Picnic | The Beauty Around Us

Posts tagged ‘Picnic’

Our Fourth of July

We spent our Fourth of July holiday pretty much the same as most other Americans — we watched a parade, shared a picnic with family and friends and watched a fireworks display.

Bob and I watched Warren’s annual Fourth of July parade. We arrived in downtown Warren around 10:15 AM and found a good spot to sit at the intersection of Hickory Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. The parade started at 11:00 AM and was still going on at 1:40 PM, when we left for home.

The smell was divine when this BBQ float passed by!

Fireman

My first thought was how tiring it must be for this man to walk 2 miles. Then I realized it was a costume of a man made to look like he was carrying someone. What a GREAT costume!

The intersection of Hickory Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
provided a great vantage point for watching the parade.

Preston Scout House Alumni Band

I have a few Canadian friends who read my blog. I photographed the Preston Scout House Alumni Band for my Canadian friends. The band was EXCELLENT!
**Heather and Tom – I believe Cambridge is located very near to where you live.**
**Peggy – You were so correct when you wrote in your blog “we help the US celebrate the 4th of July!”**

The ever popular Zem Zem Hornets

“Bonehead”

A parade wouldn’t be complete without a clown. There were several clowns in this year’s parade.

The morning started out cloudy, breezy and cool. The clouds gave way to blue sky and bright, hot sunshine. We were in downtown Warren almost 4 hours, one hour before the parade and about 3 hours watching the parade. I put suntan lotion on my arms but didn’t think to put it on my face. OH Boy! Is my face (and lips!) ever sunburned and painful!

We spent a couple hours, after coming home from the parade, making final preparations for our Fourth of July picnic. We had a good turnout — 18 in all, counting Bob and me. Everyone seemed to have a good time. I know Bob and I enjoyed having everyone over to our house for a picnic.

Bob, grilling burgers

the food line

Later in the evening, after everyone had gone home, Bob went for a motorcycle ride. I was tired and felt a bit ill (too much sun?), so I stayed home. Bob ended up in Saybrook, near Sheffield, where he watched a fireworks display with his daughter, Stacey, and her boyfriend, Mike. Bob said the fireworks display, which was privately funded, was very good.

I hope that your Fourth of July was every bit as pleasant as ours.

A Cold and Windy Day for a Picnic

There were dramatic swings in yesterday’s weather conditions. When I left for work at 10:00 yesterday morning the temperature was in the upper 50s; it was chilly and windy. The cloud cover was thick, and it looked like it could rain at any time. When I came home from work, it was still quite windy. The day, though, had warmed up nicely. It looked pretty outside. The sky was blue, and the sun was shining brightly. A couple hours later it was downright cold and still very windy.

Bob and I attended a picnic yesterday afternoon at our friend Don’s house. What a windy and cold day for a picnic! Thankfully Don has a garage-like building that is suitable for a picnic. The windy and cold conditions would have made an outside picnic unpleasant, if not impossible.

There are four buildings in the picture shown above. The building on the right, set apart from the other three buildings, is Don’s house. As you look to the left of Don’s house, the first building is where the picnic was held. This building houses a gas grill and refrigerator; it can hold several tables and chairs. I don’t know what is inside the building on the far left. The building, with the light-colored wood, though, is a chicken coop.

It was nice and warm inside the chicken coop. There was a folding chair inside the chicken coop. I saw down for a short time and watched the chickens. This chicken flapped its wings just as I snapped its picture!

This was a potluck picnic. Don grilled chicken. Our remaining food selections included cheesy potatoes, pasta salad, banana bread, fruit salad, brownies, lady fingers and chocolate cake.

Garry, Linda, Shelby and Carol waiting for the grilled chicken

Steve, Cheyenne and Michelle at the table; Don and Del in the background

Bob, Michelle and Linda

Don lives in the middle of the woods with cabins, trees and ponds all around him. This is the second time Bob and I have attended a picnic at Don’s house. The first time was in September, last year. It was cold and rainy that September day, and we were happy to be able to picnic inside then as well. The rainy weather in September prevented us from taking a walk in the woods. Today’s cold and windy weather also deterred us from taking a walk in the woods. I did, though, go for a short walk to a pond where Tyler, Kyle and Shelby were trying to fly fish. The children had a difficult time casting their fishing line against the strong wind.

Shelby fly fishing at the pond

Carol and her granddaughter, Shelby

We had a great time at the picnic. There were 16 of us in all: Linda and Garry; Don; Linda’s son, Steve, and his sons, Tyler and Kyle; Steve’s girlfriend, Michelle, and her daughter Cheyenne; Linda’s sister, Carol, and brother-in-law, Brian, and their 12-year-old granddaughter Shelby; and three of Don’s neighbors — Debbie and Tom and Del.

Don and Del “chewing the fat”

Debbie and Tom

Kyle and Tyler

Brian and Carol

and Cheyenne

We knew everyone except for Carol, Brian, Shelby, Debbie, Tom and Del. It was good to meet new people. I chatted mostly with Carol and her granddaughter Shelby and Debbie and Tom. All four of them were quite nice.