Bovine Winery

On Friday, Jesse and Aurora were at work, so we did a bit of sightseeing on our own, which probably proves that we need a tour guide, because this is the best we were able to do. They had a wide selection of wines with great labels. Too bad the wine wasn't.

Beef Draft 2010

Jesse has, for the past few years, purchased a grass fed steer and organized a draft to divide it among friends and family. This year he contracted for an extra side of beef, so I went along to the farm and slaughterhouse to pick up and transport the meat (frozen) back to Pittsburgh. We headed northwest on I376 then I76 to Ohio. Jesse's Prius is leading the way.

Loading the overflow into Mr. Toad:

The full Prius:

The farm:

CL, Aurora, the beef, and Jesse (left to right):

A portion of the crowd, getting final tips on cuts of beef and associated cooking techniques from (retired) Professional Home Economist CL.

Prepping for the next round:

Coolers waiting on the front porch:

Decision making:

Our share was about 55 pounds, one very large cooler full. It's great to get this meat, and it was also great to see Jesse and Aurora again.

This was a quick trip for us: Wednesday night was the Sox in Boston, then out to Pittsburgh on Thursday, and back to Hartford for a production of South Pacific at the Bushnell on Sunday afternoon at 2:00: a very busy and fun 5 days.

Red Sox

Wednesday night we went to the Red Sox game.

Seen on our way to the game:

The view from our seats before the game started:

The bases loaded with J.D. Drew at bat just before he hit a grand slam. We also saw homers by Mike Lowell and Darnell McDonald.

A panorama during the bottom of the 5th inning (from the aisle a bit below our seats).

Papelbon delivering a fast ball in ninth inning. The ball is just to the left and below the V in Volvo.

No more pictures, but the Sox finally beat the Rangers, 8-7, in 12 innings.

Spring

It's been warmer than average this week, reaching 90 on Wednesday. The flowering bushes and trees are ahead of schedule. These are a rhododendron in our backyard and a cherry tree next door.

Summer 2009 Revisited

Without planning it, the most recent white and red wines we brought up from the cellar were ones we bought last summer on our trip to the plains. The Wallace Winery Iowa Barn White was very good. I hope they're still in business; I wanted to put a link to their web site here, but all I got was a message stating "This Account Has Been Suspended." Table Mountain Vineyards Cowboy Reserve was interesting. I'd agree with the description on their web site that it has "smokey aromas and an earthy taste." In any case, they both have great labels.

Easter

Jeremy, Amanda, and Maggie came for the weekend. On Saturday CL and I took Maggie for a walk in Forest Park.

And we all went to Trinity on Easter.

Another adoring fan.

J, A, and M after church.