http://www.theswirl.org A journal for Jim Muller. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:15:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en On Friday night we took Erin & Andy fishing at the pond.  Eric caught 3 large mouth bass, Erin caught 3 large mouth bass and a 20 inch catfish and Andy got skunked.  Andy had a large fish on, but his line broke and he lost his whopper. After fishing we ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/08/18/fishing-cookout-canoe-race-wedding-and-horse-show/ This past Thursday, 8/14, was the playoffs and conclusion of our Adirondack Lanes Thursday night volleyball league.  We started on what seems a long time ago - back on 22 May.  Our main team included returning members Ron, Jim, Kathryn and Rob along with new members Brian and Julia.  Our ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/08/18/sand-fleas-volleyball-2008-wrap-up/ Eric has been attending the Barneveld Park Program this summer - an informal program 9am-1pm each week day.  It has provided a forum for games of capture the flag and 4 square and some crafts.  Eric started off the year playing lots and lots of 4 square, but I think ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/08/14/park-program-winds-down/ I've gone winter camping with Jason several times, including our memorable dog sledding trip.  Jay was interested in canoe camping and last year when I met his fiancee, Beth, we talked about scheduling a canoe camping trip.  We scheduled 9-10 August for our trip and then anxiously watched the weather ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/08/13/canoe-camping-at-round-lake/ We have a friend with an ultralight.  As a Christmas present for Kathryn I arranged for him to give her a ride in the ultralight.  Last night she flew.  Eric and I watched the preparations and take off and then took off for home.  Part of the plan was to ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/08/02/kathryns-ultralight-ride/ When Adam and Matt were small (pre-teen) I took them on a couple of camping trips: Once on Barton Hill in back of my parent's house where they brough everything- pillows, dinosaur books, flashlights with dead batteries and two cook kits, "because I didn't have to wash one".  Needless to say ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/08/02/camping-with-the-next-generation/ Our two large dogs are still in shedding mode.  Serious shedding mode.  As only large, long haired dogs breed for northern climates can do.  Trey isn't very tolerant of Kathryn brushing him, but he & I have an understanding.  Usually after he registers his complaint we work through it and ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/25/trey-scout-2/ Last fall we cleared a small area in the far corner of our 40 acre woodlot where we had a fire pit and a few cookouts.  Demonstrating the extreme creatively that we use in naming locations it became christened "Cookout Corner" (other examples: Edge Trail, Trillium Trail, Buck Rake Pass, ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/24/cookout-corner/ Friday I picked Skip up at 2pm and we drove to Piseco to put in on Fall Stream for an overnight camping trip.  I had heard there were issues with leaving cars overnight at the put in and so left my car at Piseco Airport located about .5 from the ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/21/fall-stream/ We promised to take Eric to see the fireworks at Floyd Field Days.  It rained steadily all Sunday afternoon so there was some doubt the fireworks would be held.  We met Jennifer at the Field Days at 8:30 and found that  none of the rides were working due to electrical ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/16/floyd-field-days-fireworks/ Sunday we went to BHA Hunter Show and Eric went in Lead line Equitation and Lead line Suitability versus his buddy Trevor, and two 2 year old girls: Trevor's sister Maggie and Andrea's Julia. Rachael holds the horse and Eric keeps a hand on Maggie. Everyone was happy that Maggie stayed ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/16/bha-hunter-show/ We went camping last Friday-Saturday at Soft Maple and returned on Saturday evening.  There are several attractions at Soft Maple.  One is the large sand hill which the boys climb, and then roll down. Needless to say the end result is a lot of accumulated sand on the participants which then requires ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/16/camping-at-soft-maple-2/ Our garden is doing nicely this year.  I attribute it to couple of factors: Over the past 4 years I have focused on the garden, adding peat moss, leaves, and horse manure to the soil to loosen it up. This year I actually used restraint in planting peas and beans and staggered ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/08/check-out-our-garden/ Take a quick walk with me and see some plants we have been monitoring this year.  Our pear trees look promising.  We have three trees and I plan on planting a couple more.  I gave up on apple trees because they required spraying, but the pear trees are low maintenance. A ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/08/walk-around-our-yard/ We have a 13 acre pasture that previously was kept chewed down by horses, but now requires regular mowing - 2 or 3 times a year, depending upon how much I want to mow.  This year I delayed my mowing until early July to give the nesting birds a chance. For ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/07/dont-mow-the-fawn/ Arlene and Bob held a July 4th party / Karen's sixtieth birthday party.  We had good food, good company and a good time. The back porch served as a pre-meal staging area. The youngsters found appropriate attire and were busy through out the night ensuring our defense. The multi tattoo-ed Martha absconded ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/07/07/red-white-and-blue-wow/ Kathryn says: "Today was a fruity sort of day.  The other day we had cut a mess of rhubarb with the thought of making rhubarb juice.  So today, while Eric played with his buddy Trevor, I cut and stewed and strained rhubarb and canned the juice.  The end ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/06/24/a-fruity-day/ We had a very nice camping trip on 13th Lake. We did not rush out on Friday morning since the weather looked so questionable. We stopped to purchase fishing licenses and checked out a camp on Adirondack Lake that we used to rent. The lake itself was quite windy ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/06/22/thirteenth-lake/ Last night Kathryn and Eric returned from visiting her dad in Rochester.  We packed hot dogs and strawberries and took the dogs on a short hike across the road where we cooked dinner.  Upon our return to the house we saw this deeply colored rainbow which looked like it ended ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/06/18/rainbow-caps-the-evening/ Eric and I went into leadline classes at the Barneveld Horseman's Association (BHA) Hunter Show courtesy of Ellen and Trevor. Friday afternoon Eric practiced riding Onyx at a walk and Sunday we joined Ellen's barn at the horse show to participate in two lead line classes. Eric and ... http://www.theswirl.org/2008/06/15/fathers-day-at-the-bha-hunter-show/