Concrete flowers
I love plants that seem to grow out of concrete. As usual, I have no idea what these flowers are but help in identifying them is welcome.
Ladybug (family Coccinellidae)
I have always liked ladybugs. For some reason they make me think of my mom. Looks like this one is drying out one of his wings. / I seem to be spending more time out on the deck following the progress of the tomatoes and herbs. Everything is still growing nicely. This beetle is sitting on the thyme enjoying the morning sunshine.
Essex Salt Marsh
Peter and I both had doctors appointments in the Boston area today, so we decided to head up along the North Shore for some clams. We have been to the Clam Box in Ipswich and wanted to try something new. Dr. O suggested Essex and we checked out Farnham’s first and decided to give them a go. This is the view from the picnic tables just off the parking lot. Very cool and windy today; lovely light and the clams were perfect. So far, our favorite location.
Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
This is an amazing year for the Mountain Laurel. Some years it barely flowers, and some years it is nice but nothing special. This is the best I have seen it in a very long time. The woods are alive with it. In fact, this whole Spring/Early Summer has been interesting. Everything is flowering like crazy, and we have had 2 black bears in the past few days. On Thursday a smallish youngster and yesterday morning its mother. She was huge and looking to come up on the deck to have a go at the bird feeders. I was bummed to have to bring them inside. The hummingbirds have been draining their feeder every few days and I had just started to see the rose breasted grosbeaks. Oh well, I’ll still try to hang them during the day and hope for the best.
Dragonfly
Cris and I went for a walk with the Pearl this afternoon. This dragonfly landed on her hat and was kind enough to hang around while I took some shots.
We Won! (fourth place)
Last Saturday at the Amherst Farmer’s Market Cris bought a raffle ticket for the 4th Annual Fort River Celebration Day Rubber Ducky Derby. It was in support of the Hitchcock Center and the Rushing Rivers Institute. Hey, $5.00; goes to a good cause. On our way to the event today she couldn’t find the stub from the form, but she thought our number was 426. When we got to Goff park, we checked the list and we were actually #258 which is a favorite number of ours. I was kind of impatient for the off, and as usual making rude comments to Cris. The organizers were telling all the kids to make lots of noise during the race so once the ducks hit the water, I started yelling 258 258 258 258…….Cris got as far away from me as she could.
We hadn’t seen our entry before the race and from a distance they all looked the same anyway. Once the winners were collected and brought to the shore, the organizers (with great fanfare) announced the winners. #251 came in first, then second and third were announced. The prizes were things we didn’t care much about, but 4th prize was a free canoe or kayak rental from Adventure Outfitters. Then they read the number and it was……258! We yelled like we had just won the lottery and as we were the only winners present, got a huge round of cheers.
So here’s the winner. They gave it to us to bring home. Some of the paint has worn off, so I am guessing this isn’t its first race. I like the Islands motif. We went to the ABC after and each had a Guinness to celebrate.
Smokey Bear
Cris and I used to joke about this. I have always argued that his real name was Smokey Bear, and she insisted that it was Smokey the Bear. I still think I am right, and this billboard could prove it. / It is very cool and windy today; much different than the wild weather of yesterday.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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