Summer Schedule

You can really tell when we are on our summer schedule when we start kayaking in the middle of the week. Back to Findley Lake late afternoon until just before sunset. Lots of herons, ducks, giant carp (Ed - check the photo), and a "water moccasin" that a fisherman near the dock loudly identified and chased away with a stick (it was a harmless water snake but I didn't want to argue). The carp wallow in the shallows until you get almost on top of them with the boat and then they explode away skimming the surface and splashing water everywhere. Cool. Check my "Kayaking Across America" blog for a couple more photos.

Starting Summer

Getting back into our summer routine. Perfect weather today - high 60's, sunny with a few clouds. Nicki worked outside in the yard while I did some tech work at school. But late in the afternoon we did some kayaking on Findley Lake. Photos of our time on the lake can be found at my "Kayaking Across America" blog (link to the right). The Great Blue Herons are back!

Breakfast Entertainment

Here's out live entertainment as we eat breakfast - or the squirrel's entertainment as he/she eats breakfast - or Cricket's entertainment as she waits for us to finish our breakfast so she can have our leftovers. I think everyone is a winner in this situation (as long as we have enough peanuts in the feeder).

Last Day

Here's my 6th graders on the last day of the 2005-2006 school year. This is how we partied - trading addresses, reading papers we did a long time ago in 4th grade, eating popsicles, and relaxing. Not a bad year and we're ready for a summer.

Let Mothers' Day Begin

Laura and Mike gifted Nicki with this Edible Arrangement which I picked up on the west side of Cleveland. It was a little hard to fit into the refrigerator. But we should have fun eating it soon.

Heron and Egret

I’m practicing creeping up on the herons with the hopes of catching one in flight and this one was a good catch. Especially note the egret in the background. Egrets are apparently more skittish than herons. The perfect picture would have caught a few geese in the frame. They were there - just hard to line up. Time to take the better camera. Several other kayaks have appeared at Findley. I think the word is out.

A Good Year for Dandelions?

Nicki and I may have started a new trend - ever striving to avoid chemicals on our lawn. Nicki dug dandelions up by the roots while I wandered the yard with my shop-vac sucking up the seed fluff. It works. Then I mowed. Now all I have to figure out is how to empty the shop-vac. No photos.

Kayaking Updates

For an update on our kayaking experiences just click on the title of this entry.

Norma & Hans' Flowering Trees

Every year the crab-apple trees in Norma and Hans' yard bloom a bright white around the curve of their yard. The white almost hurts your eyes.

Indians Game

Nicki and I went to a Cleveland Indians game last Thursday evening with Steve and Judy to celebrate Steve's birthday. It was a very nice evening. The Indians were playing the Boston Red Sox. Interesting game - the Indians won 15-3. For the Indians version click here. For the Red Sox version click here. I did take my camera but got only 3 or 4 pictures as the battery died and I wasn’t prepared. Steve and I did the usual hotdogs and beer and Nicki and Judy did their visit to the gift shop. But it was hard not to watch the game as the hits and scores started right in the first inning. It did get very chilly, it was a very long long game, and it was college ID night with a very loud group of girls behind us, so we left about 10:30 in the beginning of the eighth inning and listened to the radio on the way home. Life is pretty good with the Indians and Cavs doing well - at the moment.