"I Looked Out the Window...."

Early one morning (around 6:38) I woke up to a lot of noise outside.

I looked out the window and what did I see?

The Ranger, parked right outside our bedroom window.

What did I hear?

Does this surprise you?

I do like rainy mornings......

Fourth of July, Western PA style

Dad and I have gone to the local Fourth of July parade for three years now and have enjoyed each one. I thought I would share some photos from our exciting day...

I always like to see the color guard walk by. An eight-year-old boy sang the national anthem before the parade started. He did a nice job.

We think next year we will ride in the parade...this couple gave us the idea. We want all of the kids to come home next year and join us. I'll start on costumes right now!

If I'm still alive. If not, I can ride in this vehicle.


Go Steelers!! (and Packers and Patriots)!!

Here's the one marching band in the parade. Wish there would have been more. What's a parade without a bunch of bands?

But, what we didn't have in bands, we made up for in horses...

And more horses...(I could have added a few more pictures but I think you get the idea).

Maybe Dad should be a clown next year, pulling a big spider.

The Shriners perform some daring maneuvers which I think are pretty scary-they weave in and out and form lines and do other crazy things. If one person messes up, there's trouble!

Oops, this picture should have been the one following the horses, since that is what he did. Followed the horses...with his shovel.

And of course we have tractors...green ones;

Little red ones...

And more, but I'll let you use your imagination. (Think blue, orange, yellow.)

It was a nice parade which lasted about an hour. There were lots of fire trucks and ladder trucks and ambulances too, from a lot of the surrounding communities. Luckily no fire whistles sounded during the parade so we were able to enjoy them all - along with the candy everyone threw out from the windows. Anyone want a Tootsie Roll?

(Wild)Life on the Farm

I live in a beautiful part of the country - and in a beautiful old house (over 100 years old). It's got some cracked plaster walls, great old hardwood floors which tell stories of living, some dated wallpaper, doors that don't fit in their frames...and I love it! If you look out the windows by the chimney, you can see the Red Bank Creek and the abandoned railroad trestle.

Here's a picture of my garden, with an eight-foot fence around it to keep out the deer. Unfortunately, the fence doesn't touch the ground everywhere, so the rabbits have found some nourishment in the garden.

Here's the barn and the red garden shed. No more animals live permanently in the barn (like cows and horses), but we do have evidence of a raccoon visiting (trash cans overturned, bags ripped open). Better a raccoon than a bear which was our first thought. It now houses multiple tractors - pick your favorite color - red, green, or orange?

The railroad trestle - one of two on the property. At least this one has sides and a walkway on it - the other one is pretty scary to cross. DON'T LOOK DOWN!!!

It's a little hard to see them in this picture, but there are about 20 geese in this picture. We have four families of geese, some of them with 6 babies. They were all "grazing" in the field until they heard me approach them on our Ranger. They took off running - the babies can't fly yet but they do have cute little wings!

Okay, I tried to take pictures of some of the wildlife on the farm but they weren't very cooperative or maybe they were just camera shy. This is where a deer ran away into the woods in front of me. (Use your imagination.)

Eagle's nest high up in a pine tree - two babies this year but I didn't see any today. I don't think they're flying yet so maybe they're napping in their nest.

A little chipmunk was on the tree trunk but once again, camera shy!

There actually is an animal in this picture - a little rabbit right in the center. He too didn't stay around long enough to get a better shot.

A woodchuck took off running when he heard me approach. I asked him to stop but he ignored me. Luckily for him, the hunter wasn't with me....

Finally, some animals that didn't get scared off. These "friends" sit on my porch steps and greet any and all guests. Don't they have cute expressions?

Maybe next time I'll be able to find some more cooperative animals, but it was fun chasing them down. The weather today was sunny and cool - perfect!!

When we moved to Pennsylvania, we learned that there was a flea market on the first weekend of the month from May through October. I thought it would be a waste of time - who wants to buy someone's junk? But as I've attended the "market" for a few years now, I have found the old adage "one man's junk is another man's treasure" to be true!! We look forward to the first weekend each month.....is that a sad commentary on our life here in western PA?

This is the highlight of the day--funnel cakes!! (More pics later) Very low in calories too!!

If you fancy yourself as "Davy Crockett", here is the place for you to shop. Raccoon tails, hats, and I'm not sure what the other animals are. Send me your order.




I took this picture from a distance because this woman is carrying a rifle (fortunately in a case) under her arm. I did want to ask her where she bought her shirt, but I was a little nervous. I was just hoping she didn't hear the click of the camera.

One of a kind, sitting all by itself by the road.

I can't imagine how many sales were made by the vendor selling these polar fleece robes and blankets. I was tempted though by the Bucky Badger blanket.

As you can see, something for everyone.

For the men in your family....

.....and for the women (pink garden tools, including a hose).

These wood crafts were really "cute". Too bad I'm not into "cute" anymore (ever?).

Guess what this is?

And this is it again, only in industrial size (and costing $390). I didn't buy it.

This is it....a funnel cake covered with powdered sugar after being deep fried. Mmmm-mmm.

And here I am, showing off my treat. I think the funnel cake vendors thought I was a little strange when I asked them to take a picture of me with their product.

I saved some for dad but it definitely doesn't taste the same when it's cold. Also, I was getting pretty full and feeling pretty guilty for eating so much. At least I had exercised that morning and did a lot of walking at the market.
Back to the car, empty handed. I spent $6 at the flea market - $2 to park and $4 for the funnel cake. This flea market just didn't have anything that caught my eye. Most of it was junk, although I did see quite a few of my Currier and Ives dishes for sale. I could be rich if I ever decided to sell my collection of them. I do like to look for enamel-ware items and use them around the house for waste baskets, catch-alls, etc.

That's it for June's flea market....I was there for about an hour and then the rain came to stop the shopping/browsing. It was fun - now you know what you're missing!! Plan vacations to PA around the flea market. You may find some treasures!

Grandma and I were out "eagle hunting" with her new camera that she got for Grandpa's birthday. We then came home and figured out how to get the pictures onto the computer (is that upload or download?) Anyway, we got them onto her computer and now I am going to try to get them on my blog without my niece Elza helping me. I think she gave me a good tutorial yesterday so wish me luck....

Help!!

Elza is here to help me put pictures on my blog since I was told by a family member that blogs are boring without pictures. Molly, this is for you....

Caleb was baptized today and so family pictures were in order - here are my three nieces from Butler. They are all beautiful and single, but only one is of marriageable age. Guess which one?

A "fwump" in the night....

I don't know if "fwump" accurately describes the sound I heard last night. I was talking to Molly on the phone late last night as I was sitting in bed and I heard a "fwump"ing sound, like wings beating. The sound came from behind me so I figured some creature was in the little storage alcove behind the wall. I only heard it a few times so the nerves calmed down.

Fast forward to 2:15 a.m. I wake up because of a noise - something fell. What would make something fall? I didn't want to investigate but turned on the light next to my bed to see what happened. I didn't see anything at first, but then saw a bat flying erratically in our bedroom - erratically because the ceiling fan was on. I hurriedly pulled the covers over my head so did not see where the bat went. I woke up Chris so we could both be awake and nervous.

3:38 a.m. Still awake - I'm guessing I'm awake because of the fear of bats. The light is off and we shut our bedroom door and put a thick robe in front of it so no bat can come in under the door. That is, if the bat flew out of the bedroom. If it didn't fly out of the bedroom, now it can't leave. The clock keeps ticking....I know this because I'm not sleeping.

It's the afternoon now and it's been raining most of the day. That means the house is a little dark which means the bat may come out of its hiding place. Everywhere I went in the house today, I went there in trepidation. Is the bat on the shower curtain? Is it hiding on some clothes left on the floor? Did it fly in my closet because the door was open and it's dark in there? Did it go downstairs and decided to spend the day in the curtains? What is its next move?

I love where I live but I can do without these "friendly beasts". I hope I will have no more tales to tell about our resident bat.

Fwump, fwump, fwump.....