Summer Fun

 Wednesday 7/21

After a lovely coffee with Janice, I packed up my bike and headed to Southbury to spend a day off with Theresa. I took the backroads down, stopped for blueberries to go with the lemon cake I brought, and enjoyed the country scenes for the afternoon. Theresa made shrimp with veg over rice for dinner and we had a nice visit with John and Craig. They are both working guys now, which is so different to the little boys they used to be not so very long ago.

Thursday 7/22

Thursday Theresa and I headed to Hammonasset beach. We got on our bikes first and rode through the park, then headed onto the greenway bike trail through some woods. The final part of the journey took us through Madison to Guilford and the East River State Boat Launch. Lots of Osprey and other shore birds had me snapping photos, but a kid catching the strangest looking fish on the West Wharf really grabbed our attention.





After the long ride back to the parking lot, we were too tired and hungry to sit on the beach, so we headed to Lenny and Joe's for lobster rolls and wine. And water. Then we headed back to the beach for another hour or so to enjoy the wonderful weather and the beach. 




Theresa made sausage and peppers for dinner and we had a few games of 'washers' before calling it a day. 

Friday 7/23

Since Theresa had to work, I headed out for home on a very meandering path. My first stop was Millerton NY where I had avocado toast at the diner while I mulled over the bike path or heading to Innisfree garden. The weather was so nice, that I opted for the Harlem Valley Trail bike path heading north out of town. It was a great choice. I was only going to ride a couple of miles, but ended up going 10 miles. The scenery is lovely.



Next I headed over to Innisfree Gardens because I love a nice garden. I tried to appreciate the pocket garden concept, but the concentration on hardscape with minimal plantings soon lost its appeal. It would really take some effort to do better than Nature in terms of landscaping, and though it was admirable, I focused on just going round the lake and enjoying the woods. Only an hour was spent here and I won't be back anytime soon. 



After gassing up and grabbing a drink and chips, I headed north to my last stop. I figured a beautiful day wandering among outdoor sculptures was a perfect ending to a long travel day.
Art Omi has been on my list of places to visit and I can now check that off. I really tried to like it, but my logical, scientific mind, the sopping wet paths, and the modern bent of the 'art', had me heading for the exit after about an hour. Art is supposed to make you feel something or inspire you, but all I was inspired to do was to take the rusty inner works of a sofa bed, plant it cockeyed in the yard, hang a teapot from it, and call it art. There were a very few pieces that I appreciated, but so many more had me going, Huh? I was sure I would pick up a parasite or two slogging through the muck, and the bugs were not deterred by my bug spray. Not a great visit!



One more stop a Sammascot Orchard for blueberries and a way too hot peppery spanikopita and my journey was done. I always love getting home.

My favorite day lily.



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