Crafts, cooking, and...tan lines?

This photo was taken a little over a week ago on Long Lake in St Agatha...

Now there's no ice left after several days at 80 degrees!

This spring has brought amazing weather thus far. I can't remember the last time I had tan lines before May 6th! Yesterday I joined Seth and Nick Michaud (a MWSC teammate and member of the Bates Ski Team) on a long road ride. It was 80 degrees, sunny and absolutely gorgeous. We did a loop and my left side definitely got some extra sun in the 4 hours that we were out. The next 10 days promise more of the same but secretly my inner New Englander is hoping for a rainy day or two sometime soon. We need it....things are getting dry!  

With the start of May comes the start of training season. Light hours at first but I’m enjoying these easy weeks because I know higher hours will come soon enough. I've been making good use of my extra free time this spring: lots of crafts, cooking and some reading. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you see it) I discovered Pinterest a few months ago. While I would agree that you can waste a lot of time perusing, it's a crafter's heaven. I've found so many neat ideas on there and now I finally have some time to try them out!   

Punching shapes out of paint test-strips to make something and trying out a new pattern for floss bracelets. 

Button bracelets and decoupaging a photo of mine onto a canvas.

A decoupage project: this glass turned into a candle holder!

A Pinterest project....

became this, and 

this. We have yet to decide what to do with them all but they make nice sun catchers! 

 

Today I spent some time upgrading the fairy houses...kind of dorky maybe but I love it. The houses with all the little ladders, porches, and walkways remind me of Swiss Family Robinson. 

Even though we haven't had fresh cucumbers in a long time, I've still been making my own pickles...

Fort Kent's Sunday morning cycling crew...23 riders for the first ride of the season!

Just another nice evening in Northern ME. Love it. 

Adventures in April

Spring has sprung! Well, maybe not entirely up here in Maine, but it's trying. Down in Virginia, where we just went for our third annual "bikation" (biking vacation), the trees are green and the hay is already being cut. They are probably a good month ahead of Maine (especially The County), where word has it that ski season is still hanging on in a few places. 

Trees in VA already have flowers and leaves...

This year we returned to the same region we visited last year but stayed a bit further south in the small town of Weyers Cave. We took both mountain and road bikes and explored the roads of the Shenandoah Valley and some trails at the edge of the George Washington National Forest. As always, because I know they are more interesting to look at, pictures:

It's a long drive from ME to VA: hunting license plates for the 50 states. I think I ended up finding all but 14 states. 

Where we stayed in Weyers Cave...

Fence along the pasture's edge at the farm.

We shared the farm with a whole fleet of spring calves

This guy (and his MANY buddies) lives in the pool on the farm. Not sure who was studying who here....

Another farm just down the road from where we stayed. It's going to be a while yet till anything in Maine looks this green!

 

A huge barn sitting on what was once a battlefield during the Civil War...they picked the most gorgeous spots to fight back then. 

My biking tan beginning to form on my quads...

The boys making things explode. Fireworks.

What was once known as Weyers Cave, now Grand Caverns. 

I had a hard time finding adequate camera settings down there without a tripod, but this was "cave bacon", strips of ribboned stalactites that cascaded down. 

On our way down to VA we spent one night in Gettysburg, PA before completing the drive the following day. 

Seth and I taking a break near some blooming fruit trees. Gettysburg plays host to one of the world's largest fruit processing plants.

Now that I'm back in Maine it's getting close to "real" training season again. Tomorrow we head back to the County to see what's left of winter. Hopefully Mother Nature sends us some warm weather soon. Not that I want to see winter leave (ever) but sun always makes it easier to get going with running season!