This and That Reprised

Our neighbor's grandchildren were visiting last week.  It was wonderful hearing the shouts and laughter of children around the cottage.  Of course you know that it made me miss my munchkins.  It must be time for a visit....soon.

Henna has now been on the boat three times.  She still pants and shakes but her tongue isn't quadrupling in size so I guess that's progress.  The funny thing is, when you ask her if she want to go on the boat she gets all excited, runs to the dock and jumps aboard.  I think she is conflicted.

We had a wonderful visit with old friends last Saturday.  The weather didn't cooperate and we were forced to remain indoors but that didn't dampen the day too much.  A & I can chit chat in any weather!

Speaking of old friends , the fourth of July weekend is looming and K & D are on their way.  K & D hail from the great state of Alabama and are making the trek north of the Mason Dixon line to spend the holiday weekend with us at the little red cottage.    Good times and laughter are on the agenda but aren't they always when good friends come to call?

Posting will be spotty until after the holiday...just so ya know.

Link to Project 365.

Summer Day

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."
                                                                                                                    ~Unknown

Conquering Her Fears

Our little Henna is plagued with "issues." One of the pitfalls of adopting a rescue with little known background.  We are counted among the lucky that even though her issues are many several, they are not of an aggressive or debilitating nature.  She is, on most levels, an ideal pet.  However, she is petrified of the water.  She runs contentedly along the shore or the edge of the pool watching as others enjoy cooling off on a hot day but don't even think about getting her in on the action.  She bolts for the safety of the house in an instant.  Mistakenly we thought she might enjoy the boat on the condition that she stay dry.  Wrong.  She cowered in fear on the bottom of the boat, shaking uncontrollably and drooling like a leaky faucet.

Last week we I got the bright idea that we should try her on the boat here.  The lake is calm, there is no bouncing hull and she can see out easily through the rail that surrounds the deck.  There is also no rising or falling tide rendering the boat difficult to board at the cycle's extremes.  It's a simple walk- on.  And so we did.   It was time to conquer her fears.

She needed a little nudging to cross the threshold.  (That should be translated as tugging an pulling on her leash and finally dragging her onto the boat.)



I was hopeful, she wasn't cowering in a corner, and once underway she relaxed a little and began to move around the boat giving it a good sniff.  And then the panting started....followed by the shaking.



Yet she moved freely around the boat and seemed content to watch the happenings on the water.  You might even say she looked interested.  When we stopped for gas the shaking stopped and she happily took in the sights, watching the comings and goings of the busy marina with curiosity.



But by the time we arrived back at the safety our dock her tongue had doubled in size and I was afraid we might sink from all the drool.  I have never seen a dog whose tongue would grow so long and large from stress.  She bears a strong resemblance to Gene Simmons, don't ya think?



All in all I would say it was a successful first outing.

Especially if you're a KISS fan.

Link to Project 365.

All the Marbles

On Sunday afternoon The Kid and I visited a local flea market.  It was located on the grounds of an old drive-in movie theatre.  (Remember the good ole days?)  I have to confess that I have been less than enamoured with most of the flea markets I have visited in recent years and I didn't hold out much hope for this one.  Most of them are nothing more than glorified dollar stores with stall after stall of discounted cleaning products and t-shirts.  But this little beauty was lined with row upon row of pure junk and yard sale finds.  It was splendid.

Hidden among all of that junk were nuggets of treasure that made my little heart go pity pat.  One such nugget was almost missed, sitting on the ground hidden among old axe handles and baby toys.



An old, blue, 1 qt. mason jar filled to the brim with marbles.  I knew instantly that the old jar was coming home with us.



What could be more intriguing to a little boy who loves anything that "has wheels, rolls, stinks or can be thrown" than a jar filled with old marbles.  It took less than two minutes to seal the deal.



I have a feeling that once the G-man returns home after his next visit we'll be finding marbles in our many nooks and crannies until well past Christmas.  But it will be worth it just to see the look of joy on that little boy's face when he gets a good look at what's inside of that old jar. And seriously, what a find.



You can call us the Pymatuning Pickers.

Do you think they will give us our own tv show?

Link to Project 365.

Rain Delay

Yesterday was a cold and rainy day.  A perfect day for placing pending projects on hold and curling up on the couch with a good book.

Earlier in the week I had urged The Kid off of the farm and into the big city where I secured a library card  from the public library.  It was well worth the $25 fee.  (I'm a non-resident you see.)  After all how many books can you buy in a year for $25?

I love browsing through libraries, touching worn copies of favorite reads and holding them in my hands.  I have toyed with getting a Kindle or other electronic reader but something keeps holding me back.  I guess I'm just old school when it comes to books.

One of my selections was Body Surfing by Anita Shreve, author of The Pilot's Wife.  I spent the better part of yesterday with my nose firmly planted in the middle of the book lost in a world of family dynamics and deceit.  It was the perfect way to spend a cold and dreary Friday.

Oh, and the book was good too.

Sleepless in Pennsylvania

Have you ever laid in bed wanting nothing more than to drift off to sleep but instead found every loose end of your life bouncing around in your head like a never ending game of pin ball?  That's me.  Tonight.



It is currently 12:49 in the a.m.  After an hour and a half of guilt ridden sleeplessnes I have given up.  The Kid is breathing easily in peaceful slumber.  Dreaming, I'm sure, of Large Mouth Bass and Walleyes.  I, on the other hand was restless, eyes squeezed shut, desperately trying to channel sleep instead of reruns of items left off of my grocery list and wrongs commited years ago by people I barely remember.

I guess the only good thing about nights like these are mornings.

Link to Project 365.

Summer Time Showers

There has been a lot of rain in recent days.  The type of rain that blows in from the west and wreaks havoc on the landscape for a few short minutes before moving on.  One minute the sun is shining and the sky is that robin's egg blue of summer.  The next minute storm clouds have gathered, thunder is booming and everyone is running for cover.

Ahhh, memories of the summers of my youth.

Link to Project 365.

Boys Will Be Boys

Last Friday my brother-in-law and his two grandsons (a.k.a. our other boys) came to spend the day.  It took less than five minutes for the B.B. guns to emerge from the barn and a carboard target to get propped against a tree.



Boys never seem to change.  There is roughly 25 years difference in the ages of these two and my own...  and they act exactly alike.



It's comforting in a weird spiders and snakes; guns and fish guts sort of way.  Know what I mean?



He knows what I mean.



Eventually thoughts turned from guns to fish and soon poles and bait were loaded onto the boat and the four-some shoved off.



They returned hours later to tell of a 17" large mouth bass caught by the youngest (what happened to the rest of you yahoos), inhale some burgers and dogs and then head back to the dock for more fishing.

Uncle Kid strung some line.



Pa adjusted a sinker.



Patrick tuned in the Pirates.




And then it was time to kick back and catch some fish.






I'd say it was another memorable day at the little red cottage.



 P.S.  Happy 93rd birthday Bubba!  We love you.

Link to Project 365.

A Boy and My Dog

A boy and my dog.







All is right with the world.

Chasing Frisbees

Meet Dewey.  (I'm sorry Dew, I know I misspelled your name.  I hope you don't mind too much.) Dewey is a Welsh Terrier, lives next door at the lake and is Henna's new best friend.  They take long walks together most evenings and in general keep an eye on the comings and goings around here.



Dewey loves to fetch Frisbees.  You could say it's his passion.



Look at that focus.  Keep your eyes on the prize Dew.



At just the right moment he launches himself skyward snatching the Frisbee as it descends.



And then he dashes around the yard at lightening speed daring someone to chase him.



Eventually he returns eager to continue the game.  If one were patient enough and had enough time this could go on for hours.



In fact, there is really only one successful way to end Dewey's play time.



Some kids just don't know when to quit.

Lights Out

We were advised last fall when we purchased the little red cottage to expect frequent power outages.   Last night we experienced our first.

It began around 3 p.m. when a fast and furious thunder storm blew through the area.  We had made the (in hind sight) poor decision to check out one of the small towns on the Ohio side of the lake and stock up on some groceries.  (Mother Hubbard's cupboard was bare.)  As we entered the local Ace Hardware store there was rumbling in the distance.  By the time we paid for our purchases and returned to the parking lot the rumbling had given way to gusty winds and a very ominous looking sky.  Soon after the sky opened up and the rain began to fall.  I am convinced the flood gates of heaven had been opened.  We pressed on. Eventually the storm ceased, the groceries were procured, and all was right with the world.

We returned home a couple of hours later to find the power was out in the neighborhood.  (Weren't we lucky we had stopped at a local watering hole to partake in "wing" night before heading home.)  The Kid dug out our old propane lantern from our camping days 30 years ago.  What a surprise to find it no longer functioned...properly.  Fortunately we had stocked up on flashlights and batteries last fall.  We were prepared.  We settled in to enjoy the evening.

It was all reminiscent of our stay at Reef Knot cottage in Maine two years ago.  (You can read about it here.)  We were forced to sit quietly and observe as darkness descended on our little bay.  It didn't take long for the fireflies to emerge.  Their tiny lights blinking on and off in random patterns conjured up long forgotten memories from our childhoods.  The Kid located an old battery operated radio and attempted to find a baseball game but was forced to settle for a static filled oldies station.  I entertained myself with solitaire and eventually tried my hand at reading by flashlight.  After several hours, we called it quits and went to bed.  I drifted off to sleep planning my strategy for how I might snag a cup of coffee on the off chance we would awaken to more of the same.  Much to my relief the power kicked back on sometime around 3 a.m.

I share all of this with you because I want you to know that it's darned dark in the country when the lights go out.

At the Ball Park

Once again I have found myself away from my camera and my blog for several days.  I could say I have been busy, but then I would have to tell you what I have been busy doing.  The truth is, I don't know.  You will just have to trust that I have been otherwise occupied.

The weather has turned cold.  At least cold by my standards.  And will someone please tell me how it can be cold and misting rain in one place and sunny and 80 degrees a mere 90 miles south?

The Kid and I went to a Pirate baseball game yesterday afternoon with my big sis and Howie.  We dressed for cold and misty weather.  Upon arrival in Pittsburgh it was painfully obvious that blue jeans and long sleeved shirts were not the order of the day.

The highlight of the afternoon was the adorable elementary school choir that performed sang the National Anthem.  They were wonderful.  They made everybody smile.

I didn't have my camera with me.  I decided I didn't want to tote it around (it's quite heavy) on a cold and misty day.  As it turned out we had great seats and I could have gotten some great photos.

There was an extremely annoying woman and her partner sitting behind us.  (They were definitely Mets fans.  Pirate fans are much more pleasant folk.)

The game went scoreless for 7 innings and then the Mets broke it wide open.  The Pirates lost.

However, a Primanti Brothers sandwich and a cold one made it all better.

And the weather?  It was perfect.

Father Goose and Multi-Tasking

Spring has given way to summer on the lake and no my Mac didn't die.  I guess I'm just not a multi-tasker.  This past week I have been preoccupied with antiquing, painting and other frivolous things.  I'm beginning to believe 800 square feet of old cottage = 800 years of painting.

I did set the paint brush down to participate in a photo shoot with this sweet little family of honkers.  They weren't crazy about close-ups so I had to settle for a more full on view.  Did you know that geese mate for life?  It appears father goose is a hands on dad.  Mother nature got that one right!

Happy Saturday.

Taunting

There are a plethora of squirrels and chipmunks inhabiting the nooks and crannies around the cottage.   They. Drive. Henna.  CRAZY!!  At times it appears they are taunting her.  Edging their way ever closer to the window, working her into a frenzy, then turning tail and scampering off.  I can even see the smirk of delight on their little rodent faces.

One of these mornings I'm going to open the door, let her out and remove those smirks once and for all.

House arrest be damned.

Link to Project 365.

Little Mama

We were strolling around the barn searching for a nice sunny spot to plant a couple of tomatoes when suddenly The Kid stopped short and pointed.  And there she was.  A female Eastern Painted Turtle (I know these things...I Google), was busily laying her eggs in the mud on the little hill behind the barn.  She wasn't particularly happy that we had interrupted her work but she didn't budge from her spot on the hill.  Quietly inching my way closer I saw that she had already deposited several eggs into her little nest.  And you know me, I ran for the camera.  This had to be documented.  When I returned a the few short minutes later she was hard at work covering up her future off-spring.



I later read that turtles choose an open area to lay their eggs.  Mama then proceeds to urinate on the ground to soften the soil, making it easier to dig the nest with her sturdy back legs.



We watched as she worked for almost thirty minutes covering up her babies.  Scraping dirt into the hole and tamping it down.  The procedure continued until she deemed it done.



And then she said good-bye and good luck to her children and high tailed it back down the hill to the lake some 300 feet away, never to return.  I stood guard until she safely crossed our little lane and then The Kid and I marked the nest with a stake so we can find it again when hatching time gets closer.



I read that if the eggs survive until the scent of the urine dissipates the wee ones have half a chance of surviving.  It's been two days now and so far so good.  It doesn't appear that hungry marauders have disturbed the nest in any way.  And now we wait.  My source says it takes roughly sixty days for the eggs to mature and hatch.  You can be sure that on or near August 1st we'll be checking the nest frequently.  And of course I'll report back to you if we get hatchlings.

I've always wanted more grandchildren.

Link to Project 365.

A Little Alaskan Sunshine

Meet J, our little ray of Alaskan sunshine.

J is one the many nieces and nephews on The Kid's side of the family.  (They're a prolific bunch.)  She hails from the great state of Alaska but please don't confuse her with the Palin gang. J has been to Pennsylvania to visit a couple of times but this was the first opportunity we had to meet her.  She is quite the charmer.  I believe this picture is the only serious face the child wore the entire day.



Most of the time she looked like this.



And this.



She overcame any shyness she may have had in a matter of minutes and jumped right into the fray.  After all there were cousins waiting to play.  I heard a rumor that she wanted to swim and couldn't comprehend when her dad told her it wasn't quite summer here yet.  It seemed a lot like summer to her. (Those Alaskans have much thicker blood than I.)

She is bright, fun, sweet and helpful, and don't forget adorable.  Her dad is doing a fine job of raising her (with a little help from her Uncle B.)



Come back soon sweet J.

Or better yet, maybe I should take a boat.  North.  To Alaska.

Link to Project 365.

The Sunset of Its Life

I thought this photo was more than appropriate for this morning's post as I'm afraid my laptop is in the sunset of its life.  Yesterday it began to whirr and humm, a clear indicator that the hard drive is having difficulty of some sort or another.  This morning when I turned it on the screen began to change colors from pink to blue flashing like a colorful strobe.  I gave it a rest and tried again.  I was successful logging on...this time, but I know the end is near.

The problem is I am now addicted to Macs.  All of my photo editing software is Mac and quite frankly I like the way they operate.  I know that PCs have improved dramatically in the past few years, taking a page or two from Apple's successful handbook.  But I'm afraid once a Mac user always a Mac user.  Of course that means the replacement cost will be 3-times that of a pc.  But it's worth it.  Isn't it?  I am right about that. Well aren't I?

Initially I didn't want a Mac.  But The Kid nudged and prodded until I said I would look at them.  It was the cost factor.  For me it's usually about the dollars.  But once I test drove one I was hooked.  And now, well lets just say there's no turning back.

If I disappear for a few days you can figure that my little girl gave up the ghost and went to Mac heaven.  It will take awhile to find an Apple store, which I am positive will not be located in one of the little communities near the cottage, and get up and running again.  And there's the little problem with software.  It's all in Florida.  I'll have to have someone (that would probably be you my good friends the French-Freys) pilfer through my cds to find the ones I need and then ship them north.  It will take time.

But I'll be here as long as my Mac holds out.

Or the Wifi dies.

It could happen.

Link to Project 365.