ToadMama's Web Abode

Our Special K Made It Home Today

2009-11-14T16:57:00.020-05:00

We were finally able to get K today. It's not like she was in dire straits or anything waiting for us. She was living with a wonderful foster family who loved her a whole bunch. But we were anxious to bring her home.

I made Hubby drive home so I could document the journey. This was taken not long after we left her foster home. She's looking a bit worried.

She still looks a little worried here, but she did relax gradually. She is a very good car passenger.

K has really long legs. So when she sits, she sits very straight. This is not the most flattering position. I'll have to teach her how to sit like a proper little lady so all her stuff isn't hanging out.

She really seems to like Hubby. Which is good, 'cause he likes her right back.

After the usual doggie greetings, the chase was on. Belle and K are both very fast.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up with a lot of blurry pictures.

It really is great to see them running together. K is exactly what Belle needed.

They even found a pile of leaves to wrestle in, which was quite comical to watch.

I know this isn't a fabulous shot, but it's the best I could do with the three of them today. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.

Welcome home, K!

Tomorrow, Baby Girl. Tomorrow.

2009-11-13T07:28:00.001-05:00

If dogs could talk, here's the conversation Belle, my furry toddler, and I would have been having yesterday when I snapped this picture of she and Meg in my office.

Belle: Mama?
Me: Yes, Belle?
B: When is K coming?
M: Tomorrow.
B: Tomorrow?
M: Yes.
B: So later today, when you're done working?
M: No, tomorrow.
B: What's tomorrow?
M: You know how later tonight, it'll get dark? Well, tomorrow is when it gets light again.
B: Are you sure?
M: Yes.
B: Tomorrow?
M: Yes, Baby Girl, tomorrow. Your new girlfriend will be here tomorrow.
B: Good. Because...

(Here's where her voice dropped to a whisper. She stole a quick glance at Meg then back at me.)

B: ... because this grumpy old bitch is boooorrrriiiinnnngggg.

- - - - -

I have had similar conversations with Gaige, my 6-year-old grandson (minus the "bitch" part), who still has no real concept of time or distance. Just last night, in fact, while I was at Amy's house visiting for a pseudo Thirsty Third Thursday with Shannon (currently in Egypt) via Skype.

Gaige asked Shannon how long it would take her to get here.

"Well," Shannon said as she thought about it, "I think it would be about a 15-hour flight."

"Fifteen hours?" Gaige said.

"Yep," she replied.

"Is that like three hours?" he continued.

"No. Fifteen hours is a long time," she explained.

Gaige thought about it for a minute, then said...

"Oh. But what's a flight?"

- - - - -

Note to Shannon: In case you were wondering why the kids were so wound up when you called, in addition to all the excitement about seeing and talking to Aunt Shannon, they were wrestling and generally having a wild time right before you called.

Here are some other images from the evening. The older kids wouldn't be still long enough for me to get decent shots of them!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

A Little Humor Won't Hurt

2009-11-12T05:00:00.004-05:00

Hypnotism at the Senior Center
(submitted via e-mail by my brother, Tom Reichard)

It was entertainment night at the Senior Center.

Claude the hypnotist exclaimed: "I'm here to put you all into a trance. I intend to hypnotize each and every member of the audience."

The excitement was almost electric as Claude withdrew a beautiful antique pocket watch from his coat. The polished metal gleamed in the light.

Claude the hypnotist said: "I want you each to keep your eyes on this antique watch. It's a very special watch. It's been in my family for six generations."

He began to swing the watch gently back and forth while quietly chanting, "'Watch the watch, watch the watch, watch the watch."

The crowd became mesmerized as the watch swayed back and forth, light shimmering off its polished surface. Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed the swaying watch, until, suddenly, it slipped from the hypnotist's fingers and fell to the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces.

"SHIT!" said the hypnotist.

It took three days to clean up the Senior Center...

My Very Expressive, All-Boy Grandson
(plus ToadMama having a wee bit of fun with Photoshop)

Dear Reader:

You won't fully appreciate the small details that totally make this picture unless you click on the image and check out the larger size. So, please. Humor me. Put down that darn Crackberry/iPhone, whatever and look at the full-size view.

Fondly,
ToadMama

Did you look at the larger version? Well, did you?

Why not?
(The faces this boy makes crack me up!)

K Finally Expelled Her Tapeworm
(submitted by Jenn Myers, K's awesome foster Mom)

She really did. The above photo is a reenactment, staged by K's foster Mom who just may have a sense of humor weirder than me. Maybe. If not, she's pretty darn close!

Where Mom Jeans Really Come From
(submitted by Shannon, my oldest, globetrotting daughter)

Shannon found this Mom-cotton store in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. That's gotta be what they use to make Mom jeans, right? Mystery solved! Thanks, Shan.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought...
(found by little ole me while shopping for dog bones)

Amazon.com definitely has its pluses and its minuses, but I still shop there often because they have lots of stuff and you can usually find pretty good prices. For the life of me, I don't know why local brick-and-mortar retailers either don't sell compressed rawhide rolls or do sell them for exhorbitant prices. But that's a whole 'nother story.

I found the rawhide rolls on Amazon at a good price. And I got a little giggle out of the deal. Check out the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" recommendation.

You'd think more than one person would have to buy this item for it to qualify as a recommendation, right? Could it just be a weird coincidence that multiple customers bought professional noise canceling earmuffs with the bones?

I confess, I didn't so much giggle as just scratch my head and wonder what's up with that?

Wacky Web Sites You Might Enjoy
(most of these were found by Hubby)

Is your partner one of those not-so-handy men? If yes, you should be able to relate to this one. If no, go look anyway, just for some giggles.

Do you always feel like somebody is watching you? Apparently, lots of other people do, too. They see Faces in Some of the Weirdest Places. You may never look at things around you in quite the same way.

Need a cartoon for your Blog? There are some cool--FREE--ones to use at www.BZToons.com. Like this one, which made me think of K's foster Mom...

Here's one that describes yesterday's weather...

Speaking of crappy... you have reached the end of today's post.

That's a weak closing, I know. Sorry. I'll try to do better tomorrow.

It Finally Happened...

2009-11-11T07:12:00.029-05:00

What? What finally happened? A moment of peace that I can use to do a real Blog update.

Yes, I've had Blog posts recently, but they were pretty much filler-type stuff. At least that's what it feels like. Ever since October 30, when I went to the Bombay Hook NWR, it's been go, go and more go. Or so it seems to me.

But I shouldn't waste the time whining, right? I should just do the dang Blog post already!

One of the reasons last week felt so hectic is that I was working on a pretty large proposal (for my employer). I'd hoped to join Hubby mid-week at the WV place, but this was a pretty demanding project that required extreme focus. Since I don't have an office in WV, I was afraid Hubby and the girls would be too much of a distraction for me. So I stayed put at the MD abode until Friday night.

When the girls and I arrived at the WV place, I was quite surprised and delighted to discover that Amy had brought the kids up to visit for the weekend.

The kids were in bed when I arrived, but they were all happy to see me bright and early on Saturday morning (they got up at 5:30 AM, much to their Mom's chagrin). Amy tried to keep them quiet and in bed. After taking the dogs, including Klondike (our granddog) for a quick walk, I went and stole Joey from Amy. Then I told the older kids they could get up, but had to be quiet so Mommy could sleep.

Brianna and I spent quite a bit of time doing word search puzzles, and playing squares and tic-tac-toe on her little activity pad.

Notice the dog on my lap? No? Well, take note.

There's something that's very cool about three little kids being happy to see you. Not just like, "Oh, look. It's G." They were all excited, like, "Hi, G!"

It's neat. When you have kids of your own, you get that when they are little. Then they grow up to become teenagers and mostly you feel like you are just being a pain in the ass. Of course, you probably are, but they are teenagers, after all. Teens bring the evil, or at least all sorts of exasperation, out in a person.

So it's cool to have little ones smile when they say your name.

They were each even trying hard to get some lap-time. As you can see, I had a pretty full lap already. They just got as close as they possibly could to watch the YouTube videos I was screening on my notebook computer.

Perhaps the most entertaining one for me was You Spin Me 'Round (by Dead or Alive), which the kids know from The Wedding Singer movie. Seeing Gaige emulate the dude's 80s dance moves was priceless. I can still see his little face looking all puzzled when he asked, "Is that a boy or a girl, G?" I would have gotten up for the camera, but I was sort of pinned down. And that would have ruined the moment. Know what I'm sayin'?

You did notice Belle still on my lap, right?

Joey eventually got tired of the videos, but somehow Brianna and Gaige managed to get on my lap, with Belle, to continue the video screening. Even Belle couldn't resist YouTube; we were watching some of my favorite Brittany (the dog breed, not Spears) videos at that point.

It wasn't the videos keeping Belle on my lap, by the way. It was Klondike. It takes Belle a while to warm up to new dogs. Especially big ones. And Klondike is B-I-G. How big?

Really big. Much bigger than my little Tinkerbelle.

After lunch, a trip to the store for me and a nap for the kids, we got to go outside. Mike did fun stuff like air up Amy's tire.

The kids and I spent a good bit of time gathering kindling, and logs and prepping the campfire, which we planned to ignite after dark.

We did a good job with the prep work, as you can see. And once it burned down, we got to roast marshmallows!

Joey was a giant, sticky mess. Note the glob hanging off his face.

Brianna had reason to look unhappy here. Meg had just stolen one of her marshmallows!

Gaige wasn't quite as messy as Joey. And he's old enough to wash his own face.

Hubby, being the good Pop that he is, took Joey up to the house to get him cleaned up.

On the way, he stopped so that Meg could help get some of the excess marshmallow off of Joey's hand. Hubby was watching Meg so closely, he didn't notice Belle sneak in to help clean the excess off of Joey's face!

After Joey left the fire, Amy got to play with his fire stick.

The next day was gorgeous, so I got to take pictures of everyone outside.

These are just a few of the many pictures I took. To see the rest, you'll have to go to my Picasa site.

Catching Up is Hard to Do

2009-11-10T22:34:00.006-05:00

I swear, I had every intention of posting about the fun weekend we had in West Virginia with Amy and the grandkids. But, I had some other stuff to catch up on first. Stuff that was absolutely no fun.

Like paying bills.

And balancing (or trying to) various credit card and checking accounts.

I also had to renew Mike's truck registration ($154!).

Plus there was some shopping I'd been putting off, which meant I was just about to miss a special offer I didn't want to miss.

Ugh to all of it!

Maybe tomorrow I'll get to focus on fun stuff again.

Surprise Visit

2009-11-09T07:19:00.004-05:00

Hubby had off work last week, so he left for the WV place the day after Halloween. I had hoped to join him midweek, but was pretty busy at work. Now, we do have Internet access and I can work from there. But I knew with Hubby and the girls there, I'd be a bit distracted. And with a big proposal due today, I couldn't afford that. So I went up Friday night.

I arrived a bit after 9:00 PM to a happy surprise...

Amy and the grandkids had conspired with Hubby to surprise me with a visit. Which in itself was cool, because I don't get surprised very often.

We've tried for a long time to get Amy to bring the kids for a visit, but they are very busy with sports and stuff pretty much year-round. So I was delighted to have them there. They brought Klondike, our granddog, too, which made things extra interesting, in a good way. (TJ, Amy's Hubby, is away on a brief Army-duty trip.)

I'll tell you more about the visit later. Of course, I have lots more pictures to share.

Sunday morning, I was supposed to leave to go get K, our new dog. But Saturday night, her foster Mom noticed something not-quite-right with her poo. Sunday morning, she confirmed what she'd feared... K has worms.

To keep Meg and Belle from also getting worms, we decided it would be best to wait until after they clear up before moving K in. We are really, really anxious for her to join the family, but want to be smart. Foster Mom Jenn hopes to get her to the vet today for a treatment. Hopefully they'll be able to tell her when K can safely move in.

It was a very happy (and busy!) but disappointing weekend. We really did have a fun visit. I promise to fill you in as soon as I can. But that dang proposal is still due today. So I need to get to work.

Mornings At My House

2009-11-06T07:34:00.015-05:00

I am not a morning person. Either is Meg. She and I are a lot alike in that regard.

Belle on the other hand, as I have mentioned previously, is a morning girl. And that makes her a perfect Alarm Belle.

I finally decided to take my camera to bed with me (don't worry, Hubby is away) to document how Belle wakes me up in the mornings. Now, this picture makes her look like her legs are enormous. But it's just a perspective thing.

I am not holding her in place. I am petting her. If I don't, she beats on the bed as if she were playing bongos. Which is totally cute, but can be very annoying to a non-morning girl.

Meg is never ready to jump out of bed all happy either. Can you see that she's got her feet covering her eyes? And can you see Belle getting disgusted because I STILL haven't gotten out of bed?

Now can you see Meg covering her eyes? She's such a goof.

That's K's bed in the background, by the way. Just a couple more days and it'll be filled. I'm interested to see where she fits in the whole morning routine.

On a completely unrelated note...

I had to share one of my favorite Fibro Duck pictures (the seagulls totally wanted to eat Spotty Dotty). Some people have asked me why the Fibromyalgia Association UK chose a duck to bring attention to Fibromyalgia. Although I've been doing my part to take fun pictures of Spotty Dotty for a while now, I couldn't answer that question. But now, I can. Here's what they say on the Fibromyalgia Association UK's Web site...

... people with fibromyalgia are like ducks out of water. Before developing fibromyalgia they were hard working, fiercely independent people. After fibromyalgia their pain and fatigue prevents them from performing many of the tasks they took pride in. They have to rely on others everyday and stress about the things all around them that have to go undone. They are forced to live a life that is alien to them – like a duck out of water. The duck can survive on land but its movement isn’t quick and fluent the way it is in water. So the challenge is to draw attention to fibromyalgia by using the duck in places a duck wouldn’t usually go.

Wanna see all of my Fibro Duck pictures on Flickr? I'm not the only person going this, you know. You can see more Fibro Duck pictures, too, taken by other people around the world.

Here's another of my Spotty Dotty shots that I find particularly interesting, if I do say so myself.

I like the next one, too, 'cause it shows my "runner" shirt (like I am really a runner) and my 5k ID number.

Okay, I'll stop. I'm thinking no one is probably having as much fun looking at these images as I'm having creating them. Besides, I need to get to work. Well, FFFF...

It's All in How You Look at It

2009-11-05T08:26:00.013-05:00

Do you find this picture depressing?

Wait. Click on the image so you can see the full-size version before you answer.

Okay. Now, do you find this picture depressing?

At first glance, I did. I mean, it's sort of dark. The trees look dead. The marsh grass is all brown.

But the more I looked at it, really looked, I found it sort of peaceful. It's like a different world in a way. It's certainly different than the world most of us live in. It's a place where all you would be likely to hear is the sound of water lapping against the grass with the ebb and flow of the tides, the wind rustling the grass, birds calling, geese honking. Occasionally, you might hear the shrill scream of a hawk.

It's not a place where you'd have to endure hurtful comments from complete strangers. If you don't follow that link and read the blog post it takes you to, you won't know why I so want to fly to Provo, Utah where I would hunt down and kick the ass of that stupid, STUPID woman who could be so completely insensitive and say such a thoughtless thing to one of my heroes. You don't have to follow the link to know the stupid sort of stuff people can say.

We all have days when we feel down. Tired. Exhausted. Depressed. Pissed off. Whatever.

For me, yesterday was a pissed-off day. I'm thinking it's mostly PMS. Exacerbated, of course, by various things I had to deal with throughout the day. I won't bore you with the details. Just trust me when I say it wasn't a happy day.

I woke up this morning optimistic. Hoping today would be better. Then I read NieNie's blog (to which the aforementioned link leads). She's such a beautiful person. And she always reminds me that I really have absolutely nothing to complain about.

But when I read what that idiotic cow of a woman said to her, it just pissed me off again. It really made me just want to scream. Jeez, people. Think about what you say before you say it.

I already know my day is going to be unpleasant. Mostly 'cause my job can sometimes be a real pain-in-the-ass. For a variety of reasons. I know you don't want or need to know the reasons. I KNOW it could be way worse. I just had to throw out there that work is the primary source of my frustration. But, as Hubby says, it's a necessary evil. (Not that hearing that helps the least little bit...)

Anyway... I'll stop whining now, suck it up and move on. Maybe things will get better as the day progresses. Maybe. I don't have high hopes, but one never knows what the day will bring.

I should add the following picture to my desktop...

I can't look at that image and not smile...

You're Doing What?

2009-11-03T17:12:00.003-05:00

"You're doing what?" is essentially the reaction I got from Mawsie (my Mom) when I told her about our exciting news.

This is not the best picture of Mawsie, since she looks all pissed off (she doesn't like dogs). But it's recent, so I decided to use it.

Anyway...

She didn't take the news as well as I thought she would. I mean, you'd think she'd understand that, with Eric having just moved out, things are a bit quiet here at the ToadMama Maryland abode. I know he hasn't been gone long, but this empty nest thing is, well, weird. It's so, um, boring?

Yeah that's it. Without the proverbial patter of little feet running around it's just plain dull. Meg, at 10.5, is down with dull, to a degree, but not so okay with a bored 2.5-year-old Belle harassing her. I try to keep Belle entertained, but playing with adult people is apparently just not that much fun. If the grandkids lived closer and weren't always so busy, they could come liven things up. But, if they did, it would just be boring again when they left.

Considering that I am still relatively young, Hubby and I thought long and hard, then longer and harder, and made the decision to expand the family. There's just something about a third little being calling me "Mama" that tickles me.

Yep, believe it or not, we're adopting another baby girl. And we're naming her Kay.

She's about 3.5 years old. It may not look like it, but she is a Brittany, like Meg and Belle. She has a fairly uncommon liver and white roan coat. The "roan" just means she's got patches of fur where white and colored hair grow together. So she can't be described as white with liver markings and ticking (aka "dots").

We (Meg, Belle and I) went to meet Kay on Sunday. Belle, who is always bashful with new dogs and people, took a little while to warm up to her.

Meg was fine with Kay from the start. They'll need to figure out who is top dog, which is normal, but I don't foresee any major issues. Meg and Belle went through the same thing.

Kay is larger than Belle, who is a tiny little Britt, but not quite as big as Meg.

I do believe Kay will be the perfect playmate for Belle, but I also think she might just become Meg's occasional (we hope!) partner in crime. Both were equally intrigued by the open door at the foster family's house because there was a cat in the room beyond.

I didn't realize, until I was reviewing the pictures, that Kay does the same weird neck thing that Meg does. Instead of turning her head left or right and looking over her shoulder, Meg will often just lift her chin straight up and back, like Kay is doing in the picture above.

Hubby and I are both quite excited about the expansion. I would love to post a picture of Hubby and I looking excited about the expansion, but he's off work this week, hanging out at the WV place. So, you'll just have to trust me.

Kay is moving in on Sunday, November 8. Hubby, the girls and I can't wait.

As for my Mom... she may like to pretend she doesn't like dogs...

...but she can't seem to resist sweet old Meg. Meg is, after all, her oldest Granddog.

Of course, not many people can resist Meg.

UPDATE: I just HAD to add this picture, which K's foster Mom e-mailed me just minutes ago.

That's K waving "hi" to her new family.

Hubby is My Hero

2009-11-02T07:52:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I talked about how wonderful my Hubby is.

In fact, I can't remember the last time I did that. I always think he's awesome, I just don't Blog about it too much. I mean, that's sort of like bragging, right?

Anyway... this morning I'm thinking of Hubby a lot. Why? Well, I'll tell you. Regular readers will remember my All Good Things Must End post from the other day, where I revealed that my supply of Hazelnut and Vanilla Bean Seattle's Best coffee had been completely depleted. The stuff is just not easy to find around here.

Well, while I was away on Friday/Saturday doing my 5k thing, which I still need to talk about, guess what Hubby did?

He went and found me some Hazelnut and Vanilla Bean Seattle's Best! Woo hoo! I am drinking a cup of hazelnut as I write this, thinking about my Hubby and how nice he is to me, so figured I should share that sentiment with the world.

I love you, Hubby! The coffee is just what I needed to start my day.

An Eventful Halloween

2009-11-01T09:05:00.004-05:00

This was the most eventful Halloween ever. Well, maybe not ever, but at least in a long time. In the morning, I did my first 5k in Ocean City, Maryland (more on that tomorrow). In the evening, it was trick or treat time with the grandkids.

Their Dad, who is away doing Army training, was not able to be there. So Hubby and I went along to help. Not that Amy really needs help, because really is the best Mom ever, but because it's fun.

Whenever I see this picture, I'll forever remember hearing Joey, very loud yet muffled by the mask, saying, "Cheese! Cheese! Cheese!" The boy has been trained well.

I'll also remember Gaige, strumming his sister's pink guitar while serenading us with "If You're Happy and You Know It" to keep us entertained as the other kids got dressed.

After Brianna got her costume on, she joined the singalong.

Transformer Gaige was definitely the most pumped up of the three.

Although Brianna was excited, too. I even got her to vamp for the camera. (For the record, I wouldn't usually say my almost-9-year-old granddaughter was "vamping," but she is dressed as a devil.)

As for the little guy, he came running out as a growling, muscle-bound Power Ranger and promptly tackled his still-singing brother. So I think it is safe to say he was excited, too.

Finally, the trick or treating began. I wouldn't have thought an almost 26-month-old would be so into trick-or-treating. But Joey loves doing the same things his big sister and brother do.

Even if he did struggle to keep up at times.

He didn't care. He was having FUN.

Here's Amy with the kids as they patiently wait their turn.

Joey was a real trooper. It was obvious he was getting tired, but he never once got crabby. He didn't complain a bit when Pop started carrying him from house to house and I carried his bag. He'd come right to Hubby and I after doing his thing at the door, say "there you go" as he handed me his bag, then turn to Hubby, raise his arms and say, "Pick me up, Pop."

At the end of the night, the kids surveyed their loot.

Throughout the evening, Hubby and I kept remarking at how fast the kids are all growing. Compare the pics you've seen here to Halloween 2008 and you'll see for yourself. And look at Halloween 2007, which was even before I had a Blog...

Time does go way too fast. The older you get, the more you realize that. Which is why, I think, grandparents tend to appreciate the grandkids so much. Because we know it wasn't so long ago that their Mommy looked like this...

I hope your Halloween was equally as enjoyable!

A Glorious October Friday

2009-10-30T23:59:00.001-04:00

Today was a glorious day. The weather wasn't picture-perfect, but I wasn't working, I finally got to visit Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, where I saw lots of cool critters, and I ended the day in Ocean City, Maryland with two former colleagues and a friend of theirs. We got to do some catching up over an Italian dinner that was way better than I'd ever expect for Ocean City. And tomorrow I'm going to do a 5k.

The weather not being perfect was actually a good thing. If it was a bright, sunny day, I wouldn't have gotten as many cool pictures as I did. Too much bright light is bad. Especially in Fall, when leaves are past peak and the colors are all so darn warm. If the light were too harsh, the images would not have looked nearly as dramatic.

It's late and I have a 5k to do tomorrow morning, so I am just posting a few of my favorite images without commentary.

Remember, if you want a better look, click on each image for a larger view.

All Good Things Must End

2009-10-29T08:30:00.004-04:00

Well, just as I feared it would, the worst has happened.

I have completely depleted my supply of Seattle's Best flavored coffee.

We killed the wine, which was very good by the way, way back when our friends, Annelies and Yves, from Belgium stopped for a visit.

I could have bought some Hazelnut and Vanilla Bean Seattle's Best at Amazon, but it is now out of stock. I may need to call that co-worker of mine, who lives in Washington (the state), to see if he can hook me up.

Luckily, the non-flavored varieties of Seattle's Best coffee are still available here in Maryland. It's very good, too, by the way. But I LOVE the Hazelnut. I really like the Vanilla Bean, but Hazelnut is the best. In my opinion. Which, go ahead and say it, is all that really matters here at ToadMama's Web Abode.

Have a happy Thursday!

Catch the Colors While You Can

2009-10-28T07:45:00.000-04:00

It's time again for Wordless Wednesday. What's Wordless Wednesday? My excuse to remain wordless (almost) one day a week. You're supposed to post an image or images that leaves the viewer speechless or requires little, if any, explanation. I think the latter is true this week...

Better Bird Pictures

2009-10-26T07:33:00.005-04:00

Can you believe it? I had nothing better to do yesterday, so I went back to Conowingo and captured this picture.

Don't believe it? Good. 'Cause I am pulling your leg. This is a Bald Eagle in captivity, taken when Hubby and I visited the Alaska Raptor Center during our visit to Sitka, Alaska in 2008. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, unless you have a big, expensive camera lens or are very close to a bird, it's hard to get good bird pictures. Here are a couple of their other captive birds.

This is a Peregrine Falcon.

And this is a Golden Eagle.

Don't be sad that these birds are captive. They are only being held here because they couldn't survive in the wild. The Alaska Raptor Center rehabilitates birds.

I didn't explain in yesterday's post why I went to Conowingo. I mean, I've lived in this area for 42 1/2 years and never knew eagles congregate at the dam during the winter. It just so happens that I read about it on a Flickr "friend's" blog. I don't know the guy really. I just like looking at his pictures, because he takes really good ones. His name is Jon, aka Nikographer, and I was introduced to his work by another Flickr "friend" -- Alaska Dave -- in Soldotna, Alaska. I met AKDave when researching our Alaska trip. Dave introduced me to Jon, which is sort of funny since Jon lives in Northern VA. Small world...

So, back to the why. It was through Nikographer Jon that I learned about the eagles at Conowingo. I also learned about a cool place called the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (BHNWR), in Smyrna, Delaware, through Jon. If you didn't click on the BHNWR link, you missed some amazing Red Fox pictures. He is also the reason I went to Wheaton Regional Park where I captured a nice great blue heron photo.

I've mentioned all of this before, but in case you don't remember, I had to explain again. If you missed my last discussion about these guys, you also missed a very cool Snow Geese video.

If all goes as planned, I may actually get to visit BHNWR on Friday. I'll sort of be in the area since I'm doing a 5k on Saturday in Ocean City, MD. The plan is to detour through Smyrna on the way. Maybe I'll get some good bird pics there. If not, that's okay. Again, I really just want to see the Snow Geese. There's just something magical about seeing the skies and fields full of Snow Geese and Canada Geese, not to mention hearing nothing but a cacophony of honking.

It's a bit early in the year, so I might be disappointed. I'm hoping to get lucky though. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Seeing is Believing

2009-10-25T09:00:00.006-04:00

After spending the first part of Saturday morning watching my cute little jock of a grandson play football, I drove to Conowingo Dam to see the eagles.

I went, armed with my camera, knowing I was not going to get any great bird images. It was rainy and overcast, so the light wasn't great. You need good light to capture great details. I also knew I don't have the right equipment or skills, and presumed, correctly, that the eagles would be across the river.

I know birds. Not as well as some, but better than most. It's sort of geeky, but it comes from watching birds (as a backyard birder only) and looking at bird books to identify the birds I see.

As stated in an article in Nature Photographers Online Magazine...

Bird photography is a very challenging endeavor, requiring specialized skills and equipment – one does not simply pick up the camera used for family vacation photos and capture compelling avian images.

My camera is decent enough for a hobby photographer (Canon Rebel XT), but to get really good bird images like this one, and this one, and this one, you either need to be fairly close or have at least a 400mm lens, which lists at $1,799. A 600mm like this one wouldn't hurt either, but with a suggested retail price of $9,199, that's not an option for me either. (Check out the image on this page to see what that lens looks like when in use.)

Enough caveats? I just want to make sure my photographer friends don't think I'm trying to say any of the images I'm sharing below are good bird pics. They are merely snapshots to back-up my claim that there are some eagles to see at Conowingo Dam.

Since I don't have any great lenses, you will need to click on these images to enlarge them if you want to see the birds.

When I first arrived at the dam, I overshot the turn for Shuresville Road on the Harford County side of the river. The first image in this post (above) was taken from the Cecil County side just to show everyone what a dismal day it was.

Once I managed to get to Fisherman's Park at the base of the dam, I was happy to see there were actually eagles there. There are at least two in this shot of the rocks right across the river.

I walked downriver a couple hundred yards and looked again. More closely this time.

"Holy cow," I said aloud. "They're all over the rocks."

There are at least 18 mature eagles (with white heads) in the shot directly above. Eighteen is a lot of eagles.

Then I looked slightly further downriver and saw even more of the majestic birds. I honestly thought you could only see this many eagles at one time in Alaska.

Quite intrigued at that point, I kept watching. In this image, you can see one flying while others are still perched on the rocks below.

Even if I couldn't get any great shots, it was fun just watching. I mean, how often do you get to see multiple bald eagles flying around?

I kept snapping pictures, too. I tried counting the birds while there, but it's hard on a tiny little image screen. Once I got home, I looked through the MANY pictures I took to see which one had the most birds in it. Now, if you count mature and immature eagles, there are AT LEAST 36 of them in the above image. Maybe a couple more. There are some crows and herons in the shot, too.

Thirty-six eagles captured in one photo. I'm guessing there are at least 100 birds of those majestic birds in the general area. Probably more.

It really was neat to see. And they don't just hang out on the rocks. They fish and fly around, too. I actually saw two, at different times, flying overhead with fish in their talons.

It's neat just watching single birds soar. But what's really cool...

...is when two or more fly around together.

I wish I could have stayed longer.

You know what's really amazing? Supposedly the highest numbers of eagles are present December through February. You can bet I'll be back there later this year, with Hubby, to see this again.

Go Buccaneers!

2009-10-24T20:00:00.001-04:00

I did something completely different today. I (finally!) went to see Gaige, who just turned 6 a couple of weeks ago, play football. Gaige is our oldest grandson. It really is about time I saw a game.

Of course, the weather was crappy (severely overcast with intermittent rain showers). The game, which was in Harford County, 41 miles north of my house, started at 8:00 a.m. Which meant I had to be out the door no later than 7:15.

That's WAY early for me to be up, dressed and out on the road. Awake is one thing, but dressed and out of the house? Hah.

I'm a big girl (as in grown up), though. With Hubby off at some plumbing convention, I just had myself to worry about.

Amy and TJ had it far worse. Gaige had to be at the field at 7:00 a.m. That meant they had to leave their house by 6:45. And, before they left, Gaige had to eat breakfast (he eats REALLY slow). He needed to be suited-up, too. So they probably got up at 6:00. At the latest.

This isn't the first time one of his games has been ridiculously early. And on a normal weekend, Brianna (almost 9) and Joey (26 months) would've been dragged along, too. But this was no normal weekend. Aside from the horrible weather, Joey finally started showing symptoms of the H1N1 flu (Gaige and Brianna both had it over the past week), so Amy didn't want him out in the weather.

Luckily, TJ was able to drop Gaige off on his way to work, which just so happens to be the start of a one-month deployment (he's in the Army). Amy stayed home with Brianna and Joey. That meant it was doubly important that I get there on time (yes, I did).

I can't say I understood anything that was going on. Clinic football rules are apparently VERY different. They don't have play-by-play announcers either. Or instant replays. So, I can't tell you how the game went. But, despite the very poor light, I did manage to get some good pictures.

Look how little these guys are. They're not all this skinny. Some are taller, too. The little guy to the right of Gaige is the shortest. And I think he's the quarterback. But I couldn't swear by it since I really could not follow the game.

He may be little, but he's got the look down.

And he's a pretty good tackler, too.

He sure looked cute in his uniform, didn't he?

How does a cute 6-year-old like Gaige learn how to look like such a bad-ass? It must be a guy thing.

Of course, I had to make him pose afterward. Then I had to help get the helmet off. One of his ears almost came off with it, but he assured me that's normal.

Now, Gaige is usually very smiley and photogenic. But he had to pee. Really bad. I wanted to get a picture first, which I did, but that's why his brow is furrowed. Can't you just hear him saying, "C'mon, G, I gotta pee"?

He did a good job holding it. Especially since it took me forever to get his pants undone, what with the tight, heavy duty belt-thingy ("So my pants don't fall down," he said as I was struggling and griping) and the laces that he yanked right into a knot.

I did warn Amy in advance that I wouldn't be setting foot in her house after the game, no matter how much Lysol she'd saturated the house with. I was going to go to Brianna's soccer game, but I just didn't feel like spending another hour standing in the rain. So I headed north hoping the rain would stop so I could do some birdwatching. More on that tomorrow...

The rest of the football pics can be seen on my FLICKR site...

Meet Spotty Dotty

2009-10-23T19:14:00.008-04:00

I know I already had one post today, but all the cool Fall colors that are finally emerging here in Maryland inspired me to take a couple of FibroDuck pics.

What I just realized today is that "FibroDuck" is the movement. And all the individual ducks have names. Which is the reason behind this post's title.

Meet Spotty Dotty. She's my duck. And I've been having fun taking pictures of her in various places.

Today I did some outdoor shots. I was inspired by all the colors. While you can't see any foliage in this picture, it's my favorite.

Perhaps because it features my two favorite canines AND Spotty Dotty.

Really, it's just because the expressions on Belle's and Meg's faces are priceless.

They are usually very happy-looking dogs. Dogs do smile you know. Really. (Other dog parents will back me up on that one.)

My girls usually smile a lot. 'Cause I'm such a fun and cool Mama. Usually.

Apparently, they were less than thrilled to be posing with Spotty Dotty.

That just makes this shot even funnier if you ask me.

Waking Up is Hard to Do

2009-10-23T08:22:00.019-04:00

This, my friends, is your conventional alarm clock. Sort of. More on that later.

Most days, I don't need an alarm clock. Unless I want to wake up before approximately 7:15 a.m.

It's not that I'm one of those old people that says, "I don't need an alarm clock. I wake up at 6:23 every single day."

I do need to be woken up, I just don't need an alarm clock to do it.

Confused?

Yes, I did just say I don't need a clock, but I do need to be woken. I don't need a clock to wake me because I have a natural alarm Belle.

THIS is my natural alarm Belle...

And it's the cutest little alarm Belle ever.

Belle's small for a Brittany. Not just in girth, either. She's vertically challenged.

My bed is about 6 inches shorter than this birdbath. When Belle stands beside the bed, like she's standing beside the birdbath, all you can see are her feet, forelegs and cute little face. When she's ready to get up (rarely later than 7:15), she comes and stands beside the bed. If I move or make a sound, she gets all excited and starts beating on the bed with her forelegs (picture a dog playing bongos) and wiggling her whole body. I can only actually see her cute little face moving, but I know her whole body is moving because it's a typical Brittany wiggle.

I could be upset, especially on weekends when it would be nice to sleep in. But she's so darn cute I can't ignore her. Once I pet her, she gets even more excited. She even smiles. And I am such a sucker for a cute little Brittany smile.

As for the alarm clock not being conventional... as I was looking for alarm clock images to adorn this post, I discovered this clock, which actually holds and plays MP3s. Cool, eh? I was all excited until I visited the store that supposedly sells it (ThinkGeek.com) only to learn that they no longer sell it. I'm guessing it was way popular. I'll have to search for another merchant.

I was disappointed, yes. But while there, I couldn't resist looking around. They sell fun stuff like this coaster.

Got a geeky kid to shop for? Try this cool Jr. Astronaut Helmet.

How about a new t-shirt for your geeky Hubby? Um, you may need to be a little geeky yourself to get that one. If you do have a geeky Hubby, you should buy one of these. Just to make him feel good, know what I'm sayin?

Got a geek who likes chilled shots but hates that they get watered down? These little doohickeys are quite ingenious. I think they'd be a fun gift, too.

How about a spouse that is fascinated by gadgets and LED lights? This is the ultimate kitchen gadget.

OK, I think you get the picture.

I'm off to get more coffee...

Oh, Enough Already

2009-10-22T07:49:00.001-04:00

You know, it's been almost two weeks and I STILL have this annoying cold.

You know what I say to that? Enough already!

Seriously, you know how hard it is to run like this?

I mean, I don't feel horrible. In fact, most of the day I am okay. It's the mornings and evenings that are hardest.

I did my 3.2 miles the other day (running and walking; I still can't run the whole way) thinking maybe it would actually clear my head a bit.

Wrong. It just gave me a splitting headache. I am hoping today is better.

Nights are the worst. That's when the coughing fits set in.

I haven't gotten much sleep this week as a result. So last night, I decided to take an Ambien, which I keep on hand for emergencies. Then Hubby came to bed. After rooting around in the bathroom cabinet for a bit, he emerged with some heavy duty cough syrup.

"Try this," he said.

I was a bit hesitant since I'd already taken that Ambien and the cough syrup contained codeine. But figured, what the hey.

Well, it worked. I slept like a rock. This morning it took a bit longer than usual to wake up. I'm still sort of congested, but at least I had a good night's sleep.

My brain is still a bit fuzzy. I feel about as clear as I look in my little cartoon image (click on it so you get to see a larger version). But things seem to be getting clearer, slowly but surely. Which is good, 'cause now I have to get to work. Ugh.

On Wordless Wednesday, the Colors Speak

2009-10-21T17:30:00.002-04:00

More Odds Than Ends

2009-10-20T06:51:00.018-04:00

My duck arrived last week.

What duck? Why, FibroDuck! I explained it here earlier this month.

Belle, who is never far from my side, helped with the photo shoot.

Seeing Double

If you like seeing cute little moose, you just have to check out this video, which Hubby stumbled across last week.

Finally, a Diagnosis

Did you know there's actually a name for the disease that afflicts people like me, which makes stupids songs like this one pop into your head at odd moments and get stuck there?

Well, there is. And I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before now.

Earworm. Yes, earworm. Hubby gets credit for discovering that one, too. Yes, the Internet obsession runs in the family.

My New Obsession

Video mashups.

If you really want to watch this video, do it at YouTube. I couldn't get it to embed properly. First, it was too big. Then it was too small.

I discovered video mashups all by myself while verifying that "earworm" is not just a one-shot, made-up word. This is just another way YouTube can suck me in.

And that's all I've got for today.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring more, and better, inspiration.

Sharing Our Cabin with Friends

2009-10-18T12:30:00.001-04:00

Foliage in our little corner of WV is pretty much at peak this weekend. Unfortunately, it's cold, wet and overcast. But still beautiful. And we had company to share it with, which was really quite nice.

Mike and Kathy Weissner, Hubby's sister- and brother-in-law joined us for a day in the mountains. We'd hoped to drive around doing some leaf peeping, but the weather didn't cooperate. So we just sat around visiting, drove to Capon Bridge for a meal at our favorite restaurant in West Virginia (El Puente Mexican Restaurant) and walked around our place enjoying the scenery.

I did take a few pics, like the nice one of them above, but not many. The sun's coming out so I may take more later. However, I was looking at my Flickr and stumbled across this image from last year, which I really like.

It's one of the group featured in this Flickr slideshow.

Here we all are, just prior to their departure. Pictured l-r above: Me, Hubby, Mike and Kathy.

I'm not sure how we'll entertain ourselves the rest of the day. It's certainly a good day for a nap. Hmmm...

Grandparents' Weekend

2009-10-16T01:25:00.001-04:00

This past weekend at the WV place was really quite eventful. We filled all of the bedrooms for the first time ever. We got to take the parents on a train ride, spend time with Joey (our youngest grandson) and talk to and see Shannon from Barcelona using Skype.

I shared Saturday's train ride pictures with you the other day. So now you get to see what Sunday brought.

Fall! When I got out of bed on Sunday morning, it was 39 degrees. That's only 7 degrees above freezing.

Sorry, I won't bore you with my nature photos yet again. After all, we did have 6 people in the house at one time. But I couldn't resist sharing these two. They look better if you click on each pic for a larger view.

Here's my Dad having breakfast with Joey, our entertainment for the weekend. When Hubby pointed out to Amy that she was shipping her son off to spend an entire weekend with FIVE grandparents, she almost changed her mind. I mean, if 2 grandparents can spoil a kid in a weekend, what would 5 do?

We took turns passing him from one lap to the other.

Even my Mom (aka Mawsie) got in on some Joey loving.

He's really a personable, well-behaved, happy little fellow.

And with people like me around, he's gotten really good at saying, "cheese."

It was too cold to go play outside, so we brought out the zero gravity lounger. It kept him busy for at least an hour.

He and I were taking turns reclining then locking the chair in place so Joey could unlock it and have the chair back shoot forward. Meg had to get in on the act, too.

Joey thought the chair was the most fun ever. Everyone else just liked listening to Joey giggle.

He was sort of excited and sort of scared to sit on my big motorcycle.

See what I mean about him always looking happy?

Here Joey and Pop are goofing off as the parents get ready to leave.

Then it was time for lunch. Take a closer look at Joey...

... doing his best to sit like Pop.

He's at that mimicking phase, which is cute until someone slips and says something like, "dumbass." Lucky for us, that one wore off quickly.

He's also at that "I wanna help" stage, which is cute, too. But it means it takes ten times longer to get anything done. Which is okay, unless you're supposed to be someplace at a certain time.

Finally, we were ready to leave. He's even a good car passenger.

Mom Murphy, sorry I didn't get a picture with Joey on your lap!

Other than that, we all had a fabulous weekend. This weekend is going to be fun, too. We've got more company coming. More on that next week.

I can't close without sharing at least one picture of Belle. Just a quick one...

I keep saying she's fast. She really can fly.

Oh, How Distracting

2009-10-15T07:30:00.000-04:00

Working from home has its pluses and its minuses. Having your pets as company is one of the good things. Usually.

Having the dogs around is a plus. As for the cat, well, let me just say Moses is old (about 20), grumpy and VERY vocal. She meows incessantly. Around 4:00 PM she'll start telling me it's time for her dinner.

Until recently, I could ignore her. But now that the weather has gotten colder, she's discovered the joy of sleeping on my warm notebook computer, which sits closed, on a shelf behind the full-size monitor it's hooked up to.

So now, when Moses decides she's hungry, she just has to pop her head up to get my attention.

She'll sit there, giving me the evil eye for a bit. Then she'll start meowing.

And meowing...

...and meowing. She's relentless.

She also likes to rub her cheeks on the edge of my monitor, which means I get this film of black cat hair all over the screen. Not to mention a keyboard full of cat hair.

She does eventually stop whining for a bit. Although quiet, she makes sure I still know she's not happy.

It can be quite distracting. Which is the whole point, I guess.

Until I slid the monitor over a bit, she used to slink through that gap and walk across the keyboard. Now she just sits back there glaring at me.

I wonder how long it'll be before she hacks up a hairball back there?

Ah, the joy of having cats...