Fun & games

Been busy here with TWO grandsons instead of one. A pleasant turn of events had us bringing #2 grandson back with us after all.

Staying up late and sleeping in, doing something or just having a lazy, don't-have-to-do-anything kind of day has been the order of business so far. They both completed a summer reading assignment during their first week here, and our regular indoor activities of board games, jigsaw puzzles, at-home movie nights, etc., have been keeping us otherwise entertained.


Monday of this week we were off to see the new Harry Potter flick, which are always at the top of their "wanna see" list. Other than the noise levels, it was an enjoyable outing. These movies are always well done, but I have to say, my poor aging ears don't take well to the overly loud acoustics of modern day action films! Poor Lew almost has to take his hearing aids out!!


It's always a bit challenging to try to come up with new places to go and different things to do, but this year a day of picnicking and swimming at nearby Greenbrier Lake did the trick. They're both eager to go back, which was the result I was hoping for. When their dad was a youngster, it was one of our favorite summertime spots. I think they like doing the same things their dad did. :)

Greenbrier Lake
Washington County, MD

Poppaw and Chris checking out the water

Chris catching some rays

On the road again...

About the time I think we'll be staying put for awhile, something else comes up and we're off again.

We're headed for points south again to pick up one grandson -- the other has band camp and can't come up this trip.

I hope to be back blogging next week.

Have a great rest of the weekend! :)

Speaking of visitors...

Not quite the same as the friendly goat, but a bit out of the ordinary anyway.

I was at my computer the other day and saw some movement outside the patio door. Thinking it was probably a bird or one of the stray cats that use our yard as their playground, I glanced up to take a look-see. Hello!

Strolling across the patio was our resident groundhog! Now usually, this guy, whose main tunnel entrance is under a dead tree in the common area beside our yard, scurries along the back fence to get to one of his other tunnel entrances behind the neighbor's yard. Occasionally I see it out in the field, poking his head up through a tunnel or scrounging for something to eat. Once and a great while, we've spotted him in the yard. Not very often though, and certainly not a regular occurrence by any stretch. They just don't get real close to us human types.

So, when I see this furry critter at the patio door, I was somewhat taken aback. He sniffed around a bit and then very nonchalantly stood up on his hind legs, put his front paws on the screen, and peeked in to see what he could see. No one was more surprised than me as I watched him peek, sniff some more, and then mosey along his merry way.

'Course my camera was in its damn case and by the time I got it out and on, all I could see was his arse end rounding the corner of the house. *sigh* Another missed opportunity! (Lew sez I should wear it on a chain around my neck!)

Don't know what he was doing so close, maybe scoping out another food source or something, but I'll betcha things would have turned verrry interesting if one of my beasties had been lying by the door like they usually are.

Not your ordinary visitor...

So, I'm hanging over my porch railing, clipping some creepy-looking leaf gall off of my azalea (compliments of all the rain and cool weather we've had these past several months,) when I look up and see a couple walking by with what at first looks like one really biiiiig dog. I did a double take and then realized I was looking at the rear-end of a GOAT on a leash, walking down the road! Now, I know we live out here in the rolling hills of Frederick county where we have our share of cows, horses, and other farm critters, but still. You usually see them on the farms, not walking down the street in your residential development, you know?

So I sez to the couple "is that a goat?" (brilliant observation, huh?) which of course prompted them to stop for a chat. Seems our neighbors (they live a few houses down) are good samaritans who rescue animals. They rent a pasture nearby where they keep several goats, sheep, and even a horse. I've never seen them, but occasionally they bring the sheep to their house to "trim" the lawn. The stuff you find out when you're going about your day!

The little guy's name is TyeDye and what a friendly little guy he is. He let me pet him and I discovered goats have very coarse hair. But, underneath that coarse guard hair is a soft undercoat of cashmere (or mohair, depending on the kind of goat.) They've got weird eyes too -- with rectangular pupils. The better to keep watch over broad flat areas against predators and such. Oh, and did you know they poop little pellets?? Just like rabbits. Pop, pop, pop -- out they come, like bubbles. Fascinating stuff!

My friendly visitor,

TyeDye the goat.

While we talked, he attracted good bit of attention. Two mommy neighbors drove by with their kiddies, and stopped to ask if they could come in to see the goat. The little ones were enthralled by the idea of a goat in the front yard. It was cute.

An interesting diversion to an otherwise ordinary day.

For the birds

Several years ago we used to feed the birds on a regular basis. I had several feeders in the front and back yards and really enjoyed watching the variety of feathered critters who would come to visit ... cardinals, gold and housefinches, sparrows, wrens, titmice, mourning doves, woodpeckers, bluejays ... the list goes on and on. We even managed to somehow keep the squirrels out of the feeders with a simple baffle. I'm convinced we must have had the dumbest squirrels in MD because most squirrels get around most baffles with no problem.

Anyway, over a period of time, the big birds took over, the feeders deteriorated, and I just got weary of supplementing the crows and starlings as they scared away the smaller, prettier birds. An infestation of moths in the birdfood stored in the basement didn't help either (needless to say, birdfood does not even make its way into my house anymore!) and eventually I gave up feeding them and just continued to fill the two birdbaths for them to drink and frolic in.

With the arrival of the hummingbirds to the patio flowers last year,


I had already decided to try a hummingbird feeder again, which is now hanging by the backyard bench, patiently waiting for their return.


Because I enjoyed watching the birdies feed in my brother and sister's yards while we were there, I also decided to give more feeding another try. So, we picked up a finch feeder and some thistle (which is stored in the outside shed!) and it too is waiting for the little ones to discover it.

I figure I'll start small and see what happens.

From every mountain side...

let freedom ring.

Games people play

While we were in CT last week, we were introduced to a couple of new (for me, anyway) games and I'm already hooked -- they're fun and challenging and make you think. I definitely see another addiction in my future.


Don't know how these have evaded me all these years, especially since we're such a game-playing family, but we wasted no time in picking up a Rummikub game when we got home and will be picking up Sequence soon.

The grands and I usually play our standard Uno, Sorry, Yahtzee, Monopoly, cards, and a few others, but I'm thinking they're going to enjoy the competition of these just as much. Besides, it's always fun to add a new game or two to our repertoire.