duke the 4-wheelin' dog

we found out that duke hearts 4-wheelin'
like really hearts it
he can even "load up" onto it (aren't you impressed lizzy?)
he wants to ride it to go get the mail
or go to the neighbors
or really anywhere
oh wait, that's sean...
but duke always wants to go along
we tried him out on a short, evening trip first
he didn't care too much for it when it sprinkled
but he didn't mind the big puddles

but maybe that's cuz we were nice to him and went slow
his favorite is to ride with the driver
and put his paws on the gas tank
and pretend like he's driving

and before you leave me nastygrams about how concerned you are for him
he's probably safer than we are
as we have a harness and leash that we wrap around us
and latch to him - he's ALL good!

nervous nelly

if you visit deer isle

you must stop by and see nervous nelly

and definitely taste her jams and jellies

it's a great place

husband and wife operation

the husband spends his days making "art"

while the wife makes jams

they've created a little city that is pretty cool

here's a little peek with my lovely model

the coast

when my niece was up visiting we went on a day trip
i've never explored any of the millions of islands maine has
so we headed out to one
deer isle
and it didn't disappoint
amazing scenery and cute little shops
just don't go on a monday - as lots of places are closed
these are some of my favorite pics of the coast i got

and a bonus photo
cuz even the post offices are darn cute up here!

frogs

during the nature workshop we also visited a couple frog ponds
they did not disappoint in the number of frogs either

here's a game for you
how many frogs can you find in this picture?

and how many eyes can you find in this one?

more nature

man am i slow on sharing pictures with you guys these days
these are more from the nature workshop
this group is bugs and flowers
with some other stuff thrown in

black and white

here are some more pics i got from the nature workshop
but in black and white

catching dinner

is it dinner or is it supper???
this living in such different locations during the year gets my talking all messed up
like is it aunt or ant?
or all y'all or yous guys?
or coke or soda?
brar or bra?

oh well, i guess it's really six to one, half dozen to another
but don't be surprised if i use multiple pronunciations in the same story

one of the fun things i did with some of our visitors was a nature photo workshop
we found this cool spider
and while i was taking his photo
he caught and stored up some dinner for later
he was FAST!
it was AMAZING!
even though i really dislike spiders

birthday month - week 3

the celebration continues...
i realized i wasn't taking full advantage of my celebrating
so i decided to step it up this week

day 1 - 90+ mile atv ride in northern maine and tent camping when it was in the 30's with friends (and sean and duke of course) pics to come
day 2 - lobster lunch at the marina (sean lost a bet - btw i CAN fit the tent back into that little bag - when will he learn not to doubt my skillz)
day 3 - guilty pleasure tv watching without sean complaining - the voice, in case you were wondering
day 4 - editing some photos, finally!
day 5 - you may remember my attempt to go see a taping of the nite show during last year's birthday month celebration - i actually got the time right this year and got to be in the audience for the taping of three episodes
day 6 - i cannot, for the life of me, remember...
day 7 - went to the improv comedy show and had drinks with friends

birthday month - week 2

the month long celebration continues...

day 1 - curl up on the couch and read a book (which I haven't done all summer)
day 2 - open presents, go out for ice cream and picking the movie without sean complaining about my choice
day 3 - nothing - boo hiss!
day 4 - finally finished a project - new curtains for the bar area in the camp, now to get sean to help me hang them
day 5 - baking apple whoopie pies
day 6 - favorite wine dinner at lucerne inn with braised short ribs - my fave!
day 7 - hiking to the screw auger falls (which was exciting and scary all at the same time but you'll have to wait for the pics to hear about that)

hope & kylie

the summer started with a month long visit from my niece, kylie
and a week long visit from her friend, hope
this was hope's first trip to maine so we had to show her the usual sights
like bar harbor

and acadia - which included a picnic on the coast

and cadillac mountain

and a trip to camp would not be complete without some lake time
which may or may not have resulted in a black eye for kylie from sean via the new tube

they were both also very good about trying new things
you see, growing up in land locked kansas doesn't let you try out too much awesome seafood
like lobster and scallops and fish and i could go on and on
the bravest was hope who actually put her own lobster in the pot
kylie just screamed like a girl and dropped and cracked hers
which btw she didn't eat
she probably had chicken fingers...
HA!!!