found the camera

I was a little nervous that I misplaced my camera and I would not be able to share scenes of my life with you. Then I found it.


Here is my first tree!!! The last two years I wanted to setup a tree and decorate for Christmas but I was moving and did not have the time. This year I did not have to move and have been able to enjoy the holiday's at my own house. Thank you Gayle for the tree, it looks great after I put the puzzle together. Take special note of the angel on the top -- this makes the tree complete. The tree skirt has a picture of Santa Clause which I am sure Mom would enjoy.


the outside of the house got some decorations too. It isn't a lot but the candles in the windows does help to spruce up the house for the holidays.

Merry Christmas!!!

PS. The snowmobile has been out and it is great to ride again.

Now this is Christmas

OK I know this is the start of a famous song, and I hope the tune is now trapped in your head. This last weekend we had our annual deer hunting, last night it snowed ~4", and my FIRST Christmas trip is up so NOW IS THE CHRISTMAS TIME OF YEAR.

The deer hunting was a successful trip again. Five of the 8 hunters got deer. Two members got their FIRST deer. It was a lot of fun even though it was COLD!

Last night it was snowing, making a PERFECT night for putting up Christmas decorations. There will be pictures to come. In the mean time just imagine/guess how a bachelor would decorate his house!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas before Thanksgiving

Last night put me in the mood for Christmas! Algona has a great annual tradition of "living store fronts". During this annual event the people of town get together on main street to see the local clubs put on Christmas scenes in the store front windows. This also included a glee club going store to store and singing carols. Down main street there were carriage rides behind two beautiful Clydesdale horses.

Needless to say this event along with our recent drop in temperature and covering of snow has put the Christmas spirit in me! This week I will get to celebrate Thanksgiving a couple of times with the family and take some time off of work. MAN I LOVE THE WINTER HOLIDAYS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!!!

Bob has multiplied!!!

IT IS A MIRACLE. Bob has multiplied! When I got home after a day of sleet and rain I found that Bob could not hold himself together (the small pile on the left). But in his place there are now two little ones and another big snowman/woman. This new snow person came complete with a face. Not sure how to identify the sex of the snow person so I will just call it Fred and the two little ones.

I can't say for sure who made these creations, but there are tracks leading directly to the neighbors house. Ahhh the fun of winter has STARTED!

LET IT SNOW!!

November 7th -- and it snows. It was a surprising snow because no one was expecting it to actually accumulate but after snowing all day and the temperature dropping to the upper 20s WE HAVE SNOW. Below is a look at the back door at 6:30 AM on Saturday.



Though most people are not wanting the cold yet, I decided to enjoy it. Check out my creation! I think I will call him Bob.


Bob -- Do you want to go fishing??? Maybe not, but next year I might try to get the boat winterized and covered a little earlier.

Can't wait for winter

As much as I love summer and fall I also LOVE winter. Right now is a busy time because harvest is going on and the daylight is getting shorter and shorter. To take advantage of the nice weather I finally finished some projects around the house.



Check out the new fire pit. The previous owners left me a pile of bricks which I used to create a nice fire pit to sit around and enjoy the warmth of a fire in the coming cold weather. It is also nice that it is near the camper so if anyone wants to crash at the house I can say I have a stocked and ready "guest" camper (besides the three empty beds). So come on over.



Here is a close-up of my mastery of masonry work. I am pretty proud of the final product considering it was made out of left-overs. I can't wait to fire it up!



Is it time to play yet! That is all I hear when I walk or drive into my garage. These toys are now cleaned and ready to rock. I know I should not be asking for snow yet, but I can't help it. I WANT SNOW - DRIFTS - ICE - etc......

The warm days are coming to a close

Sad to say that the warm months are coming to an end. That means it is time to make sure everything is winterized, seeds collected, and that you enjoy whatever is left. Last night I spend the night cleaning and winterizing the plumbing of the camper. It is now ready for the snow to fly and the snowmobiles to come out and play!


Here is a picture of some of the last collections from my garden. The cherry tomatoes are the 5th harvest from the plant that grew in the flower bed. If it wasn't for the the neighbor asking me to keep it alive it would have been gone long ago. This Tupperware full of fresh tomatoes will make a co-workers night. (I am not a fan of tomatoes). The pile of brown stuff are seeds I collected form my moon flowers. This pile-o-seeds are what I collected from 5 seed pods. I though away about 20 more because I didn't need any more seeds. If you know of someone that would like to grow these amazing flowers that bloom at night and have a sweet scent just drop me a note and I will try to find a seed or two to spare. (the flower is pictured below).



This is the moon flower for 2008. It was a surprise to see it because I thought all the buds were used up. It is amazing how seeing the bright white color can really brighten up the day or evening as the moon flowers go! This picture was taken two days ago.