North Carolina

So exciting that Paige and Dave decided to rent the old Taber place to spend a week. It was great to get back to No. Carolina and visit with family and old friends. Matt, CD's cousin came down from the farm to spend a few days. He's cool and super relaxed, it was great to reconnect with him. Living here feels so far from all the family back East, so it is always enjoyable to see them whenever we can.
We enjoyed many beautiful sunsets, walks on the beach, boat rides (even when we got pulled over by the Coast Guard), searching for shells, eating shrimp, water skiing, attempts at fishing and kite boarding, and good cheer all around. We also saw a few critters: dolphins, sand crabs, dune bunnies, an osprey, pelicans, plovers and lots of other birds. Plus a giraffe?
All still shots here.

Wenonah's maiden voyage

The new canoe was in dire need of hitting the water, so we headed to Stone Lagoon for its maiden voyage. We also wanted to do a little reconnaissance on a boat-in only camping area for a future weekend!
It was a calm and gray day:



CD with the gear including his fly fishing rod:



Out in front using the super light graphite paddles, they make paddling so efficient!


We made it to the other side, by the ocean. Somehow Stone Lagoon is a freshwater body of water, even if adjacent to the sea- something to do with the water table, I presume.



It was fun to have the beach to ourselves...







... and some birds, of course. Here, a heron eyes us suspiciously



An interesting succulent on the dunes



CD tying a fly on his line



Oh, the ripples!

Jason visits for Mothers day again!

Somehow Mother's day weekend seems to be Jason's favorite time to visit. I agree, spring in Humboldt is a great time for relaxing and getting out of busy, busy Seattle!

Beers at the Shanty:



Even though the grilling season had already started for CD's birthday, we tried some new things like grilled lettuce- yummy!

All the grill action:

CD's birthday

CD's birthday happened while we were down in the Bay area, so we decided to postpone celebrations for a week.

He received a great gift from Paige and Dave: a beautiful, light weight canoe! It is awesome!
Here it is all ready to go paddling!



CD also got some healthy blueberry and strawberry plants for the new planters he built.

This should finally dispel the myth that I can actually garden. I feel like for a few years now I've been telling myself that I can garden, but every season is the same: CD is always more attentive about watering and taking care of our outdoor plants. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to give up- but credit should be given where it's due! He's the gardener and I hope to be the harvester of those berries!

Holly and I racked our brains for a good theme and we decided to go with "Squares" aka, the Nerd Party. CD had turned 36 which is a square of 6 (6x6=36) and being the math geeks, we rolled with it and so did CD! We played some games, grilled some food and had a great time!

What a square! (or a hipster?)



this year, I went with carrot cake with cream cheese frosting



Spruce St Nerd roster
Maggie



Carl



Craig



Holly



Nerd-ware: CD's actual glasses from 1987, my jokeshop bottlethick glasses and in the background, one of Holly's R2D2 earrings. Nerds can accessorize too!