Golden days

Enough of the moose already.

We interrupt this blog for a public service announcement:

HAPPY 44th ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!

AMBERLEO'S 22nd BIRTHDAY IS ON IT'S WAY TOO!

Ok.. back to the regular programming:

Even though we had started unpacking we had done so a bit prematurely.... on purpose. We had decided at the last minute... sorta... to use pine floor in the living room area. There was a tad bit of a problem with the laminate so we adapted. The only thing is we moved in before we put a finish down on the floor. We were just so excited to have our own place again we could not wait. Well, the other day... couple of days really... we cleared the floor and put down the finish.

I have to tell you after being a by-stander while my Dad did the floors in our house I was afraid of the toxic soup that I thought was going to be in those gallon buckets. I was worried it was going to smell, it was going to make us dizzy and then the floor would not set right. Brain cells were in danger and the dog's noses would be burned out from the chemicals. I was sure it was going to bubble and blister and then we would have to do it all again... to say the least I was concerned... but I was mistaken.


We used a clear matte type finish and did two coats. David and I have the patience of gnats so that was about all we could squeeze out but I must say it did NOT stink and it went down super easily.... it did not make us sick, did not bubble, and did not hurt the dogs. Also... it looks great! I hope the color starts to warm up soon just like the ceiling did... it is going from the lighter pine color to a nice honey color.. a natural change and it is very pretty.

Phew... once it was dry according to the time recommended on the back of the bucket we brought the furniture back in and unpacked... again.

Someday I will have to pick wall paint colors. Geez.

The time between coats we went to Rhinelander in Wisconsin. Sounds like somewhere Vikings still roam doesn't it? Well, they do.

Anyway that's another story... but while in Rhinelander we bought a TV and a wall arm mount thingy... you can kinda see the TV in the picture above in the corner. It is VERY cool... 32" HDTV and its like being hypnotized when it comes on...

I have to admit it has actually been kinda nice not having a TV for awhile. I read quite a few of the books on my 'to read later' list. Poor David has not been able to read though he has been too busy working.

Well, we noted the other day as we have been doing nearly everyday since fall started the change in the colors.. we have now gone past the orangy-red thing into full on yellow gold. This yellow gold color is so bright it glows... I have seen many garden magazines suggest that people plant moon gardens. The moon gardens are to be filled with white flowers and grey foliage so that they can be enjoyed in the evening hours. Let me tell you this bright yellow lights up the day AND it does seem to brighten up in the evenings. Extends the sunshine a little bit longer now that our days are getting shorter.

Here is the road past our house:

and then our driveway:

the driveway looking back towards the road:

below is just past one of our woodpiles next to the shed:

and of course this next photo is the secret hobbit path across the street.
You know the one, it is the path Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are on right before they feel the Nazgul coming and the leaves all start swirling around and they have to hide under the roots
of that tree with the spiders and worms and stuff....

ummm.. you Lord of the Rings nerds... I mean fans...
don't act like you don't know EXACTLY
which scene I am talking about...

anyway...

the view that afternoon to the lake :

and then below the pictures below of Squirrel Town.. no not Funky Town...

Squirrel Town.

(Squirrel Town is between our place and Kennedy's white cabin) .
There is one red hold out in all that yellow:

Oh... and this below is the view from squirrel town back towards our house:

I am not sure if I explained about Squirrel Town yet. The squirrels and chipmunks lay here in wait for our dogs. They patiently sit and watch until we let the dogs out the door. Then they squeak loudly to get the dogs attention. You can hear them chuckle as they watch the dogs barrel out the door sprinting towards them. When they see the whites of the dogs' eyes and the frothing of their jowels they scramble up the nearest tree.

Man oh man does that make the dogs crazy.. they get so frenzied they try to climb the trees and run in circles around the trunks... and just when they are about to give up a squirrel on the other side of Squirrel town will squeak and they run over there to start it all again. The squirrels love it... so do the dogs actually and it keeps them busy.

Every once in awhile a dark cloud passes over and you hear a .22 rifle cracking a few times and the squirrels are quiet for a couple of minutes ( a moment of silence I presume) . The dogs are confused a little but then you hear another squeak and they go back at it...

a few less squirrels in the game...
just to make things even dontcha know.

Friday Morning Sunrise
Not much can be said about this... just look... be sure to click on this one.

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
as I have seen in one autumnal face

~ John Donne

Tricky Turkeys and Hobbits

So, I was on my way to work the other day and thought I would take some snaps for you.

Remember if you want to see the picture bigger just point the cursor on the picture, click on your right mouse and open in a new tab or window and then close it when you are done. OR just click on the picture and then hit the back button when you want to come back to the post.

Anyway... just imagine me driving along, waiving my camera out the window... kinda like that fellow I mentioned in a previous post, just stopping my car in the middle of the road to get a picture. It is not so odd!

At least I can take pictures without undoing my pants....
most of the time.

JUST KIDDING!

Somewhere in town there is probably a yooper with a blog writing about what an odd character this new California girl is. Hmm.. I kinda doubt it.

A yooper by the way is what they call folks from the Upper Peninsula... it is kinda like Okie, or Arkie, or Hillbilly, or redneck just from Upper Michigan.

This is the road right before Kennedy's cabins, Mom and Dad may recognize it. On the right side, I should have taken a picture, up closer to Khris and Brenda's house there is a den dug out of the dirt on the right side of the road. It was not a fox den, way too big and someone told me it was a badger den. adgers apparently take over dens they find as they migrate through an area.

I suppose badgers can take over what they want...

From Wikipedia:

"Badgers are capable of fighting off much larger animals such as wolves, coyotes, and bears. Badgers can run or gallop at up to 25-30 km per hour for short periods of time."

I am not positive, but I bet I can not gallop at 25 - 30 kms per hour
so I guess I will have to leave them alone.

BUT every time I drive by I crane my neck to see down into it... but I am not about to stop and get out and walk over and take a picture... but it makes me crazy because I want to do it so bad!

It is like when a waitress brings you a plate and says be careful the plate is hot... the first damn thing you do is touch the plate. Geez.

DROP THE RING FRODO!
Leave the badger alone Rebecca!

Anyway... back to the drive to work.... just a few more views below:

Oh and the picture below is Big Red.

Big Red is just starting to turn.. the kind of maple it is goes from darker green to RED RED RED no in between. The other maples go bright greeny to yellow into orange and then red before they drop. One is a hard maple the other a soft one.. we have not figured out which is which yet they are so close a species. This picture shows Big Red only about 1/3 turned. I will post a picture when it is all red.

The other day after working all day long we decided to take the boat out. Jerry had left his at the launching area and with the wideness of his boat and the electric motor it makes for a much easier ride than our canoe. You see when we go, we all get in the boat and Delta who weighs over 90 lbs paces in the canoe... it makes for a bumpy ride!

So first a view of the house while we were walking down to the boat ramp...

Just so you know... soon those trees surrounding the house will be red too!

Here is a picture of part of the view that has been calling us from the windows of the house.

Delta absolutely loves to go out... she spotted some other folks in a boat (Kennedy's guests probably) and was wondering what they were doing out on her lake...

She stands on the bank at our place and barks when fishermen try to anchor their boats out in front of our yard. She also jumps in from the shore and from the boat and swims around... but did not this time. Thank goodness.

Cosmo likes to go but he is not nearly as active. He is not into all that swimming business. He would rather you just hold him and keep him warm while he takes in the view. Tyrant.

The rest of these were taken while in the boat.

Here is Kennedy's main boat dock:

Very pretty.

We yardsaling again the other day. We being me, Karen, Joy and Richard. About 20-30 miles away in Ewen they were having a log jamboree celebration and several people were taking advantage of the traffic and decided to have a yard sale. These one folks had an old Edison music thingy. I guess it is not technically called a Victrola because it was Edison's but he put on a wax thing and we listened while in his garage while folks picked through his ... sale items. The player looked brand new by the way, he had several music rolls, a cover for the machine, and he wanted $900 for it. :)

Then near the end of the day... Karen decided she was going play a joke on Jerry and bought a turkey decoy to put out in the yard. She wanted us fellow yard salers (Me, Richard, and Joy) to keep it a secret so she could surpise him. Here is a picture of Joy (Jerry's sister and David's aunt) bringing the turkey back to the car... the 'bird' sat by me on the way home.

The other day Mom and Dad got me a house warming gift certificate for plants from High Country Gardens. I have to admit I have been getting their catalogs now and then for awhile but was unsure about ordering. However, I saw they were mentioned in Martha Stewart Magazine and went for it. The plants arrived packaged extremely well and the soil was still damp!!!

They even sent along a planting guide and a free gift! Yeeehoooo!

One of the plants I ordered is a Red Hobbit.

Um... no.... more like this:

It is a Red Hobbit columbine and it is a baby right now ready to be planted in fall as they suggested for my zone and in the spring after the snow melts they should pop up nicely! Here is the baby now. I got three I think:


Anyway, I got a combo of reds, and oranges, whites and yellows for front yard. Poppies, yarrows, daffodils, day lilies, hostas, snowbells, aliums, etc. I had some stuff already but then ordered the special stuff from the catalog.

I think I will stick with those colors for the front as it is rather shaded. Also got some ornamental grass that will go along the drive down towards the lake. I love those!

FYI- I highly recommend the catalog and the plants arrived in great shape.

Good tip Martha! Or should I say...

It's a good thing.