Penelope's Grand Adventure

I am going to start from the beginning  in order for you to get the full picture - so please bear with me!

Today was the first day of my Vacation. I woke at 04:00 I headed out for some relaxation with my .35cal rifle as today was the first day of deer season for me. I settled into my tree stand while watching the sun rise and the forest started to come alive with the sounds of birds and other small critters. Shortly after 08:00 I was surprised to see a large doe stand up from her bedding area off to my right. She took a few steps into an opening and I took my shot. She immediately laid back down and I figured I would wait before I climbed down and seeing that she went right down I decided there was no need to take another shot.

Fast forward 5 minutes and my decision not to shoot again would begin replaying over and over in my mind. You guessed it, she stood back up and began to walk away. It was at this point I realized I never cycled my gun and as soon as I did she made for the hills. Turns out I missed her - when the gun went off she decided to lay down to wait and see what all the commotion was. When I finally got down to see if there was any sign of blood or hair she must have finally decided to head from the hills to the next county and almost ran Seth over in the process. I took some time to survey the area from where I originally shot to where I last saw her just to be sure.

As you can imagine I was quite upset and decided to call it a morning and headed home. At 10:00 I headed to the gun range to see if there was something wrong with my gun and was both happy and sad that it still was shooting tight groups at both 50 and 100 yards. I packed up my things and headed back home.

Once home I needed something to distract me from beating myself up over missing a deer and the 3 cords of wood in the side yard waiting to be split was just the cure. Before I knew it I had almost an entire cord split and decided that I would go sit on the other side of the farm for evening stand. I put back on my hunting pants, kissed the family and before I knew it I was back in the woods and despite the morning events I was grateful that I had the day off to get some much needed rest and relaxation.

The afternoon went by in a flash and at 16:35 I climbed down from my tree stand and headed for the truck.
As I got closer to my truck I saw something moving under it. I quickened my pace and when I was within 30 feet of the truck I was greeted with much joy and song by Penelope!

Who is Penelope you may ask...She is a Chicken! I began looking around to see if there were any others because at this point I didn't realize she was one of my chickens. I reached the truck and she came running out from under my truck clucking as if to say "Hey - I know you, are you surprised?" I looked down and saw the purple leg band and realized that it was one of the girls from our newer flock.

It seems that while I was splitting wood she found that my engine compartment was warm and cozy and roosted in it for an afternoon nap. I am still amazed that she was able to hang in there for the 16 mile ride from our house to the farm. I can only imagine what was going through her little bird brain as we went down dirt roads to paved roads and then down Rt.191 before turning into the field at the farm. It's a good thing I decided to hunt where I did because I considered hunting the upper portion of the property which would have meant a trip across the river where she more than likely would have been swept away!

I am glad it was dark out on the ride home because I'm sure there would have been lots of strange looks if people realized I was driving with a chicken roosting on my leg!

Hopefully this is the last time she will hide out in the undercarriage of my vehicle but if she ever does it again and survives at least I will have another great story to tell you all about and hopefully put as big a smile on your face as I have on mine!

The Pitter Patter of Paint Brushes

So the last time I had a chance to post I was just starting to spruce up the house with the plethora of paint I purchased. I am happy to say I made some serious progress this week after taking a vacation day and the aid of my GWOC (guaranteed weekend off call.) I took lots of pictures throughout the progression but decided that I can't stand pictures were everything is disorganized so I am posting the pictures I took after Rebecca started cleaning up after me. I have to say my hatred of painting was renewed during this project although I now realize I don't mind painting the walls its the doors and trim that make me grumpy. Thankfully my wife is an amazing woman who is not only my helper in every step of life but also is a great painter of trim and turned this weekend into a success. I was able to put up most of the corner trim which really added a great touch to the walls and will hopefully protect the corners from me, the kids and our dog Navarre. I now only have the Master Bedroom, the kids bathroom and the ceilings left and if all goes as planned I will be finished by Thanksgiving.

 View of the hallway and back dining area wall.

 Entrance way and front wall

 Another view of the hallway corner trim

 Facing the kitchen breakfast bar

View into the kitchen and laundry areas

 Kitchen overhang accent

 Ariel's room with new furniture

 Ariel chilling out in her messy room :)

Weekend Bliss

It was a relaxing Saturday, after sleeping in late I whipped up a hearty meal which can be read about on my food blog - Food Lovers Delights. After cuddling with my wife and watching some racing on television we decided to head out to pick up some odds and ends at the store and sit down for dinner at one of our favorite sushi restaurants - Tokyo.This time dinner would be different, we decided to go for Hibachi rather than our usual meal of sushi. The price for a meal may seem a little high but when you consider that you get a soup, salad, fried rice, vegetables and the meats of your choice cooked right before your eyes its a reasonable price. Hibachi outings end up being more like dinner and a show, especially if you have an entertaining chef, which we did! We had another group of people seated with us which can be awkward if your not sociable but in our case they were an outgoing and friendly group much like us. Everything was excellent and we all enjoyed the experience as much as we did the food.

After dinner we decided to go to the movie theater to watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.The kids have read the books and as a family we have enjoyed the other 2 movies as rentals.It's not often that I desire to go to a theater to watch a movie but I knew this would be a good experience and fun as a family. The movie was a hit and it felt good to laugh throughout the entire evening.

After dinner we went out for ice cream at Friendly's  and unlike in the movie, we all got our very own. Because seriously, who likes to share their ice cream! 

I am grateful to have had such an amazing week with my family and that we were blessed with the ability to do so many different activities. While I am not particularly excited to be going back to work Monday I am extremely thankful to have a job that provides all the needs and wants for my family. Another great day comes to an end but hopefully there is another adventure awaiting us tomorrow!

A day on the Island

Growing up I spent countless summer weekends camping at Fort Getty Campground on Jamestown Island, RI. The days were spent fishing, snorkeling, exploring the salt marsh, swimming, hiking and exploring the old fort. While the fort openings have been back filled due to liability concerns, all the other activities are still alive and well. Just as I loved spending time here my wife and kids have also grown to enjoy my childhood hideaway. While I had no intentions of camping this week for $20 you can obtain a daily parking pass and enjoy everything the camp ground has to offer including real bathrooms and hot showers! So today we awoke with the sun packed the cooler and headed for the ocean. Of course my first order of business was to set up a seat on the pier and catch some fish. When I was younger the fish seemed endless but over the years their numbers faded to what felt like only an occasional nibble. It is with great joy that I report the fish have returned and are more than willing to keep a boy occupied for quite some time! This morning I caught several different species of fish and saw even more at the end of my line despite failing to land them or take a photograph of them. After a day of fishing I made a hot dinner with my table top grill then enjoyed swimming and then explored the inlet to the marsh with Alex as the tide was making its way back in. I am so glad that my family enjoys the ocean and never complain while we are at the shore as they are either exploring, swimming or just relaxing in the warm salty breeze. It's good to be me!

 One of approximately 100 Skip Jacks (baby blue fish) that I caught today.

 A big old skate that had me excited thinking I was eating flounder tonight

Ya, I'm happy catching skates - It's much better than working! 

 A baby Black Sea Bass

 Alex waiting patiently for his Hamburger to finish cooking

 Rebecca keeping everything tidy for us messy kids

 My beautiful daughter being embarrassed by Daddy

 The view of the Jamestown bridge 

 Our swimming hole

 Enjoying his san pellegrino limonata!

 One of the islands historic windmills

 The view from the new bridge

Still smiling because vacation isn't over quite yet! 

Putt, Putt, Go Carts and Baseball Oh My!

Tonight after a hearty dinner of Flaming Johns (Fillet Mignon) we took a trip to Sonny's Place for our annual vacation stop. Tonight we started with a round of miniature golf followed by Go-Cart racing then a round in the batting cages and of course we finished the night off with some ice cream. It was a great night that we won't soon forget!

 Me Celebrating after a hole in one on the 13th hole!

The British are coming...

Yesterday we took a family trip to Boston and walked the Freedom Trail. I am actually ashamed that despite living in New England as long as I have that I have never taken the time to do this until now. We started at the far end below Bunker Hill and took the guided tour of the USS Constitution.

Upon departing the ship we worked our way through the USS Constitution Museum which we could have dedicated much more time to but wanted to complete the entire walk today. We decided to take in the Bunker Hill museum during a future trip and instead made our way into the city and our first historic site was the Copp's Hill Burial Ground.

 From there we made our way into the North End of Boston and stopped at the Old North Church - I was a little distracted and didn't take any pictures until I was right below the church. It's amazing that so much of our countries history has been preserved.

From here we made our way down through the memorial mall area where there was a woman playing an armonica which was an unexpected treat.

It was a short walk through the Italian Section of Boston (which I especially enjoyed) until we arrived at Paul Revere's House. I was intrigued with the cobble stone on the street level as well as the fact that this really was the house that Paul lived in.

We then made our way down towards the area we are most familiar with in the city and stopped for some local pizza before continuing on to Faneuil Hall. We took a break from the history lesson and wandered around Quincy Market where Alex was taunted with the sight of dry aging beef - Even I must admit I had a sudden desire to eat prime rib!

And of course we couldn't continue on without a picture of the beloved Samuel Adams! 

We then made our way into the heart of the city and stood where the Boston Massacre took place in front of the Old State House. Once again everyone was amazed at the little old building nestled in between all the skyscrapers.  We continued on past the Old South Meeting House and Corner Bookstore and finally stopped to rest at Benjamin Franklin's statue at the Site of the Boston Latin School 

We worked our way down the street past King's Chapel and entered the Burying Grounds where we slowly worked our way around reading the head stones tomb markers.

We finished the walk passing by the Park Street Church and the Massachusetts State House. On our way back to the Naval yard we stopped at the Holocaust Memorial because I feel it deserves recognition when we are learning about the honor of freedom.

As we made our way back to the truck we stepped off the beaten path and checked out some of the local shops which included ethnic groceries and pastry shops. It was a great day together as a family and I think the kids enjoyed the experience as much and Rebecca and I did. As we made our way over the Charlestown Bridge Alex posed for a picture in front of the TD Garden and the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. Needless to say Rebecca didn't enjoy this moment in our trip as the bridge was nothing more than grates which allowed you to look down into the churning waters below but Alex still managed to make us all smile with his antics. Ariel and I joined in on the fun too - This is a free country after all!