Katherine Boyd

Browsing Archive: June, 2011

June 29: Hidden In The Forest

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Thursday, June 30, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

At nightfall, my son came running into the house. "Mom, I was in the woods.  There were deer everywhere!" he gushed. "And look what I found. What is it?" I looked at the small, green ball in his hand. I took it into mine to feel it and get a better look. Then it dawned on me.

"Where did you find this?" I asked.   "In the woods, under this little tree," he explained.  "Did the tree kinda look like a little umbrella?" I asked.  "Yeah, it did.  I just looked under the leaves, and that's where I f...
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June 28: Good Evening For A Toast

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

The key to optimum marshmallow toasting is finding the perfect stick.  It has to be just long enough with a point at the end.  And it has to be a bit green so it doesn't burn.  

Next you have to make sure you wiggle that marshmallow on just right, so it doesn't fall off into the fire.  And lastly, you have to know how you like your marshmallow toasted.  

I'm from the "Catch it on fire and burn the top layer so that you can slough it off and enjoy the gooey core underneath" crowd.  But I know th...
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June 27: Tiny Bubbles

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

What a great evening.  All five senses were on overdrive.  Hubby smoked ribs on the grill that turned out to taste as great as they smelled.  The birds were singing.   My heart was filled with pure joy as I watched my little one blow bubble after bubble. And the warm, faint summer breeze felt fabulous.  

Tonight was the kind of evening I'd like to bottle up and crack open years from now so I can remember what it felt like to just be plain darn happy.  Funny how a summer evening can help you re...
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June 26: Bunnies, Bunnies Everywhere

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Monday, June 27, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

The bunnies in our backyard are multiplying, well, like rabbits!  All our spring rain must have left the adult bunnies with little else to do but hang out in their bunny burrows and get busy.  This evening I counted more than six bunnies chomping clover in our backyard.  Little buggers sure are cute.
 

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June 25: Pool Party

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Sunday, June 26, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

A bunch of the cousins got together today for a pool party at Grandma's.  It wasn't really that warm and it certainly wasn't sunny, but that didn't seem to matter. The kids had a great time all the same.


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June 24: Gray Skies All Day

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Friday, June 24, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Had the day off today and hoped to spend it outside planting in the garden and cleaning up the yard. Didn't happen. 

Instead, it drizzled on and off all day today, making sure the ground stayed too soaked to do a darn thing. Really starting to loath the rain. 
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June 23: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Friday, June 24, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

The rain just won't stop.  And that's making it really hard to get things growing in our town's community garden.  

The path back to the garden is once again a mud bog. And some sections of the garden are so soggy gardeners haven't been able to plant a darn thing.  

This certainly was the wettest spring I remember, but I was hoping once it officially turned into summer things would dry up.  Apparently not.

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June 22: You Can't Have Summer Without Baseball

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Thursday, June 23, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Summer and baseball.  In my humble opinion, you can't have one without the other.  The weather's hot, the field's usually dry and the evenings are filled with the clink of metal bats mingling with the roar of the crowds. Batter up!

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June 21: First Day of Summer

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Wednesday, June 22, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

No day is more loved in Northeast Ohio than the first day of summer.  Christmas brings too much stress and too many relatives. Halloween's fun but buying all that candy gets expensive.  And Easter?  It's usually cold and wet and dreary.

But the first day of summer brings with it hot & humid weather all wrapped up in the longest day of the year. 

This is how the first day of summer looks from my kitchen window.  When I gaze out, I see lawn games and gardening and barbecues.  And can you smell th...
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June 20: Foggy Dawn

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Monday, June 20, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

When I woke this morning and peaked out the blinds, I was met with a foggy dawn.  It was quiet and eerie and still. 
 
I snuck out of the back door with my iPhone and carefully stepped across the wet backyard to my favorite spot on the edge of the woods.  That's where I snapped this photo.  So blissfully peaceful.  What a wonderful way to start the day.
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June 19: Father's Day

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Monday, June 20, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

It's been decades, but I can still remember how great it felt when Dad cradled me in his arms.  His rough cheek pressed against mine. The scent of Old Spice.   And feeling so safe.

To all the good Dads out there, Happy Father's Day. And please remember to scoop up your little ones and hold them tight.  They'll be too big, or too embarrassed, to do so way too soon.   

 

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June 18: Lawn Games

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Sunday, June 19, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Spending a muggy June evening playing lawn games with family and friends is what memories are made of.  

Grampa besting Dad at a game of bottle drop while Grandma cheers, and the kids roll in the grass laughing.  Good times.
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June 17: Burn Baby Burn

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Saturday, June 18, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

First campfire of the season.  Dad nicked his ankle with the hatchet.  Gunther burned his finger on a marshmallow. And we all have mosquito bites.  But boy do we smell good.   
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June 16: Hot in Cleveland!

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Thursday, June 16, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson declared today "Hot in Cleveland Day."  Makes perfect sense since the cast of the hit TV show "Hot in Cleveland" made a visit to our fair city today to drum up publicity for their program. 

Yup, that's Betty White at the podium, and her cast mates Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick behind her. My favorite part of this photo?  The huge smiles on the ladies to the left of Betty's knees.
 
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June 15: Along the River Banks

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Thursday, June 16, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

There are two times of day that are truly spiritual. I don't mean it in a religious way.  I mean it in a "human beings who have a soul and still feel feelings" way.  

They are dawn and dusk. 

And I swear, when I go fishing, I feel connected to those spiritual feelings of dawn and dusk even more poignantly. Much as those who meditate or find inner bliss from yoga, I find fishing on a late spring evening mighty sublime.

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June 14: Midgeageddon

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

The midges returned with a vengeance last night. Thousands swarmed around our glowing back porch light, layer upon layer frantically scurrying to get closer to their perceived moon. 

When we woke this morning, they were all dead. Their tiny bodies littering the back steps in a huge repulsive heap. I swept them up, and pushed them into the dustpan. I then called to my daughter, "Grab a camera," as I scooped up the midges and cupped them in my hands.  

"Ew!" she screamed as I yelled at her to sna...
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June 13: Out of the Clear Blue Sky

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Monday, June 13, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Cerulean blue.  That was the color of the Cleveland sky today.  A prestine color you find in the waters of the Bahamas or in the summertime sky of Northeast Ohio.  

What is perceived by the eye is unfortunately not as easily captured by the camera.  I tried to photograph a swath of it through the skylight in Tower City today. But it doesn't do it justice.  

It's still damn glamorous though.
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June 12: Perfect Day to Wet A Line

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Monday, June 13, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

It was a cool gray day.  Perfect for wetting a line.  The boy and I headed down to Sweetwater Landing.  At least two dozen other fisherman joined us along the bank of the Rocky River. 

We didn't have any luck catching fish, still any day I get to spend one on one time with my son is a lucky day for me.
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June 11: Casino Royale With Cheese

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Sunday, June 12, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

This is where the new temporary casino is being created in downtown Cleveland.  I say temporary because it's basically the place holder until the real casino is built years down the road.  If you look at this photo, the casino will be housed on the first two floors of the building to the right, with the wedged corner.  

That is the Higbee Building, the once grande home of the famed Cleveland Higbee's Department Store. You can see on this gray rainy morning, it has a true old world elegance.  I...
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June 10: Festive Friday

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Saturday, June 11, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

We're on the cusp of summer, and that means festival season!  Once the weather finally warms in Northeast Ohio, festivals pop up as fast as dandelions. This evening we headed to the Irish Fest in Cuyahoga Falls. Tomorrow it'll be Parade the Circle at University Circle, and on Sunday, well on Sunday, maybe I'll skip the festivals and work in the garden.  Maybe.   
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June 9: A Glint In The Sky

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Saturday, June 11, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

This evening, I spied a tiny glint in the spring sky.  At first I thought it was the north star.  But as I focused harder,  I realized it was the moon.  A tiny crescent moon nestled in a sea of fading pale blue light.    It added a special touch to a most serene evening.  
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June 8: The Midges

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Thursday, June 9, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Before I moved to northeast Ohio I'd never heard of a midge.  I'm still not sure if they're the same thing as a May Fly. But I do know now they're different than a Canadian Soldier.  I think. 

Anyway, a midge is a teeny tiny bug that looks a whole lot like a mosquito only it doesn't bite.  They're kind of like harmless backyard bunnies.  The sole reason they exist it to breed, live a scant 24 hours, and act as food for the rest of the food chain. The downer to midges, though, is they come like...
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June 7: When It Rains It Pours

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Wednesday, June 8, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Isn't that what it says on the Morton Salt label? Well, it was the Morton Salt girl who came to mind today as I watched my little girl jump in the puddles that formed during a morning thunderstorm.  When it rains, it pours.  And how.
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June 6: Gone Fishin'

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Monday, June 6, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Few things say summer quite like fishing.  You load up the tackle box, scrounge around under a few big rocks to score some juicy worms, and then grab your rod & reel and head to your favorite watering hole. 

In our case, that's Bradstreet Landing along the shore of Lake Erie.   If the current's right, and it's midge season, fishing here is, well, like shooting fish in a barrel.  Case in point, we wet a line for just a half hour last evening and watched fellow fishermen reel-in five fish. Of co...
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June 5: Perfect Flower Picking

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Monday, June 6, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Flowers, flowers, everywhere.  Our backyard is awash in color. Purple on the rhododendron.  White on the blackberry bushes.  And rich reds on the heirloom rosebush. My daughter loves running 'round the yard picking all the flowers.  And I love the fresh bouquets filling up the jelly jars on my kitchen window sill.
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June 4: Lake Erie

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Saturday, June 4, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

A lot of folks have no idea Cleveland is on a lake. And that lake is so large it looks like an ocean from the shore.  We're lucky to have a beach front park in our town, and on scorching days like today, it feels wonderful to bury your toes in the cool sand and let the lake breezes have their way with your hair.  
 
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June 3: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Saturday, June 4, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

One of the true joys of late spring in Northeast Ohio is being able to stand outside on the back porch and gobble down a big old ice cream cone.  Doesn't matter if it drips.  Heck that's part of the fun.  Trying to lick up those pesky trickles of gooey melted goodness before they drop from the end of the cone is a game. 

And if you lose, and the drip does manage to fall on the porch, so what?  Mom doesn't care. Everyone knows the ants will clean it up by tomorrow. 
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June 2: Calm, Cool & Collected

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Friday, June 3, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

This is my bike.  I love my bike.  You won't find another one like it 'cause my gloriously gifted hubby built it just for me. He found a racing bike frame, and then adapted it with cruiser handle bars and seat. That means it's fast and light, yet addictingly comfortable.

I then girlied it up with a vintage Parisian basket, chrome rearview mirror, and genuine Chinese Bee Bell. So on a calm and cool day like today I can peddle about town looking tres collected!
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June 1: Sapphire Blue Skies

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Wednesday, June 1, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

When it was completed in 1930, Terminal Tower was the second tallest building in the world. This landmark skyscraper sits at the heart of Public Square in downtown Cleveland. Its 52 stories reach way up into the heavens, and today it seemed to point right up as if to say,"Look at these sapphire blue skies.  They're gorgeous!" 
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May 31: Where's my Tide?

Posted by Katherine Boyd on Wednesday, June 1, 2011, In : Cleveland Weather 

Boys.  What is it that drives them to see a mud puddle and feel compelled to jump in?  No, not just jump in--wallow in. The troughs of thick mud that have formed in the tire ruts behind our house are smelly and disgusting and brimming with mosquito larvae. In other words, boy heaven.  And mom hell.  Where's my Tide? 

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