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My Grand Weekend

I did end up spending this past weekend alone with our oldest grandson, Gaige, in West Virginia. Hubby was down with the same bug I had last week (which is STILL lingering in both of us by the way) and was really not up to that sort of outing. So Gaige and I loaded the dogs into the truck and off we went. We missed having Hubby around, of course, but we managed to have a bit of fun anyway.

As you can probably imagine, I took a few pictures.

Gaige was VERY proud of his new bicycle helmet.

Gaige is a bit of a character, so we shared quite a few laughs over the weekend. Starting with our visit to Target in Winchester, Virginia. He’d outgrown his bicycle helmet, so we stopped to buy one for him. He was super-excited about the cool helmet I let him pick out and insisted on wearing it as soon as the cashier finished scanning the thing, cardboard tag and all. Can you tell how excited he was?

The morning dog walk.

Saturday dawned bright and early, thanks to my crazy dogs. Gaige watched The Wizard of OZ while I woke up. Then we took the dogs for a walk. We turned that everyday dog walk into a hiking adventure.

"Mountain" climbing.

Gaige is a very active 7-year-old boy. He climbs on pretty much everything. He was super-excited to get a chance to do some mountain climbing.

At the mountain summit.

I’m not sure what he enjoyed more, going up or coming back down…

Sliding down the mountain.

He would’ve gone up and down that thing all day if I’d let him.

Running after Belle.

When he wasn’t climbing, he was running.

Making a wish.

He was quite tickled to discover one, lone dandelion seed head that was just screaming to be picked.

"G, I'll race you to the top!"

As we were heading back to the house, we got to a spot where the hill is VERY steep. Note how steep in the picture above. It only got worse higher up. I decided to back-track a bit and take the easier route. Gaige, of course, wanted to scale the steepest spot. And he wanted to make it a race. Knowing how steep that hill is, I knew I’d beat him.

"Can you believe that I beat you?"

I was wrong. I wasn’t going slow or anything. He just went really fast, which is why he’s gasping for breath in that photo above. Look behind him and you can see how steep and BIG the hill is.

Climbing a "broken" tree.

I did say he climbed pretty much everything there was to climb, right? This downed tree, which he referred to as broken, was no exception.

Gaige and Belle were playing together in the leaves.

Gaige really likes Belle and she likes him right back. Belle’s first family, who she lived with from 8 weeks to 18 months of age,  had a couple of kids. So she actually likes hanging out with Gaige.

"You are NOT leaving me behind, Mama."

After our hiking adventure, I opened the back of the truck to load my bike. Belle, not wanting to get left behind (note the sad puppy expression on her face), hopped right in and immediately made herself comfortable. Gaige thought it would be fun to hang out there with her.

Moo!

I couldn’t resist including this cow picture. It was the first critter we encountered along the C&O Canal bike path.

Puddles!

Gaige very obediently rode through as many puddles as he could, just like I instructed. Until he went through one that was particularly long and deep and got soaked.

The coolest dude on the towpath.

He really likes his new helmet.

Puddle aftermath.

Riding through all of those puddles made him a little dirty.

Movie moment.

Gaige’s new favorite movie is Dante’s Peak (I love disaster flicks). He watched it on Sunday morning, with Belle, while I straightened the place up.

"Look, G! More broken trees!"

Later in the morning, he and I explored the yard a bit. There’s no shortage of stuff to climb on back there, that’s for sure.

One happy boy.

He really had a good time letting loose over the weekend. Yes, there were a number of pictures where I made him smile for the camera, but there were also lots of candid smile shots like this one, too.

I’m posting this last picture against my better judgment (I am in DESPERATE need of a haircut). I had to get a shot of the two of us together after our fun weekend.

Gaige and G on their Double G Weekend.

We need to take him back out there soon so we can build a tree fort. I wanted to do that this past weekend, but I didn’t have the proper tools with me. Next time, I’ll be more prepared.

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What’s the Point?

Shybiker, a fellow blogger (the one who has been my most-frequent commenter of late), did a post the other day about why people blog.

Some do it purely for profit. Let’s face it, it’s a great way to make money. Great as in it’s a job where you are your own boss, there’s very little cost involved, it’s fun, etc. Making money through blogging takes effort, but it can pay off.

Some, like me, do it just for fun. I like having a place to share my pictures, and dog stories, and travel highlights, and random stuff.

Does anyone care? I think so. But it’s hard to tell because not a lot of people comment. Sometimes that’s discouraging. Should people comment just for the sake of saying something? No. But if you read something or see a picture that makes you smile, leave a comment. Just click on the COMMENTS button in the upper right-hand corner and leave a quick reply. That’s how us bloggers know that we do actually have an audience, even if it’s a small one. Us bloggers call that “comment love.”

It’s not always easy to come up with stuff to blog about. But every now and then I stumble across stuff that I HAVE TO share. It’s not always about me either. Occasionally I stumble across pictures like THIS ONE that totally make me smile. There’s just something about that lady looking so happy. I think it’ll make others smile, too. So I hope you followed the link.

That’s one of the things I love about Flickr. I get to look at other people’s pictures. I tell folks all the time that I love looking at other people’s images, but I’m not sure they believe me.

I always say, “send me your vacation, baby, family, experimental, etc. pictures.” But few people do. I think they think I am just trying to be nice.

The way Flickr works, you sort of friend people that take pictures you like looking at. Like this one from a guy, Kuskaluna Steve, who lives in Alaska. That cat picture makes me smile, too.

Then there are all of the AMAZING bird photos Nikographer posts. I am in awe of this man.

I hope those links work for you…

Back to blogging. I think the reason I enjoy reading other people’s blogs is that you really get to see how other folks live. I’ve always liked people and have often wondered what it would be like to live in someone else’s shoes. Blogs are windows into other people’s lives.

Maybe you like what you see here, maybe you don’t. Perhaps you’re a repeat visitor. Maybe this is your first time. I’ll never know if you don’t comment. If you just don’t have anything to say, that’s cool, too. I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing and life will just keep rolling on…

Art
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Relative Normalcy

It’s never a good sign when you wake up with a headache. I mean, what a crappy way to start a day. Hoping to get rid of the ache, I took some naproxen and then made myself a big plate of blueberry pancakes. No luck so far, but I am still hopeful. At least the pancakes tasted good.

While I ate, I caught up on my blog reading. That’s when I realized I haven’t posted anything for five days. I’ve been collecting various pics to share. But it’s an eclectic collection. So there was nothing driving me to do a posting. Now, however, I think it is time to catch up.

The first couple of shots are from Sunday morning at the WV place. It was in the low 30s when we woke up.

Frosty Window

Doesn’t that just make you want to say, “Brrr?”

Lingering Green

Most of the trees are bare already. Except for the oaks. We have lots of oaks. And they hold on to their leaves for a long time. Apparently some are late in the color-change department, too.

Nakedness

See what I mean about the trees being bare?

Morning in the Woods

This is one of my favorite spots at the WV place. Back before we had Belle and K, we had CeCe and Meg. CeCe was a lot like Belle in that she liked to hang close to Mama during our morning walks. She and I would wait here at the top of the hill on Turkey Hollow Road for Meg to return. Quite a few of CeCe’s cremains were scattered here for that very reason. It’s been almost two years since we lost CeCe and we still miss her.

A Hint of Green

The colors on this green leaf caught my eye. There’s not really anything special about that picture except I thought the leaf was cool. So I am sharing it here.

Cool Colors

Speaking of colors catching my eye, I really liked the way these frosty leaves looked.

Frost

You can see the frost more clearly on these leaves. Quite a few bushes are still green, so the woods aren’t completely colorless.

Belle racing around the corner.

Right before snapping this picture, I’d started walking back toward the house. When Belle realized she couldn’t see me, she came running.

Belle

Here’s one where Belle was waiting with me for the other two girls to come back. As for the other two…

Napping while Mama works.

They did reappear shortly after that picture of Belle was taken. I snapped the above image while I was working. The camera was sitting next to me on the windowsill. My girls always like to be close to Mama. Notice K and Belle sharing that small bed?

K

K is more into sharing than Belle. In this shot, although you can’t see her (the zoom lens was on the camera and I couldn’t fit her into the frame), Belle is pretty much hogging the entire bed. K found a corner to sit on and gave me this look as if to say, “Mama, she won’t share.”

K is truly a Mama's girl.

Belle sits with me in the mornings. It’s rare to see Belle on my lap in the evenings. K on the other hand is all about her evening Mama-time. She’ll come over and give me this certain look. That’s when I say, “You need some Mama love?” Immediately she climbs into my lap.

We did have a bit of excitement on Sunday. Are you ready for this?

The new refrigerator.

We bought a new refrigerator! Now we just need to buy some more food. 🙂

Our kitchen is very small. We never really planned the kitchen. I bought a whole kitchen full of old cabinets and we put them into place. It all works okay, except the door placements are very awkward in a couple of spots. We only had room for an under-the-counter refrigerator. And no room for a dishwasher.

Because Hubby really hates doing dishes, we need a dishwasher. We can’t have a dishwasher unless we re-do the kitchen.

Oh yeah, we have a really cheap, crappy cook top, too. It works, but it is a huge PIA. The burners are super hard to regulate properly. If you turn them back too low, they go out. And they won’t relight unless you put a match to them first. It’s annoying.

Our Little House in the Woods

This is not a great picture since the trailer is sitting in front of the garage. But someone was asking me what our house looks like, so there it is.

Going "down the hill."

The dogs just love it when we walk them down the driveway. They’re all three in the picture, K is just hard to see because she is so far ahead. The girl runs like a Greyhound.

Going back up the hill.

You know what they say… what goes down, must come up. Right? 🙂

And now, for the last picture of the day, we have K.

"Mama, she's not sharing AGAIN."

K is looking a bit pissed off. Is it because Belle is hogging the bed? Or because Mama has no room on her lap at the moment. Or both?

For the record, Belle is wide awake, but she hates having her picture taken. Really. She squints or blinks in most shots unless I catch her off guard.

I hope you enjoyed the mish-mash of photos!

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Where’s ToadMama Today?

I’m in a different state again.

But this time, I am happy about it.

It really looks like Fall here. As far as the foliage goes, it is most definitely past peak. In fact, many, many leaves are on the ground.

Fall is Here

The girls are all very happy to be here, too. As usual. They LOVE running through these woods.

See Meg smiling?

Since it was almost 10:00 when I got home last night, we drove to the WV place this morning. It’s actually pretty chilly. I think it was in the low 50s when we arrived. Now it’s in the 40s. And it’s only about 3:00 PM. I have a feeling tomorrow morning will REALLY be cold when I am out walking.

Fall is in the air.

See how bare those trees are? Meanwhile, back at the cabin…

Hubby clearing the leaves off of the front porch.

…Hubby was struggling to get the leaf blower to run. As you can see, he succeeded.

"I don't like that noise, Mama."

Belle was not thrilled with the leaf blower.

Smile!

I did somehow manage to get Belle and K to sit still for a picture. Belle wouldn’t look at the camera, but look at K smiling!

That moment of stillness didn’t last long.

And they're off!

I’m making chili for dinner. It’s a chili kind of day.

They’re forecasting snow for the mountains just west of here tonight.

Brrr…

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Now THAT is Big

Back in September, when I drove up to Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania, I drove past this HUGE Cabela’s store. I tried to tell Hubby how big it was, explaining how it appeared to me to dwarf the Bass Pro Shops store at the mall near our MD house.

This time when I drove past, I stopped and snapped a picture…

At the time of this writing, this Cabela's near Hamburg, PA is their biggest US retail location.

And you know what? I was right. This place does dwarf the Bass Pro Shop at Arundel Mills. This Cabela’s store is 250,000 square feet. The Bass Pro Shop at Arundel Mills “only” has 130,000 square feet. So this place in PA is almost twice the size of the Bass Pro store. If you’ve ever been in that store at Arundel Mills, you’ll appreciate the magnitude of it all.

I snapped a few other pics during my drive, too. Most were taken while I was driving, so they’re not very good. But here are a couple of shots that should give you an idea how hilly it is around here. “Here” is still New Jersey, but not for much longer!

Heading west on I-78 near Allentown, PA.

Since I was checking out this small pack of motorcyclists, I decided to snap a picture. There were two V-Stroms, a Triumph Tiger and some sort of sport bike. The bike models are significant because they are in the same class at the BMW I’d like to buy. 🙂

You can see the hills off in the distance.

Hubby and I will definitely have to have a NJ bike weekend next year. NJ and PA, that is. I want to go to the Delaware Water Gap.

Speaking of Delaware…

The Delaware River

…I snapped this picture through a very dirty window as I crossed the Delaware River on I-78.

That’s all I’ve got for today, folks. My next post will come from Maryland. Woo hoo!

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The Dolly Sods

Hubby suggested we go for a car ride yesterday. Since we’re at the WV place (we haven’t hung out here for a few weeks), I seized the opportunity to say, “Okay, but I want to go to The Dolly Sods.”

The Dolly Sods is a wilderness area that sits at an elevation of about 4,000 feet atop the Allegheny Plateau. It is one of many areas of interest in the Monongahela National Forest. The Dolly Sods is significant because of its elevation and what that means to the flora and fauna.

I’ve wanted to visit for YEARS. Ever since 2005 when we started our “little” WV project. During what little down time we had, I read a lot about the area. And I liked what I read. 🙂

While all of West Virginia is pretty mountainous, the mountains aren’t very high. The highest peak, in fact, is only 4,863 feet. It’s not far at all from The Dolly Sods. It’s been said that many areas of the Dolly Sods are like high-alpine regions in Canada. The snowshoe hare can even be found there.

Hubby's GPS tracked the elevation changes.

We’ve ridden our motorcycles near The Dolly Sods many, many times, but never ventured into the actual wilderness area because it is known for its rough, dirt and gravel roads. It is a wilderness, after all, and they want to keep it that way. In fact, descriptions of the route into The Sods said something to the effect of “the road climbs the Allegheny Front.” If you look at this terrain map of the area, you’ll see what I mean. In short, the road went up, and up, and up before we finally reached the top of the Allegheny Plateau. Hubby’s GPS software plotted a graph showing our elevations at various points on the trip down and back, which clearly shows the extreme elevation change entering and leaving The Dolly Sods.

Climbing the Allegheny Front (Think 6 miles of washboard-rutted road; I am NOT exaggerating.)
Some of the scenery on the way up, below the tree line.
More scenery on the way up.
Welcome to the high alpine world. (Pronunciation = Ma-non-ga-heel-ah)

The foliage at this altitude peaked some time ago and is mostly gone.
The view from the top.
It was quite rocky. There were large bolders strewn wide and far.
The winds on the plateau are virtually constant.
The boulders were covered with lichen.
There were blueberries galore (the short, red plants).
Blueberries! (Dolly Sods is a popular place in July and August.)
More blueberries.
The further north you go, the more it starts looking like the Alaskan tundra.
You can see the "tundra" off in the distance.
Bear Rocks (what this particular area is called)
I was digging all the boulders. Those are people way out in the center of the frame.
Looking out over the valley from atop the Eastern Continental Divide.
A closer look at the tundra.
Another close-up of the tundra.
The road down. It was a rough ride, but well worth it, if you ask me.

I’m not sure Hubby enjoyed the ride through the Sods. It really was rutted and full of potholes. But it was really picturesque. I could spend an entire day just walking around taking pictures. These are all just snapshots. I hate making Hubby wait around while I do the photography thing.

He’ll probably read this and think, “Wait a minute, isn’t that what you were doing?” The answer? Nope. If I were doing the photography thing, I would’ve had my tripod. And more lenses. The wide angle one would have been nice to have.

I’d love to do some hiking there, too. There are a lot of trails through the Sods, but they are rugged and not recommended for novice hikers. So I’ll need to take that orienteering class first (how to use a compass and topographical map to get around).

I hope you enjoyed your virtual journey with us through the Dolly Sods!