Thursday, June 9: Katie, from Bobolink Yarns, came to our Thursday Knit Night last week at 6 Loose Ladies in Chester, Vermont. Bobolink does breed specific yarns, often from farms that breed for meat, not spinning and knitting – wool that often has gone to waste. Every participant got a goodie bag (except the last thing I need is more yarn!) and could sample examples of several yarns. The shop was packed, and because it was a special event, more effort than usual was put into the food for the evening. I’d made cheesy cream puffs and deviled eggs, but my favorites were the tarts filled with brie and cranberry, made by another knitter.
And why am I a week late posting this, you ask? Because I left the next day for a week in Maine, where I didn’t have internet, and my cell signal was too weak to use as a hot spot!
I’d not met Florida soft shelled turtles before.
I started to refer to this group of sandhill cranes as the “Crane Gang.” They are mooches – and the neighborhood feeds them, so they are very comfortable around humans. Not that I believe that’s a good thing, but it certainly made taking their photos easy!
And maybe if we knock on this door, they’ll feed us! 
I should have a photo of the chocolate basket; I didn’t think of it!
And there is still some color on leaves – 
From left to right: seared tuna with pickled fresh cucumber and perfectly cooked brussels sprouts/red pepper/sweet potato; crab cakes with the same vegetable mix and slaw; chip encrusted fillet with smashed potatoes and slaw. All of the food possible is sourced locally; they call this casual dining, but there’s nothing casual about the food! Robin joined us when not needed in the restaurant. Then we went to where she was living, got the Roadtrek in a level place in the level driveway, and darkened a couple of windows so the neighbor’s lights wouldn’t shine in. It could have been quieter – in this tourist catering community, most seem to work late, then visit, and it’s clearly mostly young people. Oh, well!
and then on to the Bodie Island Light Visitor Center, toward the northern end of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Top on my list was to put kayak on water, in a relatively protected area; Marilyn wanted to walk the beach. The Pea Island NWR had a place where I could put in among lots of grassy islands, on the eastern side of Pamlico Sound, and Marilyn could walk across to the dunes, and the Atlantic. The best of my couple of hours worth of photos: 
This was a wonderful place to kayak. With all those islands to wander among, and all the waterfowl, it was definitely the right choice for this moderately windy day. When I’d loaded up the kayak again, we walked back across the road and through the dunes to see the Atlantic, both there and further down at another beach access. 
And pushing them back is a constant job. 
A little further south, we stopped at the Salvo sound-side access; I clearly had chosen well to have gone where there were all those islands! Not that there was too much wind here; it just wasn’t as interesting. 
We stopped and checked in with Robin and Otis, and because Po House was closed, had to consider where else we might eat. We thought we’d go to the southern tip – and made it to Frisco, south of 
before we turned around. It was getting dark, we were getting hungry! We ended up at Diamond Shoals Restaurant for an excellent meal; apparently the chef admires what Po House is doing. Not as classy, but I ate every bite of my crab cake stuffed grouper, leaving only the sweet potato to box for another meal. Back to Avon, parking this time in a neighbor’s driveway; darker, and this night, quieter.
And then I invited my nephew to join me for dinner in Maryland; we met half way between where I was staying, and where he lives. My crab pizza was delicious, but not particularly photogenic. His salmon, on the other hand, looked amazing –
Saturday, May 18: Was this the first Brattleboro Farmers’ Market of the season? It was a glorious day, and Marilyn and I headed down to the market. In addition to the many interesting food stalls, where we had lunch, there were plants,
and products:
There are lots of marshy islands covered in old cattails – and swarming with red-wing blackbirds, all calling, and warning all their cousins that I was coming. 
Out to the West River, where there are bridges to the west and east:
geese, 
and a wild blooming apple tree on the upstream edge of an island
as I paddled up and under the I-91 bridge to the west. It’s new, and very elegant. 
Turning around for the return to the cove, God was blowing smoke rings! 
Back to the car, loading up while we watched the local eagle soar, and we took the back roads home. One stop at 
where Marilyn bought plants for her garden, and I admired the scenery and flowers.
As we continued, the apple orchards on the hill were just starting to bloom, with a pink haze: 
Mount Ascutney was often visible ahead. 
This Windsor chair maker had at least 30 examples – all different forms, with some repetition of finish. They were not cheap, ranging in price from $300 to $550. I picked up local strawberries and a pair of earrings before moving on down the road.
Going upriver, I was never out of earshot of the ospreys. They were nesting, calling, fishing, calling, sitting, calling –
It was my plan to explore every nook and cranny, but plans changed when I realized that the noise coming from this heavy machinery was not conducive to peaceful paddling! 
Continuing on, I went around this island. On some maps, it is still attached to the mainland; I wonder how long it will remain standing, given how small it has become, and the lack of support for those trees.
And back to my waiting Roadtrek, 
and to Maria and Tim’s. Maria and I drove up to Richmond; on the way home we stopped for dinner at 
The chef has created some of the most imaginative food combinations I’ve met. Maria’s soft-shelled crab tacos were topped with slaw with mango dressing; there was not even a crumb on the plate when she was done. 
I had excellent crab quesadillas, and the only thing that could possibly have made them better would have been the addition of avocado! They weren’t as photogenic, though.
I wasted no time loading one kayak back in the Roadtrek and heading the short distance down the road (passing the neighborhood little library)
down to the local public access on the Potomac River: 
And out on the water, after putting my shoes (which had instantly filled with sand) in a shoe locker, of sorts:
Going upriver, I had had my sensibilities offended by a bright orange piece of trash. I stopped on the way back to pick it up. 
Other than that piece of a child’s toy, it was very clean along the beach. I walked most of the uninhabited length of it, peering over the sand dune to a marshy pond area, as far as we can tell, unnamed. 
The Roadtrek is a very patient beast, and puts up with sitting at a lot of launches for us to return from paddling!
Back to the cottage, for some food and a shower and a check of e-mail before heading down to visit with Maria and Tim, and their daughter Cay. We headed out to dinner that evening to 
Apparently the restaurant is part of an oyster raising company, so the oysters are definitely not only fresh, but local! Above our table:
View from the table: 
Now you know where it is, if you are in the area and want really good, really fresh seafood!
Soufflé by Bill – Friday night dinner
So no. No paddling yet! There are a few patches of open water between the solid icy spots, and spring is coming –
A Year of Kayaking 