What Kind Of Crazy Cat Collector Takes Their Cat Crap For A Cruise In The Country?

 While walking down our road recently, we noticed a few piles of used cat litter dumped by the side of the road. What is this- redneck bear baiting? Is someone driving from town just to do this? If it's a local, why can they not step 20 feet outside their back door and toss it into the woods? I know there's a certain type of loser who dumps their unwanted pets out in the country, but their pet's poop??

How to Make Raspberry Jam

  First, put on your grungiest clothes, because it's been raining for 2 days, and the odds are good that you'll slip and fall in the mud. Gather up the cup, the cowbell, dog leash and dog, walkie-talkie, and the berry picking companion. Have the bejeebers scared out of you when a baby deer jumps out of the bushes. Let your companion haul you across the ditch, then slip and slide as you try to climb up to the raspberry bushes. Make sure you don't pull him down when you almost fall, because he's trying to pick, hold the dog, and watch for bears at the same time. Don't get upset when he easily jumps back across the wide ditch full of water while you have to slowly slip/slide back to where the water's not so wide. Trudge home,  dry the dog off, take a bath, then pour a ton of sugar and a box of pectin over the fruit. Easy-peasy.

Sharon's Crystal

Isn't it neat? Every evening we see this shining on the ceiling above the fireplace, then above Walt's door.

Remember This Park?

 We took Rusty to the local park for a walk and a picnic today. The weather is still perfect, and there weren't any other people there. We'd been talking about the past times we'd  all hiked it, and just as we entered the long downhill path lined with fern and moss, the phone rang, and it was Mother calling about Sharon.
  I noticed yesterday that the sunlight has changed, but it's tough to describe. I think it's autumn coming.

I want Ken to use this design for an alpaca shed or chicken coop

Caramel colored slug, different from our speckled monsters

Looks like we strayed off the path, but it's just overgrown(and raspberry lined)

The stick's for wacking cobwebs, not bears

Remember this path?

On Blueberry Hill

 We all woke up late this morning. The windows were open, it was close to 60 degrees outside, and the sun was shining: a perfect day to pick blueberries. The farm was huge. The lady who gave us  buckets and instructions said they'd been there for 20 years.  I got tired long before the guys--it's much easier to pick grapes. We ended up with 15 pounds. Ken says that's  probably enough but you know me--I'd like to go back for more.

A Couple of Wimps--they were all bundled up against the "chill" this morning

The Shape of My Heart

   It's fine and dandy. My cholesterol is 215, so there needs to be a bit more exercise, less ice-cream/more fruit and ice in the slushies,  and more flax seeds. Everything else is good. Blood sugar is normal. The ultra sounds showed no build-up at all, and no blockages. 

I picked a cowbell full of raspberries this afternoon while walking to the mailbox with Walt.

Really? Really??

This was the first one. Now there are several. I know I was bitching about the heat, but it's not even August!

Goofiness

I'm thinking--what the heck is she doing?  Mother's thinking- yep, that's  my Sharon

Harris Hill--Chemung River in the background

I have no idea what they were doing

More confusion

Note to self--don't pick raspberries while wearing shorts. I picked two handfuls before giving up.
No one is brave enough to gather them in the back yard, so I slid down the slope outside the front door and picked a few.  No wonder the Amish charge so much for theirs.
 (Walt went  down the road with me later and we picked a cereal bowl full.)

Eating and Shopping in Elmira

   We went to Elmira early yesterday to get stuff for the dorm. This is everything he says he needs, besides his clothes/shoes and tennis racket. Boys are so much easier than girls, aren't they? We got an invitation from the school to have lunch after dropping him off next month. I think it's just so they can make a bunch of speeches to make all the moms cry more. I told Ken that I plan on coming home, listening to Judy Collins sing this  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIuC9hTY9Y
  After shopping we met the gang(plus his other sister from NYC) for lunch. I did not recognize her at all. Surgery, jet black hair, she even changed her voice. Grandma and Debbie were in a very happy, silly mood, so we all had a fun time together.

He claims  This Is All He Needs

Kathy, Grandma, Debbie, Carol

Mid-Summer Report

 I went to the doctor today for the ultrasounds on my heart and carotid arteries. I had to sit in their hot, little waiting room almost 2 hours, so I was not my usual cheery self. I'll find out the results next week. I'm thinking about signing in at the correct time, then going shopping for 2 hours before returning. It's the second time that's happened. The doctor is really fanatical about the Civil War--there are photos all over the office.  He even looks like Lincoln(and sort of like Rasputin). However, in his ultrasound room, there's a huge (2 to 3 feet long) color picture of some Civil War re-enactment scene: A long table with a couple soldiers behind it, a human skull on the table next to a hunk of meat(ham, human???) and a doctor with a white apron covered totally with blood. Isn't that weird, to put it mildly?
  Anyway, I came home, watered the garden, picked some beans, then took Walt to the Alpaca farm to buy a fuzzy gift for Grandma B's birthday party tomorrow.

This is woodChuck Mangione. He's nice enough to only eat the radish tops in the garden.

See that little blob to the right of the door, on the rock?  That's Natalie Wood chuck, his sweetie. She likes to sit near the deck in the early morning.

Oregano in bloom

Unknown flower by the propane tank

I planted a begonia bulb and ornamental potato in this pot 4 months ago, then filled it with impatiens last month when nothing sprouted. They both decided to make an appearance last week.

Hydrangeas that don't know what color they really want to be

Finally, the Queen Anne's Lace and Bee-balm

First pickings. If this keeps up I may need to open my own produce stand, lol

Guarding the grounds and catching ticks, probably

Alpaca fur creations. (Only the fawn and bird are for Grandma B)

Neighbors

 I wish I had a better camera. The hummingbird feeder is near our front door, but lately we've been hearing them buzzing above our heads while we sat on the back deck.  The guys spotted the nest yesterday; it's in the tree branches directly above the porch glider.
  The wasp nest is a problem. It seemed to triple in size overnight, and now we're worried about how to do away with it.

In other exciting news---the AC will be here in half an hour!

Vicugna Pacos Dreams

Along River Road

I used to want these.

Now I want these.

They've sheared 5 of the babies.  We saw them all lined up along the fence yesterday. I must have one. No, two. The black/white one--surely it's meant to be mine?

Letchworth Park & Perfect Weather

She's always breaking rules--vandalizing property, switching carousel horses mid-ride...

The whole gang, minus Walt

Obligatory tree hugging

On a Serious Note, From The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/14/open-season-black-boys-verdict

...
"Charging Zimmerman should have been a no-brainer. He was not initially charged because Florida has a "stand your ground" law whereby deadly force is permitted if the person "reasonably believes" it is necessary to protect their own life, the life of another or to prevent a forcible felony.
Since it was Zimmerman who stalked Martin, the question remains: what ground is a young black man entitled to and on what grounds may he defend himself? What version of events is there for that night in which Martin gets away with his life? Or is it open season on black boys after dark?
Zimmerman's not guilty verdict will be contested for years to come. But he passed judgement on Trayvon that night summarily.
"Fucking punks," Zimmerman told the police dispatcher that night. "These assholes. They always get away."
So true it's painful. And so predictable it hurts."

Forget the Bear, Mother--Look What Was In the Yard This Morning

We went to Rochester's Museum and Science Center on Thursday.  It was fabulous. Art, Native American exhibits, Underground Rail Road,  Fossils, Electricity and Singing Teslas. We were worn out after 4 hours, so we didn't even get to the third floor or the Planetarium.

That paddle was used to stir hominy, the yuckiest food in America

Seneca Clan Carving

#1 - Fish Hook and Lure Combo

Latest Bear News

newly made in the back yard--I hope the deer did it

 W walked the dog to the mail box after lunch. He stopped at the road to  let Rusty sniff around, then crossed. That's when he heard an awful racket in the trees across from him(back in our driveway), Then he saw a huge bear head pop out from the bushes. It stared. Walt tried to drag the dog away, but he wouldn't budge. Walt yanked him and his collar pulled off, so he put it back on and yelled.  Rusty then got scared and they walked quickly down the hill. He'd called me on the walkie talkie, but at first I thought he was just excited to see one(from far off). Two seconds later I realized it, yelled for Ken, and Ken beat me out of the house and into the car. He said he looked behind him in time to see it crossing the road, so apparently the yelling didn't cause it to retreat. He also said it was huge, much bigger than the recent ones, and that carrying a cowbell is now moot, because he has no plans for walking down there anymore. I think we're seeing them more often now because the berries are ripe now.  I also wonder if this is mating season.