Cicada City!

Apparently it is the time of year for cicadas to hatch, or whatever it is they do.  We have 3 trees in the back yard filled with moulted cicada shells.   It really is quite an eerie site when standing under the trees and looking up (see photo below).  All of the lower branches look like this from the underside of the leaves.  And the ground around the trees is littered with shells as well.  We are now starting to hear them sing when sitting outside...summer is here!

Though not all of the cicadas are singing their song.  It turns out that dogs seem to have a craving for cicadas...and what we have is a free-for-all cicada buffet.  Blue doesn't care for them too much, but I'd be willing to bet that Lois Lane and Hardy have eaten three days worth of meals in cicadas alone.  It's a miracle there are any left to sing between them and the squirrels munching away.  *gag*    So if the cicadas go extinct this year, I'm pretty sure I know why.

One of the survivors:

View from under the tree:

The ground around the trees:

Cicada City!

Apparently it is the time of year for cicadas to hatch, or whatever it is they do.  We have 3 trees in the back yard filled with moulted cicada shells.   It really is quite an eerie site when standing under the trees and looking up (see photo below).  All of the lower branches look like this from the underside of the leaves.  And the ground around the trees is littered with shells as well.  We are now starting to hear them sing when sitting outside...summer is here!

Though not all of the cicadas are singing their song.  It turns out that dogs seem to have a craving for cicadas...and what we have is a free-for-all cicada buffet.  Blue doesn't care for them too much, but I'd be willing to bet that Lois Lane and Hardy have eaten three days worth of meals in cicadas alone.  It's a miracle there are any left to sing between them and the squirrels munching away.  *gag*    So if the cicadas go extinct this year, I'm pretty sure I know why.  

One of the survivors:

View from under the tree:

The ground around the trees:

Clean Dog Smell

Today all three dogs went to the groomers. Hardy got a bath and his summer cut and Blue and Lois Lane each got a bath. Since Hardy is going on 15 years old he is more grey than black now. But he has a nice black stripe down the center of his back when he is shaved, which we call his racing stripe. Blue and Lois Lane are so soft with their shiny and clean coats. All of them smell so good!

Hardy

Blue

Lois Lane

Clean Dog Smell

Today all three dogs went to the groomers. Hardy got a bath and his summer cut and Blue and Lois Lane each got a bath. Since Hardy is going on 15 years old he is more grey than black now. But he has a nice black stripe down the center of his back when he is shaved, which we call his racing stripe. Blue and Lois Lane are so soft with their shiny and clean coats. All of them smell so good!

Hardy

Blue

Lois Lane

Loooong Weekend!

Ahhh finally!  A nice long weekend!  With Monday being Memorial Day and a work holiday for me I decided to go ahead and take Friday off as well, even though we only work until noon.  I have lots of vacation time to use up and it's another day to sleep in.  PLUS I have to finish getting my house cleaned up because Jami & Larry, my dear friends from Indy, are coming to visit for the weekend!  *happy dance*  They visit every Memorial Day weekend and we always have a blast.  This year we are all heading to Mammoth Cave on Saturday with our local friends, John & Jenn to take a cave tour, then back to the house to grill out some dinner and hang on the back porch.

This brings to mind several years ago when Jami and Larry visited.  We had a rather large party that weekend.  The next day as they were getting ready to head home a nasty storm came through, tornado warnings and all.  So we're sitting out on the front porch watching them roll in with our neighbors when all of a sudden in the field across the street what seemed to be smoke appeared.  What we thought was smoke turned out to be a tornado forming.   Jason, Larry and Tom, being the "brave" boys they are, decided to run out to the field to check it out.  As soon as they got about half way to it they abruptly turned right around and started hauling ass back home, waving frantically and yelling for us to all get into the basement.  Turns out once they crested the hill of the field there was not one tornado, but two heading our way.   So down to the basement we go - 4 adults, 2 teenagers, 3 dogs, 6 rats, 1 rabbit.  Lucky for us the tornados were fairly small and popped back up into the air before they could cause damage...though they did touch down again in the neighborhood behind us.

As if that wasn't enough Kentucky excitement for Jami & Larry, on their way home just 30 minutes from their house bad storms were moving through the Indianapolis area.  Once again they had to flee to cover when a tornado came barreling down the interstate towards them!  So now we are always sure to check the weather closely before they come and visit.  My fear is this year John will be with us also...which brings about a whole other realm of stories for another time!  ;)

Loooong Weekend!

Ahhh finally!  A nice long weekend!  With Monday being Memorial Day and a work holiday for me I decided to go ahead and take Friday off as well, even though we only work until noon.  I have lots of vacation time to use up and it's another day to sleep in.  PLUS I have to finish getting my house cleaned up because Jami & Larry, my dear friends from Indy, are coming to visit for the weekend!  *happy dance*  They visit every Memorial Day weekend and we always have a blast.  This year we are all heading to Mammoth Cave on Saturday with our local friends, John & Jenn to take a cave tour, then back to the house to grill out some dinner and hang on the back porch.  

This brings to mind several years ago when Jami and Larry visited.  We had a rather large party that weekend.  The next day as they were getting ready to head home a nasty storm came through, tornado warnings and all.  So we're sitting out on the front porch watching them roll in with our neighbors when all of a sudden in the field across the street what seemed to be smoke appeared.  What we thought was smoke turned out to be a tornado forming.   Jason, Larry and Tom, being the "brave" boys they are, decided to run out to the field to check it out.  As soon as they got about half way to it they abruptly turned right around and started hauling ass back home, waving frantically and yelling for us to all get into the basement.  Turns out once they crested the hill of the field there was not one tornado, but two heading our way.   So down to the basement we go - 4 adults, 2 teenagers, 3 dogs, 6 rats, 1 rabbit.  Lucky for us the tornados were fairly small and popped back up into the air before they could cause damage...though they did touch down again in the neighborhood behind us.

As if that wasn't enough Kentucky excitement for Jami & Larry, on their way home just 30 minutes from their house bad storms were moving through the Indianapolis area.  Once again they had to flee to cover when a tornado came barreling down the interstate towards them!  So now we are always sure to check the weather closely before they come and visit.  My fear is this year John will be with us also...which brings about a whole other realm of stories for another time!  ;)

Squirrel Logic

If I get the angle just right....

Squirrel Logic

If I get the angle just right....

Property Photos

Jason and I went out to the property to look around now that the trees have started to get their leaves and everything is starting to bloom - wow what a difference just 3 weeks makes from when we first went out to look at it!  We also wanted to figure out exactly where we would clear for our camper and general living area as well as find the best place to put in a circular drive to easily get the camper and vehicles in and out.  I took a few photos while we were there, of course it's mostly just trees!  Also added an arial view from Google maps showing our tract.  :)

Photos are here!

Property Photos

Jason and I went out to the property to look around now that the trees have started to get their leaves and everything is starting to bloom - wow what a difference just 3 weeks makes from when we first went out to look at it!  We also wanted to figure out exactly where we would clear for our camper and general living area as well as find the best place to put in a circular drive to easily get the camper and vehicles in and out.  I took a few photos while we were there, of course it's mostly just trees!  Also added an arial view from Google maps showing our tract.  :)

Photos are here!

Camping We Will Go!

This afternoon we signed the final papers for the purchase of 6 beautifully wooded acres in southern Indiana!  No, we're not moving.  We bought it to use as our own private get-away.  We love nature and love to go camping, so what better than to have our own private camping spot all year long?  For now we plan on putting the camper out there and may eventually build a little cabin in it's place.

I was hoping to get some photos up with this entry as we had planned on going out to the property after the signing, but it was pouring rain so it wouldn't have done much good.  Plenty of photos to come I'm sure as there will be much nature and photo opportunities each trip we make!

I think we need to name our little get-away...but so far no luck in coming up with anything good.  I considered "The Oaks" since we did buy it on Oaks Day (the race day before Derby Day here in Kentucky).  But I'm not sure that fits right.  We may need to spend a couple of weekends on site before it can be appropriately named.  Jason mentioned "Camp Mesker" and another that comes to mind is "Dog Woods" since our dogs will almost always accompany us there.  I'm sure we'll think of something eventually...suggestions welcome!

Camping We Will Go!

This afternoon we signed the final papers for the purchase of 6 beautifully wooded acres in southern Indiana!  No, we're not moving.  We bought it to use as our own private get-away.  We love nature and love to go camping, so what better than to have our own private camping spot all year long?  For now we plan on putting the camper out there and may eventually build a little cabin in it's place.

I was hoping to get some photos up with this entry as we had planned on going out to the property after the signing, but it was pouring rain so it wouldn't have done much good.  Plenty of photos to come I'm sure as there will be much nature and photo opportunities each trip we make!

I think we need to name our little get-away...but so far no luck in coming up with anything good.  I considered "The Oaks" since we did buy it on Oaks Day (the race day before Derby Day here in Kentucky).  But I'm not sure that fits right.  We may need to spend a couple of weekends on site before it can be appropriately named.  Jason mentioned "Camp Mesker" and another that comes to mind is "Dog Woods" since our dogs will almost always accompany us there.  I'm sure we'll think of something eventually...suggestions welcome!