16 December 2021 Phineas

 Now he controls the remote...

14 December 2021 Cold Desert

 A local store sells Belgian waffles in the colder months.  They make a great base for a desert.  A few seconds in the microwave covered by chocolate ice cream and fresh raspberried to make something that looks like I know what I am doing.

12 December 2021 Afternoon Moon

 The moon was high and bright in the early afternoon today.

10 December 2021 Visiting Birds

The peanut feeder works.  😊

Beside guests at the peanut feeder, we are starting to see our regular parade of visitors.

4 December 2021 Skok Meadow

 There's some dabbling going on.

Mallard ducks are so plentiful that it is easy to forget how attractive they are.  We stopped at the small pond to avenge an unfound geocache and take a look at what could be seen at the pond.  Much of December in northeast Ohio can be cold, grey, and snowy.  There are always a few days that are memorable for their brightness and warmth.  This day certainly was bright and warm.

We met a newer cacher near the hide.  We had signed the log and were watching the ducks when we noticed her searching near the hide.  We gave her a tiny hint to help her make the find.  Afterward, we continued on the trail for a longer walk to help us enjoy the day.

1 December 2021 Trying To Get The Holiday Spirit

 I was in my local office and stayed a little late to put a holiday tree on our floor.  For me, it's a different world with a much different reality.  Getting excited about a holiday takes energy I don't have in a pandemic.  Still, it is important for team morale.

Aurora's gazebo is always a quiet, pleasant sight during the season.

I ended up taking a side road to avoid a late fall construction project.  The slight detour led me to the most decorated yard in the area.

I prefer the quiet holiday peace of the gazebo.  This house seems to add onto the display each year.

27 November 2021 Peanut Feeder

 We had stopped feeding birds then COVID hit.  The birds have helped me maintain my sanity as the world I knew has disappeared.  I saw a posting about someone's success of drawing birds to a peanut feeder.  I stopped at a local feed shop and there it was.  It has now joined our assortment of feeders offering suet, thistle and sunflower.  I am hopeful for fun bird watching.

25 November 2021 Visiting the Affelder Property

 In a time when the judge running the local park system thinks tetherball is a new fad in demand it is wonderful that there are still little bits of wonder in Geauga Park.  The Affelder property remains woods with a stream and a few waterfalls running through it.  We don't stop as often as we should, but this late afternoon was a great time to stop.

24 November 2021 Visiting the Erie Canal

 I used to visit this area at least twice a month.  Business had made those trips much less frequent.  I made a return visit this week and had a bit of time for a walk.  I chose to revisit a spot along the Erie Canal.  This section is an easy walk from a very old cache that was named My Name is Mud.  The trail was dirt at that time and often visited by locals with ATV's.  Now it is paved and easy.  The earlier find was a very fun adventure in geocaching.

This is one of the old canal buoys that were used to mark the channel for barges moving up the canal.

6pm on the Canal...  The sun sets early in late November in Western New York.

21 November 2021 Christmas Tree Time

Every year we ponder buying a new tree.  This year I headed to the store, put on my mask and looked for an unlit tree.  There was one on display, but it didn't appear to be in stock.  Dealing with COVID at work has been draining.  I lack the inspiration to hunt around at other stores.  In the end, I went home and put up the old tree. 

It's still a pleasant tree and will look good for the season.  Maybe next year...

In the meantime, the Christmas cactus is looking quite festive.

20 November 2021 Meadville

 We were on our way to Pennsylvania for the long weekend.  We stopped in Meadville for some time in the woods searching for a ten-year old geocache.  Phin is looking dapper in his new winter vest and doing well on the trail.

Can you spot the container?  Fall made great natural camo for this oldie.

Lizzie suffers separation anxiety when she is too far from me.  This distance is quite unusual.

Phin taking a well deserved rest not far from the fireplace.

17 November 2021 Defiance Reservoir

I wanted to stop on my trip home and go for a walk.  There were unfound geocaches at Defiance Reservior with woods, a disc golf trail, and a reservoir.  It seemed like a good location.  The wind was biting.  The woods caching was fun, but the area near the reservoir was extremely cold. 

There were seagulls on the reservoir through my walk.

My last find was a multi final on the other side of these gulls.

It felt like a scene from the birds.

I found the cache and made my way home.  It was a good way to get some exercise on a short November day.