Don't be afraid!

Borrowed from the web. No further comment!

25th Anniversary!

A very good decision!
Thank you Cheryl and Casey!

Pumpkins!

I planted some pumpkin seeds back in the early summer, and the vines have spread over about 1/4 of my Dad's back yard, but until now there were no pumpkins? Lots of great flowers - bright yellow and about 6" across, but no pumpkins. I was hoping to grow Maya's jack-o-lantern! Yesterday I checked again, and found one - see above. Found another one today - see below. It is kind of late in the season, so I suspect these guys may not make it to the big orange stage? From the shape of the one above, maybe it got cross pollinated with a neighborhood gourd?

Mom

Mom is not a big fan of my picture taking, but I'm a big fan of our weekly rides around the area while Dad does the grocery shopping. Mom is a big fan of our rides too - remembering them when other things sometimes fade from memory! Thank you Mom!

Neighborhood Party!

We take Maya and CJ to our neighborhood park / playground most every week. Yesterday we had a great dish to pass picnic for the whole neighborhood! It was great! Lots of friends, old and new. Above, our new neighborhood sculpture - a pear tree, sculpted in steel by our friend Craig Wilson! Below, some neighborhood kids planted a real pear tree. Why a pear tree? The site of this park was originally part of a huge tract of land that was the Ellwanger Barry Nursery - one of several nurseries located in Rochester, NY in the early days! They sold nursery stock all over the country and world - including a huge variety of pear trees!

Below - our friend Dave Halter - sort of unofficial Mayor of our neighborhood!

Below - a kid more interested in drawing pictures of the events than in the events themselves!

Maya and CJ - with Deanna and Casey - arrived later, but by then my camera had frozen up and was unwilling to try anything! Below my friend Jeff Peden entertains the kids! Somebody suggested he juggle a favorite stuffed rabbit, and Jeff did it! Below, a still from a video on my new Kodak Play/Touch video camera!

And a neighborhood dog catches a ride!

Anybody know what this is?

Fruit from a medium sized bush - maybe 7-8 ft tall in a neighbor's yard. Fruit is more green than this with smooth skin that looks like a pear? Fruit is about 2" long.

Elephant Ear

Just wanted to share this image of part of an Elephant Ear plant leaf from my back yard!

Maya & CJ on Vacation

If you aren't old enough to have grandchildren yet, just wait! They are the best thing ever..... even when they are screaming and yelling and won't take a nap?

Tomatoes!

Largest single day harvest so far - 13! Some Vintage Wine, and some Mortgage Lifters!

A gift from a friend!

I'm not adding things to my spinning top collection very often these days, but my friend Rick Shannon found this in a friends basement. Those folks on the upper end of the age scale will remember the cardboard cylinder tube repair kits. The little punched holes in the lid to rough up the area around the hole in your tube, the little tube of rubber cement with its distinctive smell, and the little pieces of rubber to glue over the nail hole? This tube repair kit has it all, and a real spinning top in the graphics! My favorite things are always what I call top related items. Nothing spins here - except maybe the repaired bicycle tube - but while many products use the word "top" in the logo, name, etc. very few actually use a real top! This little piece has it all! Thanks Rick!

And - a side note on the English language. We seem to have a lot fewer words to learn, but the reason for this is that we use the same word over and over for very different things! I've always thought the word "top" was one of the most over utilized - try Googling "top"? Not many results will have anything to do with spinning! However, try writing a blog entry about a cardboard tube containing a tube of rubber cement that is all part of a tube repair kit! Tube sort of means the same thing every time, but not exactly!

Another larger mechanical design

Move the lever at the upper left back and forth to make her dance gleefully across the stage! This piece is also about 14" across. Video below. Come see us tomorrow or Sunday to see the new pieces at Booth 449 - Clothesline Art Show!

New larger mechanical design!

Unlike my previous small business card sized pieces, this one is 400% larger - i.e. about 14" across. Turning the wheel at the top or bottom of the piece rotates the propeller on this old bi-plane! I especially like the tread detail on the tires - below! Check below that for a video!

Temporary price = $100 plus shipping & sales tax - Order here

Beth's Green Beans!

The title says it all .... well not quite all .... the picture helps .... but I can't begin to convey the fresh picked taste!

Vale of Rest

Cemetery located just down the road from my great great great great grandfather and grandmother's house and mill in Avoca, NY. ! No stones seem to be related to my family, but the one below, located almost in the exact center of the little cemetery, tells a very interesting story.

Rosa O. Tucker, wife of A. O. Tucker, died 18 days after the birth of her daughter R. (Rosa?) Lillian Tucker. Rosa was only 17 years, 1 month, and 11 days old. Lillian passed away less than 2 years later at age 1 year, 9 months and 12 days! Two way to short lives!

Note: Marrying at age 16 was not that unusual in the 1870's

Maeve will know this is a joke!

We parked next to this pick-up truck at the doctor's office the other day, and knew Maeve had to see it! I'm a big supporter of her vegetarian diet choice, but love to tease! Also note that this sign is on a big hulking pick-up truck that obviously hasn't seen any dirt this summer, and has a nice clean plastic cover over the "cargo bed".

This picture also turned out to be a great example of my love of reflections, light and shadow, etc. in photos!