The "Whateverannual" Turkey Bowl of 2008

The Windham Ward here in Maine has a traditional Turkey Bowl every year on Thanksgiving day. We gather at one of the fields at the Windham Middle/HS complex and play a good old game of two hand touch football. It is traditionally the old guys against the young guys. I guess I became old when we moved to ME, because I have always been on the old-guy team.



"....and Al DiFiore takes the snap while the tide of the YM defense swarms about him. Glenn Davis acts like he is trying to block the rushing Josh Plummer, while Billy Fogg and Jon Hansen stare in awe at the scene."




This is proof that my day has come. This photo shows Thomas catching me from behind. I think he might actually be able to outrun me now! I do know that having Dad catch a pass behind you and then run for the endzone provides some motivation, and a little extra burst of speed. He caught me on this one, but I still scored a few touch downs on him. The height helps.

The whole crew, Old guys and Young guys.

Standing, l-r: Thomas Bradshaw, Tim Fogg, Bishop Al DiFiore, Jon Hansen, Josh Plummer; kneeling, l-r: John Bradshaw, Benjamin Bradshaw, Billy Fogg, Glenn Davis.

The Victors! We may be old, but we still beat 'em. In years past, we have had young 20-something med students in the YM's presidency. In those years, the Young guys have beat down the old guys, but not this year. Though the turn out was lighter than usual, we had a great time. Nice way to open a Thanksgiving day morning!!!!!

JTB

Time to start planning for Summer '09

So I'm not really one to grumble and complain about winter. I actually love winter and the snow, and all the stuff you can do in it. Also, after having lived in Tucson, AZ for 5+ years, I have discovered that my psyche does well with a change in seasons. I think that without that seasonal change, years would just all run together, much more so than they do now. Anyway, this post is NOT about my psychic problems as related to seasons. This post is about Gardening......or planning for my gardens this summer.




This picture is from one of my flower beds from 3 years ago. As you can see, I typically am not a careful planner. Instead, I try to make sure tall things go to the back, shorter things to the front, then just cram it all in and see what comes out. I love growing things, and find it to be very cathartic. It takes up a lot of time, and sometimes competes with other interests like fishing, etc. But overall, I do look forward to digging in the dirt again this coming summer, and experimenting with some new plants.

For now though, I will enjoy my snow banks, which are being turned into snow forts. And, when I come in to warm up, I will sit and thumb through my seed catalogs and start planning for starting my seeds in late February, early March. Summer can wait, but getting an early start can't.

JTB

Another classic Grace post....

If you can't tell by now, we could probably develop a theme for Grace. This was not posed, she was truly asleep. I believe we had come home and put stuff down. She had been sleeping in the van, so when we brought her in and set her down, she just laid down on the closest thing to her and resumed her nap.

-circa 2006

Luna Moth

One of my most favorite discoveries here in Maine is the existence of the Luna Moth. I have heard the name, but thought such things lived in some jungle somewhere in the world. Well, apparently I am much less intelligent that I am credited for, because they live in most of the eastern sea board of the U.S.

Anyway, every year I have a few "signs of summer" that I look forward to seeing. The first is the arrival of the fireflies. Shortly after the fireflies start up their nocturnal dance, the Luna Moth undergoes transformation into an incredibly beautiful green moth that is about the size of my outstretched palm.

After I discovered their existence, I talked to people in the area, but few knew what I was talking about. Those that did had only seen dead ones. Turns out they are called the Luna Moth because they are nocturnal (like most moths). Because I am somewhat of a night-owl, I end up finding them flying around the garage late at night while I am out working.

This beauty visited up during the summer of 2007. It arrived much earlier in the evening than others I have seen. The early arrival gave Gracie the chance to come out and hold it for some photo ops. We gently handled the moth, took some photos, then set it back on the Rhododendron flower. But, then like a dumb moth, this thing circled my garage light until I turned it off and went in the house. I guess beautiful things are not always necessarily too bright, except of course in my case! :)

The story of our flock

So you are going to have to figure out the chronology of the photos yourself here, but I bet you can do it.

This here's the story of our flock of chickens, which is pretty much all Benjamin's fault. He saw some chicks in 2006 and really wanted one, but I wisely said, "Sorry son, but we don't have the room". Well, I may sound that cold-hearted, but deep down I'm not. So, over the next year my head kept thinking on it. Finally, my head tells me that I should use the big box I took in from Artel to make a chicken coop. So, we visited my boss and checked out his chickens and his coop, got ideas, and I figured out I couldn't say no much longer.

Like many things, they start out so darn cute. Well, even though the plans for coop were firmly in my head, they will still there when it came time to buy chickens in Spring 2007. So, we put them in a box in the garage. That box served its purpose, but man what a MESS those chicks made before I got them out. The whole garage was a dusty mess. I never knew how dusty little chicks could be!

As you can see, the kids really loved these chicks, that eventually turned into gangly teenage chicks, and eventually full grown chickens.

In the top photos, you will see that the chicken coop, along with one classy screen house, were finally completed. A lot of work went into these structures, mainly due to the "perfection" mental instability flaw that I inherited from my father, but also so that our place would not become a KFC for the local racoon.

The chickens have been great fun, all except for Fred the Rooster. You can see Fred in the photo. Fred was supposed to be a hen, but decided against that I guess. He learned early on that I am King of this land. But, he still considers himself to be a close #2, and sometimes takes after the other members of our extended flock. Gracie's theory is that Fred likes to peck skinny legs, so that is why sometimes he comes after her.

The chickens only get to roam free on occasion dur to many reasons: 1) we discovered the hard way that there are other critters that think chickens are tasty (like hawks, owls, etc.), 2) Fred's skinny leg fetish, and most importantly 3) these darn birds can be hard on my gardens.

Lastly, our flock consists of 2 Silver-laced Wyandottes (Fred and Ethel Murman), 2 Buff Orpingtons (The Mermaids Ariel and Dandelion), 1 Rhode Island Red (Strawberry, her sister Apple disappeared), 1 Brown Sussex (Skiddy), and NEW in 2008 1 Wyandotte - Orpington mix who was raised by a Sussex named Peepers.

Pooped Out, Literally!

You can tell that it has been one long, hard day when this happens! She looked so comfortable that we just shut the lights off and closed the door. A little while later we heard a thump as she fell off the toilet. Well, OK the truth is her mother would never let me leave her in such a condition.......but it would have been funny. I don't remember the circumstances here, but the picture says it all. Definitely one to remember of Grace. I am pretty sure this one will show up at her wedding reception!

Wild Turkey

This is proof-positive that I am a wild turkey hunter......or at least trapper. This Tom, and his buddy, were helping themselves to some chicken feed inside the screen house you see behind us. Well, I happened to be changing clothes in my bedroom when I spied these two fellas, so I ran downstairs in my undies, threw on some boots (there was snow on the ground afterall), and ran out and slammed the door shut on one of them. I then dressed in my finest coveralls and boots and went in after that Tom, and grabbed hold of him. He tried his best to get away, but there was no where to go. Once I got a hold of him, I was able to pin his wings down and then he settled down. We looked him over, had a photo opp, then turned him loose, a few feathers lighter. Don't think he really liked the encounter, but I did!

JTB

The Mighty Wellsvilles

What an awesome sight! Although Maine is truly a beautiful place, there is nothing that quite compares to the full view of the Wellsville Mountains, especially after a new snow fall!!!!!! I think these mountains are in my blood, and always will be.

JTB

Halloween 2008

Here's a look back at Halloween 2008 Costumes. We had a great Halloween, even Dad got into the act. Yes, that is a life-sized paper bag hand puppet he has on (or would that be a paper bag body puppet?). Grace was a Cowgirl Princess, Elsie was Blue from Blue's Clues, Benjamin was a Ninja, complete with cardboard tube nun chucks (though I think he is more nonja than true Ninja), and Thomas was some sort of Mexican life-support patient. Great time! Great candy haul! Dad even walked around with that stupid paper bag on all night, and was shamelessly harassed by packs of marauding kids. It was awesome!