Hasn't Anyone Told Them...?

Hasn't anyone told the turkeys that it's almost Thanksgiving? This was the scene in our yard a few days ago:

Today I found this pretty creature lying between my house and my neighbor's...

I know, it would be a much better photo if I had moved over to the right about 15 feet, so I could have gotten rid of my neighbor's fence in the background, but I was afraid that he/she would run. I got within about 15 feet of this deer, but then he/she decided that was close enough.

So, I left some apples on the ground for it and walked away. It's the closest I've ever been to a deer that was not in captivity. It was really a pretty cool experience!

AAARGH!

Now that the weather has warmed back up, it's that time of year...time to try to get a decent family photo for our annual holiday cards. The challenge, of course, is to get a decent expression on everyone's faces, while using a tripod and the timer function on my camera. Okay, everyone, say "Cheese!"

Hmmm...okay, boys, how about REAL smiles for the next one? Okay?

Okay, you need to sit UP, too...

Not quite, something isn't quite right about that one. Let's try again...

No, screaming during the photo is NOT funny, and it wrecks the picture!

FRED: "Why can't we have the dogs in the picture?"

ME: "Because we can't even control the KIDS for this picture! How are we going to control our unruly puppy, too?"

Okay, we give up for now.

If you get a non-photo Christmas card from us this year, at least you'll know why!

Also, if you're curious about just how big that tree was that almost fell on my car, and just how close it came, here you go:

I had to REALLY back up to get the whole thing in the photo! The spot where it broke off was about 7 feet up, so that gives you an idea of the size. This was Fred's and the boys' big project last weekend, cutting up the tree and hauling the branches away. Fred actually had to get a new chainsaw to do the job. I think he secretly LIKED having an excuse to do so!

Yep, it crushed our lilacs, which makes me REALLY sad, because they bloom so beautifully every Mother's Day. I don't know if they can be saved. Oh well, at least it didn't crush any of US, as we were all out there playing in the snow when it fell. It really was quite a sight!