Merry Christmas

We went to Clifton Mill the other night with Penny and Jack. Clifton is an itty bitty town east of Yellow Springs and south of Springfield. In town is a mill on the Little Miami River; it's decorated every Christmas season by roughly a billion lights. Besides the lights, there is a Santa Claus room with over 3000 Santas on display. A few are a bit scary - if I was a kid, I might run the other direction. However, most are the regular ho-ho-ho kind of Santa. To celebrate Christmas Eve, I've included some photos of our trip to Clifton Mill. Merry Christmas, everyone.

The mill building all decorated for the holidays.

A few of the Santas. None of these are scary.

Bob and me at the mill. The red glow in the background is from some of the gazillion lights on the banks of the Little Miami River.

St. Nicholas's Day Massacre

Inflatable lawn figures are all the rage this Christmas. This is fine at night, when they're inflated. However, most are left deflated in the daytime. I told Bob it looks like the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. He said, "No, not St. Valentine's. St. Nicholas's Day." I stand corrected. I vote for paying the extra for the electricity and keeping them inflated 24/7.

Lovely scene at night.

Next day. They look like they've been mowed down. Where are the chalk outlines?

Almost Christmas

Two days ago it was 60 degrees - today, it's 37 degrees. Ah, life in Ohio in December. It's been raining a lot lately, and just as is true in California, the temperature goes up when it rains. No snow since our 1" two weeks ago. I have doubts about a white Christmas this year.

We went to see Bob's sister Penny star as "Old Granny Mouse" in the Christmas play at First United Methodist Church. Church children played sheep, cows, shepherds, donkeys, mice, etc. The audience got sing carols along with the kids, so everyone was involved. I've posted a picture of Penny in her starring role - we're expecting a call from Hollywood anytime. 

Old Grannie Mouse (really Penny).

Our front yard decorated for the holidays.

This is a good shot of our homemade vegetarian suet. We're a hit with the nuthatches (and woodpeckers and squirrels ...).

Recent happenings

We've sent Christmas cards and managed to get some packages in the mail (okay, we're not done with the mailing yet). We're using the U.S. Postal Service ("if it fits, it ships"). Gotta throw some business their way - they're facing bankruptcy! Here are some pictures of Troy before the Christmas holidays:

A blue jay thinks peanuts are the bee's knees.

Bob and me in front of our house.

City trees decorated for the season.

Tire Discounters often has funny signs. I really liked this one.

Measureable snow

We knew this day was coming ....

Bob captures snow in action.

Our little tree in the front yard. Now it looks so Christmasy.

My mittens, up close and personal.

Update on the homemade suet

It's a hit! The temps are in the 40s and dropping, so there's no danger the homemade suet will melt. It's not as hard as "store bought" because shortening isn't as hard at room temperature as beef fat. But, who cares? The squirrels and woodpeckers are loving it. I haven't seen any nuthatches or chickadees yet, but then I wasn't home for a big hunk of the day.
(See previous post if you have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Late November

After the Thanksgiving holiday, Bob and I went to the Troy annual Christmas parade and lighting of the town Christmas tree. The tree is in the middle of the town square where the fountain is normally located. Obviously, the fountain shuts down for the winter - so why not stick a Christmas tree in the blank spot? Makes sense. We also went to Aullwood Audubon Center near Englewood for an arts and crafts fair. Lots of nice stuff. We took time for a stroll in the woods near the center.

I've included some pictures of wildlife at our suet feeder in the back yard. We're experimenting with our own suet recipe, which isn't really suet at all. I've gone vegetarian - shortening, peanut butter, corn meal, flour, and some ground nuts. Bob put some of the homemade suet out this evening, so we'll see how it goes over tomorrow.

Bob had to muscle into the crowd for a picture of the tree.

No, I did not fall into the creek at Aullwood.

A white-breasted nuthatch at the suet feeder.

Squirrels are acrobats. His next gig is with the Flying Wallendas.

A red-bellied woodpecker (not to be confused with a red-headed woodpecker).

Pre-Thanksgiving

It's a gloomy day here in Troy. High temps in the upper 40s and rainy. I'm down in the basement on the desktop computer. So much nicer down here than outside. Here are a few scenes from November in southwestern Ohio.

Corn is still being harvested (not when it's raining, of course). The combine shoots corn into the truck, which takes it to the grain elevator.

We went to the Dayton Art Institute. Beautiful sunny day, but a cold wind was blowing.

Inside the Dayton Art Institute.

Isabella has discovered the fireplace.

We call it her "wall of flames."

Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my! (and Vikings!)(and snowflakes!)

It's been a memorable couple of days in Ohio. On Tuesday, we went to Columbus Zoo (after voting, of course). It was a lovely fall day. Lots of moms and kids in strollers. The zoo, which is really in Powell, Ohio (much like the San Francisco Airport is in San Bruno or UC Santa Barbara is in Goleta), is nice. The old-style zoo is not in evidence. Right next to the zoo is a big water park, but it's closed at this time of year.
Today we went to Wright State University in Dayton for the semi-finals of the high school girls' volleyball championships for the state of Ohio. Our own Miami East High School (the school district Bob and I are in) was in the Final 4. They played Adena High School from Frankfort, Ohio. Exciting! The Miami East Vikings were victorious, winning 3 games to 1. But they were close games. Adena's team was good, too. At this level, you'd expect that.
This evening, we went outside and saw some snowflakes coming down. Not heavy, certainly ... but our first snow since the very end of March. We called Mom out of her warm sitting room to come out on the porch to see the flakes coming down.

Bob and the gorilla bust. The real gorillas are not nearly so approachable.

Cutest little koala.

Certainly would have been Ed and Isabella's favorite. Perhaps a distant relative?

The polar bears can hardly wait for snow.

The 4th game - final score.

You gotta love this guy. He's the unofficial cheerleader for Miami East. He shows up in his blue camo, and really gets the crowd on its feet (Miami East colors being blue and white).

 

Yay, team. The girls go to the championship on Saturday.

Happy Halloween

We just finished our first Ohio trick-or-treat. About 96 kids came to the door. I had candy for 100, and then I was ready to dip into my emergency supply of pretzels packaged for Halloween. It's better for all of us to have some pretzels to eat than a bunch of candy. Yesterday, we were invited to Penny and Jack's church for "Trunk 'n Treat," where the church and neighborhood kids go from trunk to trunk in the parking lot and get candy. They're in costume, of course. We had candy for 260 kids, ran out, snitched tootsie rolls from Jack, ran out again, and finally slinked (slunk? which is correct?) away with our trunk closed. Wow. I was used to 4, maybe 6, trick-or-treaters in San Luis Obispo.

Bob's sister Penny dressed as Cooper the dog.

Penny and Jack's trunk (and the source of our tootsie roll filching).

Not our trunk, but an inspiration for next year. Do I not have some spare feet lying around? It's perfect.

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Our front porch.

Windows

Bob has been photographing windows, doors, and gates lately. Here are a few from his windows series.

The leaded glass is very nice in this one.

Meow (not our window, not our cat).

Don't stand too close to that vine. I believe it may have a "today the garage, tomorrow the world" philosophy.

It's still autumn

I know you must be tired of autumn leaves (and the days dwindle down ...), but this is what you get until the snow flies. Work with me.

Yellow leaves on Polecat Road (cool name, huh?).

Some maples are red, some are orange, some are yellow.

I think a dermatologist could do something ... a cream, a laser, whatever!

A very sincere patch. The Great Pumpkin is definitely coming here.

Frost is on the pumpkin

We woke up to 30 degrees today and frost on the lawn and roof. Is it time to buy a snow shovel? Our good friend Joan visited last week, so we had to do the usual stuff: Air Force Museum, canal boat ride, etc. We also went to Bear's Mill near Greenville and we hit Ikea near Cincinnati (where America shops). Joan had to limit herself to buying light &/or flat things because she was flying home. No dining room tables, kitchen sinks, or floor lamps. (Too bad, because there are some good ones at Ikea.)
Here are some photos of life around Troy.

One of the buildings at Bear's Mill.

Creepy autumn clouds.

Joan and me at Bear's Mill. Note her Cal Poly sweatshirt. Go Mustangs!

Pile of pumpkins at Fulton Farms. An autumn tradition.

No it hasn't snowed yet. This is "Zamboni leavings" outside the Hobart Arena.

Early October in Ohio

The trees are really turning and we've put up our Halloween decorations, but I'm behind in my posting - so no autumn stuff right now. Here are some pictures of recent activities.

Bob poses in front of mums at the golf course.

"Man up. Stop in." I love this sign.

Yes, it's pink. Breast cancer fundraiser near the river.

We plant in autumn with hope for spring.

Pat's tribute to Steve Jobs. I've had my little iPod for almost 6 years.