Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Dances With Squirrels


There are a few things that really drive our dog crazy. Specifically, I'm talking about the Lady with the Schnauzer (or probably just the Schnauzer itself) who walks past our house four times a day (twice up and twice back); then there are the deer; and finally, in the Fall, her arch-rivals, the squirrels.
Mackie's gotten a bit used to the deer. After all, they are in our yard nearly daily and definitely nightly. If they get really close, she runs back and forth from one window to the next. But, in general, she realizes that they are a part of her life. They are here to stay.

The annual surprise are the squirrels. They show up mid-October and scour our backyard for nuts (I suppose) and anything else that they can hide away for the winter. These animals drive our dog CRAZY. She stands at the window and whines. She moves her feet up and down, back and forth, trying to magically get through the window.

If we let her out the door, she rushes down the stairs of the deck and onto the lawn. She always thinks that she has a chance. She's so busy rushing out that she doesn't see that they are out of the backyard before she even gets onto the deck. When she gets outside and sees that they aren't there, she sniffs around and follows their tracks throughout the yard.

I wonder what she plans on doing if she catches them? Bite them? Play with them? Run around with them? Or maybe she wants to show them her little dance that she practices at the window?

Saturday, October 10, 2009

I guess it's not summer anymore

I'm just going to pretend that I have been blogging every week and haven't really missed six weeks...

As I was driving to work yesterday, I had the heater on in the car and the seat warmer. It was 44 degrees outside. I've always thought that October seemed like the coldest month of the year in the midwest. After the warm summer, your blood is still thin and you're not ready for cold weather. Today had a high of 48 degrees and sunny. The sun made it seem warmer, but I still wore my "fall coat." (Growing up in California, I never had a Fall Coat. I just had a coat. Now I have a Fall Coat, a Winter Coat, and a rain coat. I've had my eye on some pretty, bright colored Spring Coats.

So, here's some highlights from the summer...


We never saw the balloons go up in the air because there was either no wind or too much wind, but we did see the Balloon Glow. So beautiful.


While my mom and dad visited, all the men and boys began to build a wooden sail boat. They didn't get it finished, but got a good start.


R, Dad, T, and M enjoy a nice ice cream break.

One of the highlights of going to Shady Shores on Labor Day is watching the moon rise. This night had a great reflection on the Lake Huron.

I can't believe how big my baby is getting. He grew 4 and 3/4 inches last year. He's such a great boy-- so caring, smart, funny, creative, and compassionate. I'm so blessed to have him as my son.



T has done a lot of growing up this past year also. Tonight he looked at me and said, "I like spending time with you mom." I've definitely been blessed with this one too! R and M are camping with the Boy Scouts tonight, so it was just the two of us. We made fondue for dinner as a treat -- cheese fondue with Italian bread and apples for dipping. And, of course, chocolate fondue for dessert with pound cake (my favorite), donut holes (his favorite), strawberries and raspberries for dipping. Yummo! We had a great time, talking and laughing. What fun!