Gettysburg

For several years I've been trying to convince G to go to Gettysburg (locally pronounced "Get-tiss-burg," not "Get-tees-burg") with me. This trip, she finally relented. My dad, she and I took a day trip a few days after the anniversary of the battle. We spent most of our time in the great new Visitors Center and then did a self-guided auto tour of the battlefield. Driving the battlefield brought a better understanding of the topography and how the battles were fought. It was a blazing hot day; it made us think what it must have been like to be wearing wool uniforms instead of shorts and T-shirts. There was so much to see and do that we will have to go back on our next trip east.

Pop-Pop & G in the lobby of the new Visitors Center

G in the Gettysburg Address Room (Sam Waterston's voice continuously loops the speech - he emphasizes "people" and not "of," "by" and "for")

Pop-Pop & G in the shadow of Robert E. Lee at Virginia Memorial

Revolution!

My hometown got a minor league baseball team called the Revolution two years ago. My dad took us to a game on Free Cap Night. What a fun, inexpensive family activity. We had a blast, despite (or maybe because of!) the guy two rows behind us who was a loud know-it-all.

Pop-Pop & G sporting Revolution caps in the outfield of Sovereign Stadium

We're Back

G & I were at my mom & dad's for more than 3 weeks. It was the longest I'd been there since 1980! We would have liked to stay longer, but it was hard being away from Dan for so long, and it was also dodgy trying to reschedule our Amtrak tickets. The trains were packed, I suppose because of gas prices and the idea that train travel is fun. I would like to disabuse you of that notion if you have it! Amtrak does NOT own the tracks west of Pittsburgh, so freight trains have the right-of-way. On the trip out we sat outside of South Bend, Indiana, for 7 hours! We were thankful that we had the sleeper car. Amtrak put those of us traveling east on a BUS in Pittsburgh so that we could make train connections in Harrisburg. It took us 33 hours to get to my folks' house. The trip back wasn't as quite as bad, although it had its moments. We're glad to be home.

G at the beginning of our voyage ... little did she know what an odyssey it would turn out to be!

Our Excellent Adventure

G & I are heading out to Nana & Pop-Pop's for a fortnight. (I'm allowed to use that term because Wimbeldon is under way!) We are taking the train, which we are excited about, because: 1) It is the mode of transportation, according to the NY Times, due to gas prices and airline cutbacks; 2) I'm not driving; 3) We've only done short-distance rides in the past; and 4) I was able to upgrade to a sleeper room on one of the legs of the journey. I'll try to post once we get there, but if I don't, see you when we get back!


Picture us instead of them in this "superliner roomette"

Strawberry Moon

More Canoeing

The water keeps rising here. Dan & G went canoeing again. The water was deep enough in some places that they couldn't find the bottom with an oar, even when putting an arm into the water with it. At least they are paddling around for fun ... we have friends who have to park their car on the dry part of the road and canoe to their house.

Dan & G canoeing on the still-expanding river overflow (in the foreground: what's still above water in our cow pasture)

In the Marsh

Pushing Off

Out Came the Sun

It didn't dry up all the rain, so Dan and G went canoeing. They pushed off from the ditch by the road, paddled up the road, took a tour of our marsh, then went into the neighbor's pasture.



Circling our marsh




Exiting the neighbor's pasture

More of Same

This entry is being posted between lines of storms. More rain last night, more this morning, more coming today. The water is as high as we've ever seen it in 20 years; we've got water in fields where we've never seen it before. Last night the power went out for six hours, which stopped the septic pump. When the electricity went back on, the pump didn't start up because it was clogged with "backup." How fun is that?

The cows on the ridge that's keeping our house high and dry

View of our house facing west from the marsh road

Road flooded as far as the eye can see -- G waded to almost the top of her boots and had to turn around

View from My Window

Props to The Daily Dish

Third Hatch

This time 32 of the 40 eggs in the incubator hatched. (Verdict is still out on three more.) Even more color variations this time, including several totally or almost totally yellow chicks.




Newest arrivals

First batch, doing well

Second batch, at that gawky stage

More Flooding

We have river front property again. The water is so high that the road adjacent to our property is closed. It's fun to sit and watch the people who attempt to power through anyway. Trucks can do it, but I wouldn't recommend doing it in a Prius or an Aveo.



Bella and friends headed for high ground, as our marsh is once again part of the river

Another view

Hummingbird Wars

While sitting on the roof, I made several videos of various hummingbirds coming to the feeder. In this video, a female was feeding when not one but two other hummers came buzzing in. It scared the #%*$ out of me, so I jerked the camera and didn't really get a good shot of any of it. But you can certainly hear the fracas!

Sweet Pea

Hummingbirds

There's finally been activity at our hummingbird feeders ... today it was like O'Hare, there was so much traffic. G sat right in front of the feeder and they still came. There is one female, who has a longer bill and more white on her underside, who spent a lot of time here today. (We're calling her "Sweet Pea.") We'll probably get tired of watching after a few days, but for now, it's really a trip to see them up close.


G sitting on the roof, observing one of our many visitors

More of Same

There was more rain overnight. The field is now flooded up to the yard. I don't know that it can drain fast enough now for the rows on the western-most edge of the field to make it, but we're hoping that as much as possible will make it. While it was overcast today, we didn't get any more rain, and it's supposed to stay that way until Thursday, when more storms are forecast.

View looking north ... you can see the water comes right up to the Charlie Brown tree that marks the boundary between the field and our yard

Water, Water Everywhere

There's been some pretty severe weather in the area in the past 48 hours, but fortunately we've missed the "tornadic activity" (as the local TV meteorologists were calling the tornado touchdowns), wind shears and tennis ball-sized hail. We did get almost 4 inches of rain on Saturday, however, and there's more in the forecast for today. I don't know where it's all going to go, because everything is super-saturated.

The corn and pumpkin fields are flooded


The weather has also put a damper on the fragrance of the locust trees, which bloomed late this year and are losing petals in the storms

Good Dog

Dame Maike vom Zeushart

Roof Garden

Our roof garden is finally blossoming. We have more flowers in more containers than ever before. The violas and petunias in particular are doing really well. One disappointment, however, is that we've yet to see a hummingbird at the feeder. Last year, we had visitors within a half hour of putting the feeder up.



G's bird's-eye view

Luna, queen of all she surveys (under my $7 rummage purchase)

Detente

Maike and Cocoa have never liked each other. If one was around, the other was absent. But I guess they're getting older, because they are at least starting to tolerate each other. I caught them napping in close proximity this weekend.

Pool Open

Dan got the pool open yesterday, June 1. That is the latest date since we put it up. It's been so cool and wet this spring that it hasn't been necessary to have it up and running. It's warm and humid today, so maybe we'll get some use out of it this week.

G went in ... and eventually lost feeling in her legs, feet and toes

Can't be in the pool without a splash or two for Maike

Paging Lynne Truss

The kids got a huge kick out of this sign at the campground. Because there was no punctuation, they interpreted it as: "Drive! Slow Children At Play."

Camping Trip

We went camping this weekend in Maribel, Wisconsin, with some friends. It was beautiful Friday and Saturday during the day, but reeeeeeeeally cold at night. Sunday brought intermittant rain and sun. We visited Maribel Caves State Park and walked along Devil's River, which had some falls that the kids called "Euphoria" because they had so much fun playing in the water. Unfortunately for those over the age of 12, I decided that hot dogs wouldn't fly for the adults and so I brought chicken/spinach/feta sausages. Lesson learned: gourmet brats do not belong at the end of stick over a campfire. It was one of several incidents over three days that we are laughing at now, but maybe not so much at the time. Overall, it was a good way to spend a long weekend.

Grist mill at the entrance of the campground

G at Euphoria

Spelunker

Morning moon over our campsite

Making pancakes

Sky in Maribel

05.24 @ 3:33 p.m.

05.25 @ 7:35 a.m.

A Tribute

To my camping SIL Kate, who taught me everything I know about packing for such trips!

Container Gardens

G & I finally got some flowers in today!

Alyssum by the phone box

A start on the roof garden

Hatch-22

Final tally from the second round in the incubator: 22. New colors and patterns this time. A third round is going in tonight.

A noisy brood, this group

Second Batch

Tomorrow our second batch of chicks should be busting out of their shells. We had two "early birds" this afternoon and one tonight. The first batch is still under a heat lamp in our milkhouse, safe from cats, coyotes and raccoons for the time being.



Afternoon arrivals

First batch, at the awkward between-peep-fluff-and-adult-feathers stage

Bees in Trees

It's a late spring this year because it was so cool for so long. The apple trees are just shy of full bloom right now. The bees from our hive were busy pollinating them today. Hope this means fruit-laden trees in the fall.

Dan, G & Maike stroll through the orchard toward the hives

Looking up an apple tree

Doing her job

Bella Update

After a rough few days, Bella is up and doing well. We've been letting her wander around instead of putting her back in with the other cows. She hasn't strayed too far since behind the silo there's a flatbed with three large round hay bales on it. We've been letting her feed at will there.

Bella and her all-you-can-eat buffet

Mistress Doolittle

In general, newborn calves don't come when you call them. But Honeysuckle's calf seemed curious about G as soon as she approached. Against the mooed advice of his mama, he went right to her.

"Come here Baby"

"It's OK Mama"

"Hello Baby"