Salty Paws Continued

     The city sprayed salt on our road again today, for no discernible reason.  

     It was quite a slog to walk through the golf course this morning, so Hudson and I returned to Sidecut Park this afternoon.  Hudson was a little annoyed that I asked him to pause, but I wanted to show how nice the trails are there.  The sun came out about halfway through our stroll.

     I would guess there is an 85% chance of seeing deer on any given visit to Sidecut - no matter the time of day.  These ladies were close enough to the trail for me to get a decent photo with my little point and shoot.

Salty Paws

     We received quite a bit of unexpected snow yesterday.  That prompted the city to salt all day long, which made it almost impossible to walk Hudson in the neighborhood.  He has a wonderful coat for wet or cold weather, but he doesn't tolerate salt on his paws.

     So, we headed for Sidecut Park.  There are no paved pathways to plow or salt, and there is persistent enough foot and paw traffic to keep the snow packed on the trails.  The trees were outlined in white.  Fluffy flakes were falling.  Sounds were muffled.  The deer were gracefully setting out on their feeding at dusk.  The river is still open and was full of geese and ducks.  

The Day After

     Yesterday morning was cold and clear.  Hudson and I took a long walk around the flood plain.  The deer herd was feeding in the meadow.  A curious gal came toward us while I paused to let Hudson sniff a bit, but they all scampered off as we went to walk around them.  I know there are at least three bucks in the area, but yesterday I saw just one (barely visible to the left).

     My extended family started arriving around 11:30am, including my maternal uncle out on a day pass from a nursing home in Wauseon.  This is his very active and outgoing granddaughter Faith, who was quite pleased with the deer hat my sister knitted for her, and the magic set I gave to her brother.

     The house was quiet by 6pm and Dan, Hudson and I snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie.  Normally I would be feeling a bit lonely today, but Dan doesn't go to work until this evening and we have a snowstorm to watch.

Squirrelly Behavior

     We have many Fox squirrels in our yard.  They are fun to watch.  I used to get upset when they raided my bird feeders, but since I switched to safflower seed they are no longer interested. I don't even mind that they moved into the wood duck box I put up in the dying Ash tree by the river. 

I photographed the one above in February of 2011, basking in the sun on the back of our patio furniture.

     This morning I noticed one on the patio steps.  He was busy with something up and down the junction of the sandstone steps.  He would pause periodically and chew. There is moss there, but I've never seen a squirrel eating it in any of the other many locations around the patio.

     

Does anyone know what is behind this squirrelly behavior?

Camels!

My friend Cathy talked me into going to Westgate Chapel's "Bethlehem Experience".  I'm glad she did.  

     We heard there were camels and we heard right - not just one, but four.  There was also a burro, four or five sheep, and two goats.  All the animals were amazingly clean and quiet (except for one bleat early on from a sheep on a leash); not your average camels, burro, sheep and goats.

     "Chapel" is somewhat misleading.  The place was cavernous.  We were led to various places in the church by friendly parishioners.  The major part of the event was nine live dioramas (The Journey of the Magi is above). The only human movement I saw was the baby Jesus.  He obviously couldn't be expected to sit still, but I don't know how the other people did it for three hours each of three nights. Maybe they traded places, but I didn't see it.

About half way through, there was a reproduction of the ancient town, with plenty of opportunity to interact with the various businesses.  

At the end there was cookies and hot chocolate and yet another video encouraging people to come to services.  The event was free and not a donation receptacle in sight.

Lunch and Learn

     Yesterday Phyllis, her friend Anne LaRue, and I visited the Toledo Day Nursery's Jefferson Avenue site.  I've been a big fan of the nursery for years and it was fun to show off the place.  

We took the effort to remove our shoes so we would be allowed into the "infant" area (ages 0 to 18 months).  The kids were in the middle of lunch and were surprised to see us.

I love the low windows that allow the kids to see outside.

     The fixtures in the bathroom are just the right size for the preschoolers.  Phyllis was glad they had an adult toilet in another part of the building for her to use.

Once our tour was over we washed our hands and had lunch with the preschoolers.  They were all excited to have company.  When they had finished eating, they scraped their plates and put the dishes in pails of soapy water.  Then they quietly looked at books until everyone could join in circle time for a story before their nap.

Toledo Day Nursery is the 4th oldest daycare in the nation, founded in 1871 for children of working civil war widows.  They receive the highest accrediting awards and it's easy to see why once you visit - there is nurturing in abundance.  I hope they stay in business for another 140 years.

Hanukkah Gone Awry!

Hudson was in (not so) fine form last night at the Dessner's.  

While presents were being distributed, he pounced on the appetizer tray.

This did not go over well.

As if that wasn't bad enough, he decided he wanted Fin's dog toy present.

Fin thought it was okay to let him play with it for a while (what a nice dog host).

Eventually, the furry, squeakiness was too much for Hudson.  For the safety of all, the beast needed to be extinguished.  This took some time and energy.  Fin started to wonder if he might want that toy after all.

On second thought, it looks like Hudson was much more interesting.  

The two parties decided there were no hard feelings, although Hudson's mom is going to make him buy Fin another toy!

All ended well with a delicious dinner.   

Susan and Dan raise a toast of a latke and a dreidel in wishing a Happy Hanukkah to everyone!

Christmas Tradition

It was time today for our annual visit to the Whitehouse Christmas Tree Farm.

A pen with goats was a new addition this year.  Hudson had never seen one before.  The goats acted like they had never seen a dog before, either.

We love Frasier firs.  The proprietor, Duke Wheeler, sent us on quite a walk in search of a fresh one.

Dan said this tree "spoke to him".
Hudson liked it, too.

We each had a complimentary hot dog while we waited for our tree to be brought up to the work area.  Here it is being jiggled. 

We could have sat by the fire, but there were too many small children nearby with hot dogs in hand - easy pickings for a bold wiry terrier. 

Santa wasn't working too hard, but the young men loading trees were.

Our little tree is up in the sun room now and the house smells lovely. 

We'll decorate some other time;that was enough adventure for today.