crystal – thanks!

Prefectdt – Your July 4th learning experience sounds right on par! I missed out on the s’mores this year but I made up for it with a helping of flag cake – vanilla frosting sheet cake topped with strawberries and blueberries assembled to represent the American flag.

dani – I’m glad that you made the best of your rainy weekend and from what it sounds like, it all went well. Yay!

D – Unfortunately my pesky pain and related issues are still being … well … a pain! But hopefully it will all be sorted out soon as I am not one that likes to be down for long. I’m glad you enjoy the photos. I kind of giggle when I read off-hand remarks about NJ’s reputation for being nothing but oil refineries and seedy motels. Clearly they haven’t been out this way! Certainly lots of lush green forests and farmland left. Write me if ever you’d like me to recommend some cool natural areas to explore.

Todd & Suzy – Yep! Blue dress, white panties, red (ok, pink but we can work with it) bottom!

Erica – Now that’s a good point. It’s a similar kind of muscle soreness like after a really intense workout. I’m starting to wonder a bit more about just how innocent and vanilla that spoon maker really was.

CurtisG – The fun pain is always welcome. The chronic kind is not and currently not well controlled. Still a work in progress. The section of the trail we did was through the northern NJ area. We met several people along the way that had started in Georgia!

Dave – I was thrilled when the butterfly landed on me. I had stooped down to get a closer shot as it paused on a leaf, and it hopped right up on my hand.

Linde – That’s one of the advantages of living out in the country, I guess! While I still exercise caution, there’s plenty of space and privacy here.

I tried not to meet the eyes of the spoon vendor, but I swear she had a smirk on her face as my husband purchased that spatula!

tim – Thank you. Glad you like all of the photos.

Southern Expat – I’m not quite sure what the other meaning of the phrase might have been, but our group had a very nice time on our hike.

Winchester – The spatula is tucked in our regular kitchen utensil drawer. Handy for a quick kitchen spanking and easily explained if a vanilla were to stumble upon it. My cheeks have definitely been much redder from other spankings. That spatula is thin and ALL sting. Ugh. I may have also lost a little color between the time I was spanked and the time the picture was taken, but I was not about to willingly submit to another dose!

Aristotle – Oh the wonderous things those trees may have seen in their life time. Sounds like your naughty ladies aren’t doing themselves any favors in their efforts to cool off if they are only managing to get their bottoms warmed!

Duncan – Thunderstorm season can make it tricky to plan outdoor fun. I used to enjoy going out for walks in thunderstorms. Not the wisest thing to do. After a few close calls with falling branches and getting chased down the street by a high winds blown trashcan, I now enjoy nature’s temper tantrums safely tucked on the covered porch.

jan – LOL!! Kinky skinks!!

Dr. Ken – Hmmm … if I had that apron, perhaps I’d cook more often.

Dante d’Amore – Thank you!

2Good – I was present, but I milled around the booth and pretended to be incredibly interested in some other knick knacks so that it would appear that I wasn’t even aware that he was making the purchase. I did sneak a peek as we were leaving and I truly swear she was smirking.

As for the spatula, I don’t know how one would purchase or even accompany someone making such a purchase without turning beet red. Did you meet him in the car?

Dr. Ken

Hope you are feeling better, we have the same problem with our summer storms here in Orlando. its a pain trying to get people out pool. I just give them a quick science lesson water and Eletricity dont Mix

have a great week

What a delight to see you flashing your pink cheeks……as always the sight lights up my day! In the UK we have continued, until today, to enjoy a sweltering heatwave. This has meant that my two ladies have been wearing flimsy sundresses and short shorts in the garden and of course that means that they have been flashing their cheeks every time they bent over or sat down or stood up or their was a light breeze. In turn this has led to admonitory smacks…on their thinly-covered bottoms..from me and that in turn has led to some more open-air spankings down at the bottom(!) of the garden. Both ladies have been over my knee more than once whilst I sat on the garden bench in the shade of large oak and sycamore trees. I wonder if they’ve witnessed other ladies getting their bottoms punished in time past? .

Sorry you did not get your whitewater rafting – and that you still have your unspecified pain – but I am delighted that you had such a refreshing holiday weekend. And what a bonus the pictures are: you are so firtnate to have the gift of wildlife photography – and the wildlife to use it on!

Actually, your ceeks are not all that red – we have seen them much redder I believe!