So Good They Named It Twice

G & I took a few days to go up to New York to see Pat, Bill, Simon and Jaspar. While we had a good family visit, Pat astutely noted that G will not be following her cousin Ellie to Barnard -- she did not enjoy being out and about in NYC, especially because of the crowded streets and second-hand smoke. (We are so spoiled in Wisconsin! I would be interested to see smoking rates for the East Coast versus the Midwest!) I however could have lounged in the chairs in Times Square or sat at the tables in Bryant Park all evening to people watch.

At the American Museum of Natural History









Empire State Building from Penn Station

Visitors

Usually G & I estivate (look it up!) when we're at Nana & Pop-Pop's, but this year we had visitors. Our friend Mark stopped by on his way to DC and spent the afternoon with us. We made sure to take him to Sweet Willow's for ice cream.

My cousin Meg, her husband Alan and their kids Craig and Cheryl put us on their route during their family vacation.

Reading

Reading was and remains an Olympic sport at my parents' household. G never got into the Nancy Drew series when she was younger, but is now up to book 33 because my dad bribed her to read them since he has all 56 of the yellow-spined volumes from when I was growing up.

First day there

Last day

We're Back!

G & I are home after three weeks on the East Coast. We were fortunate enough to come back to a superlative Wisconsin day -- blue sky, white clouds, green fields, no humidity -- which made it that much easier. After saying "hello" to Maike, Cocoa, Grandpa and Luna (pretty much in that order), we headed straight for the pool, which wasn't open when we left.

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!

SC Day 5: The Last Olympian

Dan, G & I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the last Percy Jackson book. I was at the book store when it opened at 8 a.m. so that I could pick our copy up.

When I walked into the house, I promptly handed it over to G, who immediately delved into it. At my 11:15 check, she was more than halfway through it, so I may get to start it before Dan gets home tonight!

(1:15 p.m. Update: G is finished and has passed the book to me!)

SC Day 4: Bees

Dan & Jamie put the new bees in yesterday. We had to replace both our colonies, because one did not survive the cold weather and it looks like the other one may have succumbed to Colony Collapse Disorder. Jamie had better luck and only had to replace two of his six. I didn't get more pictures because after six months of going strong, the battery on my new camera finally died.

Ready to go with a new colony

SC Day 4: Potting Plants

Our "gardening" has evolved into a rooftop garden, ever since cats and chickens wouldn't leave our flower boxes alone. Instead of buying everything at once, G & I are going to plant in phases this year. Since it was a beautiful day, we decided to visit the garden center to start this year's garden.

A start on the season

SC Day 3: Hiking

We hiked part of the Ice Age Trail, which included exposed Silurian Dolomite of the Niagara Escarpment, a geological formation that runs from New York (and Niagara Falls) through Ontario and Michigan to Wisconsin and Illinois.

SC Day 3: Geocaching

We went geocaching with friends on Sunday. One of the caches included a Big Chicken as a clue. It turned out to be more of a Wild Goose. We ended up ditching the search to go for custard at LeDuc's, which was conveniently nearby.

SC Day 2: Four-Wheeling

We took the RAV4 four-wheeling into various corners of the farm. Here's a view of our cows on the ridge.

SC Day 2: Pelicans

We'd been seeing a moving white line in our neighbors' flooded pasture ...

It turns out it is a pod of pelicans, including at least one nesting pair.

SC Day 2: Yard Work

I finally feel comfortable letting G use the rider. With an assist from Dan, we got most of the yard done in two hours.

School Closed Day 1: Incubator

Grandpa has been collecting eggs from the yard hens. On Friday G put them in the incubator. In 21 days we'll see how many of them yield chicks.