Birthday Camping Recap

This is Dog Woods on a camping weekend with great friends and perfect weather!

Even though we pulled up to four trees across the driveway and many more down around the campsite due to the windstorm Ike brought in, we had a blast - and needless to say, plenty of firewood. The electric company had already been out to fix the downed lines. Jason and Eric were on tree removal duty while Teena and I unpacked the vehicles and started piling up brush and twigs that were all scattered around the campsite. Paul joined us on Saturday afternoon and stayed until we packed up to leave on Sunday.

We had fires going all day all weekend, played cornhole until it got too dark to see the blue bags winging at us from out of nowhere, and when it got too dark for anything else we had some drinks and chatted around the campfire.

We ate good all weekend and had Jason's birthday dinner on Saturday beginning with fillet mignon and sauteed squash on the grill and ending with an apple cobbler that Paul cooked up in his Dutch oven. We have got to get us one of those!

The dogs did great. We had our three and Logan, a four month old chihuahua. At night we put glow necklaces on them, each with their own color, so we could always see where they were. Worked like a charm!

We're already planning our next weekend out since there won't be too many more this year before it gets to cold. We have some other friends that are hoping to join us on some of those weekends as well. More good times!

Go here for all photos.

Birthday Boy

Blue is at home in Dog Woods

Me and my camping hat

Eric & Teena playing cornhole

Paul Twittering

Little Logan in his camping sweater

Teena manning the fire

Birthday Camping Recap

This is Dog Woods on a camping weekend with great friends and perfect weather!

Even though we pulled up to four trees across the driveway and many more down around the campsite due to the windstorm Ike brought in, we had a blast - and needless to say, plenty of firewood. The electric company had already been out to fix the downed lines. Jason and Eric were on tree removal duty while Teena and I unpacked the vehicles and started piling up brush and twigs that were all scattered around the campsite. Paul joined us on Saturday afternoon and stayed until we packed up to leave on Sunday.

We had fires going all day all weekend, played cornhole until it got too dark to see the blue bags winging at us from out of nowhere, and when it got too dark for anything else we had some drinks and chatted around the campfire.

We ate good all weekend and had Jason's birthday dinner on Saturday beginning with fillet mignon and sauteed squash on the grill and ending with an apple cobbler that Paul cooked up in his Dutch oven. We have got to get us one of those!

The dogs did great. We had our three and Logan, a four month old chihuahua. At night we put glow necklaces on them, each with their own color, so we could always see where they were. Worked like a charm!

We're already planning our next weekend out since there won't be too many more this year before it gets to cold. We have some other friends that are hoping to join us on some of those weekends as well. More good times!

Go here for all photos.

Birthday Boy

Blue is at home in Dog Woods

Me and my camping hat

Eric & Teena playing cornhole

Paul Twittering

Little Logan in his camping sweater

Teena manning the fire

Birthday Camping

This Sunday, September 28th, is Jason's 34th birthday. To celebrate we are heading out to Dog Woods with a few friends to go camping for the weekend. (If anyone reading this wants to join us give us a call and we'll get you directions!) We've got some people tent camping and others coming for the day on Saturday. We'll have cornhole, good food, a campfire and perfect camping weather...check this out:

Can't beat that with a stick! I'll be taking the camera and capturing glimpses of the festivities to post when we return. Happy early birthday to Jason - I hope it's a good one!

Birthday Camping

This Sunday, September 28th, is Jason's 34th birthday. To celebrate we are heading out to Dog Woods with a few friends to go camping for the weekend. (If anyone reading this wants to join us give us a call and we'll get you directions!) We've got some people tent camping and others coming for the day on Saturday. We'll have cornhole, good food, a campfire and perfect camping weather...check this out:








Can't beat that with a stick! I'll be taking the camera and capturing glimpses of the festivities to post when we return. Happy early birthday to Jason - I hope it's a good one!

I <3 Hummingbirds

Today I was finally able to capture hummingbird photos without them being on the feeder - something I've been trying to accomplish for quite some time. When Ike came through Kentucky last weekend our screen got torn off the side of the deck where the feeder usually hangs. Without the screen there the hummingbirds kept getting caught inside the porch. For fear of them not finding their way out, being hit by a ceiling fan or eaten by a dog we decided it would be best to move the feeder to the evergreen tree in the backyard until we get the screen fixed. Had I known that was all it would take I'd have tried this a year ago! Now when the hummingbirds decide to take a rest from eating or want to check things out before they approach the feeder they perch in the branches of the evergreen - perfect photo op!

(Click for a larger view)

I <3 Hummingbirds

Today I was finally able to capture hummingbird photos without them being on the feeder - something I've been trying to accomplish for quite some time. When Ike came through Kentucky last weekend our screen got torn off the side of the deck where the feeder usually hangs. Without the screen there the hummingbirds kept getting caught inside the porch. For fear of them not finding their way out, being hit by a ceiling fan or eaten by a dog we decided it would be best to move the feeder to the evergreen tree in the backyard until we get the screen fixed. Had I known that was all it would take I'd have tried this a year ago! Now when the hummingbirds decide to take a rest from eating or want to check things out before they approach the feeder they perch in the branches of the evergreen - perfect photo op!

(Click for a larger view)

Ike Came to Kentucky

Ike decided to make a pit stop in Kentucky yesterday to cause some mischief. The day started out pretty windy in general. Jason and I left around noon to go grab some lunch and go grocery shopping. By the time we were headed home around 1:30 the winds had picked up drastically. By 2:00 tree branches were snapping, power was flickering and debris was flying everywhere in 75mph winds. We lost an entire side of screen on the porch, a dead tree fell on the fence - luckily it was a small one so no damage, and our turbine on the roof was knocked askew. We fared much better than our neighbors who lost shingles and window/roof trim and larger trees.

The weirdness of it all was other than the crazy wind it was a beautiful day. Sunny with a few clouds, warm but not too humid. Some of the neighborhood kids were standing on skateboards and using an empty pizza box as a wind sail to whip them down the street. Pretty ingenious!

So today 70% of the Louisville area is without power. We're one of the lucky ones that still have power and internet off and on, though our cell phone service is not working unless we drive to the beginning of our street - we don't have a land line. The last time this happened they took our power grid down during the process of fixing the others and we ended up without power for 3 days. Hopefully that doesn't happen again. Due to the extent of outages I'm also off of work today. They fired up the data center on the generator, but kept the main building down and most employees home. So a nice, unexpected day off.

I haven't been out with the camera, but lots of photos can be found through our local newspaper.

Ike Came to Kentucky

Ike decided to make a pit stop in Kentucky yesterday to cause some mischief. The day started out pretty windy in general. Jason and I left around noon to go grab some lunch and go grocery shopping. By the time we were headed home around 1:30 the winds had picked up drastically. By 2:00 tree branches were snapping, power was flickering and debris was flying everywhere in 75mph winds. We lost an entire side of screen on the porch, a dead tree fell on the fence - luckily it was a small one so no damage, and our turbine on the roof was knocked askew. We fared much better than our neighbors who lost shingles and window/roof trim and larger trees.

The weirdness of it all was other than the crazy wind it was a beautiful day. Sunny with a few clouds, warm but not too humid. Some of the neighborhood kids were standing on skateboards and using an empty pizza box as a wind sail to whip them down the street. Pretty ingenious!

So today 70% of the Louisville area is without power. We're one of the lucky ones that still have power and internet off and on, though our cell phone service is not working unless we drive to the beginning of our street - we don't have a land line. The last time this happened they took our power grid down during the process of fixing the others and we ended up without power for 3 days. Hopefully that doesn't happen again. Due to the extent of outages I'm also off of work today. They fired up the data center on the generator, but kept the main building down and most employees home. So a nice, unexpected day off.

I haven't been out with the camera, but lots of photos can be found through our local newspaper.

Labor Day Weekend

Oh how nice to have a four day weekend the week after being on vacation! And it's a good thing too, because that one week of being back to work was brutal! Friday after work I came home and got some side work done and attempted to clean up the house, which was still a disaster area from the painting of the bathroom, hallway and foyer (which looks so much better now). Then Saturday we got up and headed to Indy for our annual Labor Day weekend visit with Jami and Larry. We got there and grilled out some yummy burgers and dogs. Later that day we headed to downtown Indianapolis for the Sky Concert and Ribfest that was going on. We took Jason's F350, which is perfect for tailgating. After walking around for a couple of hours we headed back to the truck to play poker and have a few drinks. At 9:30 a spectacular firework show was a perfect end to the festivities. Pictures can be found here. Once back to the house we watched Superbad...a highly recommended movie for anyone that likes raunchy comedy. It was just as funny the second time as it was the first time, if not more.

Sunday we headed home and pretty much lounged around the rest of the evening, too lazy to do much of anything. Monday morning we got up fairly early and packed up the truck with stuff to take to the campsite. We finally were able to get the camper out to Dog Woods and get it mostly set up! It's going to be so nice! The last four times we've tried to go something has come up, but this weekend we're finally going to make it! Friday night we're helping a friend move and Saturday morning/afternoon we have my work employee appreciation deal at the fairgrounds. But right after that we're heading to Dog Woods for the rest of the weekend...with all three dogs in tow (which should be interesting). We still have a lot of work to do to get the clearing cleaned up. There are some random trees growing where they shouldn't be and lots of wood to cut up for firewood. The camper still has to be leveled and the bathroom area platform still needs to be built. We're also replacing weather stripping around all the windows and the inside could use some organizing. Hopefully we'll get some relaxing in at some point.

Thanks goodness for a two and a half day work week! More photos to come after this weekend.

Oh yeah, this is why you don't speed during holiday weekends - this was 9 of 15 vehicles we passed that were pulled over during our trip to Indy.

Labor Day Weekend

Oh how nice to have a four day weekend the week after being on vacation! And it's a good thing too, because that one week of being back to work was brutal! Friday after work I came home and got some side work done and attempted to clean up the house, which was still a disaster area from the painting of the bathroom, hallway and foyer (which looks so much better now). Then Saturday we got up and headed to Indy for our annual Labor Day weekend visit with Jami and Larry. We got there and grilled out some yummy burgers and dogs. Later that day we headed to downtown Indianapolis for the Sky Concert and Ribfest that was going on. We took Jason's F350, which is perfect for tailgating. After walking around for a couple of hours we headed back to the truck to play poker and have a few drinks. At 9:30 a spectacular firework show was a perfect end to the festivities. Pictures can be found here. Once back to the house we watched Superbad...a highly recommended movie for anyone that likes raunchy comedy. It was just as funny the second time as it was the first time, if not more.

Sunday we headed home and pretty much lounged around the rest of the evening, too lazy to do much of anything. Monday morning we got up fairly early and packed up the truck with stuff to take to the campsite. We finally were able to get the camper out to Dog Woods and get it mostly set up! It's going to be so nice! The last four times we've tried to go something has come up, but this weekend we're finally going to make it! Friday night we're helping a friend move and Saturday morning/afternoon we have my work employee appreciation deal at the fairgrounds. But right after that we're heading to Dog Woods for the rest of the weekend...with all three dogs in tow (which should be interesting). We still have a lot of work to do to get the clearing cleaned up. There are some random trees growing where they shouldn't be and lots of wood to cut up for firewood. The camper still has to be leveled and the bathroom area platform still needs to be built. We're also replacing weather stripping around all the windows and the inside could use some organizing. Hopefully we'll get some relaxing in at some point.

Thanks goodness for a two and a half day work week! More photos to come after this weekend.

Oh yeah, this is why you don't speed during holiday weekends - this was 9 of 15 vehicles we passed that were pulled over during our trip to Indy.