UMass Haitian Creole Institute

I could alternately title this post my three weeks of self-imposed insanity. I love the Kreyol course, but juggling two jobs and a husband while taking a 3 1/2 hour class that is every evening M-F can be pretty stressful. But yesterday I think I found a way to recharge.

UMass never has chalk for the classrooms, there is no food on campus after 3 PM, and the architecture is stern brick and suspended walkways. But the views are spectacular. The campus is on a peninsula that stretches out into the harbor. A harborwalk winds its way along the edge of campus, providing a space to run, bike, or just relax.

Across the way you can see what I think are expensive apartments.

And here was my little study spot. Sea breezes fought off the summer heat, sea gulls played tag in the air, and waves created an ambient backdrop to studying.

The only thing that marred the scene were the airplanes flying in towards the airport. They get so low you can make out which airline they belong to. Still, it is a lovely space to study and just spending thirty minutes there works better than any coffee. That is, if I could find coffee on campus.

Beaverbrook Nature Center

The next day, Wythe, Rebecca, Dan and I followed my aunt and uncle to the Beaverbrook nature center in NH. My aunt works there during the week teaching classes, but on the weekends she and my uncle busy themselves building a wigwam.

Before walking out to the wigwam site, we explored some of the beautiful gardens at the nature center. And of course took lots of flower photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rebecca and I each took a crazy number of photographs.

Uncle Jon and the poppies.

After exploring the garden to until the boys almost exploded with boredom, my aunt and uncle headed out to the wigwam and the rest of us went for a short hike. We walked down a fairly easy path to Bouchard Bridge, which overlooks a swampy area. 

Then we walked over to the wigwam construction site.

They had already gathered saplings for the frame, but Uncle Jon needed to cut some of them down to size.

Then, after digging a post hole, they set it in the ground and one of them holds it in place while the other person bends it over the structure and secures it.

 

Both Wythe and Dan helped out a little. 

 

 

And then Wythe took a break to pet Lily.

Lily was the happy camp dog.

After a bit, we hugged Aunt Kap and Uncle Jon goodbye and headed out to a local farmers' market before heading home. 

They had beautiful plants for sale.

And a cute little ice cream place by the parking area.

After purchasing more things than we needed, we headed back to the highway and went home.

Weekend in the Countryside

This past weekend we went up to Uncle Jon and Aunt Kap's and brought along Wythe and Rebecca. Though the weather was rainy all weekend, it was still great to get out of the city and relax. The rain also perked up all the plants, so Rebecca and I went a little crazy taking photographs of flowers, the garden, and chickens.

But first, my aunt and uncle took us on a tour of the yard, showing us all the new plants and catching up.

We strolled around taking photographs, talking, and enjoying the break in the rain.

Their garden in the backyard was green from all the wet weather.

Uncle Jon couldn't resist working in the garden a little before we moved on.

We went to the barn to look at the chickens and horses.

The horses were pouting that their favorite hangout was roped off to dry.

And then I took tons and tons of flower photos from all the blooming plants in my aunt's gardens.

Memorial Day in New England

For Memorial Day, Dan and I decided to explore Massachusetts. So we headed up to Lexington and Concord to walk around and enjoy the day.  Given their historical importance to the Revolutionary War, they seemed like nice choices for celebrating the holiday.

Lexington

Lexington was our first stop of the day. We found a little deli to eat at and then walked around the town. It was a beautiful day for exploring and relaxing.

These gentlemen are dressed in Minutemen attire. They were coming from a celebration on the Green that we had just missed.

 

This memorial is to those that died in the Revolution. Lexington was the site of the "shot heard 'round the world" so there are quite a lot of plaques and memorials for Revolutionary soldiers. 

For example, here is another memorial to those who died. Apparently the first killed were buried within the gates of this obelisk.

A Minuteman statue. He looks out onto the town, forever watchful.

Closeup of the pansies just because they were so pretty.

This belltower was destroyed by a storm, but was rebuilt in 1910. It was used to signal to the Minutemen when it was time to fight. It used to be on the Green, but was later relocated to a hill above the town.

On our way up to see the belltower, Dan pointed out a rabbit along the path.

After walking around for an hour or so, we hopped in the car and drove to nearby Concord.

Concord

Right by the parking lot was a beautiful old cemetery. I took a few seconds to take some quick snapshots. 

We missed the festivities in Lexington, but arrived just in time at Concord. They were announcing names of Concord residents who had died in service of their country. Vets stood at attention in front of different war memorials with wreaths in hand. 

A local bagpipe group played a few patriotic tunes.

And then the Concord Minutement saluted the fallen with a gun salute. 

 

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Fire!

 

They were standing in front of a cemetery where many of the actual Minutemen were buried.

Afterwards, the parade continued with all veterans in the community marching through the streets. 

 

 

 

There were some WWII trucks that were pretty cool. I had to take a few photos. 

 

 

America... 

After the parade, we explored some of the antique shops and walked around. Concord is a quaint and cute little town and it was a nice place to spend a relaxing Memorial Day.