South Division 1 Field Hockey CHAMPS!

The Walpole High School varsity girls Field Hockey team, also known as "The Porkers", won the Massachusetts South Division 1 championship, HOORAY! Including the playoffs the girls had an 20-0-2 record.

Stephanie, a.k.a. "The Frye-A-Lator", finished the season with 16 goals and 11 assists to lead the division. She was also selected to the Massachusetts girls field hockey 1st team All Star and the division 1 Best of 60 All Star teams. Quite the accomplishments for both the team and individually for Stephanie!



The picture above was taken at the end of the semi-finals game. The entire game was played under a VERY heavy fog. From the bleachers, at times, you were unable to see the girls on the far side of the field. They had no problem seeing on their way to an 8 - 2 final.

"I didn't want to let go of him" - Paige

There's nothing more to add to this story other than it brought tears to my eyes!

"Little Girl Can't Let go as Sergeant Daddy Leaves For Iraq"

Enjoy the Day Everyone!

Fun Fact

Fun Fact!

According to William Bradford's book of Plymouth Plantation: 1620 - 1647, turkey was on the menu at the first Thanksgiving.

Find the Critter

Can you find the critter in the above picture?

The Fat Lady Has Sung!!

Finally, lawn mowing/lawn care season is officially over for 2009!!

I spent yesterday putting my dads yard to bed for the winter; cleaned the gutters, raked and blew leaves (and cussed at then too), cut and bagged the grass and leaves, and finished by putting a winterizer fertilizer down. Of course the latter is SO counter productive in term wanting to cut the lawn less - what was I thinking...

Here are the mowing numbers for 2009:

• My dads lawn = 16 cuttings
• A clients lawn = 14 cuttings
• Our lawn = 29 cuttings
  

All my lawn care equipment has also been put up for the winter - I'm one for the season!

Little Pecker Heads...

Care to take a guess at what caused the damage on the side of this house?

You might not be too surprised to learn what caused this but you might be when you hear the reason why!

Woodpeckers - woodpeckers are to blame. Yup, them cute little pecker-head-sum-bitches.

My first thought was that they were after something to eat; something like termites or ants or some other little insect, however, that's not the case.

The home owner made several calls in an effort to determine what caused this and why. One was to the local animal control officer, one was to an exterminator and one to Audubon.

It was Audubon that told her the reason was not to find food but rather an attempt to build a nest site. If you look close enough you'll notice that each hole was made directly under the over-hang of the shingle above, which is an indication of their intent - nest building versus feeding.

Interesting stuff!

Senior Health Care Solution

So you’re a senior citizen and the government says no health care for you, what do you do?

Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. Your are allowed to shoot 2 senators and 2 representatives.

Of Course, this means you will be sent to prison.

There you will get 3 meals a day, a roof over your head, and all the health care you need! New teeth, no problem. Need glasses, great. New hip, knees, kidney, lungs, heart? All covered.

And who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you that you are too old for health care. Plus, because you are a prisoner, you don’t have to pay any income taxes anymore.

IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY OR WHAT?!

Mark Your Calendar...

Sunday, November 15 has been nominated as "Steve Irwin Day" by the Australia Zoo in Queensland.

Also, an Australian scientist has paid an unusual tribute to the late conservation star Steve Irwin by naming a rare species of snail "crikey steveirwini".

"It was the khaki colour that immediately drew the connection to the late Crocodile Hunter."

To read more - Crikey steveirwini! Snail honour for late Aussie star

Bones

and I'm not talking about the Fox TV show Bones but real bones!

What you're looking at is or was a shrew (rodent).

We found this particular dude, dead and floating in our pool during the early summer. Of course at that time he looked different - well, like a shrew would normally look only wet and dead, again, because he was in the pool. Are you following all this?!

Well, Emilie was in charge of his removal and she did a super job. She got the skimmer and scooped him out in one nice, fluid motion. However, her attempt at launching this dude over the fence fell short and he landed on the second rail of the stockade fence - which is exactly where he's remained and still remains today, only no longer wet and missing his epidermis. An indefinate science project of sorts.

Stop by an see him if you're in the neighborhood.

Calling in the BIG Guns - UPDATE

Here is an update on our Muscovy ducks, as you can see they've grown...

If you recall we "adopted" three ducklings. The number three was chosen in an effort to increase our odds of having one male and one female. Of course we ended up with two males and one female. Since keeping two males is out of the question, one of the males has since been re-homed, which also saves on feed and boy can these quackers eat! So, we're down to a strikingly handsome pair (the female is the one sporting the black cap) - we've accomplished our intended goal.

We also purchased a used 5' wide x 5' deep x 5' tall chain link dog kennel that we're using to house these guys. It's working just fine for us and the duckies seem to enjoy it too. Since Muscovies are notorious fliers and escape artists I'll need to clip their wings soon otherwise the kennel investment will be for not. They'll always come home, but I'm sure our neighbors wouldn't appreciate their visits. This should be done twice a year and only needs to be performed on one wing. All I need to do it cut the flight feathers in half - like a haircut of sorts with no pain or discomfort to the animal.

Plan B is in full swing! Think Spring...

Fun Fact

Fun Fact!

The term "granola bar" was first recognized in the late nineteenth century as a term for foods made up of whole grain products that are baked until crispy.

Identify It

What bird did this feather come from?

Put to Bed (for the Winter)

Our gardens and yard have all been put to bed for the winter - night night...

New compost was added to each garden and tilled in. 12-days ago Emilie helped me sow 5lbs of Winter Rye in each, which has taken root and is already beginning to grow.



The closest bed above contains our strawberries. I mowed them down and weeded as best I could. Once the cold weather sets in I will be covering these berry plants with pine needles to help protect them during the winter. Removing them is one of the first order of business come late winter - well before the soil warms and the plants begin to grow.



We've also planted 3-rows, approximately 60-cloves, of California White Garlic (above), which have also begun growing and now stand about 3" tall. I've spread leaf and grass clippings on top of their bed to help protect them during the winter.

Think SPRING!!

"I'm wearing two different shoes."

So, I'm sitting in my office (cubicle) yesterday feverishly working away on my computer when I sense someone come up behind me - it's Vlad.

He says, "Hi, what's up?"

I nod and say, "nuttin, same ole thing!" and keep on typing, which was then followed be a period of silence.

Vlad then voluntarily and out of the blue says, "I just realized I'm wearing two different shoes."

I fell on the floor laughing! One of the funniest things I've heard in a long while.

Once I composed myself I said, "that might be true, however, it's not something you should freely admit".

To his credit the shoes were the same make, model and color just one old and one new, so it wasn't too bad but hysterical just the same and par for the course in the life and times of Vlad...

Fun Fact

Fun Fact!

The phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is based in Greek mythology where apples were associated with the healing god Apollo.

Who Nose...

Fun Fact

Fun Fact!

There are 90 days of fall so get out and enjoy it before winter hits.

Find the Critter XIX

Can you find and name the critters in the above picture?

Closed for the Season

As Lasky said, the security guard at Walleyworld in movie National Lampoon's Vacation, "Sorry folks park's closed. Moose out front should have told you".

We'll, I'm not Lasky, this isn't a movie and I'm not talking about a park. However, what I am referring to is our pool and our pool is now officially closed for the season - Sorry folks pool's closed. Grumpy home owner has told you!

Signs the Economy is improving

or is it simply a selfish, well-to-do pecker-head showing his true colors?! I'm thinking the latter!

Back in October 2005 McDonald's replaced the coffee in it's 600 New England stores with Newman's Own Organics Blend coffee! I really like this coffee, sooo much better than Dunkin Donuts, and stop whenever I get a chance. This Saturday I stopped to grab a cup on my way to Westwood.

So, I'm sitting in the drive-thru and queued up behind an impressive black, freshly washed and waxed Lexus LS series sedan driven by an older gentleman that I would guess was somewhere in the area of late fifties, early sixties. The Lexus dude pulls up to the window and pays for his order. As he waits for his food to arrive he takes the coins that were given to him with his change and tosses them out his window against the building - I was shocked! We're not talking about a lot of money here but the amount doesn't matter. The ignorance of this stunt is unsettling. Certainly he could have chosen something better to do with it. For example, give it back to the clerk and request that it be put in the collection for the Ronald McDonald House.

Prolly think he's some big shot with an over inflated ego. You know, the upper management type with no conscience about his actions and only concerned about himself. I hope that some day he'll need that change and realize the errors of his ways with his mightier than thou bone head stunt. Oh, I also wished for him to choke on his food...

Bird Flu versus Swine Flue

My doctor just told me the primary difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu.

With Bird Flu you need a tweetment, and with Swine Flu you need an oinkment.