Family in Town

Just as my side of the family left, Bob's family arrived. His brother, dad and dad's wife were all in town for the weekend. It's been awhile since we've seen them, especially Larry, and it was wonderful to catch up.






On the boat.










A magical evening at Barb and Chas' beautiful cottage.

Baby Bird Update - Chimney Swifts

I'm happy to report that all four chimney swift babies are doing well. Apparently insectivores need to eat quite frequently. Every 20 minutes or so we hear the mom or dad fly down the chimney where they're greeted with loud squawks. One by one, the babies quiet as they're fed, then mom or dad flies back out the chimney. In fact, we've learned that as soon as the last baby is silent we can rush outside as watch the parent fly out of our chimney.
About one a day we peek behind our wooden screen. Yesterday we discovered that their eyes are open! The pin feathers are also starting to unfurl into feathers.

Woolly Mammoth 5k

My mom, the kids and I ran in the Conneaut Lake Historical Society's Woolly Mammoth 5k on Saturday. It was the same grueling cross-country course as last year - through steep forest paths, over uneven terrain and across (numerous times) streams.

New this year- the Woolly Mammoth!







And we're off...







I was definitely humbled this race. Despite my regular running, I was outrun by two of my three (non-running) kids. Kate and I were together just past the two mile mark when we heard something coming at us from behind. Out of nowhere, William, in his Keens I might add, sprinted ahead of us and was the first in our family to cross the finish line. I should have known we were in trouble when we left for the race and he said, "Ihope you had a light breakfast (dramatic pause) because you'll be eating my dust all day!" He later said that his only goal had been to beat Kate. We're now two days post-race and the poor kid is still sore.







Kate and William each finished 3rd in the 17 and under group. My mom was first in her age group! I'm such a nice daughter that I won't even say what that age group is or how many were in the group.

Our three medalists received beautiful etched glass medals.







There is an incredible old barn at the start/finish line.

The Schedule

For the past 7 years or so, my cousin, her kids and my two aunts have spent a week at the lake each summer. Somewhere along the way, my mom and I started making a schedule for their visit. I know, sounds a bit controlling. But, here's the thing. None of us can make a decision. Without the schedule, we'd sit around all day saying, "What do you want to do?" "I don't care. You decide." Also, over the years, we've acquired quite a list of annual traditions that we have to squeeze into one week. To complicate it even more, Regular business hours don't apply around here, so we have to work around the crazy schedules of some of the places we like to visit.




None of this is set in stone, and we also have the weather to contend with. The first year that my cousin visited, it was so cold that we sat on the beach wrapped in blankets. Another year (when we had about 10 additional family members visiting) we had the most sweltering heatwave. I think that, along with the somewhat rustic cottage conditions, scared some of our relatives off. Luckily, though, nothing seems to deter our most diehard visitors. We always a look forward to their visit. And then collapse with exhaustion at the end of the week.

The six kids climbing into the Bookamer's Polaris for a ride through the woods surrounding the farm.




This calf used our arms as a salt lick. Her rough tongue gave us a little exfoliation treatment.




Dollar Spaghetti Night at the golf course. Only on Wednesdays.








After spaghetti, on a the golf course.




The Scavenger Hunt list. Boys vs. Girls.




Hanks frozen custard. Closed on Tuesdays.

Waldameer and Erie

We spent a full day in Erie earlier this week. The kids did ride after ride at Waldameer, a hundred-plus year old amusement park. The adults, meanwhile, parked ourselves in the outdoor theater and watched Waldameer's cast of four dance and sing their way through three musical variety shows.






















My mom, cousin and aunts.




Will and Tessa with their carnival prizes.



As if that wasn't enough, we drove through Presque Isle State Park, where the kids took an impromptu dip in Lake Erie. Waldameer sits on the edge of Presque Isle and Lake Erie, and some rides give a beautiful view of the lake.









We drove back to the lake, stopped at Eddie's Footlong, then arrived home to discover our baby birds.

At Eddie's.

We have Baby Birds!

After a long day in Erie yesterday (more about that another day), we thought we'd have an early night last night. As soon as we sat down in the family room, though, there was a huge commotion behind our fireplace screen. Squawking, wings flapping, chirping. This has happened before, and after a lot of build up (crating the dog, opening windows, turning out lights...), we've removed our screen to find an empty fireplace.

This is the fireplace screen the kids made a few years ago.




We were concerned enough to call my dad this time. We stood back as he he opened the screen, and....nothing. We turned on the lights to peer in. Then, we ran like we've never run before. Three little bat like creatures clung to the back of the fireplace and my dad yelled, 'Bats!'. We calmed down, took another look and discovered that our bats were really little baby birds huddled together on the bricks while half of their nest lay broken on the floor.
I spend a sleepless night listening to incessant squawking. I awoke to squawking, which actually made me happy since it was better than the alternative. After a few phone calls to local animal refuge centers I found out that our babies are chimney swifts, a bird that rarely perches and nests inside chimneys. They eat thousands and thousands of insects a day, including gnats and mosquitoes. Because chimney designs are changing, they're losing their nesting places and populations are declining.
I moved our three babies into a 'nest' and returned them to the dark fireplace. Apparently the moments of loud squawking and wing flapping happen when the parents swoop down the chimney to feed the babies. At least that's what we hope is happening.



We discovered a 4th baby in the bunch hours later, and aren't sure if it was always there, or if the parents brought it later.





We're told that we have another two weeks before they can fly up and out the chimney. Stay tuned for more birdie updates.

Jamestown Soapworks

Colleen's girls requested that their week at the lake include a Happy Feet Party at Jamestown Soapworks. Soapworks sits on beautifully landscaped property, where all of the natural soaps and lotions are made on site. When you go for a Happy Feet Party, you sit on the deck, enjoy lunch and then soak your feet in a peppermint-y foot bath and sample other Soapworks products. All for the whopping price of $2 each. While it does seem like an incredible bargain, I have to mention that the lunch tastes like a $2 lunch.

The girls...




The sisters...




Me and my cousin...




Our Happy Feet Party...