Animals – The Meandering Mind

Getting back on the horse (My Blog)

February 1, 2017 Kim

It has been a WHILE since I’ve written in here. I stopped because I felt I had nothing to say. I’m sure I could have come up with something. I don’t get into politics or other sensitive subjects. They just upset me. Who needs that? I also had cognitive issues for a bit there. I’m better now, and I will get back to writing about things like the cat. Who doesn’t write about their cat or dog or iguana or bird? Matilda is a favorite subject of mine! She is so darn cute!

Matilda 2017

JINX!

December 4, 2011 Kim

That is what seemed to happen the very DAY after I posted about how healthy I was a year after the Lyme diagnosis.

LYME flare. Complete with Bells Palsy and spinning vision.

*sigh*

I am on some medication and have an appointment to see the neurologist on Saturday. I will spare you the pictures of my face until I look much better, but in the meantime, here is a picture of Matilda with her eye on the prize of trying to eat the tree:

Until next time! 🙂

WI trip October 2011 – Little Farmer

October 20, 2011 Kim

One day, Mom and I went to the Little Farmer in Malone, WI:

Entrance

That character looks sort of familiar …

Now, to enter the orchard:

Entry sign

Did I read what I think I read?

Firearms?

I guess picking apples is a risky business.

Here is where you can get some inFARMation on the orchard:

Clever.

You’ll notice (as we did when Chris was here last year) that there are a lot of signs around this place. Here is one for bees:

Bees

Cute!

This house is from 1890:

1890s House

This Apple House is where they bake muffins and pies, and serve up caramel apples:

Apple House

We usually go to the apple house near the end of the visit because we don’t want to carry sticky caramel apples all around for the bees to swim in. See? I pay close attention to these signs. No bees in my sugar fix.

Our first stop is usually the craft barn:

Craft barn sign

Craft barn ramp

It was a little sparse this year, though I should have taken pictures anyway. Sometimes, I just don’t know what I’m thinking. Slacker.

On to the barnyard:

Peacock sign

Peacock

Guinea Hens

Just in case you had any bright ideas, here’s a sign for that:

Goat and chicken

Sheep

Animal sign

FYI – When they say “feed” they mean the goat pellets you can get out of a vending machine for a quarter. Not apples or your fingers, as the sign above told you.

Goat trio

Goats near the craft barn

Another sign:

Sign

They’re not kidding!

Further along, we came upon what we thought was a llama, but I now think it is an alpaca. Either way, it was quite the model and posed for my camera. First this side:

Side 1

Then it turned and showed me this side:

Side 2

Gorgeous, baby! Yeah!

Now for the big guns (not really – remember – no firearms allowed):

Ginger & Nutmeg – Scottish Highland Cattle

Aren’t they beautiful?

After we get to this part of the orchard, we know it’s time to head home. We stopped to pick up some sliced apples (covered with melted caramel and a mix of nuts and toffee pieces) and sat in the car to devour them:

Caramel apples

Caramel apple remains

Yum! We actually split one and the other two fine specimens were taken home to be eaten by my Dad and brother, but somehow they were forgotten amid dinner and Mom’s apple bar dessert. We remembered the next day, but by that time they had turned to sludge.

Oops.

Should have gotten the apples on a stick like Dad suggested.

Next time!

WI trip October 2011 – Birds and water

October 15, 2011 Kim

We recently went on a trip to WI. Chris spent a couple of days in Chicago, then Milwaukee until he met up with me in Fond du Lac the night before we had to fly back to NYC. I will split the post of this trip into three sections, since I took quite a number of pictures and don’t want to overwhelm anyone with nature and animals. This first chunk focuses mainly on geese, sandhill cranes, and water:

Geese

Sandhill cranes seen up the road where the folks live

The folks like their water pure, so they frequently take a trip to the Artesian well nearby:

Drive to the well

Artesian water sign

Water jugs

I have to say–it is quite refreshing!

On the way home, we saw an alpaca:

Alpaca

Suri Alpaca sign

My dad stopped so I could take a picture of the sign, and a dog came out of nowhere and herded the alpacas (trust me–they were running):

Alpacas running

I didn’t get a picture of the dog (it was yellow) as it seemed pretty agitated and we decided to get out of there and leave them alone. I do have a picture of a dog, though. This is Max, my parent’s dog:

Max and hydrant

What a cliche! Dog and hydrant? I couldn’t resist the picture. We took a walk every morning which is how I happened to see the cranes to begin with. I saw them walking across the road to this area, and then they were here every day after.

Sandhill crane

So tall and regal!

Finally, we have more geese which is one of the reasons I come to WI in October (the first being to see my family). I just love to hear them honk as they fly over the house:

Many geese