Christmas Eve 2011

I started singing: Oh the weather outside is frightful, the fire inside delightful...

Lou joined in: And since we've no place to go...

Together: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

There was no snow this Christmas so there was no valid reason for that song (in Dean Martin's voice) to run continuously through my head. But it sure was nice to have Lou immediately join Dino and I in letting that out of my head. Nothing more gratifying than to have your seasonal affliction validated so you can move on to other fun for the evening.

The rest of the night there was singing; talking, laughter and of course picture taking. The party moved on to the next place and a new set of people but the fun continued. Here's a few pictures from the night made into a video.

Summer Memories

Two shots taken this past summer. So pretty...such a nice place. I am so lucky to have captured these shots. :)

Great Night

I came across these pictures and I felt they never got the attention they should have at the time. They are from 2009. It was a very rough time period in my life. I needed the fun we were having here. And without fail when you get a few of us together, we may start off rather calm and quiet but we end up having some kind of fun.

This night we started off practicing Michael Jackson moves because....well, because we just can't seem to stop doing that. We aren't very good at it; can't get synchronized no matter how how we try; have no outlet for this spectacular production we are working out in our heads and spend most of our time laughing too hard to be taken seriously anyway. But for some reason we don't give it up. We never admit we can't do it. And we never stop enjoying those practice sessions. They are awesome and so are we!!

Really Big Squash

During the summer I often walked by this field with odd giant squash of some kind growing. It started off looking normal but they just continued to grow and grow to really huge proportions. Compared to the size of the rest of the field there was only a small section with this squash planted in it.

All summer I checked the progress of this squash every time I walked by that end of the field. I wondered what kind of squash it was. I wondered if maybe they were gourds. I wondered why they only planted a small amount. I wondered who owned the field. And I wondered what they were going to do with the giant squash.

At the end of the growing season that squash still sat there. It was huge and it just continued to sit there. The rest of the field was harvested and still that squashy end remained there on it's own. I watched to see what would happen next. And I waited....and waited....and waited.

Until one day I walked by and I was shocked to see that the squash had been plowed under! That beautiful huge squash...that could have used by local shelters...that could have been fed to farm animals...wasted!! Why??

Well I don't know why they did it but I will ask them why or I'll offer to take it off their hands if they plant it again next year. I was raised not to waste food or anything really. It drives me nuts to see all that food gone to waste. And if by chance it is some type of gourd that isn't supposed to be eaten...well, lets see that it gets used as decoration then! Anything is better than letting it rot in the field.

Remembering December 8, 1980

December 8, 1980 we lost John Lennon.

I remember the day well which is a rare event for me. I was 4 months pregnant with my first child, my daughter Sara. I remember going outside that winter day to see some strange man painting huge letters on the town garage that was kitty corner to my parents house. I didn't know who this man was or why he was defacing the barn but I remember being angry that he was doing it. I called the police and let them handle it.

Meanwhile after going back inside I heard on the news that John Lennon had been killed...shot to death. I was shocked and very upset. I didn't know what to do with myself so I grabbed a coat and went back outside. I stared at that barn for a long time. In huge red letters it said 'This is for you John...'. Now I felt bad for having called the police and gotten that man in trouble. Now I understood.

Later that week I found out the man was a boyfriend (Ray)of a friend of mine. He got community service for writing on the barn and he was supposed to also paint over what he had written. I don't know if he ever did his community service but I do know he came back and finished what he had started. The barn now read:
'This is for you John. Give peace a chance.'

Ray never painted over that message and no one ever tried to make him. That message remained on the barn until it was torn down many many years later. It became our own tribute to John Lennon.

I don't regret calling the police on Ray. The only thing I ever knew him to do right was to write that message on that barn. December 8, 1980 we lost John Lennon and the whole world cried for him.

Thanks, Ray.

I Have An Itis

It started as a sneeze or two,
and a tissue here and there
It came with just a tiny cough,
and still I didn't care

It grew and grew as time went on
and then became a wheezing
Each breath I took with some concern
felt very hellish teasing

And now it hurts my throat and chest
with chills and hacking cough
and rumbles through my head all day
almost takes my head right off

I finally go to see the doctor
he gave me orange pills
he says I have an 'itis'
and it comes with those damn chills!

So with the meds and plenty of rest
some fluids to help me fight this
he says I'll soon be feeling better
and be rid of this bronchitis! :)

Impostors

Sidewalk chickens...I know I've mentioned them before. And I've been looking for them for months now but they just haven't been out and about when I was. But I stuck to it.

And then it happened! A couple of months ago I saw chickens! But they weren't on the sidewalk so technically I suppose they can't be called sidewalk chickens. They were in front of a cemetery next to a church. So I'm not sure if they'd be called church chickens or cemetery chickens. And to be honest they weren't alone either. There was a guinea hen or two sauntering around amongst them there chickens...trying to blend in I'm sure.

So for now I'll post these pictures of church chickens/guinea hens because I'm sure I won't be seeing any sidewalk chickens until next year. I can't speak for the guinea hens (because they obviously have a mind of their own) but most chickens tend to stick closer to home during the winter months.
But come spring time and through the summer I'll still be on the look out for those sidewalk chickens!

Pheasants

One female and two males. I saw them all poking around near the side of the road when I was on my way to work. And THAT is why I carry a camera with me almost everywhere I go!

Limbs Be Gone

I was SO glad to see these guys (whoops...one was a woman) show up to take my tree debris away! I was a bit mesmerized by this crane type thing too. I've never seen one that could move quite like that. It really moves like an actual hand. I felt like a little kid watching them. I like watching heavy machinery...is that weird? :)

Say Good-bye Bones

You can TRY to run, Bones.....



You can TRY to climb back out of your box......



But you KNOW I'll win in the end, right Dude??


Good night, bony friend. Never fear....you'll be back next year. And we'll have so much fun with all new poses; costumes and antics....I promise! :)

Reprieve for the Turkey

When I was growing up Thanksgiving was a major event filled with immediate family; relatives you only saw once a year (and that was sometimes something to be thankful for); friends; and family pets wandering around getting under foot all day. As we got older and had our own kids, Thanksgiving became more complicated. Who do we visit for Thanksgiving and who do we see for Christmas was a common question that sometimes ended in squabbles between couples. But no matter if you came for dinner or came later for dessert...it was always an event.

I've always heard it's a traditional thing to have the man of the family slice the turkey. Dad never did. He didn't cook at all and I suppose in both my parents minds all things relating to food were Mom's territory. Mom sliced the bird every year. And now that I really think about it...how weird would it have been to see my Dad slice the bird?!

Mom loved to cook and we loved to eat. Unfortunately the meal always ended with clearing the table and doing the dishes. Such an exhausting day! And because my parents were pretty much sexist (back when nobody used the term or even cared what it meant) all the cleaning up was done by the girls while the 'men folk' headed for the couch; the recliner; a beer and the tv set. It wasn't long before they would fall asleep wherever they were lounging. At first I envied them, eventually I grew to resent it and now I just refuse to do it.

My Thanksgiving now is nothing like those days. I currently don't have the use of my dining room because of the dog pens being in that room. So since I got the girls I haven't had the big meal at my house. I've had it at other houses....I've even prepared it at my house and brought it elsewhere...but it hasn't been at my house.

And although I miss the old traditions from my childhood I'm content right now to order Chinese food and relax instead of going crazy to make a big meal and then taking hours to clean it all up. Frankly, I'm thankful for the break from the responsibility of it all and this time I went shopping instead of passing out in front of the tv. There were no crowds (like there will be on black Friday tomorrow); no traffic and I didn't have to elbow anyone at all to get the items I wanted. A good day for me and an even better day for the turkey that never came to my table! :)

Memory of Dad - 3

All of us kids spent every summer in and out of that brook that ran along one side of my parents property. The whole neighborhood had open access to that brook and on any given day there could be 8 or more kids in there splashing around and playing on the old tractor trailer tire tubes that we got from Sweeny's garage at the top of our street. I think back then they would hand them out for free...or at least I don't recall anyone paying for them. They just seemed to magically appear and we loved them. We never had more than two but it was possible to fit up to 4 kids on one tube so that was plenty. One very hot summer day we were all surprised when my father suddenly appeared standing on the bank...and he was wearing a BATHING SUIT! This was something we had never seen before...Dad in a bathing suit! He dropped his towel on the ground and executed a perfect dive straight into the deepest part of the brook.We were thrilled and shocked to see Dad do this..he'd never come swimming with us before and we didn't even know Dad could swim. As it turns out he was a damn good swimmer and even did a little showing off for us by standing on top of a metal bar to dive; the bar having been put in there long ago to help hold the embankment against floods. That was the one and only time I ever saw Dad swim and I never forgot it.

Check Yea Weapons At The Door

Long long ago in a land far away and sparsely populated by their kind.....a horde of amazon women descended upon an unsuspecting merchant's establishment. Much food was ordered and consumed and many laughs were enjoyed. The hapless waiter was unceremoniously dumped into the fray and ordered to attend them. Defenseless and completely at the mercy of these amazons he soon joined in with the merriment, having seen no way to escape it.

Some local inhabitants were less than amused by the raucous laughter and general merriment of the group but they were cowed by the amazons and dared not voice a complaint. Other locals joined in with the laughter and enjoyed the unusual spectacle in their realm....often laughing while banging their own tankards on tabletops demanding more ale as well.

When finally the meal was done and the tankards were drained it was time for the amazons to move on to their respective villages, to sleep the sleep of the seasoned warrior. They had lived another day and lived it well, enjoyed the company of their fellow warriors, strengthened the bonds of friendship and dominated all lands and people they encountered. Now the embers glow red beneath the dying fire as the innkeeper stifles a yawn and the waiter scrambles for coins tossed at his head before tucking them safely away. The friends bid farewell and move off into the night. The soft metal clinking of armor and weapons fades slowly with them.

Instead of Halloween...

I never for one minute thought Halloween would be snowed out. I never for even a second thought this snow was going to be anything more than just too early for my liking. Consequently I didn't fill my car with gas the night before. I didn't stock up on batteries; milk; bread; candles and all the various sundries that are standard stocking items for all predicted storms these days. I didn't do anything other than put my car in the garage for the night and take in most of the lawn items that need to come in before winter. I really had no clue that Mother Nature was about to wallop us like she did. What a meanie she turned out to be!

The next 5 days and nights turned out to be a scramble for candles; flashlights; batteries; and above all heat! First the snow had to be cleared away from steps; walk ways and driveway. But the mass of destroyed trees and downed power lines turned that ordinary winter chore into a nightmare. My yard was full of tree limbs and branches...mostly belonging to my neighbors. I shouldn't have been surprised by this because we'd spent the night of the storm listening to the constantly cracking of the trees outside and hoping nothing fell on my house. In that respect I was lucky. My one large tree in the front yard took a beating but it was still standing. The one tree in the back only lost one dead limb.


The girls (my dogs) were overly excited about the new snow..even though they were shivering with the cold. They turned into very large puppies and were bounding from one snow pile to the next. I had to almost drag them back into the house.

I had put my car into the garage the night before mainly because it's old and rain will sometimes get into the back causing that unpleasant musty smell. I baby that car to keep it going as long as possible. I didn't have any immediate need to leave the house because there was no work to go to and the roads were for the most part impassible. So it was over a day later that I had the sudden realization that my garage door is electric and how the hell was I going to get my car out? Luckily my boss told me there had to be a release mechanism there somewhere to bypass the lock. I found it eventually and was much relieved but that opened up new problems because as I stated earlier, I didn't fill my tank with gas before the storm. Gas was hard to come by due to the gas stations not having power. All the gas in the world won't be any help if you have no power to pump it. I lucked out and had gas delivered to me by a friend that was able to get out of state with one of my gas cans in tow. That problem was solved.

Next I had to get food stuffs that didn't need refrigeration and at least in theory could be cooked on the one little charcoal grill we had to use. Stop and Shop was opened under generator power and was selling nonperishable items. When I got there the place was swarming with people, there were no carriages and everything was in partial darkness. (there is something very creepy about being in a large store that is not fully lit...felt like something was going to jump out at you around every corner). I commandeered a carriage from a bewildered store employee after realizing I couldn't possibly get everything using a small basket. I think the survival mode was kicking in at this point. I needed that carriage; I took it. Sorry dude.
I ended up buying a lot of foods that I don't normally eat...mainly because I consider them crap. Oh well...desperate times call for desperate measures. Better to have a belly full of granola bars and soup than to have an empty belly.

Having obtained some of the basics I needed, I started to build a routine each day of starting the charcoal grill; waiting a lifetime for it to be hot enough to use; spending incredible amounts of time trying to make a cup of tea (only to have it lukewarm anyway or taste like charcoal); deciding what foods needed to be eaten first from the fridge and freezer; layering perishable items in a cooler with snow; handing out foods to friends and family that had generators so it wouldn't be wasted; rationing batteries and candles; clearing more tree debris each day; heating water to clean oneself as quickly and efficiently as possible (in a very cold room) and listening to endless automated phone messages from the town of Enfield. I quickly learned it is utterly exhausting to live this way. Not having the bare essentials of heat; hot water and electricity is demoralizing as well. The daily struggle at first was a challenge but quickly became a huge burden and eventually led to some level of depression and apathy. I began to wonder how the pioneers could have done it and realized although I could provide the basics for survival on my own it's the luxuries (like hot water and being warm) that make the difference in living well and just living. I am no pioneer woman!

Luckily for me a friend got power before me and I had a warm bed for two nights. I was even able to bring my dogs with me and they were grateful to be warm too. The first couple of days of playing in the snow dimmed considerably when they never got the chance to be warm. The poor dogs were shivering each morning despite my having loaded them up with bedding to sleep in and covering their pens with blankets as well. They just don't have the warm coats that a lot of other dogs have and I never considered buying them any 'doggy coats' for winter before. I was as ill equipped to keep them warm as I was to keep myself warm. So despite the fact they had to share an apartment with another dog they were as grateful as I was to have a warm place to sleep. As soon as they arrived they took over the available doggy bed; fashioned their bedding into a cozy sleeping spot and passed out..only waking for short bursts of play; potty calls and to enjoy the homemade treats I'd brought with me. They were as exhausted as I was.

The first night I stayed at my friends house I saw that power had been restored to part of my road. Unfortunately that power stopped literally two houses from mine. Nothing made me want to cry more than to see the line of street lights stop two houses from my house. I felt a mixture of hope and desperation seeing all the lights and I have to admit also anger. It's true you do start to form an attitude of 'me first' when desperation rears it's ugly head. I'd been hearing reports on the radio of people having violent and angry outbursts at gas stations; stores and on the roads. I understand that feeling now.

It was still another couple of days before power was restored to my house. I was heading back home to sleep in the cold again when I saw all the lights on in my house. Normally the waste of electricity would irritate me into scolding the culprit that had left the lights on. This time it was a welcome beacon in the desolate winter night. I was hooting and hollering and bouncing about in my car before I even pulled into the driveway. The dogs didn't understand what was going on but they started barking and bouncing around in the back as well. We had lights, we had heat and all would be well now. The house was still cold so the power hadn't been on long but it didn't matter anymore. I knew the nightmare was over.

It took days to clean up the mess created by living like that. Everything needed washing...and with HOT water instead of cold. Candles were stored away along with flashlights and extra blankets. And I've yet to get all the plastic bags of snow out of my freezer.( Hearing that little tip on the radio saved me from losing a lot of frozen meats.) It's amazing how well it worked to pack bags of snow in between and around the meats and veggies in my chest freezer. And that's just one thing I learned from this experience. From now on I'm going to have an emergency box to go to when the power is out. I'm stocking it with candles; flashlights (and a few batteries); blankets; plastic bags; camping equipment and such. I also will remember that I had less problems than some of my family members because I keep a little cash on hand for emergencies. My Dad taught me that. Everyone else around me had issues buying gas and food because the ATM machines didn't have power and they didn't have cash. I'm going to keep large bottles of water in my freezer going forward. It will help insulate the freezer and provide necessary water if we lose power. I was lucky in some respects. I was able to flush my toilets and I had running water because I'm on town water. People with wells weren't so lucky. I also had a working telephone because I never got rid of my land line and corded phones. Cordless phones and a lot of cell phones were useless. It pays not to be too dependent on technology and I came out ahead of the game because of my non-dependence. I've always made it a policy to not be too dependent on any technology or to at least have a back up plan in your head. I don't own a cell phone and you don't miss what you've never had.

Now that I was 're-electrified' I felt it was only right to take in others that didn't have power. Two of my son's friends moved in a couple of hours after I got power. An inflatable air mattress was employed along with blankets and hot food. Everyone was warm and happy and soon were sound asleep. My water heater decided to act up by spewing water all over the basement so I was up most of the night waiting for a repair guy and then trying to placate the nasty tempered fellow once he was here. In the end he made the repairs; told me a few stories about customers that have yelled at him; wrote me up my bill and departed. The house was warming up again and I was finally able to go to bed.

And during all this turmoil and recovery and all the days of creeping to work driving around and sometimes under scary trees laying on power lines and huge mounds of brush and tree limbs my thoughts kept sliding back to Halloween. This all started a couple of days before Halloween and so there was no Halloween. I still haven't packed away my costume boxes or deflated good old 'bones' the inflatable skeleton. He's sitting crumpled up with the loss of air, in a corner of the room still wearing the pirate costume I dressed him in and looking much the way I feel inside about missing Halloween this year. I didn't get a chance to wear my new costume or hand out candy but I'll be primed for all the Halloween fun next year. We're sliding quickly into Thanksgiving now and I'm still feeling the loss of all that fun. I'm also feeling a little bit afraid of what we may have coming our way this winter.

So when I finally get around to getting the rest of the bags of snow out of my freezer and packing all my Halloween paraphernalia away I'll be sure to get that emergency box ready too. And I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that we have a very little bit of snow this winter.

Bones

Bones arrived a little before Halloween and made himself completely at home!
















But when the party's over...it's really over.

Mullen Road

There's a certain road on the border of East Windsor and Enfield that I discovered long ago holds secrets. The road is named Mullen Rd and it has a condo development at one end and an Army Reserve center at the other end. In between there are a smattering of odd houses and a company or three. It's almost as if that road can't decide if it's a residential area or a commercial area.

It's not a particularly pretty area; in fact most of it is rather ugly looking. So why do I like this road so much? Why do I deliberately take this road whenever the opportunity arises? Why do I consider it a very special road?

Because of the wildlife on it. I've seen more wildlife on that one stretch of road (not a very long road either) than I have almost anywhere else in either Enfield or East Windsor. And I've had odd things happen there that just don't seem to happen in other places.

I've had a wild turkey sudden appear at windshield level, flying dead on at my face looking for all the world like it was a gigantic flying rock coming at me, only to have it veer off at the last possible moment and land in a nearby tree. I'm sure that was some kind of turkey version of the game 'chicken'.

Many times I've had deer come bounding out of the brush along side of the road with the soul intent of getting to the other side but all of them seem set on hearing my ear piercing scream while they do so. And now that I think of it almost ALL of the animals I encounter on that road are darting out in front of my car. Perhaps it's some kind of initiation zone or some type of elaborate animal game and I'm just not in on the joke. I've seen racoons; skunks; possum; ducks; geese; rabbits; large deer; baby deer; cats and chipmunks on that road and with one exception they all ran in front of my car.

The only one that didn't run in front of my car actually was running along side of it. I was driving home one night and I look casually to the left and find a very large dog running neck and neck with my car. I stopped the car of course and this big boy came right up to my window leaving huge nose prints all over it. I rolled the window down and asked him what the heck he was doing running with my car in the dark. I always talk to animals like I'd talk to people...especially if they are doing weird things like this. He just wagged all over and tried to climb in the car window with me. My dog Allie took exception to that seeing as she already claimed the back seat and wasn't about to share it with some strange road running dog. Besides that, Allie never really liked other dogs to begin with.



This dog really wanted to get in my car too. I realized he either was dumped from a car or horribly lost and thought I had come to take him home. Well I couldn't take him home with me. (but I sure was tempted!) So I pulled into someone's yard who just happen to be taking her dog out to potty before bed and we talked about the giant friendly dog. I explained about my dog hogging the back seat and not especially liking this gentle giant. (Allie was staring at me from the car the whole time...glaring at me really for even considering taking him home). Luckily for all concerned she was a dog lover too and he helped convince her by wagging all over and trying to play with her dog. Her dog wasn't much impressed either but at least he wasn't hostile. She took the dog in for the night and promised to call the dog warden in the morning. I was so relieved! I really had no idea what I was going to do with him but I knew I couldn't leave him on that dark road. I called the dog warden the next day and she had just called him herself. She was intending on keeping the dog if nobody claimed him. Nice ending for the big lug. I was very satisfied with that and I'm sure he was too!



Well I was on my favorite road again just the other day and saw a flock of wild turkeys milling around in one of the fields. I was greatly relieved that they weren't dive bombing my car this time. Judging by the casual way they so boldly took over this field and were wandering around in broad daylight I can only assume they have no idea how close we are to Thanksgiving.

Farm Pics

This big fella was really enjoying his mud bath!


One brave little girl turkey came to check me out.


The boys mostly walked around making a lot of noise.





This field started out with strawberries and was re-planted
with lettuce when the berries were played out.


Various odd veggies were always on display. Although the bird on the end
I just can't explain.


I don't have much liking for eggplant but I do like this one!

The Unexpected

As luck would have it I wasn't able to go on the Salem trip this year. It was paid for and actually my idea to go but my darn water heater had other plans for me. I woke to water in the basement...and it was too much to ignore. I had to stay home.

I kept telling myself I just can't miss the trip; telling myself I can't leave with a mess like this going on at home; wishing it had happened on a different day; wishing it had happened to someone else entirely; wishing I could just go back to bed! But in the end I did what I normally would have done...the responsible thing. I stayed home, waved goodbye to my family as cheerfully as possible; told them to take lots of pictures and called an expert to handle the situation.

I had no idea who to call to begin with so I ended up slightly panicked wandering through the phone book. (does anyone ever even use a phone book anymore?) Roto-Rooter popped out at me with their two page ad claiming they don't charge for the initial visit and estimate; will come to your rescue on weekends, holidays and all hours of the day and night...free. Ok guys...you got my attention. I called and had someone there within a couple of hours. The estimate he gave me left no doubt about how it feels to be between a rock and hard place. I felt that rock in the pit of my stomach immediately. He looked a little sympathetic as he handed me the estimate; I just looked pathetic. They wanted $3100.00 for replacing all manner of stuff down there. I told him I needed to make a call before I signed anything.

I called Tony, my former landlord and a great friend. He was at my house before the Roto-Rooter guy had all his ducks in a row and was back on the phone asking me if I was going to go with them for the job or not. I told him no, I got a better deal and hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. As I type I have two men in my basement doing that same job for less than half what Roto-Rooter was quoting me. But none of this took place quite that easily.

Tony and I spent a little time yesterday making sure all the shut off valves were off and that the boiler was turned off as well. No hot water now baby! But we weren't done yet. That water heater had to be drained too because it was continually leaking hot water onto the basement floor...the basement that doesn't have a drain anywhere...can't have that going on! Luckily I had already taken in the garden hose for the season and it was neatly coiled in the corner. I pulled that out, Tony hooked it up to the water heater and then we proceeded to perform a most complex 3 Stooges routine using only us 2 stooges! I pulled the hose up through the house and out the door to drain on the lawn outside. I could feel hot water heating up the hose as I went. Three or four more times I had to bring the end back downstairs because the hose had become hopelessly twisted and knotted. Did I mention that the hose had been neatly coiled to begin with?

Eventually we actually got this feat of magic accomplished. The water heater was drained (for the most part) and now all that was left to do was wait for the guys on white horses to arrive and do the rest. That wasn't going to happen until the next day so I needed to keep myself busy and salvage what was left of my day. I also needed to keep busy so I didn't keep thinking about that Salem trip I was missing. I decided to bring the dogs outside and strip the rest of the garden down in preparation for winter.

The garden stripping went fairly smoothly. I only got one large scratch on my leg (very painful); smacked myself in the head with a bunch of tomato stakes, leaving clumps of dirt in my hair; and received one very hefty splinter in my finger. Oh yes, I was grace in motion out there.

The dogs passed their time by eating everything they found; having a barking contest with the little neighbor dog whom they can't see but could hear (they won); repeatedly digging holes in the lawn despite my constant direction to stop (thank you Bell); and mutilating random plants in the planter next to them. At that point dirt in my hair was the least of my concerns. I put Bell in the house for her attempts to reach China by way of my lawn, while I let Nicki stay outside chomping on a small cucumber I'd found hiding in the garden. Cucumbers can't hold a candle to dragging a large branch around a tree several times, so it wasn't long before she found herself firmly knotted up in her lead getting real cozy with said tree. (Nick you are a lovable idiot aren't you?). I took pity on her (standing there wagging her whole body pinned to the tree) and brought her in the house to play with Bell in a non-tree environment. I wondered vaguely if I'll ever be able to have them outside without these types of mishaps as I limped back outside shaking dirt from my hair and sucking my bleeding finger.

Life is back to normal now, better than normal really. I've got a brand new modern water heater in the basement (quite sleek and sexy looking I must say) and no more worries about what will go wrong during the long winter to come. There's hot water a flowing and a nice hot shower in my immediate future. And all I've got left to do is figure out how I'm going to clean up that water in the basement. Piece of cake, right?

The Big E - 2011

Baby pigs sleeping. So cute!


This llama was so bored he refused to look at anyone.


Baby chicks in the hatchery.


Really nice picture done on one of the giant pumpkins.


Bunny with the talking cow.


Me coming out of the hobbit house.


Plenty of hobbits at the fair this year!


We bought raw honey from the bee keepers.