Life in the Bristolwood

When the skies are dark and gloomy?

Only one thing! Grab your Scotties and go for a RIDE! The “boys” love going for a ride, and we do, too!

Angus looking up and wondering when we are going to leave for our ride…..
And Murphy, always ready to go for a ride!

The best thing about our pups is that they are perfectly content curling up and taking a nap while we drive. They are such good boys! It is simply amazing how much happiness this little duo brings to our lives!

How’s that to pique your interest?

If you have copper on your pans, check this out! I use a stainless steel *scrubber* to wash my pans. When using the paste, the chemical reaction causes the copper to nearly self-clean, but I do use the stainless steel scrubbers when there are tough spots. I buy the stainless scrubbers from a local Italian store for $1.19, but Fuller Brush sells them, 6 for $12.98…on “special” now on their website.

This weather has had me feeling so alive! I just love it when it is chilly and you need to put on a sweater and tug on a pair of socks! The air seems so crystalline and all of the dreadful humidity of summer is just a memory…..

I have enjoyed this summer, as I learned about the Wild Sunflowers in my woods….the Wild Asters….now, can you name this flower? It is a pale lavender color…

These are growing out on the back hill behind the house, alongside the Wild Asters and Goldenrod. They look a lot like daisies. As I was getting this picture, what should fly by? Well, it sounded like an aircraft, but upon further inspection, it was a SUPER size Bumblebee. See the flowers above? Well, his body was the same length as the diameter of those flowers. At *least* an inch long. I did get only one picture of the big boy:

I wish I could have gotten this fellow’s profile, but I think you can see how he pretty much fills the entire flower with his exceedingly large body. Unfortunately, (for me) he did NOT want to be photographed, and when he headed towards me, I left his domain rather rapidly!!!!

So, instead of cool autumnal pictures, I once again have BEE pictures! I certainly will try to get some more pictures of our trees over the course of their changing color…..

It all began this afternoon when I looked out the kitchen window and saw that some of the Maples in the back yard were beginning to show some color….

I decided to wander out front to the road and see if our “special” Maple was putting on its fall extravaganza. This tree is REALLY pretty in the fall. And, sure enough, it is beginning to turn.

It is located in the left of the center of the picture, and is pretty reds/oranges at the top.

As I walked back up the driveway, I realized the BEST part of this day was that it was relatively warm, but WILDLY breezy! AND, the sky was BLUE!

I decided to give a birdseye view of the woods that surround us here. Here is one of our ATV trails leading up into the woods.

And the further up the path we go, the prettier it is!

And, if one takes eyes OFF the path, this is what one would see!

It is kind of funny how when you look at something every day, you don’t seem to notice how much it has changed. This was the case as I looked at the tree to the side of the garage. I stood there looking at it, and wondering to myself WHEN did it get so BIG?

Happy Autumn!

Ewwww…WHO actually *likes* spiders? Well, I am sure there is someone somewhere that does, but to me, they are a bit too “creepy”! This handsome specimen had spun a nice web with one tangent connecting from atop my mother-in-law’s house to a rhrododendron bush. The spider’s web was centered at about eye level and it was just sitting there awaiting some juicy insect to fly by! My mother-in-law grabbed a long stick to remove it, and I bravely volunteered to do it for her. I knocked it down, and the spider grabbed hold of the stick. As I walked down the driveway, the happy little critter danced right on up the stick….before it got too close (about 4′ away from MOI!) I tapped the stick on the ground, bumping the hitchiker off, and he scurried away. Happily, he headed for new grounds!

After being totally creeped out by the spider caper, we went on to much happier things…like the

Hydrangea bush. My mom had bought me a Hydrangea last year, and I planted it outside. The poor little bush was so tiny, and my mother-in-law mentioned in passing that the bushes need acid soil. After using Miracid on the plant, it grew a lot bigger within a short period of time. My mother-in-law was showing me her bush when we looked down low, and there was a bract of flowers just beginning to bloom!

I love those blue flowers with the pink tinge in the centers. They are so pretty! My mother-in-law lives near the city, but has such a nice place. There are old and very big oaks growing there, and I so enjoyed her yard . As I listened, I heard the chickadees making their little happy chirps above my head. This time of the year, they don’t make the typical “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” sound, but a short chirp, sounding as though saying, “hurry, hurry, the winter is coming!” I also spotted a pair of hairy woodpeckers. The male’s little red “cap” on his head was so outstanding as he landed on the dark bark of an oak tree.

We stopped at a Bruegger’s Bagels and there was one section of their landscaping that was so stunning. It was a Holly bush with cranberry colored Mums planted next to it. I snapped a picture (hurriedly….we were running late for an appointment) but the colors look so faded….

It is funny how colors can set moods…these plantings just gave such a sense of “Christmas” with the reds and greens. It sure was pretty! Oh, and speaking of pretty! While I was outside taking pictures the day I was sick, I took this one of the Wild Asters.

Right now, I am seriously thinking this isn’t *really* a cold. I am, after all freezing, then boiling, and feeling generally like someone parked a very large vehicle atop my body. Oh, I shall survive; I guess I am just a wimp when it comes to being sick!

One of my symptoms is that the more I scurry about, I get a little disoriented, feeling like I need to sit down! Having said that, when a little sun came poking through the clouds earlier, I ran out with camera in hand, determined to get a good picture of one of *my* Bumbles on those beautiful Wild Asters. The contrast in color is so breathtaking! So, here it is…..

Well, now that my goal for the day is accomplished, I shall rest.

This afternoon when I came outside, I noticed this little fellow *hanging around* in a blue barrel I left outside! Isn’t it pretty? I just loved the stripes on the shell.

When we first built the house, I went down to a local market store that sells vegetables, flowers, and local goodies. As I looked around, I spotted some miniature roses that were so beautiful. I asked the woman how much care they required, as I had no good results with roses in the past. She assured me that the bushes were quite hardy, so I bought three of them for $10. One was a yellow color, one red, and the third a beautiful yellow center, with a salmon orange halo surrounding the centers. Well, within a couple of years, the yellow rose died. The red produced every year; but, the most beautiful of all was the most prolific of all! After 13 years, this little bush still is faithful to give me so much joy as well as color!

The “only” special care my little rose gets is a fresh blanket of cedar chips every spring and I do trim back the dead canes in the spring. Before winter comes with its icy cold winds and snow, I also build up the chips to kind of “insulate” my special little bush.

So, are these actually wild Asters?

As I was happily snapping pictures, I noticed the BIGGEST, juiciest Bumblebee! This one was a real prize….but, as I came close, off it went….I caught up with it once again, but this Bumble obviously did NOT want to be photographed. Ah well…..It sure would have been stunning sitting on these plants.

Well, figuratively speaking, anyway!

We decided to finish up with our work a little early last Friday afternoon and head out for another camping adventure. No, the photo above is NOT our camper, but rather our VERY “close” neighbors. Shortly after we set up, these folks arrived with their cute little Aliner. We especially enjoy this (state) campground, as the gravel pads for setting up are spaced about 20′ apart. This creates a feeling of having some “lawn” around one.

Well, these folks decided that the gravel pad would be much better for setting their EZ-up on, since it had rained and rained for a few days, after all. The EZ-up would then become the “beer tent”, providing protection from any stray showers that might pass by. The problem with this is that the Aliner needed to be biased much more towards our camper, leaving about 10′ between the two. (the tree in the picture was about 8″ from their camper)

On Friday night, we decided to call it a night about 11. Little did we know that with our windows cracked a bit, we would find it hard to sleep, as we were awakened several times until about 1:30 am, by the sound of bottles being jostled around. To add a bit of insult to injury, these folks also hung one of those bright and shiny work lights, along with a halogen lamp from the metal supports on the EZ-up. Even with our mini blinds tightly shut, there was an “aura” which spread out about 100′ around our rather unique neighbors. In fact, the lamps provided safe passage for many neighbors to the restrooms, located about 100′ behind our illuminated neighbors!

On Saturday morning, we were up and out bright and early for our important date at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. Here are pictures of the kids with Sabretooth, the Buffalo Sabres’ mascot.

After the practice, we headed back to the camper. Along the way, we stopped at a Blockbuster and picked up the movie RV with Robin Williams. We haven’t giggled and tee-heed so much in a long time! This movie is sure to become a “classic” amongst the RV’ing crowd!

One of the deciding factors for our camping expedition was that the campground was close not only to Buffalo, but also Darien Lake Theme Park. We called Carly last week and asked if she and her kids would want to come along and have a little nearly-end-of-the-season fun on Sunday. She was happy to join us, as last weekend was a sad one….it was her husband’s grandmother’s funeral. So, she met us at the park and the kids had a ball!

We walked around that park for hours and finally decided to leave for a bite to eat, then we would come back for the LaserBlast Show at closing.

As Mark was about to wheel away in the wheelchair, he called out to me…seems this tiny little turtle had lost his way and was wandering about on the sidewalk. Carly was concerned he might need to be near the water (there was a lake right nearby), so she placed him in a drainage ditch and he boogied off on his way! (he measured about 1 1/2″ long)

Carly had been scheming a little surprise for me! When we left to go to dinner, she made plans for a friend to meet us! I had not seen our friend Jo since Carly’s wedding in late 1993. Jo had lived near us 20 years ago. She had grown up with horses all of her life, and now, she and her husband are living their dream! They both work for the rodeo circuit. It was so cool seeing Jo…we chatted and talked about old times and new, as though we had never even missed a beat. It is always such a treat to see old friends and feel comfortable and not not at all ill at ease. It is so good just to be yourselves. This was such a great treat! And, the best part of all is that Jo only lives a few minutes from the park.

We went back to the park after dinner for the LaserBlast show. The kids rode the rides a while longer, then we enjoyed the show. The kids love it, as it is filled with (loud) music, lasers, computer graphics, and fireworks! The best part of all is at the end when they do a tribute to Canada, and then one to the USA. This is one of those presentations that causes your heart to swell and even perhaps a tear to fall as they play the song Proud to be An American. The fireworks just make the whole program so fabulous and intense….

After the show, we headed out and homeward, arriving back in the Bristolwood very late. You see, our neighbors, (the “illuminatas”) caused us to miss another night’s restful sleep on Saturday night when their youngster awakened at 3:30 am, screaming and crying for about 45 minutes. I insisted we head home….I just knew I needed my own bed!

As our neighbors who recently traveled to Alaska confided last week, “there is NO place like home!”