Ohio

A Particularly Epic Tuesday

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Tuesday evening we made the arduous trek up to Cleveland to watch the Indians play some baseball. Perhaps I should rephrase that– we went to Cleveland to sit at Progressive Field and eat popcorn and hot dogs and watch the people cam on the scoreboard (we had free tickets).
Approaching Progressive Field via the cemetery, which prompted discussion of people who get their ashes scattered at stadiums (so that they’ll never miss another game), and about someone’s ashes that ended up on a roof somewhere in a plastic bag and the cops thought it was drugs until they tested it (Eric contributed that).
Cleveland Rocks!
The Indians, not so much.
We spent a great deal of time trying to take a picture that looks decent. Turns out I’m really bad at the whole hold-the-camera-out-in-front-and-take-a-picture-of-yourself thing.
“Yeah, I like baseball capris better than the long pants too, like on the shortstop. He looks better than the other guys.”
“That’s the second baseman. Generally, the shortstop is between third and second, not second and first.”
“Oh. I knew that.”
“This is why they’d put you in the outfield all the time, isn’t it?”
Eric’s response to the above conversation.
To sum it up: We and negative 13,413 other people (there were nowhere near that many actually present) spent negative 3 hours and 13 minutes watching the Indians not score and lose to Oakland. The Tribe did have 16 strikeouts, which was impressive. And the Indians script looks cooler than Oakland all spelled out in caps. So there.
This face sums up the entire game.
Megan loves Asdrubal! (Primarily because this picture was directly behind our seats while we were leaving).
Some of us are not willing to admit we’re Indians fans.
Photo opt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in other, much more fantastic news:

Welcome To the World little Elizabeth Grace Covey! Born Tuesday morning at 9:41 a.m., to proud parents Amanda and James Covey. Little Ellie measured in at 7lbs/9oz and 21 inches long with a full head of blond hair.
Amanda, I shamelessly stole this picture from your Facebook page. I hope you don’t mind.
Little Ellie- someday your honoray aunties Jenna and Lauren will take to you an Indians game and introduce you to the world of Cleveland sports. Maybe by the time you’re old enough to hold up a hot dog they’ll have a slightly better record. Even if they don’t, we’re still going to fill you up with all sorts of yummy stadium food and then send you home to your parents all hyped-up on cotton candy, pop and peanuts. It’s going to be a blast.

An Evening At the National Hamburger Festival

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Our evening in photographs:

Don’t worry, Eric brought appropriate reading materials for this festival.These are the last two burger halves from Menches Bros, which Eric (after some prompting)  promptly ate.  Eric is our resident plain burger connoisseur. I believe he said these landed somewhere near the top of his list of favorites. Also note the Football Hall Of Fame t-shirt, which has nothing to do with burgers but is always an appropriate shirt to be wearing.

 
Beautiful Lock 3 Park, in the wonderful city of Akron, Ohio!
We did not try any of the Max & Erma’s burgers, since we’ve eaten there before and already know how good they are (which is quite good). And those are lights, not barbed wire. I checked.
STD burgers. They do in fact brand each bun with the STD logo. 
“Dad, you ruined the brand!”
This STD had onions and a spicy chipotle sauce on it, absolutely delicious.
Marching off to the next burger stand.
Megan spins the wheel in hopes to win a fabulous prize!
Instead, she wins a bottle opener and a coozie.
New word of the day: Grillebration.
Also: Whitney, you might be receiving a coozie care package in Kentucky sometime soon… we might have gotten a few more of these than we really know what to do with (which would be 3).
Green means go! We’ve got more burgers to consume!
Ah, the Civic Theater, the site of many years of dance recital memories. Almost makes me want to dig out my old dance shoes and bust out some lyrical moves, of which I remember about five. Lyrical is a mix of ballet and modern dance, for those of you who didn’t know. Which is usually about everyone.
All in all, and excellent way to spend a beautiful Sunday evening in Ohio. Sorry Dad, but your burgers at home just can’t compete.
If you’re interested in actual information about the National Hamburger Festival 2012 and all of the deliciousness you missed, here’s the website:
If you’re interested in reading the book Hamburger America, or watching the documentary (of course there’s a documentary, and yes Eric does own it), here’s the link. The author also has a burger blog.

Adopt a kitten, get some sweet corn!

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Is anybody out there looking for a new pet? I know some kitties that need good homes!

You know you want to take me home.

My aunt and uncle live on a farm near Hartville Ohio that is a magnet for stray cats. We adopted our Jasper kitty from my aunt two winters ago. The other strays decided they weren’t going to let him near the food she’d set out, or on the porch to keep warm. She’d run the dryer with nothing in it so that he could huddle under the vent outside. Needless to say, his life at our house is now much cushier, and he only has to put up with one 19 year old cat who is the definition of the word crotchety (her hatred of the new cat has given her extra pep, I swear. She was much less active before Jasper came, now she’s all full of energy to hiss and torment).  He is currently sprawled in the middle of my bed, taking up as much room as possible.

As my brother says, my uncle farms the vegetables and my aunt has a cat farm. There are lots of stray cats that have ended up at my aunt and uncle’s farm, and it would be wonderful if some of them could find homes before it gets cold out. In particular, she’s worried about these three gray cuties, all siblings, one boy and two girls, probably 4 or 5 months old. They were born in the duck barn and sleep there every night with the ducks (who are not exactly pleased with the arrangement).

Frolicking in the garden.
Hide and seek.

My aunt calls them her Peaweeds, and they come streaking across the yard to get put away every night. The ducks also come when she calls, but at a much more sedate waddle. The gray kitties are very playful, and my aunt can pick them up and cuddle with them. It’s pretty adorable.

Look into my eyes and take me home.
I spy a little gray kitty who needs a good home.
None of these cats have had their shots or been fixed, but you get a free dozen ears of sweet corn with each cat you take home! Well, that part may not be true, but I can certainly get you some produce I’m sure. I’ll even deliver the kittens to you, as long as you’re within reasonable driving distance from Ohio.
Not only are they cute, but also thrifty! A plastic bottle cap is just as good as any fancy toy from the pet store.
Treat time in the duck barn.
This callico is also very much looking to be a house cat, she tries to sneak into the house every chance she gets. However, with 6 cats already inside, my aunt has drawn the line at any more coming in. Not sure how old she is, perhaps a year or so.
I don’t know who you are, but I suppose I will allow you to take my photograph.
All cats, even strays, know how to sit like royalty.

If anyone out there is interested, let me know and I’ll hook you up with some extremely grateful kitties!

Jesus Takes 2nd Place at County Fair

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Last Friday my family and I journeyed to the Medina County Fair. As usual, it was an interesting experience. The smells, the people watching, the food… brings back all sorts of childhood memories of being pulled in the wagon with my little sister, looking at the gigantic horses and pigs. The horses and pigs have gotten a little shorter (or maybe I’ve just gotten taller) but everything else is still the same.

After dinner of burbon chicken, rice and beans for my parents and I and a foot-long hotdog for my brother, we split up. Some of us had a strong desire to look at the tractors (because we only have two at home in the barn) and others of us didn’t.

Mom and I wandered over to the barn with the antique displays, where we found a wide variety of things, from beautiful china cups and toys that I played with when I was little, as well as lots of dishes that we’d seen at Goodwill. There were a lot of very nice antiques, don’t get me wrong, but not everything was maybe really that interesting.

After the antiques, we made our way into the barn with the art. I like to think that, with as many artists in our family as we have, I have a fair idea of what constitutes “good” art. I realize that art is very subjective, but still. The painting of Jesus with various grenade-launchers and machine guns, made to look like a violent movie/video game cover, not good art. Also just plain bizarre. Most of the other art had more traditional subject matters, (like the one of Truffula trees made by an elementary-schooler) and was much more pleasurable to view.

Jesus took second place… 
To a Native American. How many times has that ever happened?

After the art, we went for the sweetest part: some local honey. They let you sample as many as you like, and it’s all fantastic. My favorite was the ginger-infused, which is why there is now a giant piece of ginger sitting out on the counter, waiting to be put in the 2lb jar of honey we bought.

After honey, the animals. Wandering up and down the barns looking at cow, horse, goat, and pig butts is always a good time. Made me glad that when I did have farm chores at my one internship, they didn’t involve shoveling anything smelly. However, my main responsibility was working with elementary school children, so I’m not sure which is worse– 10 to 12 extremely energetic inter-city 3rd graders from Dayton who have never been in the woods before, or shoveling manure. There were maybe more than a few days when I would have gladly traded dealing with the kids for shoveling their weight in cow manure.

The line-up of cow butts.
It’s all hog wash.
Food dishes make nice pillows apparently.

Finally, just before we left, the very best part of the fair– milkshakes from the 4H stand. I dream about these milkshakes sometimes. That might not strictly be true, but they are very delicious.

I haven’t been to the fair in quite a few summers, so it was fun to go back and experience again all that is the county fair.

The best milkshakes in the world. Or at least Medina county.

Spring in Ohio

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Last week I was in Ohio. Primarily I was there to eat chocolate and ham at my grandparent’s house for Easter, but I also had time to take some pictures of all the beautiful blooming things before I left again for parts unknown. By ‘parts unknown’ I mean South Carolina, which is where I am right now for a 12 week internship. I wish I had more time at home to relax and snuggle with my fur babies (as my friend Angie calls them), but I’m excited to play in the woods with red-cockaded woodpeckers!

Bogie and Jasper joined me for my stroll in the woods
Storm clouds are rolling in
Jasper has fantastic whiskers, don’t you think?
There ARE gators in Ohio!
The gator and the cat (below) were done by Don Drumm, who is a fantastic artist and a really nice person:
http://www.dondrummstudios.com/
We love our kitties.
Don Drumm, the artist who made this, goes to our church. I talked with him on Easter, and he told me to marry rich. It’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man, he said. I told him I’ll work on it.
Note: climbing apple trees in rubber boots one-handed (because the camera is in your other hand) is slightly difficult.
Sometimes Jasper and Bogie even let me sleep in my own bed too. They let me have the little sliver left over by the wall and hog all the covers. It’s very cozy in my twin-sized bed, but generally no one falls off.
It snowed one day! I missed most of the cold this winter, so I guess one day of snow in April is okay… I  got to wear my down jacket!
White-breasted nuthatch at the feeder

The Rhythm of Family

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This is the story of how we begin to remember

 



This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein



After the dream of falling and calling your name out



These are the roots of rhythm



And the roots of rhythm remain

 



~from Under African Skies by Paul Simon

You learn something new every day…

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“Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you always will.” 
— Vernon Howard
 
They say you learn something new every day. Well, on Sunday my something new was learning how to shoot a handgun. It was an interesting experience. Wayne, one of the USFWS guys who works over at Headquarters took us interns (Patrick, Meghan and myself) to the shooting range, where he is a range officer, to fire off some rounds. 
Patrick, one of my fellow interns, showing off and shooting one-handed. He’s had some experience.
  
Prior to Sunday afternoon, my only experience with guns was of the squirt and glue variety, and that blow gun in Ecuador. Not that I would know, but it seemed to me that none of those are quite like a Beretta, though at least the blow gun had the potential to be lethal (if your dart was tipped in poison, which ours weren’t. Or so they told us…).
Meghan taking her turn. She, like me, had never fired a gun before.
 
Needless to say, I was slightly apprehensive about holding a real-life actual gun, let alone pulling the trigger. Burning yourself and gluing your fingers together with hot melted glue is one thing, shooting a hole in your foot quite another. However, once I figured out how to aim the thing properly, I wasn’t such a bad shot. We were shooting at metal plates, and in my final rounds I managed to hit about six in a row before my eyes would get too out-of-focus and I’d miss. And I’ll admit it, my arms got tired. It’s hard to hold your arms straight out in front of you like that for extended periods of time. 
Picture proof I actually did it!
 Though I’m probably not going to be rushing out and purchasing a gun for myself, I did enjoy the experience more than I thought I would. And, I think knowing how to handle a gun safely is an important thing to know. Knowing how to fire one safely could potentially come in handy someday, if I ever have the chance to use a tranquilizer gun perhaps. I’m sure they’re exactly like either handguns or glue guns. 
~~~
On Monday (my weekends are Sunday and Mondays) I went kayaking with some of the volunteers from the refuge: Trish, Betty, Roz, and Trish’s friend, Mary. We launched from the boat ramp near Trish’s house in Cocoa Beach and spent a morning paddling around in the mangroves and canals. It was fantastic.
Trish heading into the mangroves
Mary and Betty
 Betty loves the mangroves, and she loves to tell people about them, so the morning was not only fun but educational. She had us all lick black mangrove leaves, to taste the salt secreted on them. Surprisingly, I managed to teach her a few things too, about preen glands and how not every species of bird has them (during my research on parrot coloration I learned that some parrots and a few other birds, ostrich being one, don’t have them). We also discussed feather lice, ticks on birds (and people) and feather-degrading bacteria and fungi. You know, normal things to talk about with friends while kayaking. And, I will have you know, I did not bring up any of those subjects, I just added to the conversation. It started when we saw an anhinga preening and went from there. 
 
Hanging out with the volunteers is always a hoot, they’re all so interesting and such characters. I’ve long ago realized that being old is a state of mind; you’re never too old to do what you love and what gives you joy. 
Someone had anchored this plastic chair in the middle of the mangroves, probably to sit in while they fished. The water is only a few feet deep, and the chair is sunk into the muck.
 
 
And, in other non-related exciting news (but since when does anything exciting ever have to be related?) my little brother Eric was named Employee of the Month at the Enclave!!! 
I heard the news yesterday, when I called home and was told he had some news he needed to share with me. We had the usual game of 10,000 questions:
Me: “What’s your news Eric?”
Eric: [silence] 
Me: “It’s something at work?”
Eric: “Yes.”  [silence] 
Me: “Do you get to clean the toilets now?”
Eric: “No.”
Me: “Well that’s good, you don’t want to do that anyway.”
Eric: [silence] 
Me: “Come on Eric, just tell me, I want to know your news!”
Eric: [silence]
Mom: “Just tell her what it is.”
Dad: “Finish what’s in your mouth and then tell her.” (They were eating dinner when I called, and put me on speaker phone). “Stop cramming more in there and finish chewing.”
 
 After a few more minutes in this vein I was given the clues “I got a certificate,” “They spelled employee wrong, they forgot an l” and “But they spelled the month right.” We eventually put everything together to determine the good news. YAY Eric! I’m so proud of you!!
AND, I found his picture on the website! Here he is hard at work landscaping (I think it must have been staged, because he looks way too clean to be actually working. I’ve seen his clothes when he gets home from work). Eric is the one in the brown Brown’s hoodie, in the picture under the words “Supportive Employment.”
http://www.medinacreativehousing.com/site/page/supportive_employment