Cat in a Box..and one Crazy Squirrel!

My cat Louise does a lot of strange things. She likes to sleep under the covers, stalk the dogs, and sit in the water dish when it is empty. This morning I found her sleeping in an old shoe box. Funny thing is....it was in the garbage can...or at least it was. I have no idea how she got it out of there, but here she is....enjoying her victory.

And if that wasn't strange enough....I had an encounter with a very unusual squirrel this morning.

There I was...just minding my own buisness. The rain was slightly trickling down from the leaves above. I hear a noise...I look up..see nothing. I turn, go round the side of the garage. I drop the garbage bag, I had hauled out of the house, into the trash bin. I hear the noise again. I spin around to see what is making this noise. It is a strange sort of squeaky noise....like right out of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. You know the part I am talking about. If you don't...here is a clip to refresh your memory.

Anyway, back to my story. I kept hearing this squeaky sound. Then, as if out of no where...BAM! I got hit in the head with something. At first I thought a bird pooped on me, but I saw this object bounce across the ground. I looked up...saw nothing. I raced across the grass, and investigated the foreign object. To my surprise...it was an acorn. I looked up again, saw nothing. So what did I do next? Well, I sat down in my tree swing. I felt a bit foolish sitting there in the rain watching the cars go by. However, I was not about to leave until I had found my attacker.

A few minutes went by, then BAM! Another acorn hit the tree swing...barely missing me. I looked up, but again I saw nothing. Just a few branches moving in the wind. Well now I was mad. I stood up, and watched the tree above swaying back and forth. Then....I saw him! Or should I say her!! What a sneaky little squirrel. I snuck up to the base of the tree, and peered up into the branches. She took aim....fire again!!! Missed me! I picked up the acorn, and threw it back at the squirrel. (I know, I know) It NEVER moved! It was daring me to chuck another one. But I did something that it did not expect....I let the dogs out! It freaked...and ran up the tree.

After that, it dissapeared....but only for a moment. I put the dogs back in the house, and went to pick up the acorns from the battle. I put them into a pile at the base of the tree. I am, afterall, and animal lover. I didn't want it to starve. I walked out onto the sidewalk, and there she was. She was sitting up in the tree, peering down at me. I could only imagine that she was saying...."This is not over.....not over by a long shot!" I half expected her to "Pull a Focker" on me. The good old "I'm watching you" motion that was shared in that movie.

Well you know what Squirrel...I'm watching you too! Here is the infamous squirrel. I think it is a girl. I wonder why?

Jupiter visible tonight!! Time for Fall!! Kittens!!

It's those chilly morning's that I long for after the heat of summer. I love this time of year. There are many things that spark the start of fall for me. Whether it be the stars, the colours, or just a good latte....I can feel it in the air! Fall is starting its arrival.

Every year, the leaves on the trees in my yard are always the last ones to drop. However, something is happening this year that I did not expect. They have already started turning, and the leaves are dropping like crazy. This is very strange. We have lived in this house for 7 years, and have always had the unwanted privledge of cleaning up everyone else's leaves in November. They always blow down to our house, and since our trees are the last ones to go, we never rake them up till after Halloween. Looks like we will be doing some early clean up this year. I don't know what's going on. Call it global warming, call it mother nature....what ever it is....it is a bit out of sorts. Can this really be happening so early?

Fall really starts for me in an unconventional way. I am VERY partial to pumpkin. It does not matter how it is prepared. It could be pumpkin pie, pumpkin juice, pumpkin patte.....doesn't matter. I love it!!! Every year about this time, Starbucks (my weakness) brings in my favourite drink of all time. It is the famous Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. It is to die for!! I had been waiting almost a year to have a cup of this!

I work in a area where there is a Starbucks just down the street. The people who work at this specific Starbucks are simply wonderful. I am sad yet happy to say that they know me very well! I am there every morning. They know me by name, and by my car. I think it is hillarious....my hubby thinks I go there too much. Hmmmm.....I think he might be on to something....but I will never admit that to him! There are a few girls in the morning who are a joy to talk to. They even let me take their photograph the other day for the blog! Sweet gals...and they make one mean cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte!!!


There are many other things that make me think of Fall, but the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte has to top the list!!

One of the other things that tops the list, is the beautiful stars that you can see this time of year. Last night we were honored with a visit from Jupiter. That's right....the planet Jupiter! It was literally following the moon last night, and what a sight to see. We had perfectly clear skies, and were able to watch the show. My camera failed me though, and I was not able to capture Jupiter on film. This was as close as I was able to get. Jupiter shines upper right of the Moon. Although they look close together, Jupiter is 1,750 times farther away, and is 40 times larger! Jupiter's arrival has been going on for the last few days, but last night and tonight looks like the best time to get out there and see it for yourself!! Just look to the right of the moon!



STAR WATCHING TONIGHT!!!!

Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:47 p.m. EDT.

Watch Jupiter's moon Europa slowly reappear from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow around 11:20 p.m. EDT. It'll be barely east of the planet. (For a listing of all events among Jupiter's moons this month, visible worldwide!!!

Jupiter, Mars, and Venus will be visible tonight right after sunset if you have a telescope. Go here for more information on what you will be able to see over the next few days. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance

It really is an amazing September for star watching!! Get out there, and see what the sky holds for you! You will be able to see Jupiter again tonight with the naked eye, although a telescope will make the large red spot on Jupiter more visible.

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KITTEN UPDATES!!!

I have had a lot of requests about the 2 kittens that are being treated at our clinic right now. They are both doing well, and one of them has found a home with one of our technicians. His new name is Lincoln, but I call him Captain. I like to be different. You may remember that his legs were both broken. Sad to say, that they are still broken after several weeks of treatment, but one of the legs seems to be on the mend. Here he is in all his feline glory!!




The other kitten, which is now named Abby, is still without a home. She is just the sweetest thing ever!! Her wounds are also healing nicely, and in about 2 weeks she should be able to be without her bandages. She is in foster care at the local humane society, and makes the trip to our clinic 3 times a week for bandage changes, and a progress check. I would adopt her myself if I wasn't already at maximum capacity. Again, I have to be different, so I have dubbed her "Peg". She's a snuggler for sure, and I will get some ore photos of her this week to show you all.

Harley Davidson is following me!! (Kinda)

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES HARLEY DAVIDSON!!!!

August 30th was my 5th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it has been 5 years already. Seems like it was only yesterday. In fact, this year's anniversary was like walking back in time. Sean and I were married on the 100th anniversary of Harley Davidson, back in 2003. However, at the time, we didn't know how much the Harley festival would impact our wedding. There were so many bikes in downtown Milwaukee that day that we couldn't get to our rehearsal dinner. It was an amazing site to see all those bikes, and my grandparents from England were just thrilled to see them all. We eventually did make it to our destination, and had a wonderful dinner.






The next day, we were married at 3pm, outside of the Country Springs Hotel. At 4pm, I was having pictures taken outside the hotel, and I was approached by several Harley riders who were headed out to the festivities. They wanted me and my bridesmaids to pose in our "get up" on their Harleys. Of course, we oblidged, and took a few photos of our own. It was a great time. Thanks to Robbi....I took some photos of photos to show you....they aren't the best since they are blurry and grainy....but it will do for now till I can get some proper photos to show you guys! My face looks fat now that I took the digital photo of the original photo LOL

The owner of one of the bikes gets in the pic!

This brings me to the title of this blog. This past weekend, again on our anniversary, Harley Davidson had their 105th anniversary. Normally, al the festivities are held at State Fair Park or downtown Milwaukee. This year, we got the surprise of our life when we found out that our town of Waukesha would be having their own Harley Festival. You can read about that on their web page http://www.105thweekendinwaukesha.com/

To my knowledge, Waukesha has never done anything like this before. The entire downtown area was closed off for the 4 day event. Harleys were EVERYWHERE!! Some of my neighbors rented their houses out to the bikers, and the party began! We live pretty close to the downtown area, and all hours of the day and night you could hear the bikes driving past our house. Little kids set up lemonade stands for the bikers, and everywhere you went, you could see signs to welcome the Harley group to Waukesha. The town really did a nice job getting big name bands to come and play, such as Blues Traveler, Montgomery Gentry, Bodeans, Los Lobos, and a few others.


On Saturday, our anniversary, we headed down with our dog Lolita to check out what was going on. To our SHOCK, we saw a massive stage erected in Cutler Park adjacent to the local library. The entire area was packed with people and bikes! We were so taken back by the amount of people there. It was like nothing we had ever seen before. I looked at my hubby, and he looked at me with this puzzled face. I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing...."When the H-E- Double hockey sticks did that stage go up?" I live right down the road, and never saw a thing. But there it was. A massive stage. Not just a small run of the mill badly put together thing....but a proper HUGE stage with lighting and everything...right smack dab in the middle of a park...complete with trees, a swing set, and the local library!!

Waukesha really did out do themselves! It was the best time ever! A 4 day event to celebrate Harley Davidson, and the promote Waukesha! There must have been hundreds of thousands of people there. It truly was a sight to see. The screams and cheers of the crowd as the bands took the stage, the beer flowing widly, the different types of bikes...all the colors, and decorations, people from all over the world...and best of all.....my hubby and I once again being followed by Harley Davidson! It was wonderful, and brought back so many memories of our wedding. The only trouble now is....my hubby wants a motorcycle. He says it's fate.


Here are some pictures that I was able to take. Some of them might be dark because....well....it was night time :)

Miss Lolita checking out the Harleys

No no Sean....you CANNOT buy a Harley!! End of story...

Not sure what this is....but it was still fun to look at

The Waukesha Farmer's Market gets set up for food tents

And the Harley's start to roll in

The crowds get larger, the beer starts pouring, and the stage lights up!

Here is a short video of the country singer, Montgomery Gentry, singing the night away. This was as close as I could get, there were just so many people. If I had to guess, I would say at least 5000 people were between me and the stage. It was that packed!!! I mean...imagine standing the middle of a closed off road.....right in Cutler Park where you walk by everyday.......seeing all these people in your town.....this massive stage....big name bands.....I was really having a great time!! Keep in mind....this park is not really a big park.....but it sure packed in a LOT of people!