bodner044

England.  Footpaths.  Sunshine.  Flowers.  Pubs.  Which one of these does not belong?  Some days, you get it all!  Come along and see, in Part 4 of my series featuring our tour for my sister and her husband this summer. Signpost; BW means Bridleway; FP means footpath My in-laws, Spousal Unit, my sister and her husband Following a hearty breakfast at Elm Cottage (a self-catering cottage means a talented chef known as Spousal Unit can prepare a delectable feast of his choosing), we were exhilarated with another blue-sky day, ideal for a walk to the village of Kettlewell. It is believed that the name Kettlewell is Anglo Saxon and comes from Cetel Wella, which means a bubbling spring or stream.  At first, the footpath clings to the River Wharfe.  Soon enough, meadows push in and open the vista. We are grateful for the shade when the footpath joins up with a fencerow, where the oak trees stand in formation like an army of tin soldiers.  I won...

My Christmas spirit has arrived.  Unpredictable, it is rarely one event that brings it on.  Rather, an accumulation of positive emotions rolls in like a wave and I am caught up, rising on it like a surfer.  My goodwill is overflowing - and I think I know why. ONE: Bread pudding.  I am not conscious of my rationale, yet bread pudding seems to go hand-in-mitten with autumn.  Maybe since it's warm, filling and deeply satisfying?  Especially when it's served with huckleberry sauce and vanilla ice cream! TWO: Feathers and fur.  Deer are certainly not unique in our neighborhood.  After all, as you read in a recent post , they ate our Halloween pumpkins!  But glimpsing one at a gallop in the snow is priceless. These two bald eagles kept close watch over some carrion less than a mile from our log home, making sure the ravens below didn't consume too much.  In 1978, the year bald eagles were listed as a federally endangered species, only 12 known...

Trivia Question 1- when was my last post about our log-home-in-progress? If you answered August 26 , you are correct (and you are the lucky recipient of a Wild Huckleberry Chocolate Bar, when you come to visit).  And you are one of my treasured blog readers.  And, like me, you have plenty of time on your hands to figure out this sort of trivia. August 29, 2017 Yikes! That's over 70 days ago.  Would you like to see what our crew has accomplished?  Here goes! October 27, 2017 Comparing the two shots, you can see the application of exterior stain on the logs, plus shingles and green trim on the remaining windows.  We are THRILLED with the outcome of the color combination - when you're making decisions using small swatches, it's always a hope and a prayer that it'll be amazing on a large scale.  I think we done good, don't you? Garage doors have been installed, and a sidewalk now links the garage to the mud room entrance.  (Within days of pouring the conc...