Discovery Channel – in my front yard (well sidewalk anyway)

We’ve got the discovery channel in our front yard.  These photos won’t get me a job with Jeff Corwin, but at least you can get the idea here.  This praying mantis had two hooks in the frog (one in its side, and one in its throat).  The bug was slowly eating the eye and brains out of the frog.  Poor frog.  I went to get a stick to put the frog out of its misery, but by the time I got back the frog had stopped kicking.

Vacation

My company gave me an extra 2 weeks vacation time this year to celebrate my 10th year with them.  So, I took 3 weeks off to make a 50 hour road trip with the family (Branson, MO; Pensacola, FL; Staunton, VA).  It was fun, and relaxing.  I didn’t know what the date was 3 days into the vacation. 

Everytime I head south, there is a snake waiting for me.  This trip was no different.  There was an oak snake crawling across the top of my grandpa’s 6foot fence.  So now I know that not only are there snakes on the ground; they are up in the trees, too.  It’s one of those things that lets me know that the south is not for me.  Walking through Florida grass is like smoking.  Every step is taking seconds off my life (stress).  I fried myself in 2 hours at the beach.  Not smart, but Max and I made a mean alligator out of sand.  Grandpa and I took Max fishing down at the pond.  Max is just like me.  He doesn’t like touching fish.  I know that I won’t have a choice, so I’ve adapted.  I use gloves.  Benjo says Grandpa now.  We were concerned about the kids hanging out in the car for so long between locations, and borrowed a friend’s DVD player.  Max never asked for it, but Saira and I both watched a movie on it.  Saira enjoyed her Chick-Fi-Let outings and Blue Bell ice cream

We spent the weekend with Darren, Ann Marie and Arwyn in VA.  That was fun.  Saira found the best home-made ice cream ever (except that it wasn’t at someone’s house).  We went for a quickie hike on the Appalachain trail to check out a nice view.  Darren actually got Saira within 5 feet from the edge.  She made it a point to stay at least 20 feet away at all times.  I had my first Mexican food of the vacation in VA, and it kept sneaking up on me for the next couple of days.  It was as close to out of control as you can get without having a medical condition.