independence day; grasshoppers & ants

canada lily

Independence day weekend. With the warm weather and another day off, there really is the feeling that anything is possible. I remember last year, Allyn & I went to New Hampshire for the long weekend. We goofed off the entire time. I remember seeing people working hard during that same period of time, however. When I got back to work on Tuesday, I heard that one of my co-workers had helped bale 1,200 bales of hay. I really did seem like a grasshoppers and ants kind of holiday. 

This year Allyn is in Ohio with her mother. She has been gone for almost a week, and won't be back until Sunday. There is a certain adolescent sense of independence that rises up. When I take off my shirt at night, and decide to throw it on the television, who's going to stop me? There are things that need to be done nonetheless, and I'm trying to balance my ant and grasshopper mentalities in some form or fashion.

Friday evening: As soon as I got out of work, I climbd all the way up White Rocks, looking for twinflower. No luck. Stopped at the Tinmouth snack bar for an ice cream on the way home. Afterwards,  Pete & I went to a star gazing party at Castleton State College. We got home about 1:30.

Saturday:I slept in late, and went out to the Scanlon Bog in Brandon looking for twinflower and other semi exotic species. I thought I was going to ooze to the bottom of the bog at one point when the water started to come in over the top of my rubber boots. No luck on the twinflower. During the afternoon I worked hard on my wood pile, and brought down two loads of wood. 

Sunday I got up late, and did some laundry. We've had a new washer for about a year, but it was the first time I've been allowed to use it. Did two loads of laundry, and it didn't blow up. Don't know what all the fuss was about. I also mulched Allyn's garden, and brought down another load of wood in the steamy July heat. Drank almost two quarts of cranberry juice afterwards. The ants would have been proud of me.

Today I got up about 5:30, and drove two hours to the Chickering Bog in North Montpelier. Allyn & I went to the same place last year on our way to N.H. Because last spring was so warm, and this spring so cold, there was a different variety of plants. As I was approaching the bog, I noticed about three blooming twinflower. All the rest had gone by. Found one other flower I had never seen, Grass Pink.

The grasshoppers were very happy. Came back and mowed, again in the afternoon heat.

The weekend is winding down, but there are still a couple of items on the grasshopper's agenda. As soon as I finish this, I'm going over to the Tinmouth snack bar with the Blodgetts. If it's clear  tonight, Pete & I are going to look for M's 2, 30, & 52 among others. All in all, a good weekend.