More pictures from the Harold Parker State Forest

I know that Dad just posted pictures from our walk, but I had a couple he didn’t. There was a beautiful, fast-flowing stream that Alpha and Butter had to check out. Poor Butter almost fell in when the ice shelf collapsed under her, but she only got a little wet. Dad went down there with them.

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It was a gorgeous day. Perfect blue skies, warm weather, and lovely scenery.

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I am really looking forward to checking out this park again. Just not when the trails are frozen solid.

Vignettes from OSV

Today, we went to Old Sturbridge Village. They do Dog Days the first weekend of the month during the winter. There were tiny dogs, medium dogs, and this pony. His name is Kloofbear’s Skipjack. Or just Skipper. If you want to drive his parents nuts, call him Skippy.

Skipper looking dignified. It didn't last.
Skipper looking dignified. It didn’t last.

We got to spend a long time with the cows. The oxen were very friendly, and the cows are just starting to show (calves due in just 6 weeks). Very fun.

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And, finally, at the gift shop. Alpha, Beta, and Tangent each grabbed a book and settled in to read. All they needed was some hot chocolate.

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And then we went to dinner at Cracker Barrel. The food was okay, but the company was awesome. And as we were ordering dessert, Beta came up with this jem:

> Beta: Do you have sprinkles?

> Server: No, we don’t.

> Beta: You should stock up on them. They’re awesome. nods wisely, and wanders off.

Thank goodness we weren’t drinking anything, because that would have been a spit take.

Ice caves!

Under the wanna-be glacier

We had an ice storm last weekend, and I didn’t get a chance to clear my car off until today (took that long to dig out to it). As I was brushing off the dry powdery stuff from last night, I hit a layer of ice. Hard ice. Thick, white ice. “Aw, crap,” I think, “This is going to take FOREVER to get off!” So I continue brushing off the snow, and discover something.

That ice? Was 4″ above the car. In between was another layer of snow. My car had an ice COAT. I took these UNDER the layer of ice.

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On the sunny side of the wanna-be glacier

Ice caves! The light is so pretty in these! The car is now mostly clean. It still has a bit of a car-hawk (a Korean punk rocker look or something).

 

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Side shot so you can see how deep the snow was on the car

 

Veteran’s Day

It was a little crazy to figure out that as a family, between Dad’s family and mine, we’ve been involved in almost every conflict (good and bad) that this country has been in. So, the girls and I are going to go through the stuff brought back by my great-great-grandfather’s brother from The Great War, my mother’s Uncle from World War 2, and even some stuff my Dad brought back from the Invasion of Grenada.

Pictures to follow, hopefully.

The results

I am exhausted. Didn’t get to sleep until after 3. Alpha bailed on us around 10, and went back to bed. Beta conked right out not long after. So I was stuck in the tent. All night. The ground was hard. Everything was wet with dew. But you know what? Watching Beta wake up in the morning, all snuggled up next to me was totally worth it.

Now if only I could walk without groaning…

Plans run afoul, but we intend to soldier on

Alpha and the tent
The plan for tonight includes camping!

We bought a tent a few months back, with the intention of trying this whole camping thing. I haven’t camped in years, and neither has Quinn. The girls think it is super cool and romantic and cannot WAIT to try it out. The summer is nearing its end, and we haven’t done it yet. We checked the weather, took out the tent, and put it up. As we’re doing this, we feel a couple of little sprinkles, more of a mist, but nothing big. There was nothing on the radar, and there is lovely blue sky above us. Nothing to worry about, right? Right.

Dramatic picture of the rain
This is the view of the rain down the street

The tent was set up. The kids put their blankets and toys in there. I have all the windows open to keep it nice and cool. Suddenly, the sky opens out of nowhere! I managed to get teh windows zipped up before the real rain started, and came inside (not sitting in an untried tent in a downpour). The view down the street was beautiful, with the sun shining brightly through the downpour.

I have been informed that there is now water in the tent from their feet. Yay. So I get to sleep in a muddy tent. Oh, well. Its camping, right? What’s camping with out a little mud? At least I don’t need to go out there until dark-time. I’m already having fun, can you tell?

I hate you, Murphy

So, the baby gate is coming off the wall. This is a problem, as the Official Immigration Gate between Dog-ville, and Kitty Haven (which is made up of two neighborhoods, Mel-topia and Oo-land) must be operational at all times to prevent hostilities between the natives.

Obvious solution: get more of those oak medallions, urethane them, and use them to attach the gate to the walls. Well, I got the medallions. Urethaned them (that stuff stinks to high heaven). They are outside drying in the sun as we speak, with several hours to go.

And, lo, what do I see on the horizon? The maw of an angry beast of a storm.  Dammit.