Work Picnic Weekend

This weekend, we decided to enjoy the summer whilst it lasted and went Kayaking in a local lake near Germantown. This time, we explored a different part of the lake, and continued our slow and steady progress steering. We only went in a complete circle once whilst going straight, which was a large improvement!

Towards the end of the explore, we saw this section full of trees sticking out of the lake. Yet another reminder that all of the local lakes are man-made.

Saw this guys climbing out of the water and enjoying the sun. There were a lot of downed trees for him to perch on. Probably due to beavers.

Also this weekend, work had a picnic at a local Farm barbecue. The amount of food cooked was amazing, with row upon row of grills:

Chris and Sarah's trip to England (Part I)

Sarah and I headed back to England for my brother's wedding. Taking time away from a busy schedule, we managed to get a quick trip around Henley on Thames (where they have the Henley Regata), which was lovely:

It also had a great cake shop, which Sarah greatly appreciated:

The wedding was near (very near) to Wales, home of some of the best castles around. As we were in the border region, there were some amazing examples here, and we spent a day or two exploring some of the ones in our area. The castle at Raglan was one of the best:

We also ventured up some ever narrower lanes to visit some more out of the way castles. here is me looking relieved after reaching a particularly difficult to reach example. It was on the way to this castle I discovered the little-known Welsh tradition of upgrading a single track lane to a two way road by painting a dotted white line down the middle.

The end of an experiment

As we prepare for a short trip back to the UK, we realised that out plants might not survive at 90F without us. So, we instituted the only sensible response:




We gave the plants a solemn farewell....



All in all, I rate this experiment a success. Everything survived and we even produced a chilli and 12+ tomatoes. Next year, we will attempt to take another step toward full self sufficiency.

Just remembered, one plant is still thriving....



Ok. Off to the UK.....

Schaeffer Farm Trail

This weekend, we took it slow, as I was recovering from a cold/touch-of-death. I think this was bought on by hardy American viral strains.

Despite the blocked up feeling (why haven't we cured the cold yet?), we went on a walk around Schaeffer Farm Trail yesterday. This was a lovely little walk on a mountain biking trail near our local park. They've done a great job making a trail full of features for bikers, and there were loads of guys zipping past us on speedy bikes.

The trail is located next to a corn field; and reminded us to look out for local Maize Mazes, like the great one in Cambridge.

This week, we also harvested our entire chilli crop, prior to us heading off to the UK. It was an arduous process, harvesting the chilli's, preparing them and storing them for the winter. It felt very satisfying after the effort, love and attention we have put into our chilli plants, and the harvest (shown below in all its glory), shows that all that effort was well worth it:

We will be using this crop as a spice for a long, long time. I think we are very well on the way to a self-sufficient lifestyle.

Scrabble

By popular demand, here is our scrabble board from yesterday. This was the first game I won, after a long streak where Sarah has won every game.

Day at Goddard Space Center

Due to a spell of intense heat, Sarah and I decided to stay indooors the weekend. We headed to the Goddard Space Centre, where they build satellites like Hubble. They had a cool globe displaying all the data they have collected over the years, which Sarah was studying to learn more about our plant.

Meanwhile, I was pretending to be an astronaut.

Braving the heat, we also headed out to a concert at Wolf Trap to hear Dar Williams and Eddie from Ohio play. It was a great evening, and the Wolf Trap theatre is really fun at night.

Eventually the heat broke in a crazy storm. Unfortunately,I was outside at the time, and Sarah wouldn't let me in.

All in all, a good weekend. Had Pizza for tea.

After the Earthquake: The Survivors

Following the Quake, and glad to have survived, I went online and checked the damage. Apparently, a 3.6 earthquake isn't that big at all, according to the USGS. I filled in the post-quake report (along with 21,000 other people), and there are some nice graphs and pictures of the intensity people felt the quake at and distance etc. I love graphs.

Anyway, this weekend we headed out to Great Falls again for a quick walk before it got too hot. We walked along the canal this time, and took a detour into the woods to see the Potomac.

Sarah had a prop up a tree, perhaps damaged in the quake, to let us pass:

Also, this was some rather odd quake related damage:

On a more serious note, the Potomac here has washed away much of the soil in some regions, and its particularly crazy of regions where the rivers course changed and washed away forested areas. Here is an amazing example of a tree that has survived:

Back at home, and one of tomato plants is putting all of its effort into producing a crop of tomato's before it dies from heat exhaustion.

Our single chilli is also ripening:

So; crops to come. Whilst waiting for this organic harvest, had baked beans and frankfurters on cheese and toast for tea.