Maple Harvest Festival

Yesterday was cool and crisp but sunny, perfect weather for a Maple Harvest Festival!

Ben and I drove over the mountains and through the woods to Shaver's Creek Environmental Center (run by PSU, basically a nature center on steroids...or a multimillion $$ budget...) to their annual festival.

Apparently Shaver's Creek doesn't actually tap enough trees to make their own marketable syrup, but they served plenty of "local" Pennsylvania syrup on amazing pancakes for everyone.  Sugar overload!!!

different grades of sap and syrup

It takes A LOT of sap to boil down into one gallon of syrup.

Shaver's Creek also has a raptor center where they keep about a dozen permanently injured birds. These little (scared) screech owls were being walked through the crowds. SO CUTE! I am not a huge bird fan but I love raptors and ESPECIALLY OWLS.

 Here is an adorable great horned owl

(that is making Ellie's grumpy face! hahaha)

 Bald eagles will always remind me of college, since they flock to the Mississippi River during the winter to fish.  (and I made a viewing center poster of eagle facts during my Fish and Wildlife Service internship. Eagle PRO!) They are no longer on the endangered species list thanks to the efforts of the FWS!

Did I mention there was the obligatory kettle corn stand at the festival? That stuff is so addicting. After lounging around shoving it into our faces enjoying a modest serving this afternoon Ben and I had to google how to make homemade kettle corn. It looks deceptively easy...future kitchen adventure for sure.

Just wanna hold that breath forever

The past week has been really stressful.

This time of year is always so disorienting to me, every single spring. 

It's like the weather catches me off guard, and all of a sudden it's light out and the birds are singing and flowers are blooming and it is amazing and makes me realize how much I have missed sunshine and grass, but at the same time life starts moving in fast forward and time seems strange and I feel like all the springs of the previous years are melting into one experience and I become strangely sensitive and overaware of LIFE.  Because all big changes happen in the spring.  In the winter every day is the same, cold and dark, and it's easy to start taking the passing weeks for granted.  Then all of a sudden I realize that I am speeding towards the end of another school year, the end of another mini-era, and feel like it is impossible to slow down and appreciate each moment even though that's all I want to do. I am introverted, I tend to think too much and sometimes get trapped in my introspectiveness and emotions. 

It will be so strange eventually to be done with school and not have this sensation of year's end in the middle of the calendar. 

This spring doesn't bring as many changes as the past two, and the changes are good and will bring me to a phase in my relationship that I have been waiting for since a long time ago but I have so much to get done in the next month.  The semesters end before May here, which sounded good at the beginning but now it's kind of freaking me out!! Luckily I have gained enough perspective to know that everything will carry on because time ticks away relentlessly, no matter how fast or slow you perceive it or want it to move.

But Ben is here this weekend and I am re-centering and catching up on sleep, and the sun is out and I am going to forget about all my work for a couple of hours and go to a Maple Harvest Festival and gorge on pancakes and fresh syrup.  He brings me a calm and happiness like nothing else can or ever will.  For the moment, I am grounded in reality instead of in my mind and life is fine.

Requirements for a storybook cottage

Requirement #1: Very steep pointy rooflines. And mossy stone.

#2: Round windows and Snow White chimneys

{Check out that perfect fairytale woodland chimney!!!}

#3: A bit of German Black Forest-style fachwerk

Fachwerk + chimney + pointy roofs + diamond beveled windowpanes + wisteria vine-tree over the garage! A-plus.

And a tower will automatically do the job. 

Especially with a hobbit-style door.

The historic neighborhoods around campus are disgustingly cute.

the Princess {Sheepy} and the Pea

So I really like pillows.

Sheepy does too.

and then in the sunshine I couldn't stop exploring so I ran on

Today I escaped the lab and went for a late morning run, that turned into an adventure as soon as I decided to go down a trail instead of turning around and then ended up in the middle of nowhere on a farm...

But I made it back to the baby Arboretum at Penn State, which I've been meaning to explore for a while.  The botanical gardens are going to be gorgeous in a few months (right now everything is much more brown than my digitally enhanced photos), but I'd give the arboretum, oh, a couple of decades. Right now it is just an empty field with random little saplings planted in the middle of the grass.

I love this weather. But it is destroying my school focus. C'est la vie.

a goblet of purple

I am so excited that the sun is back for the week! It actually feels like spring, 60 degrees and a fresh-smelling breeze.  Even when I'm stuck inside all day, it gives me more energy and motivation just knowing that the sun is shining out there, somewhere!

I'm also excited about my new bouncy running shoes that I caved in and bought, after realizing that the bulk of my recurring injuries and hip-pain was probably linked to my old shoes that I have been wearing for more than a YEAR, and that never really fit my feet. I am slowly moving up my mileage this time, and have made it to 1.5 miles at a time. So far so good!!

Now that it's getting warmer and I won't turn into an icicle on the inside AND outside if I drink a frozen smoothie, I have re-kindled my love for frozen fruit.  Especially frozen blueberries.  I am not a huge fan of fresh blueberries (unless they are in baked goods), I mean they're good, but there are so many other fruits that are juicier and more delicious! But then I discovered this blueberry smoothie and now I am on my second bag of frozen bluebs. The ingredients may seem weird, but the soy protein makes it more filling than your average fruit/ice concoction! Plus, the color is amazing. It is the perfect springtime easter-eggy purple. I can't get over it. It is even prettier in real life :)

Blueberry Smoothie of Purple Delight

one cup almond milk (or cow's milk)

one frozen banana (peel and break into pieces before you freeze them)

1/2 to 1 cup frozen blueberries

1/5 container silken tofu (can't even taste it i promise)

vanilla

agave, honey, sweetener to taste

Put everything in a blender and watch the purple magically appear!

I like to drink my smoothies out of wine glasses.

It is much classier than my old giant plastic cups.

daylight

Is anyone else being completely smashed by this time change??

You wouldn't think that one hour could make much of a difference, but my body and brain don't know how to handle it!!

It is super exciting to see light till 6:30 pm though, and I LOVE hearing the birds chirping in the mornings.

It's been rainy and dark here the past few days, which hasn't helped my post-spring break slump, but it's supposed to clear up this week.   

Green shoots are starting to poke out of the ground; spring is definitely here and I am sooo ready for it now.

Not as ready to dive back into the chaos of my busy weeks...but here we go!

Table for Seven

Ben lives only a couple blocks from the waterfront, and we prioritized a jog or walk along the brick boardwalk every single day the sun was out this week. 

It is so gorgeous and calm, with the swanky dockside apartments and highrises on one side and the endless little harbors filled with speedboats, sailboats, yachts, rowboats on the other...seriously, it seems like every person in Baltimore with a slightly significant amount of money owns their own boat. 

I would love to live by the water someday; there is something special about the air of the seaside although a lake or river would definitely be good enough. 

Ben and I have pipe dreams revolving around owning our own huge sleek yacht and sailing around the world. 

(Although it would have to run on used cooking oil or something that wouldn't pollute the water or else I would feel too guilty. !!)

The bottom picture is our favorite yacht that we picked out. I think it nicely balances sleek and classy with plenty of sun-bathing deckspace and maybe enough room for dinner on the water. Yup those are all my priorities. Perfect.

the best early springtime snack

Zucchini bread + a citrus rainbow is deliciously the way to go

I will be so sad when break is over!! I need another week!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

-2 peeled and shredded zucchini

-2 eggs

-3 T vegetable or canola oil

-1 t. vanilla

-3/4 c. brown sugar

-3/4 c. whole wheat flour

-3/4 c. all purpose flour

-3/4 t. salt

-1 t. baking soda

-1/4 t. baking powder

-1 t. cinnamon

-1/4 t ground cloves, or any other spices you like (nutmeg, ginger??)

-1/4 c. chopped nuts if your boyfriend isn't a hater.

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray or grease a loaf pan.

Whisk together eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and zucchini

In a separate bowl stir together the flours, salt, baking soda, powder, cinnamon, spices, and nuts

Add the zucchini mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pan, slice, and enjoy!

Leftover bread is really good toasted.

Fort McHenry

view of the Chesapeake Bay where the British navy attacked

Over the weekend Ben and I unleashed our inner touristy history-buff selves (well my inner self, Ben's normal self) and went to the other side of the harbor to visit Fort McHenry, (now a national monument) where the Americans successfully defended the city against the British warships during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.  Francis Scott Key was a prisoner on a ship in the bay and was inspired to write The Star Spangled Banner after his experiences on that night.

It is impossible not to have the national anthem stuck in your head as you wander around this place! (which gets kind of annoying if you personally had to play it 59384 times in high school marching band)

The fort is star-shaped and has multiple levels, all made of brick and grass embankments with random arched doorways leading down into the ammunition storage rooms and other technically-termed places; it kind of feels like a labyrinth when you walk around.  You can definitely envision the uniformed soldiers marching through their drills.

It was definitely a fun mini-trip for a sunny afternoon. I recommend stopping by if you're in the city!

basking like a kitty

I am so excited to be in Baltimore right now; I didn't realize how sun deprived I'd been until I was reintroduced to blue skies here.  It is 60 degrees and cloudless, which seriously feels like summer.  It's not shorts and tank top weather yet, but oh my gosh it feels so good to re-introduce my skin to some vitamin D!  Being able to run by the harbor, eat lunch on sunny seafood cafe patios, and wake up to actual sunlight streaming through the blinds is pretty much amazing.  It's funny how you take things like sunlight for granted until you live in a cloudy place for a while, and then nice weather makes your life 1000% better. 

I have turned Ben's sunny room into my office for the week, and plan to knock off as much work as I can muster while he's at school.  In addition to basking in the nice weather and playing in the kitchen. 

I love spring break!

hello sunshine

I took these pictures 2 months ago but haven't had a sunny day to post them, until now!

I love how the blue sky is reflected.

Even though it is still chilly and windy outside, it gives me a little rush to see sky and sun.

I got to campus as the sun was rising orange and gold through the mountains

and left when it was setting in a pink and purple cloudshow.  Aaaa I love the colors.

Yes, I pull lonnng days!! But I'm so excited that it is still light out at 5:30 pm.

I'm even more excited to chase the sun down to Baltimore this weekend, where it is supposed to be warm!!