Hancock Visit

Emily and her kids came to play this week and we maximized our fun time. We had picnic lunches and went to the zoo twice. Here is one of the wild rodents trying to nibble on Emily and Chloe's feet when we ate lunch at the zoo. We had to eat with our feet up.

Helen and Chloe had a lot of fun playing beauty parlor and wandering the house in a state of bliss to have so many friends around.Emily and I made 17 pints of applesauce and 16 pints of pearsauce from the fruit that I got for free. Ryan played a critical role using the Victorio strainer for which we are most grateful. Click on the pictures to see more great pictures.

As a side note, yesterday Quinn was missing us so badly that he decided to call us up six times while his mom was in the shower. We actually didn't know it was Quinn, we only knew that he had gone to Walmart and that his mother was in the shower until we dialed *69. Lucky for us we have two messages on our answering machine that he left as well.

Wilson Island State Park

This weekend we went for a short camping trip in Iowa along the Missouri river. There were enough rocks, sticks, trees and dog to keep Helen very happy. Sadly she was so excited that she was unable to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time all night long. Here is how our hike the next day went. We also stopped by the DeSoto National Refuge Visitor Center and learned all about the Steamboat Bertrand that sank in the Missouri in 1865 and various wild animals that roam the bluffs nearby. Ryan and I read "Life of the Mississippi" by Mark Twain a few years ago and consider ourselves quasi-experts on steamboats and rivers in general and loved the steamboat display. Helen loved the antlers and fur.

Here is Ryan training Helen on how to throw rocks into the river. I'm glad she didn't fall into the drink.

War of the Voles

Our poor tomato plants have been hanging on for dear life after a bad case of early blight this year. Then, to add insult to injury, our terraced gardens have been discovered by Voles! To those who aren't pros at the Common Rodent Jeopardy category, a vole is fatter than a mouse, has small ears, is a vegetarian (that loves red ripe tomatoes), makes 2 inch holes opening into their burrows, creates tracks between openings, and the Nebraska extension office calls their reproduction "Explosive: 5-10 litters/yr; 3-5 yg/litter." We have declared open war on the voles. They appear to have the home front advantage and yards upon yards of underground hideouts. But we won the first two battles, catching 2 voles within 24 hours of setting our trap.
For some reason, I can still here my Dad's voice telling me not to stick my fingers in the cage even though the vole looks so soft and cuddly.