Memorial mansion.

The sun finally did come out--just in time for a stunning Memorial Day weekend. I took a walk around downtown Portsmouth before meeting a friend for a drink at "the decks," and caught the Governor John Langdon House looking stately, and yet, a little bit wonky as well. The fence slopes downward with the road, making it impossible to line things up, but I actually kind of liked that... It seems to give this otherwise very serious historic site, a more "fun" side as well.

Fun fact: George Washington slept here! :)

May flowers.

Lately, it has been a struggle for me at times to maintain my generally sunny outlook, and the non-stop rain these last few days is not helping matters at all... But the upside of all this rain and gloom is that the garden is doing amazingly well. Everything is bursting with color--this photo absolutely does not do it justice. I'll try to take some more, if it ever stops raining...

Trash talk.

This past weekend I was invited to go on a Saturday morning canoe trip down the Cocheco river. The group that organized the trip provided everything: the canoe, paddles, PFD, and a great little barbeque at the finish line.

The catch? We had to pick up as much garbage as we could along the way. What a beautiful morning it was! Sunny, approaching 70 degrees and who knew that there was this lovely little river peacefully winding its way along behind the highway and its attendant sprawl? It is amazing what a zoned minimum 300 foot buffer zone can do towards preserving the natural peace of an area.

Unfortunately, it cannot prevent people from throwing their garbage there. Along the way, we saw 6 tires, 5 propane tanks, and filled our trash bag with innumerable soda and beer cans and bottles...

They Might Be Giants!

I just got home after seeing what will likely be one of the best local shows of the year... Amazingly, They Might Be Giants kicked off their 2007 tour in a little NH Seacoast town called Newmarket, at a swanky little nightclub called the Stone Church because... um... it is actually in a renovated church made out of... stone.

Anyway, the show was just great! I'm looking forward to picking up some of the new songs I heard this evening when they are released next week. There was one about Mesopotamians that seemed especially catchy...

Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me bring my camera inside, so you'll have to make do with a picture of some sea foam that the Nor'easter washed up a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!