Friday, July 17, 2009

dock 003


dock 003
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
Well there she is. Wouldn't be a summer posting without at least one picture of the mountain, would it. This is a sunrise, just an ordinary sunrise. There haven't been any really colorful ones (that I've seen anyway) but they've been peaceful and sweet. Sometimes I feel as if the ones with brilliant colors are sort of violent and too startling.

I've been staying at the boat house lately, though I was at home the other morning when it was 40 degrees. As I say, a girl has her standards. I stay in the b.h. if the morning temp will be at least 50. I've been there the past couple of nights, ostensibly to clean, get the garbage, etc. But not. Instead I read, stare into space, think, ponder, and sleep. It's a nice thing to be able to do, in a really nice place.

Nothing much going on, except for seeing lots of people and enjoying my social life. I'm sort of worn out and in need of a little solitude. I turned down dinner last night because I just wanted to go home, get the dogs & go to the b.house while it was still fairly early. It was a very nice night, calm and warm.

I was going to swim but as soon as I got in the water I changed my plan--VERY cold. And I'm not a hardy girl, it turns out. I have great plans to swim and get lots of exercise--I am very tubby. well, beyond tubby I'm afraid. I was walking the bog earlier this summer, and I intend(ed) to swim. Seems I only swim when Jenica makes it look appealing.

As soon as I get my new lawn mower I'll mow the lawn--that's good for an hour of exercise. I'm also getting some wood from Ken's house. I could stack that myself, instead of having Bill's Boys do it, as I've been doing for the past many/several years. I used to stack all my wood--10-12 cords a year. Then I discovered the thrill of watching someone else do it.

Tic


dock 008
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
Even though the loons are really close to the dock, it's hard to get a good picture. I had to zoom in on this one, which is why it's not such a great picture. They're still hanging around, and still yodeling like crazy. Sometimes the silly dogs bark at the sounds, when the birds are far away. duh.

So far no one's reported any baby loon sightings.

humming


dock 005
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
Here's a hummingbird at the feeder hanging at the boat house. This is the first year we've had a feeder there. The birds were buzzing around a lot, so I figured they'd come to a feeder. They sure do. This one's a female but there are plenty of both genders. As they do at all feeders, they fight for territory, buzzing at each other and driving each other away.

Everyone has said that the Boathouse Hummingbirds are the biggest they've ever seen. How proud I am! I thought the same thing when I first saw them. They buzz really loudly--so loud that sometimes it sounds as if a boat is coming. Hope the noise doesn't keep my sister awake when she sleeps on the porch, right by the feeder.

I had the screen door open the other day--the door is right next to the feeder, and two lady birds flew into the porch. This happens a lot at home, and I can always catch the birds (well, except for the 2 last year--Tess caught one and Dot caught the other--2 fatalities). This time I had no luck. One lady was clever enough to fly back out but the other flew up into the rafters and sat there, panting. I left for the day and that night my cousins and I discovered her little body on the floor. Dumb bird.

Starting the day


dock 001
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
Every day starts with a drink of cool, clear water. This, of course, is Chances. Tess would never pose like this, nor would she be in one position long enough for me to take her picture.

The dock was in better shape--or at least more level, and not resting ON the water, but was ABOVE the water, before relatives apparently bounced on it. Maybe other relatives can help fix it.

Early morning is just a wonderful time.

what?


what?
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
So--what, is she supposed to wipe her mouth?

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Mystery shot


Mystery shot
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
It's not really that hard to guess what this is--my sister (and probably Jenica)can figure it out pretty easily. Heck, probably most people can.

There used to be a place here called The Mystery Spot. This was when there weren't amusement parks like Six Flaggs or Great Adventure. Amusement parks were small and had humble rides, like stagecoach rides and miniature train rides and pretend gunfights, and Santa's Village (which we still have here, right M?). Anyway, the Mystery Spot was like that.

It was a place WHERE WATER FLOWS UPHILL! The guide told you that it was a special mineral deposit in the ground that caused these effects. Everything was backwards gravity--ooooh, way cool and amazing. For some reason, to draw attention to the place there was a big green dinosaur out by the road. The dinosaur outlasted The Mystery Spot by many years, so when we drove past it we'd always remember the Mystery Spot.

Anyway, my brother, sister and I went to The Mystery Spot and had a great time. My brother, who always had to know the REAL reasons things were the way they were (no, it couldn't be a backwards-gravity mineral deposit), figured out right away that the building was built into the side of a hill, backwards. We thought it was a pretty clever gimmick and sort of cool. No one else did, though, because the place didn't last very long.

That was one of the things I really liked about my brother. He was entertaining and made me laugh when he went through the process of finding answers to things like that. It was like a game to him. I think life was like a game to him, lots of the time.

Sinbad


july 007
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
Sinbad the Sailor Girl. Dogs have something million smell receptors in their noses. I love it when they stick their noses in the air and take in the scents. Especially when they wiggle them (the noses) and inhale deeply. I don't know what smells there were in the air. usually it's food that offers the best scent but who knows what was up the lake this time. Not much of a breeze, so she really had to work for this.

must you?


july 011
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
This is not the first batch of pictures I've taken of Sweet Chances Are sitting on the dock. She gets sick of it but she's a very patient dog who indulges me most of the time.

nanny nanny boo boo


july 004
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
I think she's had enough. Don't know if I've ever seen a dog pose with her tongue sticking out.

bet you wish this were you


july 015
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
Is this great or what?

Jenica paddled to the island, way over at the end of the lake, to see if she could see any goats there. First there was just a rumor that the neighborhood bully put 5 goats on the island. He owns the island--it's for sale, by the way, for $1.5 million, should anyone be interested. We laughed at the rumor and everyone down there said they'd for sure hear the goats if they were there.

Well ... guess what? On Sunday someone we know paddled around the island and saw goats. Only 4, but they were actual goats. Why anyone would put goats on a small island that has no pasture or good place for a goat to live is something no one knows the answer to.

Jenica didn't see an actual goat but did see something big and white run off into the woods. I'm sure it was a goat but she remains skeptical. A big rabbit, perhaps.

best greeting ever


july 014
Originally uploaded by woodsrun
They used to swim out to greet boats but now (thankfully) they mostly wait on the dock to see if boats will come to them. What a bonus that the boat had Jenica in it.