Fishing

Took the girls fishing on Sunday. It was great! My oldest caught her first fish, just shy of 2.5 years old.  This was my youngest's first time out and she looked like a pro after five minutes.  She's got until mid-July to best her sister's "first catch" record.  Game on!

Brookwood Community Farm Pancake Breakfast and Plant Sale

 

My girls and I headed out pretty early to Brookwood Community Farm, on Saturday. It was a perfect spring day, sunny, not too cold nor too hot. The CETMA earned us a slew of beeps and waves along the way. A fellow rider even asked to snap a photo.

 

The route we chose to ride took us through the Blue Hills, which presented us with a fairly lengthy and steep climb.  This is why I installed a triple chainring with mountain gearing, folks.  We made pretty good time, as it took us just over half and hour to travel the six and a half miles to the farm.

We were able to roll right in to line for pancakes, unlike the cars which were directed to a parking lot a quarter of a mile away.  I love when that happens. Really, I do. The pancakes and cider were spectacular.  My oldest ran into four or five of her friends from pre-school and they had a ball roaming the farm together, blowing bubbles, climbing trees, digging in the dirt and playing frisbee. 

Brookwood sells organic flower and vegetable plants.  I filled up a large flat with a few varieties of tomatoes, peppers, zuchini, yellow squash, herbs, geraniums, butterfly weed, nasturtia, sun flowers, and more.  Brookwood was humming.  Everyone wore their smile.  My favorite part of riding up the Blue Hills is being able to ride back down the Blue Hills!

On our way home, we decided to stop off at Houghton's Pond. As it turned out, it happened to be National Take Your Kids to a Park Day. Score.  Mass DCR was on hand with nets and clear containers for the kids to use to scoop critters from the pond. The girls caught crayfish, tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs and snails.

Mass Audubon was on hand with live owls and turtles.  It was neat.  My youngest LOVES owls.  She kept "whooo whoooo whoooing" to the owls, expecting a conversation.

 

After hanging out on the playground for a while, we decided to head home, again, when I received a text from a friend who lives not far from where we were headed.  So, we swung by.  Fireman Dave is a new dad.  He was out in the yard planning this year's garden with his little boy.  The girls were enamored with the little guy. 

The sky started to darken and we decided we should beat it back home.  As we hit the bottom of the hill, my rear brake cable snapped.  Lucky for me, there's a brake on the front wheel, too.  As we were only half a block from Fireman Dave's house, we turned around for some aid.  FD came out with an assortment of wrenches, pliers and a third hand tool.  There was just enough of the cable left for us to fudge the rear brake connection to at least get us home. 

Today, we'll be planting some seeds, readying beds for more daylillies and installing a new cable, maybe some new brake pads on the CETMA.  I hope you're enjoying this weather, too.  Oh, and Brookwood Farm is selling plants today, too.

Ride of Silence

 Tonight, I rode in Boston's Ride of Silence, held in honor of the five cyclists killed on our streets in 2012. BostonBiker has done a nice job of reporting on these tragedies. It was drizzly and overcast; It seemed fitting. We all wore white. There were police officers on bikes from Boston, Brookline, BU and other nearby communities. We rode in silence, uninterupted, from Government Center, down Comm Ave, and then back, escorted along the four mile route by police officers riding motorcycles and bicycles. 

I didn't think I'd be overwhelmed, but I was. It didn't take long. Once I'd arrived at the designated starting point, I almost lost it. I thought of the five cyclists and their families.  I thought of my family. I thought of how I was hit by cars twice last year. How horrible it must be for those poor families. I nearly lost it again. I thought of the daily near misses.



I truly hope we've no souls to ride for next year.

Team Big Orange Bike!

Hi there, Sophie, Clementine and I will be riding either 25 or 40 miles in our CETMA Largo as Team "Big Orange Bike", on June 2nd, in order to raise funds for Bikes Not Bombs. This will be Clementine's longest ride yet! This is a big bike. It has a plywood box. The kids will be my cargo. People will say we're crazy. Please, sponsor our lunacy as generously as you are able. We appreciate your support to help us each reach our fundraising minimums. Thanks!

JP Bikes Spring Roll Recap

Bob has the best stereo in Town.

Awesome Day!  Yes, it was a bit wet, BUT, we had a ton of families show up to bike a nearly four mile route, despite the weather!  Special thanks to our sponsors:  JP Bikes, the Boston Cyclists Union, City Feed, Whole Foods, Harvest Coop Market, Fiore's Bakery, and Ferris Wheels bike shop. Plenty of more pictures on my Flickr Set, for ya!


Picking up the grub.

Barely raining at all, right?

I'm really proud of these families!

Flower Girls

Didn't think my girls and I were going to be able to make it out to the Wake Up The Earth festival, this year. When a friend called at the last minute to see if we'd be up for loading up our Largo up with flowers to hand out to strangers, while riding in a parade, my calendar remarkably cleared up.

On our way to the parade, my youngest tried her hand at flyering for next weekend's JP Bikes Spring Roll.

The girls had a great time handing out flowers.

As did I.

Loved watching people dance on stilts!

Lemonade and a nap for the ride home.

JP Bikes Spring Roll 2013!

Always a great time! Come join us on Mother's Day for a child-friendly paced ride in JP. We'll have bike decorations, refreshments, a bike rodeo and a police escort. Hope to see you there!