Summer sights in country life

This kind of a summer day reminds me of when I was a kid and spent every spare minute I could with my Poppa, who lived right next door to me. We would be in the garden digging, planting, picking, getting hot & covered with dirt endlessly.

Jogging on this beautiful day was perfect in itself and for giving me time to appreciate what I saw in front of me now, and for giving me time to remember the "good old days" with Poppa.

Today and then:
The corn and sunflowers were as high as an elephant's eye.
Day lilies, butterfly bushes, Rose of Sharons, coneflowers, phlox and more are in full bloom, surrounded by the buzzing of industrious bees, butterflies, hummingbirds.
Deer are tiptoeing through the woods and along streams.
Cows are mooing and swishing their tails at those pesky flies.
Veggie stands and Farmers Markets are set up everywhere.
Clouds drift into shapes that you can see so clearly, then quickly morph into a brand new shape.

How did you spend your summer day today, and was it similar to your many summers past??
I hope you got the enjoyment out of your summer day and your community as much as I did mine!

I am a Putnamaniac because I love the country summer sights!

Buttonwoods Farm Sunflowers delivered by my neighbors to me!

Buttonwoods Farm is one of the places on my list of "places to visit".

They have fields of sunflowers, and donate monies earned to Make a Wish.

They also have ice cream.

NOW you understand why Buttonwood Farm is on my list of places to visit.

My next door neighbors just delivered these sunflowers to me, since they had visited Buttonwoods today for their first time! How gorgeous are they???? They are super heavy and look so beautiful on my table.

Learn more about Buttonwood Farm. I am so there soon!

I am a Putnamaniac because sunflowers and neighbors are awesome here!

Sweet Evalina's Stand is sweet and much more than a stand!

Early this morning I met up with my old pal, Tony, from Woodstock. He suggested Sweet Evalina's Stand, right on Woodstock Hill, Rt 171.

Since I had never been, the suggestion was great in my book! And it sure is a cool little place.

Sitting on a big pond, covered with water lilies, it is a neat spot in an of itself. Sweet Evalina's has a take-out window with umbrella covered picnic tables on the side, and on the inside there is a little convenience store type area, a take-out counter, a coffee counter, and a separate dining area overlooking the pond. Tony & I sat inside, chatted, and gobbled up a delicious breakfast!

Sweet Evalina's also offers specialty pizzas for all seasons. This spring they made asparagus pizza, and our waitress told us that now they have a zucchini pizza going on! Sounds great, and I will be sure to try it out.

I am a Putnamaniac because you can go for a nice Sunday morning breakfast with your pal at Sweet Evalina's!

Double shot of fun today for only $5!

Putnam is a great place! You can't help be a Putnamaniac with so much to do!

Today I had a double shot of fun, for a total of $5! How do you beat that anywhere??

First stop was Fort Hill Farms for their Bluegrass & blueberry day with best of friends! It was all free...a horse drawn hayride, a tractor drawn hayride, sample of some awesome Farmer's Cow ice cream, walked the gardens, met a two day old cow, samples of Farmer's Cow lemonade..  Yes, it was hot, but man it was so gorgeous and fun! We rode to the top of the hill and could see into both RI and MA.

Next stop was the Green Valley Blackhawks football game. They are a part of the New England Football League. The Blackhawks won 26-8 and are now 2-0 on the season! There was a nice crowd was there, and those players can really move. As the season moves on, they can only improve!

I hope you got out and had some fun in your community today!

I am a Putnamaniac that enjoyed a double shot of fun for just $5 today!

So much deliciousness at the Quiet Corner Creamery!!!

Last fall I went to a fun downtown Putnam event, and the Quiet Corner Creamery had a booth set up.

Battle Royal began - me and all the self control I could muster, vs the sweet deliciousness of homemade ice cream... I lost that battle, and marched right up to their booth and sampled a delicious homemade cone of apple pie ice cream.

OMG! Seriously...it was like eating my grandmother's apple pie, doused in ice cream, in a cone!

Since then I have resisted. Why, I don't know!

Today I stopped in to the Quiet Corner Creamery, bought a few medium sized cups (which were HUGE sevings) of a few different flavors...strawberry cheesecake, snickers, and chocolate peanut butter, to drop off to some very nice hard working young folks in town.

They are lucky they got the delivery...that ice cream looked spectacular! Today I won that Battle Royal. Perhaps tomorrow I will reward myself with a cone of cherry vanilla!

I am a Putnamaniac because the Quiet Corner Creamery has so much deliciousness!

Hot fun in the summer time, and dogs in the pool!

So, yeah I have been one busy Putnamaniac lately.

Too busy enjoying stuff in and around Putnam to actually stop and write it down. I will love to reflect back on the summer days in the middle of the winter. Summer is just so much more enjoyable and preferable to me!

I've had the pleasure of working with a great couple of gals at Down To Earth Gardening recently, sweating it up, getting filthy, creating beauty, scratching poison ivy....

An unusual find is one of the customers' dogs.

I am not a dog person, or even an animal person by any means, but these two "hounds" tickle me pink! They run up and greet us with wagging tails, one with a ball continually in her mouth. Tim Wakefield could throw all day to this girl, and she would shag 'em all.

You squirt the hose, and they try to "bite" the water as it is streaming by.

Best of all, on a hot day like today, they hop right into the pool for a swim. Not a kiddie or doggie pool, but the in-ground people pool, doggie paddling as they go. What a sight!

This is not a picture of my two new friends, Australian shepherds named Oreo and Fonzie, but it is close enough...

Enjoy the summer days and the unusual fun you find in strange places!

I am a Putnamaniac because I have hot fun in the summer time and seeing the dogs in the pool!

New Bakery and Ice Cream Shoppe slated to open!

And just when you thought Putnam could not get any better:

That is correct - the sign says it all!
Coming Soon - Verrilli's Bakery and Ice Cream Shoppe.

This place has an ideal setting, overlooking the river, Rotary Park, and all of downtown Putnam. What a vista! I can't wait to sample some of their offerings once Verrilli's Bakery and Ice Cream Shoppe has opened!

I am a Putnamaniac because new and delicious businesses are coming to town!