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originally this day was just about going to the farmer's market with julie in union square (somerville), but we ended up spending the whole day together. first stop was to the community garden, where julie watered her vegetables. we left the car there and walked to union square a few blocks away, drinking in the sights and sounds of somerville on this nice summer day. this weekend just happened to be some sort of art festival so along with the usual farmer's market goodies (fruits, vegetables, baked goods) there were also many tables selling crafts along with a live rock band performing. we walked back to the car and drove to davis square, where i went to the burrens to pick up julie's father's credit card, the one he lost the day before when he treated julie to lunch. "he said his dooter would come pick it up," the waitress told me in her thick irish accent.

next we went to petsmart, where along the way to everett i saw rainbow-colored clouds up in the sky, a result of some unusual weather patterns. while julie returned a non-waterproof terrarium (and replaced it with a fish tank), i bought a new water grass for my aquarium. an annoying tiny dog was yapping non-stop in the arms of his inconsiderate owner; an old spanish lady behind me in line said, "el diablo." julie and i went to targets to get some snacks, before realizing we were both hungry. we went to wild oats off of route 16 and got some food, i had a slice of pizza, while julie had a burrito which she self-microwaved.

we continued to the mt.auburn cemetery, a place where julie had never been before. we visited the few lakes and ponds dotting the property, as well as climbing the tower (the topmost level closed for renovations). for some reason the place wasn't very crowded today and we had the place mostly to ourselves. we were most impressed by the many large beech trees and i gave julie a lesson on gingko. we watched freakishly large tadpoles surface to the water to eat imaginary food. the smell of pepper bush (which i now think smells like lilacs) followed us around where ever we went. since we were close to watertown, later we went to russo's (another first for julie) to see what they could offer in terms of produce. although nothing beats russo's in terms of selections, places like star market have cheaper prices when things are on sale (when they're not on sale though, star produce can be expensive).

julie dropped me off back at my place, where i showered and ate (some more squid nuggets!) before heading over to her place for dinner (my second dinner of the night). the sunset was so dramatically beautiful that i actually pulled a u-turn so i could take photos from the star market parking lot. julie made some tarragon chicken with rice, followed by some bubble ice tea for dessert. we watched the red sox gave away the game to the twins in another loss. julie's roommate kim came back home (earlier during the day we saw her sunbathing when we passed by the house) and we talked about health concerns while traveling in exotic countries. i saw the new turtle tank with the floating anchored turtle island. julie and i talked about creative wall treatments (a large chalkboard, or maybe a huge LCD screen). approaching midnight, i hopped onto my bike and went home.