Bad Jez!

Look how cute. Jez basking in front of the fireplace. Head resting on her frog. The picture of innocence...NOT! This picture was taken yesterday.

Today is a different story. Let me preface this blog entry with a little background info. I have never owned a cat before Jez. My talents are in dog training not cat training. I know people say it can be done, but a cat is never truly trained. It is just humoring you for the moment. So, as you have probably figured out, Jez does what Jez wants.

Now on with the story. When I came home today I heated up some pizza in the toaster oven. I set the tray with a few cheese crumbs on the counter. I headed into the computer room. Some time later I hear the little "scritch, scritch" of a cat tongue licking. I assume she is licking the cheese off of the tray I left on the counter. I shake my head and ignore it. For you people saying "Eew, that is disgusting. She lets her cat lick off of a dish they eat on". I say, whatever. First of all, I do wash my dishes and second, with a cat like Jez you pick your battles.

When I go to put my plate on the kitchen counter I plan to remove the culprit. However, as I round the corner with a smirk on my face I discover my grave mistake. I have forgotten that I took the venison out of the refrigerator to thaw a little faster. The scene the lays before me is Jez sitting on the plate that the venison was on. She has pushed the venison onto the counter and is chewing through the plastic and eating what she can reach.

I scream "JEZ!" She looks at me like "What? You have lived with me for 15 years, don't act like this is the first time I have done this. Now, turn around and just walk away." I proceed to manually shoo her from the counter. Mistake number 2. After she jumps down I realize she has venison juice on her paws from sitting on the plate the venison was thawing on. Now I am screaming, "wait, wait". She is like, "yeah, right. I told you to just walk away, so now you will pay." I grab a rag and chase her down just as she reaches the carpet. I try to wipe her feet. Meows, snarls and hisses ensue. Good enough I figure after a brief wipe of each paw.

The next photo displays the damage.

Not too bad. Still have enough for dinner. Now you can say "EEW!" Like Jez said, this isn't the first time we have eaten her leftovers.
Aren't pets great?

What have we been up to?

It hasn't been too exciting, but here it is...

Went to Eldorado Wildlife Area for hike. We ended up taking a path less traveled. In fact, there wasn't a path at all, but there were a lot of mosquitoes

We saw a frog. I hope he got his fill of mosquitoes for dinner.

We has some crazy summer storms. Lots of hail, wind and rain.

Went to my nephews graduation party.

Had a Bear's fan over for the Packer game.

Went to see some fall colors.

Went to Cathy's(Mike's mom) retirement party.

42 years with the state.

Mike in action at the retirement party. Keeping everyone entertained.

Shoveling lots of snow.

Shoveling again after the plow came through.

I don't know why I am smiling.

So, that is what we have been doing.

Up Nort'

We took a few days to go camping in the north woods. The Apostle Islands north of Bayfield was our destination, but we made a stop on the way.

The Dells of Eau Claire. It is not near Wisconsin Dells or Eau Claire.

I know, what?

It is a nice place to take a hike and that is exactly what we did the first day.

"Ok kids, now run off and play. Mom and dad will be over here drinking beer."

Yeah, it is probably good we don't have any kids, eh?

This is his favorite "I am one with nature" pose.

The bridge to the Emerald Forest...or just a bridge into the woods.
You can choose your own adventure.


Um...this is odd, but cool.

Would this be a "dangerous natural feature"?

"Hon, you grab the inner tubes and I will grab the kids. There has to be a photo op in here somewhere."

This hardly looked like rock. It was so rounded off and smooth.

Pretty amazing.

First night of camp. We stayed over in Merrill, WI. It was a nice state park.

We were waiting for the rangers to come by and collect the camping fee, but they kept driving by. We figured the state park sticker we have must get us free camping since they never stopped.

Cooking with fire!

A little rustic, a little dangerous, but oh so good.

See what I mean. In the words of Rachel Ray...Yummo!

Venison steak (of course), sweet potatoes and a good bottle of wine.

What more do you need? S'mores? Yeah, we did that later.

Camp in Bayfield.

This was a private campground, and it was NOT free like the state park. In fact, we never paid that much for a tent site, ever. What are you going to do? There wasn't much to choose from as far as campgrounds go in that area.

Bayfield sure is pretty though.

This was taken on the ferry over to Madeline Island.

This is from the dock looking up the main street in Bayfield.

It is such a quaint little town.

That is Madeline Island behind us.

There you have it folks. The farthest north you can go in WI.

It was a long drive, but worth the trip.

The sea kayaking over along the western shoreline was awesome. If you want to see it, you have to go yourself. We were not taking our new expensive camera in the kayak with us.

My Favorite Swimming Hole

We all have that place we went swimming as kids. A place that holds many fond memories from our childhood into our adult years. Well, that place is Red Granite Quarry in Red Granite, WI for me. I swam, I climbed rocks, I jumped off cliffs, I even got certified as a SCUBA diver in that quarry.

I wish the pictures did the place justice, but you will have to believe me when I tell you it is an awesome place to hang and swim.

It was a busy Sat. afternoon.

We claimed some rock to hang out at. It is a bit tough on the body because it is hard as....well, granite.
The cheese curds are never far away.

That cliff in the background was one of the favorite ones to jump off of. It was a good one to build your courage on. Doesn't seem too high, but the water is really high right now.

Now if you can see a little blip in the water, that is me. I could swim all day in this place.

Here I come.

It doesn't get better then this.

How Much Wood Would A Woodchuck Chuck...

...if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Before we answer that question, is the following critter

a. woodchuck

b. groundhog

c. whistle pig

d. Marmot

The answer:

e. all of the above

Yeah, I know that wasn't an option. How many of you would have chose that anyway?

Some may be wondering, are you sure it is a woodchuck and not a gopher? Well, I can not say with absolute certainty. However, following my extensive research I have concluded that his coloring and face marking match a woodchuck. Plus I believe he is a tad bigger then a gopher. As woodchucks go, he has a bit of growing to do, so I peg him as a juvenile.

On a side note. Look at HIS left chest area. See the dark spot and missing hair. Either a puncture wound or cuterebra larva. My money is on the cuterebra. Since rabbits occupied the space under the deck before this guy and rabbits are the primary host for cuterebra. However, these larva will take up housing in just about anything. The dark spot is the breathing hole that the larva sticks its little head out for air. We often take them out of cats and it is pretty cool, if you like that kind of stuff.

HEY! Wake up. Your nature lesson is over now.

I know, horrible picture. I was trying to get a quick picture through a window because I thought he could take off. I posted it because I think it is funny. He looks like he is just hanging.

Albeit very cute, they can be very destructive. So, I will try to assess how extensive his lair is under the deck and determine if he is doing harm to the foundation. Most likely he will have to be transported to a more appropriate place.

Now, I bet you are wondering..."man, she is good. She can tell it is a boy. I don't see anything hanging under the tail." Well, I am good, but not that good. I have no idea if it is a boy.

Oh yeah, to answer the original question...

New York state wildlife expert Richard Thomas, who found that a woodchuck could (and does) chuck around 35 cubic feet of dirt in the course of digging a burrow. Thomas reasoned that if a woodchuck could chuck wood, he would chuck an amount equivalent to the weight of the dirt, or 700 pounds.

Bristol Renaissance Faire

Once upon a time in a land far, far away (or two hours by vehicle) we journeyed to a faire. A faire with a Queen, jesters and jousting, turkey legs and beer, people from the future and people that belong in another world all together....what? Yes, I am talking about the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, WI

Your typical Lord and Lady of the era.

Um...Darth Vader not so much of the era. What?!


This is what I didn't get about the festival. Lots of people dressed up in costumes that had nothing to do with the time period.

What can I say about this...it's Mike.

This lady was pretty interesting.

It was better if you could see her move. She really looked like the puppet.

Ok, this looks totally boring right? Well here is the story.

The guy with the beard (Doug) was with us (my dad's friend). The other guy is a complete stranger. We were all watching a little comedy show and Doug had to take a call so he stepped away. The other guy was picked out of the crowd to be part of the act. They told him to run up to Doug and yell, "Daddy, daddy, why did you leave me?" Doug had no idea what was going on, which made it pretty funny for the rest of us.

My dad and Penny.

This little adventure was their idea and we are glad they thought of inviting us.

...and everyone lived happily ever after

The end.

Or, we all had a good time and went our separate ways.

Mike and I topped off the day at Comet Cafe in Milwaukee.

NICE!

Florida Bound

No, not Mike and I this time. Been there, done that.

My sister and her hubby moved there last week. Thirteen years

in the making and they finally made it there. I can't

wait to visit in February.

So, what do you get someone heading to the sun and sand as a going away present?

A margarita pedicure that's what.

We got to sip on a Margarita while they used the same ingredients for our pedicure.

A great way to spend some time with my favorite sister. Oh right, she is my

only sister, but the best I could ask for.

Dog Fix

What do you do when you love dogs, but you can't have one of your own?

You dog-sit for family and friends.

I had double the doggy love this past weekend.

Here we have Misty on the left. Misty is my step-dad's dog. She is a real sweetie.

On the right we have Duney. He is my cousin's dog. I know he looks like a stuffed animal and barks like a squeaky toy, but I swear he is a real dog. He is also very sweet.

They already knew each other before they came over to stay. Otherwise I wouldn't normally take on two dogs from different families on the same weekend.

The big question is: What did Jez think?
I couldn't get a pic with Misty. Jez is a little too leery of her. I think she recognises the breed. The last springer she knew thought she looked more like lunch then a cat.
Duney, as you can see from this pic poses no threat. He, however, looks to be the one that is threatened. I had a hard time getting him to get that close. He kept looking at me like..."are you serious, that crazy cat will kill me if I take one step closer."
Jez just kept looking at him like..."you got that right fur ball. One more step, I dare you."

All and all, everyone seemed to get along pretty well. My house has a few more layers of fur but my heart has a few more layers of unconditional love so I figure I came out ahead.

Mixing it up

Ta Dah!! I thought I would mix it up a bit on the ole blog. It was time for an update. I am doing this with out input from Mike. I am sure it will meet with sufficient criticism from him. The real question is, how long will it take for him to notice? Not only does he not have time to blog himself, he doesn't even think to check it out when I do.
Speaking of changes. Don't you hate it when you are trying to make some personal changes and WHAMO!, you snap. I mean snap big time leaving hurt feelings, anger and resentment in your wake. Well, that is exactly what I did recently.
Funny how the more I love someone the less I can keep my mouth shut. I try to bite my tongue, but a few break through snotty remarks always seem to escape. Then when I have whittled away my tongue to a mere nub, it all comes flying out. Often at the least opportune time. It would be justified if it actually produced the desired result, but when does that ever happen?
Mike has given me many opportunities to work on my tongue biting skills over the years. You would think I would have mastered it by now. Why he still puts up with me is a wonder...probably because I still put up with him. Marriage...the art of putting up with one another.
Unfortunately, I do not reserve my verbal on slots to only Mike. The rest of my family is fair game as well. Remember, if I chew you out, it is because I love you. Um, what is wrong with that sentence?
Yes, we are all a work in progress. Some of us just need a little more work then others. I need an "Under Construction" sign taped to my forehead as a warning.

Cheesefest 2010

It can not come as a surprise that WI has a cheesefest. It just so happens to be held in the small town of Little Chute, minutes from where I grew up. I have attended this festival many years ago. Now that I am back in the great state of WI, I thought I would go again in order to bring those of you who are deprived of such a festival a glimpse into what is The Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival.

Yes, Mike bought a tee shirt.












First stop was the cheese carving contest. This guy was talented.

A pic of the finished product is at the end.

Those are some big blocks of cheese, eh?

Ahh! The best thing to come out of WI. Deep fried cheese curds.

Not just deep fried cheese. Anyone can do that. Cheese curds are a delicacy known in these parts and deep frying them makes them all the more delectable.

For you cheese novices, cheese curds are very young chunks of cheese. Mild in flavor and when fresh, squeak when you bite into them.

Maybe we should have gotten our own instead of trying to share.

Of course there is a cheese tasting at cheesefest. As you can see by the line we love our cheese. Plus, it was free.

Plate-o-cheese! Yummy!

Um...that was a lot of cheese to eat in one sitting. Maybe not so much in quantity, but in variety of cheese. Too many flavors and not enough crackers to break it up.

Mike seems to be doing just fine. I guess slow and steady wins the race.

We were not really racing, but if any of you have seen me eat, I tend to do it at a pretty rapid pace. As you can see by the previous picture, it doesn't always work out well for me.

You can't have a cheesefest with out a cheese curd eating contest.

1/2lb of cheese curds to be consumed in the fastest time. Doesn't seem like much, but getting them chewed up enough to swallow takes some time.

This guy in the red did it in 2 min and 11 sec.

Here is the finished product of that cheese carving. The others were ok, but this one was by far the best.

There you have it folks. Cheesefest. Are you not glad that I provided you insight into this great cultural event?