Bird Knocker - 229/365

We've been hearing a light tap on our windows recently. Here, it is a tiny yellow finch. I don't know what he wants but he comes everyday. I fianally caught a picture of him. He sits on the little window divider. He's stripping the pain off, too. Weird bird!

Reagan had gymnastics today. She is doing so great! She's a little mad that she has two teachers this summer. It's just because the classes are bigger. She just misses Miss Mandy. 

Little knocker

The gymnastics girls

Little gymnast.

Beach Day - 156/365

It was another gorgeous day! 

There is some rain in the forcast, a tropical storm actually, for Friday, so we wanted to take full advantage of the nice weather. Jake, Adrienne and the kids went down to Jockey's ridge to play on the sand dunes. We did that couple years ago, so Greg, Nikki, Jim and I decided to try out the nature trail by the house. It was a really nice walk down to the sound through the forest. The trail opened up to this beautiful area overlooking the water. We saw an egret, beaver, salamander, frog, and lots of pretty dragonflies. It was really neat. On the way back, we noticed there was another path that you could take, but it was more traditional woods hiking. We decided to check that one out, too. Jim, Reagan and I made it all the way to the end. It was kind of anti-climatic. It pretty much ended in a mud pit overlooking the sound. We did see lots of wild horse tracks and horse poop. No horses though, LOL! We headed out of the woods and realized Reagan had fallen asleep on our little adventure. We decided we would walk down to where the road ends and where the horses are, to stroll on the beach for a little while she snoozed. We had a nice walk, but still didn't see any horses. We did see a GIGANTIC dead sting ray. YUCK! People were actually stopping their cars on the beach to check it out. 

After our walk, we got changed and camped on the beach the rest of the afternoon. It was wonderful! We built sandcastles, dug big holes, and did some boogie board surfing. The kids had so much fun! After our day at the beach, Greg and Nikki headed out to do their horse tour. They ended up having the same guide as we did, it was funny. Adrienne, Jake and the kids decided to stay and hang around the house. Jim, Reagan and I hit the town to look for some dinner. We ended up at a place called The Tomato Patch. They had the most delicious pizza. Reagan had some mac n cheese with goldfish crackers on top. She couldn't have been more thrilled! 

We got back and put Reagan to bed. By that time, Jim's mom and dad were back and we sat with them, had a drink and watched some more of their Italy video. Nice way to cap off the day! The photo of the day the sound at the end of the path....

The next is the girls doing their "surfing"....

 

Beautiful Begonias - 135/365

It was a beautiful day! 

It sprinkled a bit in the morning, but by the afternoon it was blue skies and 80 degrees! 

I was so excited, because, I got my first begonia flats today. My mom went greenhouse hopping yesterday, and picked me up, 4 flats of my red begonias! Thanks, MOM! 

I love the red and use them as boarders in three of my mulch beds. I just love seeing the bright pop of color when I come home from somewhere. It makes me happy! I can't wait to get them in the ground! YAY!

When she got here, my mom, Reagan and I were going to hit the trail. As we were ready to leave, it started to rain, so we decided just to have lunch first. We headed off to LaRocca's in Poland. We love their huge tossed salads. When we left lunch, it was sunny, so we ended up getting our walk in!

 When we got back, Nana sat with Reagan so I could mow. It took awhile, but it was nice to see the yard freshly cut, with fresh mulch. It looks great! 

Jimmy got home and took Reagan and Brinkley to the farm, while I got cleaned up and started dinner. After dinner, we walked down and fed the fish at the pond. 

It was a great day! 

The photo of the day is my new begonias....thanks Mom!

  

Great Outdoors - 117/365

What a gorgeous day! We took full advantage of it, too! 

Jim, Reagan, Brinkley and I, started with a stroll on the Kirk to Herbert trail, where we saw an ENORMOUS snake! He stretched almost across 3/4 of the pathway, it was crazy! We got up close and he actually started shaking his tail like a rattler, it was bizarre. We have no idea what kind he was, but he was BIG! 

After the trail, we went straight over to the daffodil meadow in Mill Creek Park. I have taken Reagan there three Springs in a row now, she loves it! It was in full bloom and just beautiful! We got some adorable pictures of Brinkley and Reagan in the flowers. We walked down to the water's edge to look at the geese and we kept seeing fish leap out of the water. It was so strange! 

From there, we headed into the park looking for somewhere else to explore. We ended up parking at Pioneer Pavilion and walked along the path there. It was a really pretty path up above the water. There was a small "cave" along the way that Reagan enjoyed seeing. We followed the path which lead into an open field. We had fun running through there. There was a flat place by the water in the field, so we stopped to check out the creek. I walked out to the middle on some big rocks and Reagan kept saying "mama get out water!" LOL! 

By this time, it was time to head home for lunch and naps. We were all worn out! After naps, we played sidewalk chalk and had some dinner. What a perfect day! 

The photo of the day is Reagan and Brinkley in the "cave"....

Here is the BIG snake....

 

Gray Day - 114/365

It was an UGLY day!

 It started with rain and ended with rain. The skies were gray and it was pretty chilly. Reagan and I were planning on hitting the mall for a few more beach items, but decided that staying home in pajamas, was going to be way more fun! I did a two loads of laundry and we hung out in the playroom. We had a good time! Reagan would get up on her stool every once in awhile, look out the window and say "Oh NO, it's raining!" 

She actually woke up all worried about her toilet paper roll bird feeders. She stood at the patio door and said "Oh no, mine bird seed get wet! It get ruined!" She would NOT leave the back door, so I eventually scooped her up and took her out to the closest one to show her they were fine. 

Brinkley was awful bored today, too. He loves to be outside or walking the trail, so he looked pretty bummed. He just laid on the floor looking pitiful all day.

This evening we went over to Tippy and met Nana and Papa for  dinner before they head off to the beach in the morning! We had a great dinner just talking about all the fun we will have! Can't wait! 

 The photo of the day is Reagan looking out the window at the awful gray skies.

Had to add Brinkley, too....

Nature Day - 111/365

Jim, Reagan, Brinkley and I spent this relatively nice day in Mill Creek Park. 

It was in the mid 50's today, which compared to yesterday, we'll take! 

We started on the All People's Trail at the Ford Nature Center. I wanted to look for some wild flowers, so I could put my new lens to good use. We found a few purple ones, but I was hoping to find some unusual ones. We enjoyed our walk around the path, and Reagan enjoyed picking up all the pine cones. She started to make a little pile on a bench along the path. LOL! Brinkley enjoyed getting a little "off leash" time because there was no one around. 

Since our wild flower quest was a bust, we walked across the street the the paved walking path that runs above Lake Cohasset. We went about a mile when we heard what we thought were gunshots! YIKES! A few minutes later we heard a ton of sirens. I checked the news this evening and there was nothing, so who knows what it really was. It was a bit spooky at the time though. 

We got back to the car, and went over to the Lake Newport Wetlands. There is a huge field across from the parking lot before you take the path to the boardwalk. There had to be about 30 geese in the field, and of course, all eyes were on them as we were walking. I did a double take, and sure enough, there was a fox just chilling out in the field. I tried to walk as slow as possible and got pretty close before he even noticed me. But by the time I got my camera to my eye, he turned and ran. He was so cool to see though. We continued on and walked all along the boardwalk. Reagan was disappointed she didn't see any fish. She was thrilled with the amount of geese though. 

We got home and I was getting ready to start dinner when one of our pantry shelves collapsed. Ay, yi, yi. Hopefully, it's a quick fix. We shall see. To be continued.... 

The photo of the day is Reagan's collection of pine cones...

The extra photo is just a random hug, Reagan gave Brinkley at the wetlands, with an inserted picture of the fox running away. 

 

Growing Grass - 107/365

I noticed today that the grass suddenly shot up, almost overnight. 

My mom and I had done our walk this morning and ran a few errands. We finished up pretty early so she said, if I wanted to cut the grass real quick, she would play with Reagan. There is a chance of rain the next couple days, so I took her up on her offer. It went pretty fast, only around 50 minutes, which is pretty good time! I just buzzed around listening to Lady Antebellum. Reagan and Nana were in the back waving while I was zipping by...LOL! I'm so happy to be back in the great outdoors and I really do like mowing! Now, just bring on the flowers!! 

The photo of the day is Brinkley on the mower. He's going to try to take credit for the mowing...but I did do it...LOL!

Worth noting today, Brinkley got a his very own Mickey Mouse! We were at PetSmart picking up some stuff for the various pets and they had a whole display of Disney dog toys. We couldn't pass that up! He loves it!

 

Day in the Outdoors - 104/365

It was a nice sunny day today! 

The temps were supposed to be in the mid 60's, but I don't think they quite got that high. It was still nice though! 

 Jim and Greg ended up taking advantage of the nice weather and hit the links at Candywood! It was Jim's first time out in almost a year. He was dealing with a herniated disc all last year, which kept him from playing. He played once in May last year and that was it. He said he felt like he had to relearn how to play...LOL!  Jim said he squeaked out a couple pars, which made him happy. Greg played really well, too! I guess his back is a little sore but doing OK. Hopefully he is able to get out more this year. 

 While he was out hitting the links, Reagan, Nana, Brinkley, Ray, Jen, Dexter and I, all hit the walking trail. We did Kirk to Herbert. We just love that trail and when you have a lot of people, the nearly 4 miles flies by! It was so nice to get out and chit chat with Ray and Jen. Reagan is always excited to see Dexter, too!

 Another fun thing that happened today, was my new 105mm macro lens finally came in! My mom picked it up from YM yesterday and brought it over today! YAY! Perfect timing for Spring flowers and the beach! We don't have any flowers blooming in our yard yet, and I was dying to try it out. I ended up slicing a lemon and put it down in Sprite to get some bubbles! LOL! It turned out pretty good! I LOVE the lens and can't wait to experiment more! 

There are three photos for today... the first photo is the lemon....

The second is all the "britts" at the trail...

And last, but not least...Jimmy and Greg hitting the links!

   

Magnolia Blossom - 103/365

I was hoping to be able to photograph the Northern Lights tonight, but it really did sound to good to be true.

 I "liked" an astronomy page on Facebook, that is giving updates on the possible time it will happen, if at all. It's not looking good because the "BZ is not going negative." Whatever that means...LOL! 

Anyway, today was just a regular day. It was kinda ugly and a little cooler. Jim, Reagan, Brinkley and I did get a walk in. We did the Kirk to Herbert trail which is around 4 miles. Other than that, we just played around the house and took naps...LOL! 

Jim's mom and dad stopped over so we could film a "hello" to Guarino. They are taking a trip to Italy to visit some relatives over there, and wanted the family that's not traveling, to say hello on a video. Jim did really well with his Italian! Better than I could have done! 

It didn't look too much like Spring today, but one thing that always makes me happy is when my Magnolia trees start to bloom. The buds really grew over the last couple days and the flowers are starting to open. They are so pretty and smell amazing! 

 The photo of the day (for now) is a Magnolia blossom....maybe changing to Northern Lights, but pretty doubtful...LOL!!

 

Budding Buds! - 95/365

I was struggling to find something to photograph today, nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary was going on. I ran some errands this morning with my mom and Jim's mom was hanging out with Reagan. It was just a regular day. Jim, Reagan, Brinkley and I were standing in the driveway getting ready to stroll around the neighborhood and I was telling him, "it's 5:30 and I still don't have a picture". As we were walking down the driveway, I happened to glance over at our tree in the side yard. I squealed, "Oh look! It's finally budding!" I get so excited to see the red tint on the trees when the buds are starting to come out. That's a sure sign we made it, and summer is on the way! YAY! We'll there you have it, the budding tree is my photo of the day! 

One different thing that did happen today, that I now wish, I would have taken a picture of is Buckley! My mom and I stopped at the Dutch Hause for lunch. When I was getting out of the car, the car next to us had a beautiful Golden Retriever in the back seat. The windows were down so I said "Beautfiul golden, they are just fantastic dogs!" She said, "He's not mine, I found him running in the street. I don't know what to do." He looked well taken care of and had an invisible fence collar on. She was meeting someone for lunch that said he would help her. We wished her luck and said we would keep our fingers crossed. We were eating lunch and suddenly, the lady walked over and said they found his home. There was a vet's office near by, so the vet scanned him for a microchip and thankfully he had one! His owner was on the way to get him! His name was Buckley and he was precious!
We were so thankful for a happy ending!

 

Covered Crocus - 84/365

It's almost Easter AND it's almost April but we were under yet another Winter Weather Advisory today! We woke up to snow covered everything and most of the schools were closed. It was cold, but not cold for a winter storm, so my mom, Reagan and I went out to play in the snow! 

We headed down to Mill Creek Park near the Daffodil meadow to see if any Crocus were popping up amongst the snow. We saw so many beautiful ones last year in that same spot but no such luck. We then headed down to the Lily Pond to check out some ducks. We took a nice stroll around the whole pond and saw a bunch of geese. They seemed really friendly today. There were two that literally "followed" us around the whole pond. They would come up right to the water's edge and just look at us. Reagan was in HEAVEN! She kept saying "What dat duck doin?" and "That duck see Reagan!" We finished up there and headed to Fellows Riverside Garden. We wanted to walk around the garden and hoped to check out the nature photography exhibit. We forgot they were closed on Monday, so we never got to see the photography, but we had a great walk around the garden. They have the nice brick path now and it was all cleared off. Reagan was having a ball bouncing in the slush piles. She stomped every slush ball she could find! 

We ended our afternoon at Gia's for some soup and salad to warm up. What a great little adventure we had trying to make the best of hopefully the LAST SNOW STORM of the winter!

 The photo of the day is a Crocus we did find peeking through the snow....

 

Snowy Spring - 79/365

It's the first day of Spring!

Although, you wouldn't know it here in Ohio. It was only around 30 degrees most of the day with scattered snow showers. Around 5 o'clock this evening a pretty good squall came through that actually left a dusting of snow on the grass and mulch. The low tonight is only supposed to be 17 degrees and we could get an inch of snow! Cuyahoga County is expected to get between 4-8 inches.... What!? 

The other day, I noticed that my Irises are already starting to come up. They are probably ready to turn back around and head back in to hibernation...LOL! I hope they don't get destroyed in this crazy weather. They are my favorite in the Spring! 

 They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb...I think the lion is getting some overtime pay. Yuck! Hurry SUMMER! 

 Today's photo is my poor Irises peeking up from the ground surrounded by the awful snow....

 

Ice Storm - 77/365

It's March 18th and yes, we were under a Winter Storm Warning until 4 o'clock this afternoon. Are you freaking kidding!? Late last night I checked the weather channel app on my phone and was disgusted to see we were under a winter weather advisory. It was calling for snow and ice mix.
We woke up this morning to ice tinking on the window. I looked out to see big snowflakes mixed with ice balls. Wonderful! I re-checked the app and was shocked to see the blazing red bar showing now, a winter storm warning! The roads looked to be a mess but thankfully, Jim had no problems getting to work. He said once he got on the main roads, everything seemed O.K. Around 11:30 we headed out to run some errands. Parking lots were a mess but the roads were still fine.
It was kinda pretty seeing the trees all covered in ice. They had a beautiful sparkle to them, but that was enough. I'm just done with the winter, as I'm sure, all my Ohio friends are! I'm ready for begonias, sunshine and green grass! Come on Spring!
The photo of the day is an icy branch on our Dogwood tree...