Seeing Protection II all shiny and polished can only mean one thing.... the firemen's muster is just around the corner. Actually, this year though... it means a bit more than that.... it means that a long winter's project is complete!!!!
The Red Shirts decided that it was time to give this ol gal a restoration... and it was my Ed that took the project on. So last year, after the muster, she came home to be with us. Ed took her apart piece by piece and slowly all the parts took over our garage. (which meant that my jeep was only out of the snow part of the winter)... As it was seen in previous blogs, we had a few trips north to Firefly restoration for various parts and pieces.. painting, and the like.
Overall, it was a good project... but as it usually goes with life... other things got in the way (like some trips to the hospital) and it began to get down to the wire about getting Protection II back together and ready for the muster. Thankfully, Jack - Ed's life long buddy - came to the rescue, and with some very long days and nights, they got her all back together and ready to go...
and she is so pretty!!!!!!
The day before the muster, last minute details were done... here is Mark Hollingsworth, my Ed and Jack.... a little worse for the wear, but feeling very happy and accomplished with their hard work and love. Protection II will be smiling in the parade this year, and not liking a restoration will have to be thought about again ... or at least for another 60 years!!!!!
Beetle time!!!! so, our little beetle has the honors again this year to carry the fireman's queen. I needed to get it down for the muster event and thought it might be a good time to try Danny in an "open car".... being Danny I didn't think he would have "any trouble with this"....
trouble??? no way!!! he absolutely LOVE riding topless!!! He sat perfectly still except for raising his beautiful head to smell the air and watch the world go zipping by....
I thought he would eventually lay down and snooze, but no way... he wasn't about to miss one moment of this great ride. He is really the nicest dog and someone is going to have a real prize when they are matched with this boy!!!!
And so we celebrate the 98 Firemen's muster!!!! First stop, our usual spot on the curb waiting for the parade to begin......
And before too long, here it comes... with the "new" Protection II leading the way. I wasn't there when the Red Shirts saw her for the first time... but from what Ed (and the joy I saw on his face when he told me)... they were beyond thrilled!!! I knew that Ed would do an amazing job, but it's nerve wracking until you get the final word...
When the guys saw me taking the photos... there were many waves and cheers!!!!
Ed was right behind in the beetle with the queen. Dave - wanting to be sure that our kiddos got plenty of candy kisses - stopped the parade to grab a big handful from the queen.
And then came the trucks. If ever I were told that boys grown into men.. I will assure you that it's not the case with a parade of firetrucks!!! Those men/boys want to be as loud as they possible can in those big red trucks... and if you can't stand the sound of sirens and air horns...t his is not the parade for you. Reagan was just a bit unsure at first, but once he saw the other kids were excited, he got into the grove...
I kept a careful eye on Danny.. (those sirens are really really loud) but he took it all in stride and watched both the trucks and the kids....
Looks like the last one Dan!!!!!
After the parade we hiked down to the field to watch the games. Abbie is so cute and when people started asking about Danny, she was the one who wanted to take the leash and walk him down. I know she likes the idea of Danny being Rylie's brother and I think that's the reason for another close connection..... (she looks so grown up in the photo!!!)
The field was busy.... good food, old friends, firetrucks.... and tradition all rolled into one. Our "kids" that we brought to this are now parents... bring their kids....
It doens't take Danny long to make himself right at home. Put him in the middle of anything and he is his happiest........
goofing around with Abbie.....
Reagan was thirlled to see Papa at the field... he didn't quite firgure out that Papa was driving the beetle in the parade..
Photo opt time.......
Reagan, Kass and Diana..(who next year will have her own little one at the muster!!!)These gals have been friends since they were babies..... there is just something wonderful about small town living......
After the parade, the firement games, it's off to the annual lobster bake and then home.... Protection II will be tucked away for another year.....
And on the ride back to the farm... Danny seems sad that it's all done...
for this year.....
It's always amazing what "magic" Karen can do with her grooming skills... Olivia is not looking much like a "farm dog" just now!!!! Karen has found a couple of shows at the end of the month that she wants to enter Livy in, so we are beginning to prepare and "working on a show coat".....
I can't even begin to say how much in love with this puppy I am.... she is proving to be "everything and more" in what I like for a dog. She is sweet and sassy, bright and eager to please and I am just having so much fun with her. Karen will be handling her in all the breed classes and I will be doing the obedience side, there is no doubt in my mind this little gal can, will and wants to do it all.......
I am a little "worry" about keeping up all that coat, which for the breed ring with cockers is very important... but I'm going to try... to own a champion has always been on my "bucket list" and we'll just have to see how we do.....
Had a nice surprise the other morning.... two mother turkeys showed up on the farm with about 25 babies. They were so fun to watch and stuck around for the longest time probably looking for bugs and other little things in the field. Usually the guinea hens have a way of driving them off, but either there were too many of them this time or the guineas didn't care....
And cousin Ted is here for a visit too!!! He is my Mom's first cousin.. with his Mom Regina being a sister to my Mom's Dad, Paul. Both are long gone now, but it's nice to see the next generation staying in touch. Ted lives in Texas, so it's quite the trip for him to come and see us. So many great stories to share from both the past and the present....
And visits like this just never seem to last long enough.
It's that "berry" time of year again... blueberries that is.... strawberries in June, and blueberries in August. We have some very nice berry farms close to us, and it's just a matter of choosing which one you want to visit.
Abbie wasn't able to join us today, she was visiting with her Dad... but this little "grand".. certainly had a grand time. And if he wasn't "running off".. he was stealing in the buckets..... such fun to take him along and watch the joy on his face as a big handful of berries went into his mouth.....
The commercial berries (also called high bush) are much bigger than the wild native berries. I prefer the wild berries, but these are certainly easier to pick and your bucket fills much quicker. Besides, come next winter when the winds are howling.. these will taste just as good as muffins or pancakes with a hot cup of coffee.....
Being a warm day, we picked pretty quickly and ended the morning with a nice lunch out and ice cream... then it's home to do the "real work"... making sure the berries are "clean" and getting them into the freezer to wait.......
So... the summer is just zooming by, and because I am taking every moment to enjoy it, I fear that my little blog has taken a back seat. I want to keep it up, I have for all this time, and I even like looking over the "past", but somehow sitting and getting everything down is just not a top priority some days. Anyways... we made a check on the bees, both hives are doing very well and I think we should get a pretty good honey crop from our older hive this year.... this is honey, still uncapped but waiting to be finished off...
And this frame has a pretty good amount of capped honey...course we have to be certain that we leave enough for the girls to get threw the winter... but I know this year I'll be feeding them again as well......by the end of the summer, we'll know what we can take and what we need to leave....
Kassy and Nate had a road race to run. Since I used to work every Saturday, I have never had the chance to go and support her at a race.. so, we packed up Danny and went to watch this one. There was a pretty good crowd, it was done as a fund raiser, so lots of families.....
and pretty much as I figured... Danny took everything in stride. He has to be the most laid back service puppy that I have worked with. Personally, I don't see his future as a working service dog... I have an idea that he is going to do the same work that sister Rylie is doing... but that's ok... there's plenty of spots open in the social side of things!!!! I have no doubt he'll end up with a job....
Every August at our local fair group.. they have a "beetle bug" car show. When I saw the signs going up advertising it.. I told Ed that I wanted to take our little beetle down to it. And so, we did......
There were all sorts of VW's... for some reason, I thought our little car might be one of the "rarer" ones... since 1979 was the last year the beetle was made in the states (our's is 78).. but that was hardly true. In fact, our little bug was possibly in the biggest class they had. You could stay and have the car judged.. but our little bug is not a show car... it's an "ice cream car".. so we only stayed a little while, checked out the other cars.. and then we were off.....
to a lobster bake!!!! Which actually has turned out to be another "sort of tradition"... Lee (who is the New York puppy raiser for neads) comes out each summer and stays at the beach house. When she comes, we all like to get together, have some "bugs" and a chance to sit and visit. It's been a fun event and I look forward to it. The lobsters were really yummy (they always are).. and the people and puppies have such a good time....
I asked Kass to pop by with Reagan (so I could show him off)... Moxie dog was quite taken with him......
The whole weekend went by so quickly, and it's just begun, because other "annual" events are right on our heels, and then we'll be looking at the fall...
One thing for certain... I am enjoying each and every moment... perhaps (finally) in my older/wiser years... I know that each day is a gift!!!!! enjoy!!!
What a fun day we had today!!! Linda K... one of our puppy raisers, invited us all to come to her local library and help her with the children's program... naturally about.. service dogs!!! I packed up Danny, Camille and Livy (who are not service dogs, but do qualify as therapy dogs) and we headed out.
Linda S. and Rick joined us with Moxie and Otis and all of us arrived to the greetings of a pretty big crowd. The little library was packed. Course the dogs thought all of this was just great.....
Linda wisely opened the program with meets and greets.... the kids do so much better at listening once they have had their hands on the puppies. And I think the puppies do better too, once they can greet all the folks.....
Camille and Livy wormed their way right in as well. After everyone had some time to get to know each other, Linda went into the program side of things. She had a great presentation and then we did question and answer after. People were really interested in the dogs and their work and it was fun to answer some pretty interesting questions....
A bit more visiting afterwards (Livy never seems to get enough attention...)
Or Danny for that matter... but next stop.. Linda's house for some yummy lobster roll....
She also took us on a little tour of the island. I have been to many of the islands around here but never this one. And though I have lived by the ocean for my whole life... I have to say, I never get tired of it's beauty or forget how blessed I am.....
Ed and I are going to have to come back some Sunday and visit again.. there is much to see here.
This is a bronze statue of a lobsterman, in memory of those who have been lost at sea doing this type of work......
Perfect spot for a photo shoot .. Camille, Danny, Moxie, Livy and Otis......
Danny asking Livy... "how long do we have to be good and do this stuff..."
One of the things about our coast line, is all the natural "things" we have. Places that have been carved out by the ocean into all kinds of cool things... this one being "the Giant Staircase"... it was a pretty walk out to it....and I was excited to see it...
But when we arrived, and I saw this.. well, it's about as close as I chose to go. IF I had gone in closer (over that edge) there are rocks lined up as neat as can be... just like a staircase.. and all made by the ocean. Since I am not a fan of heights or the possibly that the ocean would come up and snatch me away... this is all I can show you... because I was not getting any closer.
So, another day of "perfection".. good friends, dogs, food, fun and even touring some parts of the state that I haven't seen..... amazing!!!!
In keeping with our "new" tradition of taking the grands each summer to Storyland.... Today was our adventure!!! It was a perfect summer day.. Ed is feeling very good after his surgery this past week.... so, we packed it up and headed out. First stop.. breakfast!!! at one of our favorite places, The Miss Wakefield. I was hoping to get a shot of both Abbie and Reagan with Mr. Moose... but Reagan would have nothing to do with him. As you can tell by the look on Abbie's face... excitement is in the air!!!!
She even picked up one of the brochures from the "tourist rack" to plan her day as we drove along!!!! This year she is "big enough" to do it all, and I dare say, Papa and I will be "running".....
Now, one of the first things you MUST do upon arrival.. is have your photo taken in the photo frame!!! Some day, I am going to take the time, and see if I can find ALL the photos of the "frame"... that is ... the ones of when I was little and went.. and then when our girls were little and went... and now of course... the GRANDS!!!!
My usual rule is NO PARENTS!!! because, really, how can you properly spoil the grands if the parents are there watching. But since this is Reagan's "real" first year and (sadly) there will be some things he can't do just yet... it was better to have "the parents" come along. But, in the years ahead.... we'll have to think about the "no parents" rule again.....
and of course, we must have our photo with the "grands"......
The day was filled with lots of rides... my fav.. the carousel.. we must always ride it, at least twice!!!
Abbie and I were racing... she is very certain that her horse won..... and if you notice, we picked horses that "matched" us!!!!
I will say, have some parents along this year actually turned out to be a very good idea. Because I didn't have to ride every ride, and Nate was such a good sport about going on all the "scary" rides with Abbie....
Abbie was pretty excited, because really... this year there wasn't anything that she couldn't go on. And she felt quite grown up that she could go and Reagan couldn't on some...
I love how Storyland has worked so hard to stay with the "modern" and yet keep their eye on the family. There were plenty of rides that Reagan could do.. and since this little boy is all about tractors... well, you know this had to be done!!! He could even "drive" it by himself... course getting him off the ride was another story!!!!
The day was warm enough that even the water rides were on the list.. so while Reagan and I watched, the family hit the water rapids......
The day went really well... just as one little boy was running out of steam.. Abbie had pretty much done all the rides and was ready to do a bit of shopping and head for home. So dear Storyland, you have done this family well... generation number three has come to visit....
and as the Flagg family headed for home.. Abbie, Baby and Papa hopped in the beetle and headed our for ice cream!!!!!!
