a hike & lunch

On saturday Ryan & I went on a guided hike along the Bay Circuit Trail in Andover, MA sponsored by L.L. Bean, with the Bay Circuit Alliance chairman Alan French. It was great to learn some of the history of the trail, and plans for the future.

We began with a walk up Holt Hill with views to Boston and its suburbs.

























Ryan's lunch: cucumber salad; blanched spinach; edamame; simmered shiitake mushrooms; rice.

My lunch was essentially
the same, minus the
rice, with added orange
slices. It was nice to
finally have weather
warm enough to be
able to enjoy lunch
outside.




After lunch Ryan still wanted to hike a bit more. We took the bog trail at Ward Reservation, which is basically a floating boardwalk down to a pond. We spent a lot of time watching a snake make it's way through the bog beside us.

Fall!

Well, it's the first full day of autumn. And our first day ever with all 4 kids in school where we could leave them for long enough to actually do something!!
I did brunch bentos for the boys today...

Ryan & AJ's lunches: tofu broccoli mini quiches; home fries; apple tart; raspberries; oranges.

We have a ton of local apples right now from Autumn Hills Orchard. So last night I whipped up a quick tart for after dinner...

I completely forgot
to photograph Maia's
snack before school
(and Nate asked for
a Zbar so no pic needed
for that)...so I quickly
opened her snack up at
school over her hook
and snapped a quick
pic. Maia's snack: mini cucumber slices; baby carrots; raspberries; Annie's gluten-free bunny cookies.

Then it was off for a quick hike up to Tippling Rock with my husband...
If you enlarge the picture
above you can see the
Hancock and Prudential
buildings in Boston in the
background.














We snacked on some
sheep sorrel growing
at the top. It's very
sour and I've enjoyed
it since I was very
young.


We got back to preschool as Maia was eating. They gave her a juice box, which explains why she wasn't eating very quickly, and why she didn't want lunch later. I asked that they please stick
with a small cup of water in the future, which is why I don't pack a drink. Kids tend to fill up on any drink you give them and then many parents wonder why they don't eat a healthy meal.












Next week will be
my first time packing
a lunchbox for Maia!
I doubt it will be much
bigger than her snack,
since the purpose of
school lunch is routine,
socialization, & self-help
skills...not eating, LOL.

a hot meal

Ryan gets so excited over foods he can have in his Thermos. Lentil soup has got to be his favourite. He feigns falling down dead when I ask him if he'd like it for lunch.

Ryan's
lunch:
Thermos
of lentil
soup;
"cheddar"
dill roll
(made
with
Vegan-
rella
cheeze);
Tofurky
"flower";
green
bell
pepper
strips;
celery
sticks;
ginger
miso
dressing
for dipping.

Agh! Emergency!
Ryan took the last
frozen cupcake to
a birthday party
over the weekend!
I'd better get baking...
like I need an excuse.

AJ got himself into
some trouble this
weekend by sur-
rounding the tv with
stickers. He was not
happy when I made
him remove them all
before Dada returned
from his trip.

He recovered well enough
to enjoy a hike around the
reservoir. There are many
reservoirs in our area,
though the big reservoir
that supplies Boston with
most of its water is farther
west.

Late this afternoon
I was met by this
disconcerting sight on
the trail. Hmmm, I
think I'll be moving
along home now...

300

I don't usually take much notice of the post count in my archives, but earlier this week I realized I was nearing the big 300.

Ryan's
lunch:
blue-
berries
with
"300"
made
of
apple;
black
olives;
flax
lavash
wrap
with
Vegan-
aise,
smoked
Tof-
urky,
soy
cheese,
avocado, lettuce; a pickle.

Don't forget--if you haven't already commented on my Cans For Comments post, please do! I will be donating a canned good at the end of the month for each comment I receive.

One more week of food
drive items for school...
ramen noodles for AJ,
gingerbread cookie mix
for Ryan.

Woke up to this yesterday...
view of the yard from
the porch...

It only
looked
to be
about
3 inches,
but that
was
plenty
to send
the
boys
into
crazy
mode.
Ryan
had
grand
dreams
of snow-
boarding
but
couldn't
get the hang of it yet.





















Probably the handiest
sled we have is the
hand-me-down baby
sled from the neighbors.
The boys love pulling
Maia around the yard
in it. Nate used to sit
happily in it for what
seemed like hours.

And knowing me, I
couldn't resist a snowy
hike in the woods,
especially after it
turned into such a
bright sunny day.
The trails were
actually quite well
trav-
eled.
Lots
of
dogs,
fam-
ilies,
and
a
lone
snow-
ball...

Unseasonably warm

The day began with wind and heavy rain. Ryan asked for "something in a Thermos". Easy, his favourite, lentil soup. And we even had oyster crackers to snaz it up a bit. But minutes before the boys left for school the sky cleared, the sun shone brightly, and it turned into a windy almost 70F degree day. In December.
Ryan's lunch: a side of oyster crackers; checkered apple slice; carrots; pickles; sauteed mushrooms; black olives; cucumber slices; a Thermos of lentil soup.
And donations for the
school food drive: tri-
coloured pasta for AJ,
sugar cookies mix for
Ryan.

The high winds took
down some big trees
in the area...
We hike a lot of trails on Sudbury Valley Trustees conservation land, including woods behind our CSA. Check out this Chia rock I found today!
And here's a little froggy
I found...







...and not 2 feet from him was
this sneaky snake. I didn't
stick around to see if the frog
became its lunch.

There
are
many
sturdy
bridges
crossing
the
small
brooks
in the
area,
built
to bear
the
weight
of
horses.
This
area
used
to be
fox
hunt
territory. But it is still frequented by trail riders.