Raccoons

My neighbor gave me some fish scraps from his recent fishing trip to Lake Ontario and I used the fish scraps as bait at my game cameras. These 5 young raccoons approved of the meal.

Myra's 9th Birthday

Time to celebrate granddaughter Myra's 9th birthday. The celebration started with a party at the river property. Myra prepares the piñata.

Cotton candy!

A long line at the cotton candy machine kept Nikki busy.

Time to break the piñata.

The kids collecting the piñata candy.

Time to blow out the birthday candles.

What is a birthday party without fireworks?

Myra's second party was back home the next day. At this party Myra opened the gifts from family members.

Myra received an electronic keyboard piano.

Another birthday candle and cake, cheesecake.

Butterfly Relocation

A butterfly became trapped in our solarium and grandson Reed soon had a new friend. Reed was able to pick up this Red-spotted purple (Basilarchia Astyanax) butterfly and then given the task of releasing it outdoors. The butterfly remained on Reed's hand as he transported it outdoors and walked around the lawn showing it potential release sites. The butterfly was reluctant to leave Reed, but did settle on a nearby wall.

Reed's Equation

Grandson Reed found a tree on our property that had a heart and initials carved on it. Each time we went by it Reed would ask about the carvings and I would tell him that his dad carved it in May of 2015. The "M" in "M + A" was for his dad and the "A" was for his mother.

Reed showed me an equation he formulated a couple of weeks ago. The equation was "M + A = R" where the "R" is for Reed. Reed wanted to add this as a carving on the tree. Reed drew the heart and equation on the tree and with some help from grandpa he carved it on the tree.

Wild Mushrooms

It has been a warm/wet summer, perfect conditions for wild mushrooms.

The Chanterelle mushrooms are popping up on our properties.

Grandson Reed enjoys picking mushrooms.

Reed cleaning the base of a Chanterelle mushroom.

Reed's Chanterelle mushrooms.

After collecting some Chanterelles we were able to find some Indigo milk cap mushrooms. These edible mushrooms are easy to identify due to their blue gills and the blue "milk" they ooze when cut.

Indigo milk cap mushrooms.

Chanterelles and Indigo milk cap mushrooms ready to cook.

Reed's Bicycle

Grandson Reed reached another milestone today. He is now riding his bicycle.

Battle of the Bees

It was another hot summer day with the heat index into the 100's. As the temperature cooled in the late afternoon, grandson Reed challenged the grandparents to a Nerf gun battle. The battle started with Reed heading for a high ground advantage on the deck when he was met with a surprise attack by Yellowjackets. All of the Nerf fighters then retreated the battlefield.

Reed's sudden advance up the stairs to the deck had triggered the Yellowjacket's defense warning system to DEFCON level 1. The Yellowjackets were in full attack mode.

As the Nerf fighters regrouped in the rec room, about 50 of the Yellowjackets tried to break down the protection of the sliding glass door. A continuous "thud" of Yellowjackets hitting the window could be heard for the next half hour.

An hour later the Yellowjacket's had lowered their defense warning system to DEFCON level 2. Under the cover of darkness the Nerf fighters launched a retaliation attack with chemical weapons and demolished the Yellowjacket's home base.

Bucks in Velvet

On our evening wildlife drive we're starting to see more of the local bucks showing off this year's new antlers. The buck's antlers still have the velvet coating on them, but this 4-point has a small section of velvet dangling from it's left antler.

Wild Bergamot

The Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) is blooming at our cabin property.

Road Trip - Day 3

Day 3 of the Michigan road trip began with a visit to The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Henry_Ford). The 12 acre museum is primarily a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, and other items.

Reed standing next to the 1952 Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Reed checking out some of the innovated toys and games that his dad and uncles had when they were his age.

Reed and his uncle at displays of large steam engines that powered the Industrial Revolution.

Reed gets a lesson on steam engine speed control.

Reed next to a 200 Kilowatt Edison Dynamo.

Reed generating electricity using his own power.

Reed and his uncle on the second level of one end of the massive 750 ton, 1916 steam-gas engine that powered Ford's Highland Park Plant. This is one of the nine machines that each had a gas engine and a steam engine mounted on either side of a 4,000-kW DC generator. This was an early form of a hybrid engine that could switch the source of power.

1926 Fokker Trimotor used by the Byrd Artic Expedition for the first flight over the North Pole.

1928 Ford Tri-Motor.

On to the car section. Reed checks out the drag racing exhibit.

A classic VW bus. We passed one of these, in the same color, on our drive to Michigan.

Reed said this early Ford T-Bird was nice, but not his dream car.

This was more of Reed's idea of a dream car. The Ford GT40 that won the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

An exploded view of a 1924 Ford Model T touring car.

A 1907 Ford tractor.

A cut-away view of an early Fordson tractor.

Reed out for a drive.

A 1923 Canadian Pacific snowplow train.

Reed and his uncle next to one of the largest steam locomotives ever built. The 1941 Allegheny Locomotive weighted in at 603 tons.

Reed in front of the Chesapeake and Ohio 1601 train.

The 1858 Rogers steam locomotive known as "Sam Hill".