Winfield Carnival

Ed grew up in a small town called Winfield, NJ. Coincidentally, there is a town just about the same size in Maryland. We went to their Carnival Friday night to support the volunteer Fire Department. It was like a step back into Ed's childhood.

Amanda went with us for the food, and then she talked us into going into the house of mirrors. We liked the Hobbit mirror best.

She also talked us into a few rides. Ed went on the Scrambler with her, but I thought my stomach was really only good for the Ferris wheel! It was a small enough Ferris wheel that Amanda had to get her own car!

It started to rain just as the band was warming up. It was a terrific classic rock band, but they had some pretty fair-weather fans! They deserted their chairs hoping for better weather, which never materialized.

Ed and I and the Halseys were the only people with the fortitude to stick it out. We lasted till intermission, although the Halseys had to leave when the grandchildren became completely saturated. The band made several comments about their die-hard fans with ponchos. That was us. We asked them at the intermission if they could leave when we left. They said they were in it for the long haul. We left them singing in the rain!

Black and White Dogs

Suzanne is dog sitting this week, her sister's black lab/beagle mix named Bentley. We took all three of them for a walk along the fire road today. Bentley is a year old and hasn't learned to walk on a leash yet, which meant Suzanne's arm was exhausted by the time we finished our 5 mile walk! It also meant that Suzanne was always about 10 steps in front of me. It was like walking with a tow line! I could barely keep up with them! It really helped us keep up the pace!

Something's Rotten in Sykesville

The old maple on the northeast corner of our property fell into Miss Carol's driveway last night.

It really was only one limb of the tree, but what a gigantic limb!

I was so glad I wasn't walking up the driveway when this happened! It wasn't an immediate problem for us, but it made it impossible for Kay to get to work this morning.

I gave Kay a ride in to work and Lenny got out his trusty chainsaw!

By the time I got back Lenny had cleared the driveway. I put a call in to the county this morning to see if it's their tree or ours. It looks like the tree is located in the county road easement, but we won't know till they drop by. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Amanda's Fourth on the Seventh

Amanda had to work every night last week and missed any chance for a fireworks display. So, we had a little show for her at our house last night.  After it finally stopped raining Amanda and Marsha began working their way through our small arsenal. Amanda loves the Simpson's episode where Apu says, "Celebrate the independence of your nation by blowing up a small part of it!" Fortunately, we just blackened the driveway a little!

Ed and I enjoyed the show, but Coda did not. She averted her eyes and refused to look at the shower of sparks. The ones that made noise were even worse. We eventually let her go back in the house to cower in her lair (under the ottoman). Can't wait till next year!

This Great Land

We celebrated the Fourth of July with a ward breakfast at the park. Helen and I played our Ashokan Farewell Medley for background music, just because we had it memorized and thought, we might as well do it one more time! We also played a few patriotic songs as the ward sang along. We finished with a version of This Land is Your Land with a verse for every state through which I-70 travels from Maryland to Utah.

After breakfast Amanda took us for a hike at Morgan Run, a beautiful stream surrounded by trees. We were so happy that Mary and taken Amanda there while we were on Trek. We had never been there before.

Coda took a few swimming lessons while we were there. Although she is perfectly capable of swimming, when the water got too deep she really preferred prancing along the side in the shallow water, or even better--walking on the path alongside the stream! What a pampered puppy!

Symphony of Fireworks

We went to the Baltimore Symphony Fireworks show on Wednesday evening. It rained all day, but quit about 6, and we had perfect weather for an outdoor concert.

We went with the Rigbys, who knew lovely scenic way to get to Cockeysville without even getting on the freeway. The Oregon Ridge Amphitheater was great, with a nice view from anywhere you planted your lawn chair. We enjoyed eating dinner in the grass while we waited for the music to start.

The fireworks started up during the Stars and Stripes forever, and continued after the orchestra departed. It was a relaxing, enjoyable way to celebrate the Fourth of July, especially since it was really the 3rd, and we no longer felt any obligation to go out the next evening!

Found a Turtle

We've found several turtles on our journeys through the woods, but none as big at this one that climbed right up the hill and ended up next to our driveway! Coda was fascinated by it. After letting Coda get her fill of smelling it, we took it down to the copse, so it could wander off without fear of a dog attack!