Taste of Reston

We went into Reston at lunchtime to have a look at the second day of 'Taste of Reston' and have some lunch.  Two years ago we walked there, leaving all ID at home and had to get special permission from the organiser to be allowed a wristband which meant we could sample or buy alcohol.

This time we had the ID but with temperatures rising well into the 30's alcohol would not have been a good idea!  The fountain looked very tempting though.

When we were there it was just the start of the second day and was quiet but it evidently got a lot busier. (Photo borrowed from Taste of Reston Facebook page).

There are many stalls run by local restaurants selling tiny taster meals and demonstrations like this one - sushi making.   This is not our photo, it is again from Facebook but if you look closely we are in the background!

We only stayed for an hour - long enough to try out a few tasters such as smoked pork belly with bitter orange and fennel slaw and watermelon gazpacho!

'Merman' for Christmas

When we were in Boston we looked in the window of the Christmas shop.

It always seems strange to look at Christmas ornaments in warm summer weather, but it is interesting to see the different styles of decorations available.

There were a variety of ornaments based on the Nutcracker soldier figures - here a very patriotic Uncle Sam and several figures in modern military dress.

But what is that at the back??  Have a closer look..

A 'Merman' ornament - one of a large series it turns out - some large decorations like this and some for hanging on the Christmas tree.  I have never seen anything quite like it for Christmas!!

I looked online and amongst the many available there is a British one..

Don't all rush to place your orders or I won't be able to carry them home..

Somerset in Boston

We visited a Clarks shoe shop in the Faneuil marketplace in Boston.

Looking up from the rows of shoes,  the walls were decorated with large black and white images of the old Clarks factory in Street and each pair of shoes carried the Clarks logo with an image of Glastonbury Tor...

It was strange to see images of a corner of Somerset in the middle of Boston.

The adult shoes are quite different to the styles on sale in the UK but there were lots of very cute possible options for Theo..

Late Afternoon Light

Alas, these lovely flowers are not in our garden here, which is mostly just green!

Two weeks ago when I was staying with Mum and Dad I made a quick tour of the garden as the sun was going down.

Some of the flowers almost glowed with the light behind them..

The evening light on the wall..

And lots of light and shadows..

All looking very beautiful!

Overheated Birds?

The last few days have been very warm, hot even, and not as humid as usual.  

This has provoked the same strange bird behaviour that I have previously blogged.  This time it was not a nuthatch but a downy woodpecker - which appeared to collapse in a rather pathetic looking heap.

You would really have thought that it was on its last legs.

Then a sudden recovery..

Moments later it had flown off looking perfectly normal.

The Cardinals are very active and seem to be ready to think about their next brood of the summer.  

The males are resplendent in their red feathers..

And the females are brown but with a little colour at the edges..

Feline Visitor

This afternoon a little silver tabby cat appeared from amongst the trees and sauntered up the grass, upsetting the birds who were squawking loudly.

He (she?) came to the bottom of the steps to the decking and I was just admiring those lovely almond shaped eyes and thinking what a pretty cat, when this happened..

Just a yawn but if you didn't know that, it looks pretty scary!

Fire not Ice

It has been David's ambition for some time to have a fire pit (not a barbecue, this is strictly for looking at and warming by, not for cooking!)

Now his dream is realised and on probably the hottest day of the year - so far at least - he was out putting it together.

Just at the moment it is almost too hot to touch in the sunshine without even being lit but I am sure that it will come into its own later in the year as the days get shorter and the temperature drops.

Yes, the chunks in the middle of the pit do look like ice but they are glass..