Early June Days

We made fruit-juice popsicles, a refreshing treat for these warm, humid days.

Nature painting. Nathan collected pine cones, sticks, rocks, and greens from around the yard, and we used them as fun paintbrushes.

Sunday was the beginning of strawberry-picking season here since it rained quite a bit on Saturday. At Lyman's Orchards we had to dig around for berries since the season is not in full swing yet. Nathan was a great helper and enthusiastically filled his own quart. I heard Peter say several times to Maya: "Only the red ones. Red ones. Just the red berries," which is very funny because Maya is still learning her colors. She knows ripe berries when she tastes them though, and we feasted on small and sweet berries for dessert tonight.

A quick stop to stretch our legs on the Mark Twain House grounds since we were picking up Indian food at a nearby grocery store's lunch counter. When we drove by the Twain house a couple of years ago, Nathan pointed and asked, "Is that a madhouse?" This afternoon he said, "Oooh, a haunted house!" Nineteenth-century travelers had similar, astonished reactions to this remarkable, over-the-top home.

Recently the Twain house added a modern visitors center on the property, and we made a quick tour of the gallery. The modest and inviting Harriet Beecher Stowe home is located across from the Twain home.