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On Saturday we went to the Dutchess County Fair.  It was Sarah’s second visit, having gone on Wednesday.  She would have been perfectly happy to attend all six days of the fair.  Sarah is a particular fan of the rides, including the above-pictured Hamster Dance.

She also bungee-jumped.

And, of course, she faced off against her dad in bumper cars, in the tradition from time immemorial.

For me, the best part of the fair (other than the 4-H milkshakes) is the animals.  We saw these piglets and their patient or weary mom.

We saw the always expressive goats.

And we saw beautiful flowers, such as this dahlia.

The culinary arts tent was somewhat less gratifying.   No one entered a better non-pectin jam, or marmalade, than Jen.

But the East German judges did not award a blue ribbon in non-pectin jam, or a blue or red ribbon in marmalade.  Anyone who has sampled either of Jen’s entries would find these results to be outrageous.

Back at the farm on Sunday, this heron was anything but nonplussed by Daisy’s barking at it.

We had a somewhat more restful vacation last week.  It started with a huge thunderstorm Saturday night, which knocked out power for eleven hours and also knocked down Jen’s rhubarb patch.

Jen rebounded by making rhu-berry jam.  She held a tasting to select entries for the Dutchess County Fair.

We climbed the Stissing Mountain fire tower.

Even Sarah made it to the top.

We celebrated our fiftieth birthdays.

Sarah is nearly as tall as her grandfather.

We spent a week at the farm, with enjoyable activities occasionally punctuating conference calls and document review.  Here’s the view from the fire tower at Ferncliff Forest, which Jen and I surmounted after lunch at Grieg Farm, where we got on the outside of a couple of very good BLTs.

The aforementioned fire tower.   The key is not to look down, or out, but rather to gaze unfixedly into the middle distance.

We had our annual visit from John Harris and his boys, whom we dragged on a hike.

We saw this red-tailed hawk.

Sarah spent the afternoons in a dance class at the Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center.  On Friday they gave a terrific performance for the parents, with six numbers tracing the history of Broadway dancing.

Sarah returned from camp, got a haircut and her ears pierced, and now looks 25.  It’s nice to have her home!  She starts pony camp at Southlands on Monday.

On Saturday Sarah had a sleepover with her friends Anna and Lucy.  Jen and I had dinner with Ivan and Elizabeth at The Corner, Brice Marsden’s restaurant in Tivoli, followed by a performance at Bard College by the Wynton Marsalis Octet (preceded, to our surprise and delight, by four different student jazz ensembles).  None of this kept Jen from staying up late and making blackberry jam.

Last weekend was our 16th anniversary.  We celebrated with dinner at Le Petit Bistro, the French restaurant in downtown Rhinebeck which, for whatever reason, we had never before visited.  On Saturday we took a picnic lunch to Mills Mansion in Staatsburg, just south of Rhinebeck, where we were married.

Here’s the view from the lawn where we had the ceremony and reception, in a monsoon.

Back at home, Jen did what she does this time of year: make jam.

We celebrated Independence Day with a long weekend at the farm.

While Jen gardened, I spent some quality time on the tractor.

We watched Chuck and company build a new mud room porch.

We marveled at the bizarre fungi growing on our trees.

And we spotted a bunny or two.

I guess this is more appropriate for Mother’s Day than for Father’s Day, but this red-eared slider dug a hole for her eggs right in front of the door to Jen’s garden.

They say there’s always good fishing after a rain.  When Daisy and I arrived at the farm on Saturday morning (Jen and Sarah were on a Caedmon alumni canoe trip in Narrowsburg), we found it cold and wet: 55 degrees with a driving rain.  Eventually the skies cleared, and we saw this heron fishing for a late lunch.

Things brightened further when Jen and Sarah turned up.  Jen and I went to the Northern Dutchess Botanical Gardens to find some plants for the garden.

This strawberry plant came with a head start, visible at the tip of Jen’s right index finger.

We were smiled upon by one of the NDBG’s photogenic frogs.

The Ravens played their last game of the season — perhaps their last game ever — on Sunday against West Point.  They played an excellent, spirited game against a very tough opponent.  While they did not prevail, they should be proud of how they played as a team.

Jen cut a few peonies before we left.

It did not actually rain on our parade — including Rhinebeck’s mind-boggling assortment of fire trucks —  although it threatened to do so.  Sarah marched with the Rhinebeck Ravens, likely for the last time.  The team will not continue after this season.

All of the Burleighs visited for the weekend.   We would not have minded a little rain as we watched the parade from the covered front porch of the new home of our friends Guy and Maya.  They were out of town, so, technically, we were trespassing.

It was a very hot weekend.  Sarah swam in the pond both Saturday (with Jen, Rinda, Lewis, and Erica) and Sunday (with fellow Raven Maeve).