Picnickers

To cap off a glorious, warm spring day (dig the 79 degrees!), Rob, Olive, and I joined our new friends, Katrina and Shauna, for a picnic down the street. There's an open space on the grounds of the King Estate, a privately-owned historic manor seven blocks from our home, that has sort of been turned into a dog park. Tall trees encircle a grassy bowl of lawn - perfect for spreading out a blanket and enjoying a light dinner on a sunny Sunday evening...

The Goon happily explored her surroundings, becoming more adept at navigating the unpredictable grassy terrain, though not the puddles. At one point, she ventured off the sidewalk and aimed to walk through a puddle whose depth was deceiving; down she went and waddled about in muddy shoes and britches for a while afterward, till Rob stripped her of her overalls and we were left with my favorite: a pantsless Goon (my camera battery died before I could capture footage of those darling bare legs). She was fearless as she independently wandered down the hill to the base of the bowl. Rob went to snatch her before she rounded a corner, never to be seen again, and brought her back to join the party. We dined on local turkey-spinach-and-cheese sandwiches, apples, celery and peanut butter, Shauna's maple walnuts (wow), and oranges, and Katrina and I learned how to play Hearts on the lovely floral playing cards Shauna brought. It should be noted that Katrina and Shauna are fellow market employees who work across from me at the Clarion River Organics stand, and happen to live three or four blocks away. Both are delightful, interesting and fun gals (and Shauna's husband, Cornelius, is a dear, too, but is usually working at a men's shelter in the evenings when we're all getting together), and we've been taking advantage of our proximity to each other by playing games, cooking dinners, biking to and from work, and visiting art galleries as often as we can. Katrina's going to babysit Olive in a few weeks when Rob and I go to a concert, and I'm glad we've got someone who she knows and likes (and whose name she can pronounce: Kat!). It's great to know people who enrich your lives the way they do, and I'm feeling pretty fortunate to have fallen in with them.