Apple Picking

Last weekend, we went on a short apple picking expedition. Well, not really an expedition: there are just short of a million PYO (Pick Your Own) operations within spitting distance of our house, so it was more leisurely jaunt than a true expedition. (And after picking the apples, NorthernMommy made up some apple crisp - and then we ate it all in about twenty minutes. The resulting sugar coma is why we're posting a week late...!)

Levi was all gung-ho about picking apples...."just point out some of the lower hanging ones for me, Mommy!" You can see below that he believes in the full-body tackle mode for removing apples from the tree. Daddy hoists little man towards the upper branches...

Compare the previous photo with the picture below: the lower one was taken on last year's apple picking outing - almost a year to the day. Can you believe how little he was?! (He was a heck of a lot lighter to carry around then, too! At least he's walking/running on his own now.)
A moment of repose. Or maybe digging for worms. Either way, we don't care: he wasn't running all over the place - we're all about moments of stillness - love 'em! (even though they're usually only 'moments'- NorthernToddler doesn't stay still for long; too much to see and do!)

To the victor go the spoils...after a fierce battle with the orchard, Levi muches on the plunder. (And, yes, he ate the whole thing - stem, core and seeds, everything....even though we tried to tell him not to eat the core)

Needs a haircut and a face scrubbing, but he's still our adorable Northern Baby.

Northeast Nationals

The NHRA Northeast Street Rod Nationals. Long name for, "CAR SHOW"!

Levi and I hopped into our awesome custom Chevrolet Prizm (it's custom because the muffler is held on with a piece of baling wire) and cruised over to the fairgrounds to strut our stuff......just pulling into the parking lot, we knew our ride wasn't going to turn any heads - some of the cars in the general admission lot should've been in the show!

As we kick off the picture parade, I want to make sure our readers notice that the first picture has NB/T in it. The post covering the motorcycles at Shelburne Museum was criticized for showing too many motorcycles and not enough Levi. (But I see him every day - not so motorcycles and street rods!) He's faking the smile: it was overcast and in the low forties as we walked among the cars. Northern Daddy was cold - Levi had on fleece lined overalls and a sweatshirt(and a winter hat, until he pulled it off and threw it at a shiny car one too many times).

We saw several hundred custom automobiles, and decided that this one is the one that Northern Mommy would most like to drive on a daily basis (yeah,...that's a winter car for sure...!).

One of my favorites. I love the old-style cars with curving fenders and acres of grille. And metal - I like cars made of metal. New cars these days have too much plastic - and no character. This car has plenty of character - and a price tag of over $50K.......

Daddy - make that one go VROOM! Levi was polite enough to look at the colorful cars, but his real interest was when a barely-muffled V-8 barked its way through the fairground. Every big block that rolled past, he was watching real close - and grinning his face off!

Seeing one perfect classic truck after another didn't help to convince me that I don't need one.

Enough with the cars, get me French Fries!

All of those cars, all of the noise, and Levi thinks the bleachers are the coolest thing?!

Last Sunday, we had lunch with another family in our church at their house.(It's Northern Mommy's fault - she's making friends. If it was up to Northern Daddy, we woulda had some nice grilled cheese followed by a nap...) Our new friends live waaayyy out in Westford. I know you don't know where that is, but trust me when I say it's out there. Technically only fifteen miles north of our house, but in the middle of farmland that is itself in the middle of nowhere! That said, I liked how far out their house is - less people to annoy you!

We had a tasty lunch, and got to talk and check out the homestead. There was a horse and pony to see, chickens to chase around the barnyard, and a great big old tractor to sit on. Look! Pumpkins!

This picture isn't related to the ones above, but I just can't resist posting a picture of a grinning Northern Baby/Toddler!

Climbing, Snakes, and Angle Grinders

Last Saturday, as Northern Mommy was at a cross country meet, Northern Daddy was watching NB/T. If you've already looked at the photograph, you might be wondering just how closely I was watching him. Honestly, I was in my recliner watching him cover the living room floor with toys when he stopped, walked over to the sofa, and pulled the full laundry basket off the sofa (dumping the clothes in the process). His next move was to flip the basket over and, despite my telling him that Northern Mommy wouldn't be happy to see him climbing (it's tough to sound too stern when you're reaching for a camera to capture what is sure to be a great photo!), popped right up and crowned himself the King of Laundry Basket Land. His first official acts as the new King were to proclaim me the Royal Snack Boy and then order up a sippy full of milk and a handful of the Royal Household Treats Known As Goldfish. Up here in NorthernBaby land, there are no poisonous snakes. (There are a few small areas where timber rattlesnakes live, but they are a few counties south of here.)(Oh, and trust me - I ain't picking up anything that looks or sounds like a timber rattlesnake!)

This little guy (or girl - how does one tell?) was cruising across the lawn when we intercepted and detained him for a while. There's a much larger momma snake in the garden (maybe three feet long? Definitely two and a half...) and three or five of these little ones crossing the yard fairly often.




Hi ya NB/T!

And before any of our sharp-eyed readers notice that Levi's in his stroller in our back yard, it's because we had just returned from a short walk down the street - he normally has to walk his own heavy butt around the yard. (And it turns out that the stroller is the preferred method of running down wildlife as it is quick and quiet. --I think NB/T is going to start jacklighting deer from that thing soon!)

Have you studied the above photo? Take a look - see if you can come up with the story....

We (led by Northern Mommy) decided to make an annual set of handprints of NB/T. Plaster of Paris was chosen to be the medium, and Northern Daddy(aka Dumbass) picked a nice cake pan to use as a form. We attempted to line the pan with wax paper to make it easy to remove the plaster, but the paper caused too many problems. The directions on the plaster stated that the form would release as long as the pan was wet when we poured the liquid plaster. Confident in that knowledge, we poured our plaster and had NB/T set his tiny toddler hands into our own little version of a time capsule - and then sat down to wait for the mold to cure.

And cure it did. The mold would not pop out of the pan. The mold would not respond to gentle tapping on the pan. In fact, the mold would not budge even when a large hammer was applied to the bottom of the pan. I hit the pan hard enough to dent/bend the metal - the bottom of the pan was quite smashed. The only thing that happened was the formation of a tiny crack in the top of the mold.

Clearly, this would take some work to remove the mold from the pan. Let me set up a picture for you: Northern Daddy out in the garage with a 4" angle grinder. This grinder is a serious metal-moving machine; it has cut through truck frames in mere minutes, it severs hardened padlocks with a touch - it really cuts! Northern Daddy is so confident that the pan will be removed in seconds that he doesn't bother with clamps or safety gear, he just starts grinding. It took FIVE minutes to remove the pan from the plaster. Who would've thought that a cake pan would be so tough?! All the way around the bottom of the pan - that didn't do it. Had to cut through the side of the pan.....and as soon as the metal of the pan came apart, the plaster inside exploded into multiple pieces...!

There are a few things that Northern Daddy is taking away from this episode: Number One is to try making this mold again, but using a disposable foil pie plate. Number Two is that he is in need of a new quality cake pan.....(Grandma better be careful to hide the bakeware when we visit next!)

Photo Odds and Ends

The NorthernBaby doesn't have any fun stories or grand adventures to share with our readers this week - only some photos to share with you.

Below is a photo taken at sunset of the harbor in Burlington. Some readers may recognize the sailboat as a picture they've seen before. Well, that fella moors his boat in the same spot every year, so I take photos of it as the conditions change. ( I almost think that the city of Burlington pays this guy to moor there just for tourist photo opportunities - this boat never moves!)Pony rides at the Fair - Grandpa Prue really wanted to ride the ponies, but Levi fussed enough that Grandpa gave up his spot so that Levi could ride! Notice that our fearless cowboy has one hand in the air - he's ready for the rodeo! (In fact, about ten seconds into the ride, he started looking around with an expression of, "I've ridden this thing for eight seconds - where in the hell is the bell?!")

This one's for Uncle J....an A/C! (I deleted the photo of the Deere so as not to hurt anyone's feelings....)

Sandbox? Not at our Fair! We have a gen-u-ine CORN box!

Backlit for dramatic effect - NB/T in a rare moment of stillnes at the Stowe concert.

Someday...someday.

No fire trucks to play on at the UJFD fund raiser. (C'mon guys - you're a fire department. You have fire TRUCKS. You were there, the trucks were not!) Very disappointed. Almost so disappointed that I didn't stop to play on the Humvee. I said 'almost' - I'm not going to pass up a chance to get up and personal with a cool military vehicle (well, I did pass on enlisting, so I gave up the chance once...). Here NB/T attempts to turn every knob, switch, and lever in sight.

Tradition - gotta steal a lug nut....

Happy Picture of the Week - Northern Mommy's garden