Update of sign 🙂

Fly the W

Bob made this big sign among our political signs out in front.                                                    Today he is going to add a big “W” for win.

Bob and his family have been Cubs fans (son Bob said he had to work and could not watch – but that was OK because he is superstitious)  and my son and his wife — and now, of course, me… and also our Dodgers family in LA — Cully,Mark Oliver and Emmett who came on board for the World Series.  Here is the cartoon that has yellowed and become tattered on our refrigerator:

Starting in ’07 — you can see Bob marked off the years — apparently he gave up after 2014 …

Still don’t know what we will do to really celebrate — what do Cubs fans (who have been waiting for 108 years – my Dad was not born yet) do now??? What will they look like? I am so happy for Joe Madden – the Zen manager — and that nice Epstein boy who also helped make it possible.

HOW ‘BOUT THEM CUBS???

Bob harvested a total of about 60 pounds of honey this year.

The honey flow is pretty much over – clean-up time — with the help of the bees who do a good job of cleaning off the frames.

Election season on our great spot for political signs.

Democrat signs and one sign for county commissioner — no city signs this year — too conflicted.

Bob’s shop

Our foster dog all the way from Turkey. Along with rescuing many Goldens in Minnesota and surrounding states, Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota (RAGOM) expanded to take in Goldens who are street dogs in Turkey! This is our Gulliver (as in travels). Goldens do not do well in the street – they are too gentle and don’t fight back. Gulliver has some scars on his nose and head — he was rescued from the street and kept in a private vet’s office until he could come to Minnesota.  These dogs used to be status symbols in Turkey — but many of them are now on the streets.

He is so pleased with the safe backyard. His color is called “champagne” on the “passport” the vet here said it is called English Cream and many people import them from England because those lines have fewer problems.

at the Chicago airport after a 11 hour flight

Jonesy loves playing with him — and after a few days Gulliver is feeling his oats.

There is a whole team of people in Turkey who work to rescue these and other dogs. He had been groomed and looked good, and all 17 of the dogs wore these beads made for them by the volunteers in Turkey for good luck and protection. The “evil eye” bead is to ward off bad things. Seemed to work for all of these guys. We as fosters were told to take them off and give them to the new owners. Gulliver (not surprisingly) had five applications within 24 hours after posting.  We picked what we thought was the best fit, and are awaiting the process to complete the adoption. If you are interested in the organization this is the website http://www.ragom.org  Gulliver is our second foster Golden Retriever.

Gulliver’s beads made by people who rescued these dogs in Turkey to send them to America.

Son Bob and Todd came to help their Dad — lots of projects and the main one was moving the Luscombe fuselage to the hanger at the Lake Elmo airport to have all the pieces together to sell them as a project. Any takers? Bob did a beautiful job on the wings and the fuselage.

And that’s about it.We are toasting Hillary at every cocktail hour, and we are both in good health at this time.

The library remains up in the air about rejoining the county (preferable but we need some reassurance).  I have found a wonderful gardener who just cleaned up the garden for winter and filled in some dog dug holes in the backyard. Thank you Kay Carlson — her new business is “Taking Care of Business” and she does everything from performing weddings (ordained minister) to organizing a closet and cooking and helping with events as well as  excellent gardening.

Cully had the idea of a gathering of the Pike/Gibson/Nordby/Frye clan in Wisconsin Dells where Nanny and Grandpa lived; and thanks to Uncle Jerry and Aunt Myrna, the house is still there for a reunion spot.

But first the Old Timey photos — then and now — Valley Fair photo from a while ago….

Cully, Mom and Todd, Valley Fair 70s

And now — July 22, Wisconsin Dells – family has expanded

Rough bunch —

We had great fun — Cully figured Oliver and Emmett were the right age –she was right – they loved it!  Bob and I did not do the whole experience, and I only have a few photos of us at home in the woods.

Favorites — Fudge – several times – and the arcade also several times — Emmett collected a bunch of small  rubber ducks in the arcade.  Ann Marie and Todd got in a little aunt and uncle action — and I did not cook since my two children both happened to marry great cooks. (Not that they can’t cook 🙂 )

I think they were watching a movie

only Jonesy looking at the camera!

A great big thanks from Mom (me) for the treat of being together.

Our foster Golden, Brody, was adopted! Very nice couple from Rochester who always had two goldens and lost the last one a short time ago. They also adopted a female Golden, one of the rescue puppy breeder females — she had a long time with a foster and was ready for her furever home.

So we thought we would take a break. Then this dog showed up at our door and we let her in. Incredible story.

the lost dog – very emaciated, long toenails, no collar and no microchip

http://bulletin-news.com/articles/2016/07/05/found-lost-dog

There is a Facebook page for her “Retrieving Shyanne”

I guess the word was out that we had a vacancy.

I was so happy to see her with kids in a photo on the Facebook page.  Happy Endings!

She was taken to a vet (this photo at the Vet’s office) and is now at home. That is Rosie’s collar and our leash Bob gave them. We had been feeding her puppy chow – higher calories – small meals several times a day.

RAGOM stands for Rescue a Golden of Minnesota and we signed up,went to the training and had a home visit to check out our home! So we were approved and now have our first foster Golden. He is a BIG male,very sweet and quiet except when Jonesy gets him started. He gets seizure medications twice a day, but he has not had a seizure since he came to RAGOM last August.

Brody is pretty laid back – 7 years old

He reminds me so much of Rosie. But he is definitely male and big with a noble head.

they worked out the top dog/bottom dog thing rather quickly — now they just play and sleep and follow me around – Bob too

Here is the link to Brody’s adoption advertisement click here

I have to do the updates and be honest but positive. The last update is from me, the rest are from his great former foster mom in Iowa. We do have a family interested so we may not have him long. Not sure why it took so long, but his foster in Iowa thought he might do better up here where people would not have to travel so far.

It is a huge organization over Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Iowa – also western Wisconsin. Amazing organization and close attention to where the dogs are fostered or adopted – very strict!

We thought it would be nice to have another dog, but we did not think we could really commit to a “forever home” for another Golden, so this gives us some excitement and fun. He fit in right away!

dollar bill

Bob’s brand new navy cardigan

yogurt container

mail

unstuffing pillows

the play stance

Garrison Keillor’s daily Writer’s Almanac puts a poem in my in box every day.  This was perfect for the Solstice.

The Bee Carol
by Carol Ann Duffy

Listen Online

Silently on Christmas Eve,
the turn of midnight’s key;
all the garden locked in ice —
a silver frieze —
except the winter cluster of the bees.

Flightless now and shivering,
around their Queen they cling;
every bee a gift of heat;
she will not freeze
within the winter cluster of the bees.

Bring me for my Christmas gift
a single golden jar;
let me taste the sweetness there,
but honey leave
to feed the winter cluster of the bees.

Come with me on Christmas Eve
to see the silent hive —
trembling stars cloistered above —
and then believe,
bless the winter cluster of the bees.
“The Bee Carol” by Carol Ann Duffy from The Bees. © Faber & Faber, Inc., 2011. Reprinted with permission.

two pounds of honey from different times in the season – both really good! Bob did it all this year by himself!

Sent from our mentor and teacher Robert Sitko, Master Beekeeper

The following from “The World Of Beekeeping”

“I hadn’t been out to the hives before, so to start off she gave me a lesson in what she called ‘bee yard etiquette’. She reminded me that the world was really one bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places. Don’t be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don’t be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don’t swat. Don’t even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while whistling melts a bee’s temper. Act like you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved.”

― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

Great words of advice that Sue Monk Kidd gives in “The Secret Life of Bees.” To me, it really speaks of the confidence you build, both while beekeeping and away from the hives when you start your first hive.

Because, in the beginning, bees can sound scary. Especially getting face to face with literally tens of thousands of potentially stinging bees. Just the thought of that can get your palms sweaty and your heart racing.

But as soon as you muster up the courage to just do it, you quickly realize that there’s very little to fear, particularly if you are wearing your suit, veil and gloves.

And you start to realize that the the anger, fear, or reactionary measures like swatting at bees can get reflected right back at you by the hive.

Bees are like an emotional mirror. Act scared, and your bees will buzz, and jitter in anticipation. Exhibit anger, and you may find yourself with bees bouncing off your suit as if trying to “shoulder check” you. Swat at them, and prepare to get swatted right back.

However, if you come in with confidence and calm, you’ll find that more often than not, that is given back to you from your hive with happy, calm, pleasant bees who enjoy your company.

And this “emotional mirror” of your bees can help you in your own life. You get to practice being in a calm, confident, and almost meditative like state when you’re tending to your bees. The more you do this, the more this calm, confident state of being starts to show up outside of beekeeping, and in your every day interactions with life.

I took this photo last spring – pollen sacs on the legs.

 The light pollen is probably from basswood, early blooming

at the library. I am hooked.

This is my coloring creation… and the flyer I created.

I guess it is getting popular and the reasons are not really artistic… It is a meditative experience, very calm and peaceful. Someone wrote that it is an analog experience after all the screens we gaze into all day.

Bob and I met Todd and Ann Marie at the Dells house – each driving 3 hours — a great idea – we will do it again. Thank you to Jerry and Myrna for keeping the house — and in such beautiful condition.

We buried George’s ashes in the same place as Freddie’s body and Rosie’s ashes. Todd and Ann Marie came too. It was sad. We still miss that good dog. Photo by Todd.

Bob dug the hole and we both participated — Jonesy was interested. He was on the leash the whole time, but did not seem to mind – used to it. Todd and Ann Marie met him for the first time — Todd emailed that Jonesy was a hoot. That’s a good way to put it. Latest guesses about ancestry — English pointer, beagle and some kind of pointer, hound mix, and DNA results: – dachshund, Miniature Pinscher, Husky, Yorkshire Terrier mix!!

Then on to The Cubs game at Monk’s at the Wilderness — full of Cub fans — at this point, looking back, they had a very good run and we can really say — maybe next year. “Cubtober” sweatshirts from Ann Marie a couple of years ago —

We all had bacon cheeseburgers – Monk’s specialty! Oh, and cheese curds.