Life Well Lived

Last weekend was our 45th wedding anniversary, which I was surprised to learn was the Stainless Steel Anniversary. After the new refrigerator was delivered early Thursday afternoon and reloaded with the contents, which had been temporary stored in iced coolers, we packed up and went over to the Lanesboro cottage. 

In the evening our friends Laurie and Debb came over and picked us up for an evening at the Old Village Hall. It must be a couple of years since I have seen them long enough to really talk. We had a wonderful meal ... and apparently it was their turn to pick up the bill. It was a joy to spend the evening with them.

We have never had off-street parking at the cottage except in the back alley which is really too far to lug suitcases. Friday our neighbor Jody Solberg dropped a load of crushed rock on our wide boulevard and Butch Culbertson drove his skid loader up the hill and leveled it for us. I know it is a small village, but what they charged was a ridiculously small amount. Thanks to both of them we can now park vehicles in front of the house.

Lorna spent a lot of time in the sun, catching up on her reading in the backyard and pretty much ignoring a couple of deer that were cleaning up the fallen crab apples. There were some strong breezes and the weight snapped off a fruit laden branch. As I know well, it's sometimes tough being an old tree bearing a heavy load. 

There are quite a few village deer that live across the hill and in the woods below the cottage. Last Fall a friend looked out our window and counted 27 trotting through the neighborhood. They are regular visitors, twice a day, often enough that they eat most of our potential perennials, and vegetables are pretty much out of the question. After Lorna came in the rest of the clean up crew showed up. There were nine deer in the yard, but as anyone who has tried to get group shots of people, say nothing of animals, know how hard it is to get them to stand in line. They generally ignored my directions. And then there was the issue of Dustin's lawn tractor in the picture. The lot lines are a little vague in the village so he takes no chances and generally just parks it on our side. 

I did notice that in the past couple of weeks the fawns have pretty much shed their spots. This one is down to a handful on her rear haunches. I say "her" - to me they are all does unless they can generate antlers and prove otherwise.

Here is some shots that just seemed right. Pickled beans in the cupboard, apples on the table and a bicycle in the living room. Sweet. 

 And now the obligatory foodie picture. There is a rough menu scratched on the blackboard, but if things are not hectic you can turn Brett loose to operate. It was early, before the tourists were awake, and only a couple of tables of locals. We each ordered a "Brett surprise". It's always a treat - today he made us scrambled eggs covered with (I'm guessing) capicola, feta, spinach, caramelized onions, shredded cheese and whatever else. It went quite well with strong coffee and newspaper. Lorna also ordered a large cinnamon raspberry roll to go. Just in case. 

At noon we walked down to the trail head for the Taste of the Trail. We sampled the food, watched some friends singing as the Rhubarb Sisters, picked up a couple of pulled pork sandwiches and hiked back up the hill to pack for home. 

 Back home this afternoon. Roosevelts tonight.