Eos

Red skies in the morning, sailor's warning

12.12.10 @ 7:17 a.m.

Boxed Up

Was really excited because a big box with my name on it showed up today. The Packing Elves must be entertaining themselves these days. The item inside (12x6x1) came in the small box (15x7x2) in front, which came in the box (20x12.5x8.5) to the left, which was inside the box in the back (40x13x9). Really?!?!

Tree Decorating

We decorated the tree, which is in Grandpa's living room, during the Packer game. If you go back and look at pictures from trees past, you will see G in a similar outfit each year. When she was little, she started decorating the tree using the tree skirt as part of her "costume." She was a good sport and did it again this year for me.

Winter is Here

This area didn't get pounded with snow the way other places in the Midwest did, but the temps dropped and it was blustery all day. The snow that is here is blowing around and even though the roads are being plowed/sanded, it's drifting right back into them. It was a good day to be inside (but intrepid people that we are, we still did our egg route this afternoon).

Tree Cutting

Today we cut our Christmas tree. It was rainy, but relatively warm (low 30s), so since it is supposed to get really cold/icy/snowy overnight, we figured it was now or never. There's a section on our property that's overgrown, so we went there. We went with a spruce, which fit perfectly in Grandpa's living room. It has to dry out before we decorate it.

So many to choose from!

Conferring with Grandpa

Carting it home

Mother's Little Helper

Usually I am done with shopping and wrapping by St. Nicholas Day. This year I am more than a little behind. Yesterday I tried to catch up. I had lots of "help" from Luna, who enjoyed jumping on paper and chewing on ribbon. I could not distract her, despite my best efforts. Wonder if she'll be in a helping mood again today ...

Newest Family Member

Meet Andromeda (a/k/a Andi), our tortoise-shell kitty. She is the chattiest non-Siamese cat I have ever met. She's very sweet, with a bit of stinker thrown in for good measure. Because she hasn't had all her shots yet, she's living on the 3rd floor, outside of Luna's domain. Luna has shown almost no curosity about what might be on the other side of the door, but once Andi is granted access to the 2nd floor, I'm betting she won't be too happy. We may wait until after the holidays, when everything is more settled, until those introductions are made.

Cookie Walk

The official kickoff to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year was today -- our annual visit to the Cookie Walk at a local Catholic church. It's snowing here today, so we braved unplowed roads to get there. We were psyched that we got there in time to hear the 8 a.m. bells. (It wasn't as idyllic as last year, when the snowflakes were large, fluffy and gently falling -- it was small and pelting.) We try really hard not to pick up any that have peppermint in them, because they "contaminate" the ones around them, but I managed to get one that was. Fortunately it was near the top and G pulled it out as soon as we got home. We came home with about 5 1/2 pounds of cookies (and we're taking bets as to how long they last ... ).

New Role

Our hens have turned out to be prolific -- every one of them is pretty much laying an egg every day. During October, it wasn't much of a problem because we were selling eggs to pumpkin customers. Now the season is over, which means we have almost 30 #$%*ing dozen a week. A person can only eat so many egg sandwiches and fritattas! A friend of mine sent an email out to her neighbors, and surprisingly, quite a few responded. I now have an "egg route" on Sunday afternoons -- I have become The Egg Lady. (Wish I could say The Eggman ... goo goo gajoob ... today was so bizarro ...)

A Memory

Yesterday I was fortunate to be able to go through my family albums with someone who was actually interested in them. I found this picture, which choked me up a bit: 20-month-old G "reading" to my beloved Argos. For an old dog, he tolerated the many forms attention from the newest family member took.

Goats at the Gate

You can't imagine what a welcome sight this is: Two goats at the gate. Layla (the one on the right with the white head markings) was extremely sick earlier this week with pneumonia. At least twice I thought we were going to lose her. She had great care from the vets and from Dan, who spent the week giving injections and probiotics. Layla has been up and around for the past two days, so we hope this means she is on the mend.

Happy Halloween

Gaga Ooh La La

G as the anti-DADT Lady Gaga at the annual Halloween party of some friends

Another Weekend Down

It was a busy pumpkin weekend. Lots of "regulars" came through, including a favorite group we call the "Trebuchet People" or "Anna's Family." It was unseasonably warm (HOT!) weather, so hauling pumpkins and people was sweaty work. We all were happy when the sun went down on Sunday night!


Putting the wagon away Sunday night

Mailbox Greetings

Our neighbor decorated our shared mailbox. I've taken to calling the couple "The Scarecrow and Mrs. King."

Homecoming

Homecoming spirit ... or something else? If you know G, you know why this is funny ...

The Girls

Rainbow Hill

Double rainbow, 10.01.10 @ 6:15 p.m.

Opening Weekend

This was the first weekend of pumpkin season. It was cool, overcast and windy yesterday, so we didn't get many people through. Today was better weather, but the Packers played the Lions at noon, so we had a trickle after the game. That gave us time to spend with friends (Bears fans!) who came out. The field is really weedy because it was so wet this summer, but they managed to find some good pumpkins. We'll see how long this season lasts ...

This year's set up

Flatbed out front

Pressing Issue

There's a bumper crop of apples (8 varieties: Gala, Braeburn, Yellow Delicious, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Macoun, Cortland & Fuji) out in the orchard this year. It's more than we can eat or even store, so Grandpa bought a crusher and a press this week. We took time out from pumpkin season preparations today and made cider with some friends. Considering the time it took five adults and three kids to collect a bushel of windfall apples and then cut, crush, press and strain them, the two gallon yield doesn't sound like a lot -- but boy is it good!



Cutting





Crushing




Pressing -- the end result!

Layla and Melanie

Today we welcomed Layla and Melanie, two Lamancha goats (which are easy to spot, because they look like they have no ears), to Rainbow Hill. G chose their names because they mean "night" and "darkness" respectively. They are still babies really and are skittish about their new home. Melanie in particular is letting her displeasure be known -- loudly! Once pumpkin customers start showing up and feeding them, they will probably warm up to being here.

Melanie

Layla and Melanie

sEggsess!

Our first pullet egg

Frosh Pics

Her favorite (taken on a wooden choo choo behind a local coffee shop)

Mine (taken at our local indy bookstore)

Fall Preview

Eggsceptional

We put in 50 laying hens this week. Originally we were going to just have 25, but in view of the salmonella scare, Grandpa thought that people might be looking for alternative egg sources. In two to three weeks, we should be getting eggs; by mid-autumn, we could have 14 dozen eggs a week! Dan and some friends fenced in some yard today so we can let the hens out during the day. By late afternoon I heard a hawk nearby, but since there was no ruckus, I don't think it went after them. Let's hope the hawk, the owls, the fox, the raccoons and other assorted predators stay away!

Time Marches On

Jackson Lake 2006

Jackson Lake 2010

Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

On our way to Devil's Tower, skirting between two storms

Leigh Creek, Wyoming

Leigh Creek Campground is in a canyon that a gentleman at the Buffalo Visitor Center claimed is as beautiful as any canyon in the US. He may be right. Our site was right on the creek -- the kids had a blast turning blue swimming in the snowmelt-cold water.

Geo Girl

Yellowstone sits on the caldera of a supervolcano. As G will happily tell you, there is still a lot going on underneath the park. Bear sightings notwithstanding, this trip we spent more time focusing on the geological aspects of the park because of her interest in geology/plate tectonics/volcanoes.

At Old Faithful

With a US Geological Survey geologist

At Riverside Geyser

Green Shirt Brigade

When we've traveled with others in the past, we always try to get a group shot at places we visit. This trip, Dan had the brainwave that we should all be dressed alike, so he came up with shocking lime green shirts for everyone. We have pictures of the seven of us at various landmarks across South Dakota and Wyoming. Part of the fun was the creative ways we had to set the camera up to use the autotimer. Here's a sample:


Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD

Ranch Store, on the frontier of the Badlands

Leigh Creek Campground, WY

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Post It!

We've been really busy, so I've been lax about posting pictures. I am going to try to throw a bunch of them up, with narration/explanation to follow after school starts. (HA!)

Me at my favorite place in Yellowstone -- West Thumb, where the hot springs and geysers sit on the lake

Cry Wolf

There is currently a wolf pack traveling near Colter Bay in the Tetons. We heard them one night (and also heard coyotes on two other nights -- once really close by), but didn't see them. As we were cruising through the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone for the third time in a week, however, G spotted something moving in the trees near a bison herd. It was some sort of canid, stalking along the edge of the herd, sticking to brushy areas. It was really well camouflaged, so I can't believe she saw it in the first place. At the next stop we asked a ranger if it was a wolf or coyote. He couldn't tell from our small digital screen, but told us it could be either -- but if it was bigger than a collie, it was most likely a wolf.

Is it bigger than a collie?

Wiley, whatever it is ...