The First of Fall

I've had a really crazy few weeks since my last update so this one's a bit late and I apologize. I've done a too much to cover in a blog without it being literally PAGES long so here's a quick summary in photos of the best (and maybe worst) parts of my last month:

The worst part came first when I broke my pinky toe while on a recovery run in Vermont. I stepped down onto a rock that was slanted away from me and slid across it, stopping myself on the rock below with all my weight on the fat, purple sausage in the photo above. Ouch. And even more "ouch" over the last few weeks whenever I've tried to shove it in a sneaker or ski boot. It's getting better though and I've already started running on it some more. 

After my time in Vermont was over I got to spend part of a week at home in NH visiting my parents and grandmother. This is the colorful view from the cut flowers toward the farm stand that my family owns. I LOVE taking pictures there. 

Enjoying a Maine soda on our New Hampshire porch after finishing camp in Vermont. 

The little piggy is all about pumpkins….

Dinner on the lake. Hard to beat the quiet of a late-summer evening on the lake. All the summer vacationers had gone home so we basically had the night to ourselves. It was great. 

Later in the week we went to spend some time on our family's island at the eastern end of Lake Winnipesaukee. Nothing like my feet up on the dock while I…crochet. I've done a lot of crocheting this month but more on that later. 

Kaiya does not like being left out of water activities, especially when it's my mom in the water. 

The trail on our island. 

A friend who stopped to visit and wasn't keen on leaving. 

My shade on a hot, sunny day. Apparently I picked the best three days of the NH summer to be on the lake. 

We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the water. 

Kaiya waiting for a boat ride. 

Fast forward back to Fort Kent, ME. 

Mikaela and I welcoming Hannah (center) to Fort Kent. She's just moved into the athlete house with Mikaela and will be studying nursing at U-Maine Fort Kent, also with Mikaela. 

Our two kitties Luna (L) and Eva don't seem too upset about being in a new house. 

Pinky toe still pretty angry a week post-break. 

Sunrise from our new bedroom here in Fort Kent….not too bad! 

Sunny room for my plants….now they might actually grow! 

View from just down the road on an afternoon road bike ride. That's Canada on the other side…yes, we live ON the border now instead of just near it. 

One afternoon I caught the setting sun shining into our kitchen. It landed on this vase and the flowers were just glowing.  

Recent ammo delivery for our team….apparently bullets come with bows now. 

Racer meeting pre-time trial in Fort Kent. Probably the first ski workout of the fall where I've kept my jacket on for all but the intensity work. 

Cows on a recent mountain biking adventure...

My favorite tree in Fort Kent…it has character, don't you think? 

Crafts have been consuming my free time but it's been mostly crocheting. These earrings were just three of twelve pairs that I took to the Market Street Co-op here in Fort Kent….they're already sold three pairs and requested more! 

Back in early August I got an order for 26 crocheted hats for the Out There shop in Rice Lake, WI. It took me till today to finish them (with some help from teammate Kelsey). 

I broke a hook in the process...

Luna observing my progress from the couch beside me. 

Hats finished and ready to go….

Some photo greeting cards that I also took to the Co-op….these are round two as the first ones starting selling immediately too. 

Harvest is in full swing here in the County and this potato field across the street from our new house has been occupied by multiple trucks and tractors all day. I can't believe how many truck loads (like the truck leaving on the right) have left here today! 

Our next adventure is Utah camp and we'll be there in less than a week so check back soon for updates! 

August is always so busy!

August has been a really busy month so far and it's still not over. Right now I'm resting between sessions at camp with the USBA development and B teams in Craftsbury VT. We're here for a couple more days before returning to Jericho later this week for some intensity on the roller loop. Sunday I get to head home to NH for a few days before making the haul back to the County with Seth in time for the end of the month. 

I discovered a lot of photos saved up on my new camera so here are the best ones from the last few weeks, hopefully in some kind of chronological order! 

A collage from late July (clockwise from upper left) when we got our first zucchini and squash from our garden, participated in the Trail Festival at the Nordic Heritage Center in Preqsue Isle, celebrated Kelsey's 21st birthday with a highly contested game of ultimate spoons and a fruit (and brownie) cake. 

Photo collage from the Trail Festival. Kelsey, Mikaela and I ran the six hour relay race with Sarah (a jr MWSC teammate and aspiring biathlete). We finished with nine laps around the 5+k course for the win in the team category, claiming bragging rights, some sweet Mt. Borah ski hats, and a box of donuts that were shared and devoured quickly. This event usually falls closer to our August races in Jericho so it fun to be able to participate this year instead of sitting by and watching as a volunteer. 

The week after the Trail Fest was the second Maine Team Camp of the summer, this time in Presque Isle based at UMPI. With our race trip to Vermont approaching I stayed home in Fort Kent for most of the week but we did venture down for a single day that featured some running/shooting combos and rock climbing in the afternoon. Here's Omar wowing us all by attempting to rock climb right right after completing a treadmill VOmax test. For those that don't know or can't tell from this photo, our teammate Omar only has one arm!

Right before leaving for Vermont Mikaela and I explored the start of the World Acadian Congress in Fort Kent. The first weekend featured the International Muskie Fishing Derby and someone pulled a huge fish on the very first day, as seen with Mikaela above. It was 43 inches long and weighed a little over 19 pounds. You can read more about the derby here. 

For those who don't know what a muskie is or haven't seen one up close, they have TEETH! I'm pretty sure I'll think twice before venturing into the deeper parts of any local rivers in the near future….

There was also a craft/vendor fair in the Lions Pavillion where Mikaela and I found some of the local Jalbert Youth Program participants! (The Jalbert Program is our starter program for young kids interested in nordic skiing and/or biathlon)

Mikaela and a fancied-up older tractor. 

We got to witness the Bouchard Family making their huge ploye which they then sliced up (with GIANT spatulas) and shared with the crowd. Ployes are an Acadian tradition and arguably more popular than pancakes or crepes around here. 

The same weekend (I told you it was busy) we also helped a local family start their big move to Vermont by packing up their truck with them. Here's Casey puzzle-piecing everything into the truck. 

My two kitties napping together shortly before I left. 

Seth and I are also moving (the house we've been renting sold in July) so I spent a bunch of time packing boxes. Here's Eva trying to figure out why she can no longer get to my spider plants (in the far corner of the porch) to chew on them! 

I think packing up all your belongings leads you to discover things you didn't know you had….here are some random discoveries from the last few weeks: 

Yet another delaminating Marwe roller ski….right now it's taped together with Gorilla Tape and I'm waiting on a replacement shaft. 

Three, yes 3, partially consumer containers of lemonade-flavored Accelerade. We now have just one. 

A heart rate monitor that didn't like having it's battery changed….it works perfectly now that it's all dried out but the chest piece no longer seems to think I have a heart rate. 

Oh so many writing implements. 

Why isn't there a universal cord for everything? 

One last road ride before fall comes. A perfect day with no wind, sun, and very little traffic. 

On our drive to Vermont (we actually go through Canada because it's shorter) we saw a few of these windmill blades making their way west toward Montreal. They're HUGE! This trail was a stretch version that was probably longer than two normal semi trailers! 

A very green view during a road bike ride before the Jericho roller ski races. 

We've had our first chilly weather recently which has made training much more enjoyable again. Here you can't really tell in the photo but my hands got so cold that my fingers were purple under my nails!

Seth did the club running biathlon race last week, taking home 2nd place honors with 80% shooting. 

I didn't know you could take a picture through a scope! Learning new things every day….

My view during the club event…I helped keep track of the shooting scores for the novice category. 

Our roller ski races went alright for me. I had hoped to ski faster than I did but for whatever reason I just struggle when I have to carry my rifle on roller skis. Luckily it's still a winter sport! 

The second day featured a mass start event, making for exciting racing despite the VERY rainy weather we had. Only the top left photo is from Sunday's event. Both days I shot 80% so I was pretty happy with that but will continue to focus on ski speed, specifically V1, as I work towards our next races in the end of October. 

Now we're in Craftsbury and have been using their 8 point range for some focused shooting work. This morning we took to the trails for a run after our shooting work. They have some pretty cool single track mountain bike trails that we're going to explore tomorrow morning, although I'm not yet entirely sure about the narrow, raised-up bridges that are all over the place! 

Our first night in the NEK (North East Kingdom) we took in the sights at the Orleans County Fair, including a highly contested demolition derby. It was pretty exciting! 

I actually went in this thing….what was I thinking? No, I didn't lose any dinner but it was definitely a stretch on what my stomach could handle. Think lots of spinning and a completely altered sense of gravity and you've pretty much got the idea. 

I'll try to bring my camera with me to the range and on some of our training adventures for the duration of the week. In the mean time, make yourself some energy bombs!