Here in the Bristolwood

This morning, I decided to take a little walk in the woods. I left the kids and the boys (Scotties) behind, as I was so hoping to perhaps see a little fawn in the woods. I have come upon fawns two or three times while walking, so it is a rare and treasured occasion. Unfortunately, I found none this morning. I did spot Doe, Re, Mi, and Fa grazing out in the front woods, but no babies there!

As I walked about in the woods, I was drawn to the areas of bright green foliage. The woods is filled with all sorts of new growth....grasses, ferns, (as pictured above) as well as mosses. The floor of the woods is mostly covered with brown leaves from last year, so the bright greens stand out, almost like neon colors.

This is the stump from an oak tree that Mark cut down several years ago. Just prior to our purchase of the property, this area suffered from a rather severe ice storm; there was 3/4" of ice built up on everything. (This was in March of 1991) Many of the trees on the property fell over as the weight of the ice uprooted them. Mark was reluctant to cut the trees, but they were dangerously teetering in the air. Mark decided that since he had to sever the trees from their stumps, he would make a mill to cut the first 10' of the trees into lumber. This way, he didn't feel so guilty about harvesting the trees. Using them in their entirety for firewood struck him as almost sacrilegious. He and our neighbor fashioned a great sawmill (our neighbor is a gifted welder!) and Mark set off to work! Thus, we now have many, many board feet of red oak!

As I made my way down from the woods, I spotted my one of my little Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds on the feeder. I have been trying to get a picture, with no luck. I raced into the house and stood in front of the window, hoping against hope that I would be able to catch the little hummer. If only I had a telephoto lens with a smaller f-stop! Ah well, you can certainly see that this is a hummingbird, and you can see the white ring around its neck!

Yesterday, we celebrated Mother's Day by meeting my parents and my brother at our favorite restaurant. We had to stand in line for more than an hour for a table, but as always, the food was so wonderful, and well worth the wait! The picture above is my Mother's Day bouquet from Mark and the kids. The "vase" is a mug with the Buffalo Sabres logo on it. Which leads me to say....I have not spoken about round three of the playoffs as the Sabres are behind in both games played thus far. The first game, the other team (Ottawa) really did outplay us. It was as though the Sabres just didn't have their feet! The second game, in my opinion, was won by Ottawa because of poor refereeing. I know, one might say I am biased, but so many people felt the same way as they watched the Sabres take illegal trips and punches. The Sabres are known for being a small and fast team. Unfortunately, most other hockey clubs look like giants, comparatively speaking...

YES, Buffalo!!! And New Appliances!

This afternoon, the Buffalo Sabres hockey team finished off their second round series by winning game four by a score of 5-4. This was a real nail-biting game, as the last three of the games in this round seem to have been. I am walking on clouds, so happy with this victory. The next round will be against a Canadian team, and I do not think it will be a walk in the park.....

We have been enjoying some very beautiful spring weather with bright blue skies and warmer temperatures. The trees and plants all seem to be coming so alive, suddenly!

This evening, our Sears store had a special "friends and family" sale. The sale was one we have been waiting for, so as soon as the game ended, we all sprinted out the door! We went right to Sears and ordered a new refrigerator and stove. I am so happy, as the units I have now are.....well, fairly *antiqued*! They are not that OLD, they are just antiqued!

I remember posting an entry on my blog previously, explaining about my strong-willed children. Well, their persistence caused both of them (little monkeys!) to open the refrigerator door and "climb" up the glass shelving inside the refrigerator to the top so they could see what might be hidden up there. I threatened them within an inch of their precious little lives, to no avail, as they recognized many years ago that I was not one of them! (IE, strong-willed!) No swat on the seat of their britches proved of value, nor taking away their treasures. (Have you any idea how belittling it is to take away toys from a four-year-old only to have them tell you they didn't want that junk anyway?) Life sometimes felt like an endless, never see the light at the end of the tunnel chess game!!!!

Fortunately, all of the climbing activities have curtailed, and some semblence of normalcy does reign! Oh, the stove...I remember when we purchased it. It had this little sticker on it of a child climbing on the open oven door with a bright red circle around it with the red line through it. When Mark and I built the house, there were no children yet, so we laughed at the thought of a child sitting on the oven door. Guess we shouldn't have done that, eh? We were fortunate that the stove never tipped over on a little one from climbing on the door....but the net result is that the door now "sags" and will not seal tightly when closed. So, a matching pair...refrigerator and stove will be grand!

Oh, and back to the refrigerator....I cannot remember how many years ago it happened, but one night, Ben awakened me in the middle of the night. I was so perturbed with him. He kept yelling for me to hurry downstairs! When I finally gathered my wits and went down, I nearly screamed at what I saw! There was about an inch of water on the kitchen (ceramic tile ) and dining room (hardwood) floors. I raced to the shut off valve for the ice maker, which had stuck in an open mode. When I went to the basement, I nearly cried, as water trickled through the floors, creating the illusion of rain in the basement. It took literally hours and hours to clean up the mess. Thank heaven, all of the "curved" hardwood eventually settled back down over the period of a couple of months and didn't need to be replaced! This event was totally caused by a faulty icemaker, and it has been disconnected since. A new refrigerator with a *live* ice maker will seem like a dream!!!

We plan to remodel the kitchen to go along with the new appliances. The formica countertops have also been antiquated and the sink needs to be replaced as well. Many of the poor ceramic tiles in the kitchen cracked after the water baptism proved to be a "lifting" experience, so the floor shall be done, as well. I am looking forward to all of this, as I have grown tired of trying to keep everything clean and looking nice when it is all a wreck! So, I think I will be quite busy over the coming weeks!

Argh!

I have been watching the Sabres games for some time. WHY am I saying they are playing the Islanders??? They are playing the STRANGERS...er, RANGERS! Please forgive me! I guess all of this medical testing and such is bothering me a bit more than I thought!

Nearly "Intoxicating"!

I do not partake of alcohol, simply because I do not enjoy the taste, nor the "feeling". However, in watching the Buffalo Sabres game last night, I was feeling intoxicated!

The Sabres are in round two of the playoff games, playing against the New York Rangers. Each round is won by the team that takes the first four games, so the games can last to a total of seven. As of last night, the Sabres had won the first two games, the Rangers the second two. As Mark and I talked about the game, we knew in our hearts that Buffalo just had to win.

As we watched the game, it remained scoreless until the Rangers put one into the net in the third and final period. My heart sank. With less than a minute left in the game, Buffalo Coach Lindy Ruff called a timeout. Was he NUTS?

Apparently NOT! With about 7 seconds left in the game, Buffalo SCORED, sending the game into overtime! Chris Drury once again proved just how valuable he is!!!

Buffalo has a player by the name of Maxim Afinogenov. Maxie is known for *flying* with the puck down the ice and setting up some great scoring chances. However, in the playoffs, Maxie was getting a little....well, "off". So, in game four of this round, Coach Ruff had him sit out. We are informed on the Sabres sight that Coach Lindy and Maxie watched plays made in the past by Maxie over and over, and Lindy explained what he was looking for from Maxie.

Well, Maxie returned again for last night's game, and although he was criticized by some for making a few errors, it was he who hammered that puck right into the net, scoring the goal that sent the Sabres into a GLORIOUS 2-1 win!!!! Right after the goal, Maxie went down on one knee, celebrating, then went face down onto the ice, almost resembling a playful little otter, to REALLY celebrate!

I think the last few minutes of this game is the closest I have been to being intoxicated in a VERY long time!!!!!! What a wonderful, wonderful WIN! Before the game began, I told Mark I hoped that Maxie would score.....never anticipating that HIS would be ***the*** goal of the night!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Sabres!