Today was a beautiful and warm sunny day here in the 802. Saw two mature eagles fishing out front and later saw a pair of osprey soaring over the cottage with great sound effects. Discovered up on the sleeping porch that some critter, I suspect a squirrel, got into the sleeping porch and chewed on the wood of the window frames sometime over the winter. Two of the screens have holes in them now! Grrrrrrrr. Another fixit problem to add to the list!
I have my annuals planted in pots. Quite the project with Edwards and his big nose stuck right into every pot I was planting.
One of the houses along our private road, the little red Sugar House, has sold and the new owners are hard at work on this property. It has been exciting to see what hard work and $$$$$ can do! Stay tuned for more changes. . .
We moved back to the lakehouse on Sunday! We are so happy to be back. We have heat, hot water, and yesterday we even had some snow! Sun came out by late afternoon but the chilly temperature afforded us the chance to enjoy an evening fire in the fireplace. Edwards seems to be acclimating to the change. . .was a little uneasy at first but has settled in nicely. His favorite pastime is a game of soccer he plays by himself with a large ball. He drops it down the long stairs from our parking spots and then chases it down and knocks it all around as it bounces off the deck railings. It is a hard plastic ball, hollow with another smaller ball within that rattles and makes lots of noise. It has holes in it so he can pick it up and carry it around. It does not bounce which is an advantage. It is so noisy that Barry and I can always tell when he is so engaged! (This Edwards post is especially for you Josh!)
I swiped this picture from Lisa's blog! Thank you Lisa.
Obie could not pull himself away from his temper tantrum to be in the picture! He did recover enough to eat the wonderful birthday dinner Christine and the girls prepared for me. Elisabeth made the birthday cupcakes from scratch. Pictures will follow once I figure my new birthday camera (Job) out! 
Sunny but very chilly day! Cottage looks good. . .just missing the lived in look. Will be so glad to be able to get back out. A huge bald eagle was perched in a tree just to the north of the cottage but flew just as I noticed him/her. Lucy was with us for the day while Joel and Christine and the older girls attended a Bar Mitzvah for someone in their 4H group. Lydia watched the prophets, Isaiah and Obadiah. We had a wonderful day!
These are the two spaniels we are watching while their people are away. Abby is the brown and white dog and Meg is the black and white one. Meg is older and smaller but definitely in charge! They are very good dogs!
Edwards is a bonafide bird dog but from all reports he is supposed to hunt birds with a human who shoots the birds and then he retrieves them. In the past week he has retrieved two partridges that no one had shot. The first that I disposed of had a broken neck and a few missing tail feathers. Not sure how Edwards came to retrieve that one.
A few days later he had another one and was busy removing its feathers when Barry realized what was going on. I don't think he knows he is just supposed to guard the catch!
This is a picture of our meal the last time we went to Saltwater Cowboy! Little wonder I can't lose weight. Everything was so delicious.
These two guys are a big part of what makes GROW so interesting!
Christine is the brave one careening down this giant hill in this video!
We will celebrate Joshua's birthday by mailing his birthday package to California today! Barry also plans to celebrate by not leaving any toast crumbs on the butter. Doesn't get much better than that!
Check it out right now! This blog is for you! Do it!
MERRY CHRISTMAS COMING YOUR WAY FROM VERMONT!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELISABETH!
