June 3, 2009

I got up shortly after Wayne and we chatted for most of the morning. At 10:00 am we decided to check on Laurie since they originally wanted to be on the road at 8:00 am.

We had a little strawberry trifle and took some pictures before they got on the road around 11:00 am.

Bye - bye...miss you...visit again!

Their visit was fun, relaxing and an overall great time. The three of us work together several times a month, but being together without radio, phones or people interruptions made for a wonderful O’Wich-ation. I plan to rest, watch TV and relax for the rest of the day – in my jammies!
For those wondering how things are going with the feathered pain in the arse ~ not good. The bird is not giving up and so far I haven’t either. I am down to tornado evictions twice a day – AM and PM. This feathered bugger is persistent. I’m only here five more days and I am feeling defeated! All that’s left of the food I put out by the stump is a couple of cantaloupe rinds and a half of a corn cob. I added bologna, strawberries, macaroni and coleslaw to it! We’ll see how long it lasts.
I watched a couple of dogs run around in the back, jump in the river and run around some more until they ran down the easement toward someone mowing the grass a couple of properties over. I also got to listen to some heavy machinery (obviously using reverse a lot from the beep beep noises) from the other direction. It was odd to have so much noise today!

June 2, 2009

I got up around 8 and Wayne had been up since 5:30. We sat on the rockers and had coffee until Laurie got up.

Once we were all up we started our day at Paul Bunyon’s Shanty. We had a yummy breakfast – everything was awesome, from the sugared donuts to the pancakes. They have the best scrambled eggs- anywhere around!

From there we took a Lake Delton and surrounding area driving tour, piloted by moi.

We went to “Top Secret” – it’s a location with a guided tour and had a lame story of aliens overpowering the White House and blowing it up. The guides sucked AND the tour sucked and the best thing about it was when it ended and the 75 cent discount I was given - because the guy didn't have change - I wish I only had a $100 dollar bills - I could've saved the $12 I did pay!!! From there we parked and walked through town.
There were stops at the fudge store, the cheese store and a vintage photo store.

We dressed up as pirates…argh!!!!!!! It was comical and we had a lot of fun! We continued to walk and stopped for ice cream and Laurie to adorn her head with a plethora of hats.

We did have some slight mishaps along the way. For some reason there are steps and ledges everywhere…I tripped up a step and plowed into a store front window. Laurie tripped on the sidewalk – who put that there??? And there was a ramp in a store that appeared out of nowhere - that was unexpected! We also ran in to some odd things and people.

There was the Dells version of Hobert Rall asleep on a bench – there was the Asian bicycle man (Secret Asian Man) that wanted to show Wayne a video of his bicycle road trip across the states (What??? Is this like "let me show you my drawings????") – there was the tubby family that wouldn’t let their kid in a Flintstone mobile – poor kid – she only wanted to go in it because Wayne just got out of it! "But Mom...that man was in there. Mom....pleeeeeaaaasssseeee!"
And, I got new glasses!!!!!

There was the Indian, a Mr. Hanky, a pink elephant (was this an omen of things to come?) and a store that you could get ice cream and a tattoo at the same time - only in the Dells! We had an awesome time. We took a ride back through town and then headed to Wal-Mart where there were more strange people. ..there were the Amish – possibly imposters since they did get into a minivan and drove away! We tried to get Laurie close to them to snap a picture but their minivan went fast…assumed imposters because of technology!
On the way back we stopped at a house along the way and I found out the colorful shrubs at their home are Pink Azaleas…I want those for the front of the cabin! We hung out at the cabin for a couple of hours and then went to Bud’s for dinner. Another tasty dinner! In the evening we played Uno – let’s just say it’s a good thing we don’t mix our alcoholic beverages - and leave it at that - if interested, just ask! Or don't ask!

June 1, 2009

The morning got off to a hazy start but that quickly diminished once the sun came out. Laurie and Wayne got on the road at 6:30 am and were expected to arrive by 10:00 am, at the latest.

I visited with Paul for coffee, took some current photos of my flowers and got a few items ready for lunch. I baked the beans on the grill and marinated the chicken. Wayne called several times along the way but the most alarming call was his confirming the exit number – but they missed a step and ended up in the Dells!

Laurie noticed the Great Wolf Lodge and was pretty impressed with our renovations!!! Once they finished their unplanned tour, they headed back east for the missed exit – that led them to their next wrong (this time premature) exit and a u-turn got them back in the right direction. They were certainly enjoying their adventure!

Once here and settled, we had a great BBQ lunch and chatted for the entire afternoon.

Wayne, not being used to the outdoors took pictures with his phone.

I snapped one of an inch worm - not sure if he was climbing up or down, but he was suspended in mid air!

We walked to the river and looked at Rick’s cabin, mooshed ticks and swatted mosquitoes! We worked up such appetites that we started grilling dinner. Wayne thought lunch was dinner! We had steaks and all the trimmings! After dinner we watched and added commentary to the 1961 movie “Back Street”! It’s my favorite movie. By the time it ended, Laurie had been up for 86 hours (not really, but she had been up a lot of hours) and it was 11:00 pm.

Wayne climbed up to the loft and Laurie and I settled in as well – we were out fast!

May 31, 2009

I went to bed with raccoons all over the front of the cabin pecking at the seed remnants and awoke to a lone turkey doing the same. I also noticed the feathered fiends have been busy and soon there will be a tornado – it’s just a little too early right now (evil laughing!) I looked on the porch and some fat animal – possibly a GIANT woodchuck was picking at the corn stuck between the deck boards. What the heck is going on here????
Rick stopped by to return the jugs he borrowed and visited for most of the morning. Before he left, we walked down to the river…boy, is it ever high! Just barely a foot or so before its level with the edge of the land. I hope our benches are still tethered well enough so we don’t lose them.

I cleared the corn and feed from the front porch and headed into town to run my errands. I went to Pierce’s and Wal-Mart and got everything that was on my list. I picked up KFC for lunch. After everything was put away, I headed down to visit Paul and Betty for the rest of the afternoon. On my way out, Rick stopped by to give me instructions on showing his cabin. After my visit, I prepared some things for tomorrows meals and made some incredible burgers on the grill. Rick stopped by on his way out to let me know that the river is higher than what it was earlier today. That pretty much wrapped up my day and after a shower and little TV, it was off to bed…my visitors arrive tomorrow!

May 30, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLO!!!
During the night there were five raccoons on the seed piles. Seems like they each took a tree while their partners were on the ground waiting for droppings of food! They finished off all the food that was there so hopefully they’ll go away now that it’s gone. Carlo thinks they might come back tonight for a look around, but I hope they don’t since I am here by myself!

We watched a couple of deer in the back wandering through to the front. They stopped at the tree where the raccoons picked it clean. Their coloring was an amazing brownish red and this is the first time I’ve ever seen deer so close and be able to snap a couple of photos. I didn’t have time to get the bigger lens on and I didn’t want to spook them. They left the tree and walked down the road. It was very cool to see them!
Carlo has to work tonight, so he wanted to get off to an early start. I packed him some goodies for the ride home while he loaded the truck. He was on his way by 8:30 – traffic should be good since today is Saturday and early.
I am still in the eviction mode but it seems like such a waste of time. This little (expletive) is not giving up…but neither am I. Now I am waiting until he gets more stuff in there and then I will leaf blow it out. I'll let him work for a few hours and then clean him out! He’s gonna show me…I just know it! I am hoping to show him!
I cleaned the house – washed windows, dusted, vacuumed, washed the floors. I cleaned the sink, the shower and the toilet – why can’t things be this quick and easy at home! It’s a beautiful cool and sunny day – too bad Carlo had to go home – but he’ll be back on Friday for the weekend.
I made out my grocery list, had lunch and enjoyed the afternoon by playing a mystery game on the computer. Our neighbor, Rick, stopped by for water because he was priming his pump after repairing it. He said his property and his neighbor’s property were each taking a little water due to their land being low and the river being high. I could tell the river was high because I couldn’t see any sandbars and the current looked fast. I was watching a squirrel out by the easement on a pile of feed when a hummingbird caught my eye. I went for my camera and noticed something large and dark under one of the birdfeeders in the front. At first I thought it was a raccoon but after focusing, I seen it was a turkey.

I’m not sure what he found to eat but he pecked at the ground for about 10 minutes then wandered to the road and headed south.
I am enjoying the peacefulness, serenity and beauty of my surroundings but I miss Carlo. We had been here nine days together and now it’s just quiet and lonely. And with all the animals that are lurking about today and all week, I am kinda scared. Hopefully it’ll be a peaceful uneventful night!

May 29, 2009

Another busy night out by the trees. All the birdfeeders were wiped out by four raccoons. They were swinging on the feeds like they were ringing bells – the seeds fell to the ground and they (again) gorged themselves. My “Ground Hog Day” saga continues, with this damn bird. I have served more eviction notices and I feel as though I work for the county – moving their stuff to the curb! It’s overcast today and starting to drizzle – hopefully the cool air will keep the mosquitoes away so we can work outside on the drive and the gutters.

There was a new critter on the feed pile this morning – it had a short tail but looked like a giant mole. Since nature is far from things I know about, I snapped its picture but he scurried away! There is a lot of scurrying going on around here!!!
Carlo got back to cleaning the gutters and when he was almost finished the first load of stone arrived. Ken is such a pro that there was minimal work for us to do with spreading the stone.

While Ken went for the second load, Carlo finished the gutters and I cleaned the deck with the hose. The second load showed up and much like the first…as Ken drove and unloaded it went right where we wanted it. I then cleaned the front porch. My feathered headache is still making me crazy – I’ve moved on to using the leaf blower, the hose, the broom and more leaf blower. You’d be rich if you had picked the bird! We finished up some little hobs – screwed the countertop to the cabinet, some last minute gutter work, screwed the deck box to the deck and then for the hardest part of the driveway work – Carlo drove the Tahoe back and forth about 30 times to pack down the stone. It looks very nice.

It’s not the circular drive I was hoping for…but without removing trees, this is my second choice! It’s great to walk and drive on too. Now we can only hope that water doesn’t accumulate and at least there’s no chance of mud any longer! After lunch I entered some of my written blog into the laptop and watched GH while Carlo took a quick nap.
I am trying, diligently, to out this frickin’ bird while Carlo burns the tree clipping that we had left over from yesterday. While the fire was going, Carlo decided to fix a piece of siding that keeps slipping from the track. It’s in an awkward location and can’t be reached from the deck. So up goes the ladder…up goes Carlo…and up goes the siding….ALMOST – just as he is getting ready to clip things into place and secure it with a little bit of liquid nails…out of a quarter inch of a gap comes what looks like a mouse. No, not a mouse…it spreads its wings and files away because it’s a BAT! WTF – we don’t know where it flew to, but of course there was a lot of screaming – no not Carlo….ME! But picture this…I am screaming, the bat is flying and all the while Carlo is on a ladder! Much to my amazement other than ducking to avoid getting hit or bit by the bat, Carlo never lost his footing or even looked alarmed! If it were me on the ladder – which of course it would never be, but if it were – I and it would be lying on the ground and I would still be screaming! I cannot believe the amount of wildlife we are encountering and I’m not liking it too much!

I decided to have an Arts and Crafts program for part of the afternoon. Wayne had lent me a wood burning tool and I decided to burn a drawing of leaves onto a piece of wood I bought and turn it into a clock for the bathroom. It turned out fairly well considering I have never burnt wood before. Attaching the mechanism was another story but it works okay. It sort of ties it all together!

We relaxed, mulled over the few things left on the to-do list and got ready for dinner. Tomorrow is Carlo’s birthday and since he won’t be here I took him to dinner. We tried the Hitching Post. Carlo had a steak and I had ribs. We will certainly go back there again. Slowly but surely we are adding restaurants to our list of places to go!

May 28, 2009

Carlo’s feeders are empty – my bird is up to the construction of three nests and it’s just another version of “Ground Hog Day”!
It’s off to Tractor Supply to buy a tree trimmer in which the extension bar allows the moving blade to be over your head – sounds like a really bad magic trick with a potential of going really wrong! Everything went great and all the trees were trimmed.

After lunch, Ken Prichard came by to see about delivering stone tomorrow for the drive. Work on that starts around 11:00 am. Paul and Betty came over at 2:00 to visit for Carlo’s birthday. They gave him an animated Northwood water fountain. It’s pretty neat and Betty was very excited about giving it to him. They stayed a couple of hours.

Carlo got back to putting up a downspout on the gutter and then we cleaned the gutters, actually Carlo cleaned them and I emptied the bucket! Then he started the fire for all the branches!

After everything was cleaned up, we did the same and then enjoyed dinner at LaTolteca – not sure it was the hot sauce or the peach margarita that caused dizziness…go ahead, pick the latter! We have a big day tomorrow – stone for the driveway is being delivered and hopefully the balance of our to-do list will get completed as well!