Faire and More

This past weekend we went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire. A yearly tradition we love to fulfill. We had some time to kill before the gates opened. We saw the largest Space Marine we had ever seen.
We took in a tour at the Jelly Belly facility in Kenosha. Saw some jelly bean art.
My parents were along, enjoying the ride on the Jelly Belly train ride through the warehouse.
The weather was great at the Faire. The temperature was in the high sixties and sunny, a lot better than the typical August heat.
Waiting for the glass blowing demonstration.
One of our favorite parts of the Faire is the food. Sooooo good... The artichoke is very delicious.
There are a few rides, but the neat part is that they are all human powered.
While waiting for the jousting event to start, we had a dragonfly visit us. He landed on my hand, my Mom's hand, and my Dad's hand, before taking a long rest on my Dad's hat. He sat there for about 15 minutes.

Eggs Again

Someone in our flock has started to lay. Almost everyday for the past week, there is an egg in the nesting boxes.
Has it been you?

Walks With Maggie

The past few weeks Zachary and I have been going for walks. It forces us to get out of the house and get a little exercise. But actually, they are quite enjoyable. We are always looking forward to the next one. Maggie loves them as well. She loves investigating scents, especially when we are in the woods and she can be off leash and run the trails. Maggie is in her senior years, but she is a young spirit on our journeys.
Queen Anne's Lace in full bloom along the road sides.
Maggie is usually several yards ahead of us in the woods.
Leashed, for her own good, on the road.
Surveying the alfalfa field for turkeys, deer, and/or other critters.
Purple Loosestrife, a pretty, but invasive species, blooming in the swamp.
That same alfalfa field, cut later in the week.
Clover blossoms.
This is our favorite tree in the woods. It is a large Maple that stands alone in the forest. Even when I was younger, there was always a natural clearing around this tree. It is an odd sight, but a beautiful one.
Years ago, before my parents own the woods, someone tried to cut into the tree. The scar remains, but the tree continues to thrive. There is something enchanting about that tree.
Maggie and Zachary take a breath.

A Real Bee

A few days ago I caught a real bumble bee in the flowers.

Drywall!

Last week the pros came in and finished the drywall portion of our remodeling project. We wanted skip-towel texture in the bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. The bathroom just needed the texture redone. We are planning on putting wainscoting on the bottom half of the walls.

Bumble-Quee

Queequeg, our cat, was recently investigating a vase filled with cut Tiger Lily blossoms in our bedroom. She ended up with a face full of pollen. Luckily, this furry bumble bee has no stinger.