want to miss the surprise!).



After the excitement of the train and picking up Daddy, we headed to the Decordova Museum just down the road to surprise Momo with the train exhibit they have going on there. We checked out their outdoor sculpture park, ran around a bit before collapsing in the car from a full and fun day.