Happy Holidays and Rutsch into 2012

Overall, it will not be bad to see 2011 end - politics and weather have made it a tedious (being kind) year.  I (Sharon) did retire at the beginning of December which is taking some getting used to - and our youngest son had a marvelous wedding - so there were great times, too. 
We continue to enjoy the benefits of a bermed home - the pond is frozen and full - the new pond the same - our new drive is working very well - and we have our health.  Bring it on.

Leo Friends around the World

Haven't posted much - Dave did use his new truck and snowplow once which probably deserves a picture.  But, this is just to mark many of my leonberger friends around the world. http://www.zeemaps.com/world_leos


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Grouse in the House?

Testing out my iBird app on the iPad - Milos was roused from his pending nap as he was sure it had got in the house.  There is nothing he like better than cleaning the lot of all birds larger than his Phoebes - which he seems to protect when then nest in his old dog shelter :)

We have had some beautiful Fall weather - temps in the 50's!

A new Daughter in Law

Micah and Amanda's wedding - September 24, 2011 - Priceless

Early Fall Walk

Beautiful day - 38 degrees this morning and now sunny and crisp.  Love September in Maine.
Took a nice walk with Milos - ending with a quick swim.  As you can see the rains from Hurricane remnants have filed the pond.

Elderberries for winter

Last winter, I made a point of adding elderberry sauce and/or juice to my diet.  I don't know if it was the reason, but I seemed to have escaped all the bugs traveling around the office.  Not one to tempt fate - picked, cleaned and frozen for winter 2011-12:

    

Worth remembering

Summer 2011 List

The summer lists are always long (and the Maine summers short).  Three of our top priorities are checked off for this year -

1 - Take a vacation - had a great trip with friends to Montreal.  We discovered that once we leave our drive there is only one big-town between us and Montreal (Sherbrooke, Quebec) - guess I never looked at the map, ha.  Next time it is Quebec City - nothing between us and them and that is the way we love to travel.



2 - Clean up the old animal watering hole near the road end of the driveway.  It ended up being a lot deeper than we thought as the bottom was full of dropped limbs, trees and weeds.  All cleaned up and evened out.  And the good news - the frogs have moved back in already.

3 - remove the stone retaining wall and make a short-cut drive between our house and the back garage.  The snow-removal equipment is all stored back there.  When we have a couple of feet of new snow, it is a real bear trying to get around the present driveway.  This should "ease the pain". 

4 - Enjoy the sunsets

Let's see ---  what's next..............

Milos - nearly 6.5

Gave Milos a Memorial Day bath today - he ended up all fluffy, but clean.. At least it smells a lot better.

Whip into shape

Dave got a new weed whip and it seems to do the job well.  The only question is that it doesn't clip close to the ground and we need to watch to ensure Milos doesn't have issues with the stubble.

Truck home and decked out

Dave's new 3500 is home with a new dump bed and a snow plow.   Nothing should get in the way of work now..
Pictures tell the story.

Leonbergers Hit Westminster

It is great to know nearly everyone that is showing - hope it stays that way.

Technorati Tags: leonberger westminster

Splashing the SOTU...

Last evening was the 2011 State of the Union Address, give by President Barack Obama.
It was followed by two rebuttals - the regular response from the main party not in power and one by a representative of the Tea Party.
I thought it would be interesting to analyze their thoughts through their words - make your own conclusions.

The State of the Union


The GOP response, Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville, Wisconsin



The Tea Party Response, Michele Bachmann from Minnesota's 6th District

Technorati Tags: SOTU, Obama, Bachmann, Paul_Ryan

Bring on the Snow

Other than the snow in the face when it is windy - either need a cab or "not blow in the wind" - this is a better winter for snow removal.

We have had several storms and they are saying temps below 0 the next few days.  Another storm forecast for mid-week.  The blower in action:

We do have a truck being delivered soon - and will put a plow on it for next winter (probably).  Stay tuned.