Away Message

Where feelings not reasons

Can make you decide

Ian Broudie

End of Year

School is out! This is Dan & G before the last concert -- a reschedule from "Swine Break '09."

Concrete

Dan poured concrete in the lower barn today. He also patched up a slab by the upper one.

Memorial Day Weekend

We went camping Memorial Day weekend with friends at Buckhorn State Park. So did about 6 bazillion mosquitoes and a few ticks. Fortunately our site was right by the water so there was some moving air, which helped. We were able to set up a perimeter using bombs, sprays, coils, incense sticks and candles -- as Dan said, it was a cheap vacation, except for the $250 we spent on pest control. Despite the unwanted guests, we had a great time. G did an afternoon kayak trip with our friends out to an island. We heard several types of frogs and owls, plus whip-poor-wills. The red-winged blackbird that patrolled our campsite chased off a juvenile bald eagle for us, which was quite a sight. Plus I got to mark the adding of another year with my family and good friends.

Our campsite was right on the water

Moving Cows

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a beautiful day here. We did some yard work in the morning. Cocoa supervised my weeding/mulching of the raspberries. There's an elm tree that sprouted up, and we're just going to leave it, so that when all the ash trees (which we put in because of Dutch elm disease) are overrun with emerald ash borers, we've got something else in the yard. Dan & G spent the rest of the day with me doing household errands and then fun shopping.

Update

Farnsworth usually showed up in the front yard in the morning






It's been a while since I posted because we've been busy around here. Here are the headlines ... "Swine Break '09," as it's know around here, was a bust. The protocol for quarantine was changed and the kids were called back to school on Wednesday the 6th, much to everyone's chagrin. ... The pheasant, who I named Farnsworth, continued to make his home here until about two weeks ago, when, after a kind of crappy day as it was, I came home to find that he'd been hit by a car in the road in front of our house. There was nothing I could do for him and I was beside myself. A few days later, G & I spotted a new pheasant, who, though not a beautiful as Farnsworth, has taken up residence here. I am allowed to listen for him (he's not as bold as Farnsworth and doesn't come into the yard), but I am under strict orders not to name him. ... Dan, G & I jockeyed to read yet another book -- The Sorceress, the third in the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. ... Only four more days of school -- YAY!