Witch Fingers

I don't know about your Halloween traditions but mine is that every witch that stops (or flies) by has to forfeit a finger. I got a good haul this Halloween!

Now I'm sitting with my feet up; a cup of tea and enjoying the take for the evening. Yummy!

Island Party- 2013

Every September the German Club in Broad Brook (of which I've been a member for a long time) throws an island party that consists of friends; family; a kick-ass live band and an awesome meal consisting of a variety of seafood favorites. The band this time was Drive Time....one of my favorites. And this year I tried the seafood bisque and I am never going back to regular old clam chowder again! The chowder is delicious too but the bisque was something new to me and I was blown away by it. If I had a choice I would have brought home a bucket of the stuff but lots of other people loved it too so there wasn't any left over.

There was a huge food line that didn't move quickly enough for SOME people. The odd duck in line here is my son Justin. He's every bit the ham I am when a camera is around. 

My friend Carol decided to see if she could still hula hoop. Like most of us at a certain age, we've had hula hoops when we were little and some of us used to be really good at it. Carol, encouraged by a little girl of about 6 yrs old, decided to give it a try. 

And she tried many many times while we took tons of pictures and laughed our butts off. 

But eventually she got it and won herself a little cheer and a round of applause from the people who had been watching and cheering her on. 

This party animal was one of the door prizes although I don't know who actually won him. 

I don't think he had a clue what was coming. 

Return to Scantic River Park West

When I returned to the Scantic River Park West it was to explore the trail with 'eyes' and I brought along Justin and Bunny. Both have been accompanying me on hikes quite a bit lately and both were interested in finding another beautiful trail so close to home. 

And judging by the signs that someone had written 'loser' on, we determined we were on the loser trail. It's always good to know what trail you're on in the woods. 

I was so glad we took the loser trail. Look how beautiful it is!! I have tons of pictures I took but had to narrow it down to just a few. Hopefully you can get a sense of how awesome the loser trail really is! Never shun the loser trail without checking it out first. 

Beautiful colors of fall just starting to edge the trees around the water. And the property across the river is a farm with cows roaming free....and occasionally wondering who we were. No doubt thought we were losers.

And then we came across trees across our path. As you will see below we each found our own way around these obstacles. Bunny tried her version of the limbo....

For Justin and Zack it was a hop, skip and a jump.....

But me? Well it appears I am slightly tree challenged.....

Oh yeah....slightly challenged alright.....

Ok. I'm a loser on the loser trail!

But on the other side of all those trees was THIS and it was well worth it!!

Scantic River Park West

The first time I saw the sign for this trail I didn't think much of it. It was crammed in to a neighborhood area and very hard to see the sign. I pulled into the parking lot and was so under whelmed by the area that I turned around and left without investigating it at all. 

Months later I was back with Kaylee and a desire to 'be fair' and at least check it out. How bad could it be after all?

Kaylee had her new baby doll in tow so she was all set. I brought all the 'extras'...like water; knapsack; snacks; camera and the medical pack I always bring in case of emergencies....you know, the stuff you bring if you have room. 

The beginning of the trail was kind of blah but that didn't last long. Before I knew it I was saying wow and looking in every direction at once. This place was beautiful! Who would expect such a gem to be hidden away in the middle of Enfield? I was amazed. 

The trail led straight down to the river area where there was a bench (already occupied when we got there) facing the river and a sandy area to the right. There was just enough sunlight through the trees to make the place feel inviting and the sound of the river was another draw all on it's own. 

We walked all over the place taking pictures; picking up shiny rocks; checking out the frogs and mushrooms that seem to follow me everywhere I go. This place was turning out to be more scenic than the previous Linear Parks...or at least in a different way. 

We didn't take this trail with the strange "eyes" because it was getting late in the day and I wasn't sure how far we'd end up going. If I had been on my own I may have thrown caution to the wind and pranced off into the unknown. But having Kaylee with me made me NOT want to scare the child by having her find out Grandma doesn't always know where the heck she's going. Nothing worse than toting a scared little girl threw the woods in the dark. No, no, no....can't have that. She's one of the few people left who still think I know what I'm doing!

Risley Pond Trails, Vernon

Risley Pond was a beautiful green oasis with many special little spots where someone could sit and fish or have a picnic with a friend. 

The bigger picture from one end of the pond. We also came upon some teenage girls that were swimming (illegally) in the pond...swinging from a long rope hung from a tree. That really took me back!

Look Ma....gymnastic cattails!!

This stairway looked like it led straight into what would normally be a stream....that was a little confusing. 

Sometimes I make Bunny walk the plank for my own amusement. 

Frogs jumping out of everywhere. Bunny greeted them several times with a little scream. I think they liked it because they kept doing it....and so did she!

The strangest part of the day was when we were leaving. A young woman (in her teens) came up to us with a large box of bananas she was handing out. She said they were left over from some triathlon being held in the area. I wish I got her picture. The bananas were delicious!

Chatfield Hollow State Park

I did quite a bit of hiking this summer...mainly because I knew I was going to be having foot surgery. It must have had some kind of psychological effect on me because it became very important to me to hike as much as possible. My logical mind kept telling me I'll be fine after the surgery but the crazy side never believes the logical side so I wasn't taking any changes. I hiked every place I came across and I was surprised at how many places there are to hike in the state of CT. 
So here are some pictures of Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth. I think you'll agree it is a beautiful park.

It's not my fault...mushrooms follow me everywhere. 

They have a working water wheel.

This is some kind of club house that appears to be used for nature classes when it's open. 

This last shot was taken at the Clinton Town Beach.