A damp, drizzly November

And like Melville’s Ishmael, where else would my meanderings take me but down to the sea?

From mushrooms to marshmallows

Look what our Canuck friends brought us, fresh from the organic farm:

We grilled some for dinner tonight, and after the 9 of us ate, there’s still a ton left. Mushrooms for every meal! Hmmm. Omelets, quiche, salad, spaghetti….such pleasant brainstorming.

Low tide today drew us to the seashore again. With a superabundance of energetic kids and sunshine, there’s no place better than the beach. Here are some of our finds:

After dinner, the marshmallows were simply begging to be taken out and roasted, so we very kindly obliged.

You know it’s a full day when the kids need 2 full scrub-downs within 8 hours. Or when you’ve sat down with the latest New Yorker 4 different times and never made it past a page turn.

Cello lesson #17

My lesson with C.F. was encouraging yesterday; sometimes I just have to consider my lessons with him as intensive practice. Whether I’m ready to acquire new skills or really need to go over and over certain passages, I count the hour well spent if I’ve been making music.

Oh, and I wanted to show you what happens when you don’t practice enough:

I think the spider web doesn’t show up, but boy, this little guy was trying to weave a fast one on me!

Happy B-day K!

Our vivacious, cheerful 10-year-old:

Sunday stroll at the Bloedel Reserve

I’ve heard it’s one of the island’s gems, but hadn’t visited before today. The Bloedel Reserve is tremendously beautiful, burgeoning with native plants and birds, coming alive with spring and the promise of summer.

We saw a very regal-looking heron:

and a sleeping swan:

Here’s K. and S. under a magnificent magnolia:

Here’s Grandpa D. and S.

Here’s part of the zen garden:

The skunk cabbage was rife, ripe, and redolent:

Fiddle for a Friday night

Pegasus Coffee House here on B.I. filled up its charming space tonight with folks who came to listen to 15-yr-old Hank Veenstra play his fiddle.  He’s a talented kid, and a serious and focused performer. This was my first visit to Pegasus, and no surprise, I love it. Cozy (=small and warmish when packed) and host to a diverse audience (age range was all over, but probably averaged in the 40s).