We spent this weekend in the Adirondacks camping.  I'm not a big fan of camping.  When I say camping, I don't mean a little cabin in the woods or anything like that.  That would be fairly doable for me.  I mean a 30 minute boat ride in a boat filled with family and gear to get to an island in the Adirondacks, where you pitch tents and then start fires if you intend to eat, stay warm, and have light after dark to scare off the bears. Food tied up in the trees, the whole bit.

Did you know that New York State has a black bear population of 9,000+ and that the majority of them live in the Adirondack region?  Yes.  It's true.  Now, I have nothing against bears.  I love them at the zoo.  I love them on National Geographic specials.  I would love them from a distance if I had transportation and was at a good distance. However, I must admit that it makes me a little nervous to set up housekeeping in their backyard with only a motor boat to get away from them in, and my entire family present.  That all said, I'm probably being paranoid.  The 2 years we've camped there we've never seen one. My husband camped there frequently as a child and never saw one.  Frank the boat guy, who lives there says he sees several every day though.  Really, it's only a matter of time. Right?

There is also apparently some unwritten rule of Nature that when we are camping there, the skies open up and pour forth all of the rain they've been holding.  It rained Friday night and into Saturday morning.  Not bad.  It dried up in time to enjoy Saturday.  Sunday morning the rain started again around 4 AM or so and did not let up.  We packed up camp in the pouring, drenching rain and then huddled under the trees waiting for it to let up so we could set up for our 1/2 hour boat ride back to camp.  Delightful.

Seriously, I really don't want to ever do this again.  Ever.   As sprinkles on top, there is also nothing like making a 2 hour drive back home with 350 lbs worth of wet dog.  Awesome.

All that said, if you aren't stranded camping in the Adirondacks, it really is a beautiful, beautiful region.  It truly is.  Here are a few pictures I took while we were there… when it wasn't raining:

Vin decided these were his ducks.  "My ducks", he says.  Later, we saw some really cute, fuzzy little ducklings following along behind their momma.  Adorable.

This awaited us at the site we chose to set up camp.  There were lots of these dried up old tree roots all over the area.  I found them really interesting looking.

Just down the beach from us, taken from standing at "our" beach.  See, it really is quite pretty.

We took the boat out Saturday afternoon just to go for kind of a joy ride to enjoy the sites and explore.  Vin said, "Mommy, look!" and was pointing up at the sky.  This is still his favorite picture from the trip.

Saturday night at dusk.  Vin looking out over the water from "his beach", while sitting on the cool tree stump.

And the dogs.  It would be easier to go without them, but then who would fight the bears for me?  Liberty is the brindle and HoneyBlossom is the fawn.  (Hey, my daughter named the fawn when she was like 8, ok?  I know it's silly.)

I was so very glad to get home.  I really was.  The next Monday was a day off for recovery, and I managed to finish the matching hat for the baby clown pants.  Really, I don't know how I'll pull off this outfit for a little boy - even with a black onesie & black socks.  It may never leave the house, or end up being given away perhaps.

We're home next weekend, so I'm hoping to knock out the rest of the garden and move on the the maintenance and harvesting stage!!  See you then, and have a blessed week.    

With all this Brazilian Beast Fiber, I'm not sure that I need to knit wacky elf hats anymore! I think I probably still will though. This styling can be hard on the back. They are very heavy!

Ok, I know it. I am always talking about our stinkin’ dogs! I’m not even sure I like them all of the time, but I guess I’m just fascinated by them. I still don’t understand why my husband feels the need for so many - and so large. They are amazing creatures, but he needs to know when to stop for gosh sakes! Since so many have asked for pictures and about what they are, here goes: Most people I talk to have never heard of Fila’s. I usually just call them Brazilian Mastiffs. Makes it easier. Their heritage is from the Mastiff and the Blood Hound lines. They are the national dog of Brazil and were originally used for tracking and holding. Way way back, that included finding and holding runaway plantation slaves and hunting large game. These days they are still used to aid in hunting large game - primarily the big cats such as Panthers, Jaguars and such and for personal protection. They have a “high sprung” rear end to enable them to jump as high as the cats and take them down by the throat. Standing on their hind legs, they are as tall as most men. They are extremely fierce and terrify everyone that sees them, but here with their family, they are just a couple of big ole’ babies. Libby still thinks she’s a lap dog and will plunk her big bottom right down in your lap for a nuzzle. Just don’t let her lay on your chest!! Breathing is too important!! They are also extremely intelligent. We constantly have to be on our toes because they are sharp enough to pull stuff over on us all the time if we aren’t as alert as they are at any given moment. One of Libby’s first tricks was to learn how to turn on the bathroom light and to open doors using the knobs. We came home not long ago and found Honey Blossom out of her crate. We still aren’t sure which dog figured out how to work that latch! We’ve had a Husky for years. Her name is Sasha and she is just as sweet as can be. She isn’t pictured here - everyone knows what a Siberian Husky looks like generally. I used to think of her as a “large dog”. But then came the Fila’s….. We started with Liberty. Libby comes from Tennessee and when we drove to pick her up at the airport (she rode to the airport in a limo - no kidding! - but that’s another story for another time….) the war in Iraq had just started, and we had no name yet…. and what passes us on the highway but a Jeep Liberty. I had grown frustrated and started calling out the names of ALL the cars passing us as suggestions. Given the time in history coinciding with Libby’s home coming and all, it fit, and it stuck! The picture below is not a full body picture, but I wanted you to see the size of her head. I had my 15 yr old son put his head next to hers for reference:

Libby is nearly 180 lbs now at 1-1/2 years old. HB will probably not get that big due to her breeding, but promises to be the most correct in temperament of the two. Poor little Sasha. She’s the ‘old girl’ in the house, but with her Husky personality and age, and only being 50 lbs amid these beasts, she just can’t compete.

Now what’s really scary….. is that the hubby wants MORE…. and a kennel….. and breedings. I told him no more can live in the house with us. They take up the whole bed singly. Keep them in the kennel and I can deal with it - but NO MORE IN THE HOUSE!!