Fall 2012 Gourd Haul

 

So, here are the gourds Emilie and I picked last weekend from our garden.

 

We've not counted them but I would guess that there are close to 50 gourds in that Woolworth basket!  Anyone remember Woolworth?!

 

All these gourd from only two plants and they sprang out of our compost pile this Spring from last falls gourd's we used as decoration.  I transplanted them in a more suitable location and as you can see it paid off.

 

I have NO idea what we're going to do with all these gourds, so if you're in the area stop in and grab yourself one or two...

You Can't Drive 55...

 

FINALLY!!

 

Franklin's finest have finally acted on my numerous calls with more police presence in an effort to slow down the endless speeders on Lincoln Street!  They've even taken me up on my offer to set up speed traps in our driveway.  This isn't the first time they've been here in the last couple of weeks and hopefully not the last too.

 

It's crazy just how fast some people drive.  The posted speed is 35 but I can assure you that the average speed is closer to 45+.

 

Beep Beep...

Fall 2012 Carrot Harvest

 

Emilie picked the last of our carrots today and what a haul it was!

 

Of course they're delicious and the rabbits absolutely love the carrot tops and simple devour them, so not too much goes to waste.

 

Sadly, for us and our rabbits and chickens, gardening season is coming to an end. You just can't beat fresh home grown veggies!

I'm "One of The Best..."

 

We have a Gateway laptop that no longer boots.  It appears that the machine is not getting power.  So, I reached out to Gateway technical support via their website and fired up a chat session with a support technician named Prabhu.  For the sake of this blog posting I will be referring to Prabhu as "Peggy".

 

Clearly "Peggy" was responding using a script and although very professional and courteous, it was nauseating just the same.  Don't get me wrong I love courteous, and in my opinion courtesy in every day interactions is hard to find any more, but "Peggy" was a little over the top.

 

After describing the laptop issue "Peggy" had me try several troubleshooting tasks and in the end he believes the issue is with the power adapter unit (the cords that plug from the wall outlet to the computer).

 

He provided me with information on where to purchase replacement parts for our Gateway and even apologized if he ever disappointed me, WOW.  So I'll look into it further.

 

In closing, and I think we can all agree that this was NOT being regurgitated via a script, he said, "You have been one of the best customers I have come across...".

 

I have that effect on people!  After all, I'm a people person...hahaha

Hosta Eaters...

 

Here is a pretty cool picture of our Hosta eaters.

 

They've been hanging out in the neighbors side yard, which is nicely wooded but every now and then they venture out into the lawn and flowers.  The mother is super diligent and disappears into the woods with baby in tow at the slight noise.  However, as the baby is getting older she's not quite as skittish.  The little one is always running and jumping, twisting and turning.  They're fun to watch but I'd prefer they stay in the neighbors yard and away from our flower beds.

Turtle Release Day!

 

Emilie and I released our two snapping turtles into a nice, secluded pond that is set back a good distance from the roadway.  Hopefully these dudes will have learned their lesson and steer clean of the street.  They might not be so luck the next time.

 

The smaller one we've had for two years and kept him indoors all last winter.  The larger one I saved from surely being road kill on Rt.109 back in the Spring.  As far as turtles goes they were fun to watch when being feed.  They didn't waste too much time when food was dropped into their tank.  Although, we caught many an insect, which they eagerly devoured they took a particular liking to shrimp.  Of course that sealed their fate and quickened their release.  After all, if anyone around here is going to be dining on shrimp it's going to be ME!!

Visiting Bird - III

 

The other afternoon we had, from what I could see, about 8 - 10 visiting Bluebirds.  These insect eating machines appeared to be doing just that eating insects!  However, I think they were also eating butterflies, boo!

 

They were hanging in and around our Butterfly bushes, which are loaded with all kinds of insects from butterflies to bees and beyond.  Of course I would prefer they stick to eating the "bad" insects; you know the ones that do more damage than good but since they only stop by once in a while, it's still nice to see them.

 

Visiting Bird - II

 

This time of year, when the Echinacea flowers are turning to seed, the Goldfinch appear to gorge themselves.  Like the Hummingbirds, they're in and out all day long.  You can hear them singing away and talking to one another.  They also enjoy our Thistle and Sunflowers too.

 

There is a male and female Goldfinch dinning in the above photo.

Visiting Birds - I

 

How's this for a photo?!?!

 

The hummingbirds go coo-coo for our trumpet vine flowers.  When this dude is in bloom the hummingbirds are in and out all day long.  They're busy little creatures for sure and provide endless enjoyment for us to watch them do their thing.

Cold Digits, Brr

 

Work-at-home day today!

 

Needed to break-out the old slippers.

 

I'm thinking this means Fall is upon us.  Either that or I've become a weenie.  Perhaps, both.

 

My feet-sies are nice and toasties!

First Encounters...

 

Just after dark the other night I came across this ginormous Eastern American Toad parked smack dab in the middle of our front walk way, so I snatched him up.  Wasn't too keen on the toad pee all over my hand that followed but I knew it was gonna happen, it always does.

 

We thought it might be interesting, not for the toad of course, to introduce said toad to Trixie dog, so we did and oh what fun it was!

 

The toad was hopping all over the kitchen in his attempt to get away but Trixie dog was following right behind.  She was a little apprehensive at first but perhaps once she realized the toad didn't pose any danger her courage grew ten-fold.  It was very funny.

 

The next introduction needs to be a snake!  This way it'll teach Trixie dog that not all critters will turn and flee.  Just need to get a hold of a snake. Time is limited as fall in upon us.

Find The Critter

 

Can you find the critter in the above picture?!

 

You're looking for a juvenille Eastern Blue Bird...

You're Getting Sleepy Sleepy...

 

HELLO!

"Stanley" The Caterpillar

 

I found this dude while weeding my raspberries. Based on what I can find online I believe its a Zale caterpillar but unable to narrow it down any further.

 

We decided to hang onto to it to see if it would make a cocoon and what it would turn into.  That worked fine for a couple days but somehow the dude was able to get out and took off.  This was a bummer, as we didn't get to experience that process but also had I known it was going to get away I simply would have feed it to our turtles. At 2 inches that would have been a good snack.

 

Oh well, perhaps I'll come across another one.

What a WIN!

 

The Sacred Heart Field Hockey team was in Cambridge this past Monday for an afternoon game against the Harvard Crimson.

 

And what an exciting game it was!!

 

The game went into double-overtime with the score tied 1-1 and with just 1:17 remaining SHU scored to win the game, awesome!!  SHU is now 3-1 on this young season!!

 

Of course the win was just the icing on the day.  The day was absolutely beautiful; Emilie went with me and, not only got to see her big sister play, but also to watch an official field hockey game.  She has just started playing field hockey herself, so hopefully she picked up one or two tidbits of the game; and we both got to spend a little time with Stephanie after the game and before her 3+ hour bus ride back to Fairfield, CT.

 

WINNING!

Blue As Blue Can Get

 

Look how awesome and blue the sky was the other day!!

 

Just perfect!

Find The Critter

 

Can you find the critters in the above picture?!

 

You're looking for Squash Bugs.  Actually, they're still young, so technically you're looking for Squash Bug Nymphs...

Tomato Canning 2012 - Take II

 

JoAnne completed her second batch of tomato canning of the season yesterday!

I picked another (3) heaping 5-gallon buckets of luscious tomato's, which produced:
 

22 Quarts (44 to-date)

&

24 Pints (47 to-date)
 

I say, Giddy-Up!!

Carrots 2012

 

Picked the first four carrots of the season this afternoon!

 

There are many, many more to be picked too.

 

The rabbits are happy too, as they absolutely love snacking on the carrot tops.

 

It's a win win!