A Fun and Relaxing Party

Over the weekend, my sister and bother-in-law celebrated their 23rd year marriage anniversary by having a party. They've been married for quite some time and their relationship is still going strong, I'm happy to tell. They invited me and most of our friends to the grill out/bonfire party and some were able to come while some were unable to attend.

In any case, we had a fun, relaxing time. No one got too drunk and fell in the fire this time. In fact, no one got hurt at all. Must be a record. lol.

Below, you'll find a 60 year old bicycle that my brother-in-law received as a gift. It was made by Bridgestone, of the Bridgestone Tire Company, which is owned by Japan. They only made so many of these bikes in limited edition and it was state of the art during the time.

Whitney the dog having some fun attacking the turkey and being attacked by the turkey. Don't worry. No animals were harmed and there wasn't any betting going on.

Here's a video of the dog and turkey playing around with each other. Turn up the volume to hear our "witty" banter during the animal grudge match.

Here are some baby chicks at my sister's farm. I thought this was a neat shot.

The sun sets, creating a sky of pink and blue hues, rippled in layers of clouds beyond the many trees. It's a tranquil setting. A place where you can breathe in the fresh country air and feel at peace.

The Deer In Our Backyard 2

There were pictures, I took, back in January, of deer in our backyard that weren't too bad. But these pictures are better, clearer and brighter. One morning, last week, I saw a couple deer in the back of our place and quickly and quietly got the camera.

I have always enjoyed the deer. They seem to inspire serenity. And I'm awed by their agility.

Somehow, I managed to get around the snow shovel, portable air compressor, a bag of aluminum cans and a sizable charcoal grill on our second floor balcony without creating so much noise that would scare away the deer before I could get my shots. It was a miracle. Usually, they're pretty flighty, although lately, they're becoming less timid around civilization. I think they're getting as used to us being around- as we are of them.

These creatures are certainly beautiful and majestic.

The Deer In Our Backyard

There are so many deer in our area these days, that they can be seen almost anywhere and anytime. I took these shots in the back of our place. They're still skittish, somewhat, of humans and other animals but not as much as they were prone to being, in the past.


They were a family of four, from what I could see. There might have been more members of their family in the woods nearby.

These animals are very pretty to look at but not when you're running into them with your vehicle- which has happened twice to us in the last two years. Others in this area have had frequent deer collisions, as well.

Still, when you see them up close and personal like this, they instill a sense of indescribable calm within you.

The deer stuck around for a good fifteen to twenty minutes until two stray cats happened by them, unsuspecting. The cats were spooked by the big strange animals, let out a big MEOW and scared the deer off, back into the woods.

Winter Wonderland Festival

Every other weekend during this time of year, one town in my area has what they call a "Winter Wonderland Festival".

Each festival will have different events, like skating or musicians coming to town to play and so on.

Last weekend, they had some pretty cool things going on. Huge tents were set up that housed booths where you could get hot chocolate, chili, home crafted Christmas wreaths and other holiday items. One booth featured ice sculpting. Yet another had a gifted glass blower who would create ornaments and holiday figures made of glass in front of you. You could ask for something specific to be made and he would do it.

Below, you'll find a few choice scenes of the festival that included reindeer, barrel train rides, a trolley and the town's Christmas tree.

Stony Frog

My friend, Steve, his son and I went to my sister's place in Indiana. We mainly went there at the beginning of the week to do some fishing. My sister has a pretty good sized pond where I do most of my fishing during the summer and fall seasons. I'd like to try my hand at doing a little ice fishing here this winter.

There's basically eight types of life you'll find living in and around the pond. That would be:

Turtles

Sunfish

Large Mouth Bass

Catfish

Snakes

Toads and Frogs

Flying Insects

and...

Bloodsucking Ticks (lots of them) That's why all of our mutual friends call my sister's place The Tick Ranch. Because 99% of the time you're guaranteed to go home with a tick on you or the stuff you left with.

Now, while we were down there we were doing more talking than catching anything. I have a feeling that might have had something to do with all the algae on the surface of the water. We were limited in where we could cast our line out. In the summer, I'll catch anywhere between ten to twenty good sized fish.

The lack of action gave us plenty of time to look around while we sat on the dock. Steve found what looked to be a the axle of a truck, which is surprising, since it would be extremely difficult to go down the steep hill to park decently next to the pond. This makes me think that a truck went off the field path and slid into the lake some years before my sister and brother-in-law bought the place and the surrounding acres of land. That wouldn't surprise me that much. Stranger things have happened at her place. A previous owner of the 100 year old farm house, barns and land had hung himself in one of the barns.

I found a frog (or toad) that wouldn't freaking move. Not even a blink of one of it's eyes.

I watched it off and on for 45 minutes and it would not move a tiny bit. I yelled, "Move!"

But it didn't budge or make a peep. It just sat there with it's eyes wide open.

In my younger, somewhat less compassionate years, I probably would have thrown a stick or rock at it. But I didn't. I just watched the Frog of Stone sit there. I was beginning to think it was a ceramic thing-a-ma-jiggy that my sister or niece put down by the lake for decoration.

Finally, one of my nieces came down by the lake. I hoped that she could solve the mystery. I asked her several questions about Mr. Stony Frog but she couldn't tell me if it was real or not. She said she didn't put it there.

A few minutes went by before I turned my back to talk to somebody. When I turned back around, the frog wasn't there. I looked at the water near the bank where he had sat and I could see his big frog peepers (eyes, you know) sitting just above the water. Then he winked. I shouted, "Look! He's real! There he is!" Everyone looked at him and that's when he swam off.

Mystery solved.

After several hours of unsuccessful fishing but lots of interesting conversation (no, not about the frog), we head back up to the house. After my sister, Steve, his son and I are talking for awhile, I notice a huge hornet's nest on a nearby tree branch. I make mention of it and my sister says she doesn't think there's anything in it. Her sense of humor almost equals mine in pure wickedness. Guess what happens next? Why... She snaps off the limb the nest is hanging off of and holds it over Steve's head, of course.

At least he's happy about it.

Here's another shot of it. No hornets ever came out of it. The sun was rapidly going down about this time.

It almost looks like a dead chicken from this angle and the lighting. I would likely discourage you from eating it. Well, actually, no, I wouldn't. I think seeing you eating it would give me a chuckle or two.