Art? or just Trashy!

Okay, Everyone that has a house ends up putting things in the yard. Whether it's wind chimes, statues, birdbaths, or worse, those big behind cutouts. You know what I mean,
they're suppose to look like someone is bending over. Who thought of those? And who buys them and puts them in their yard? Any way for your viewing pleasure ,
I'm posting some of the
things in my yard for all to see.
I'll number them so you can tell me,
Art? or Not?



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#8

Monday August 28

YOU GOTTA GET ONE OF THESE!
Sorry for yelling, but Craig bought this bug zapper a few months ago and I thought, ya right, this things just a gimmick. But boy was I wrong! This thing is amazing. here's a pic.





How it works.
It's just a bit smaller than a tennis racket. It uses 2 "D" batteries. You hold the button on the side of the handle, and the wire grid becomes electrified! Just wave it by the nasty fly or whatever, and ZAP! They're history. We've used it in the mo-ho and at home. Works every time! Not one gets away! It even sucks them off walls! Everyone should have it!
We got it at

http://www.harborfreight.com/

They don't list it on their web site, but you can find their store locations. It was only $3.99. Have seen them advertised in other stores for $10 or more!

And if your not quite sure how to use it. Here's Craig showing some bug zapper moves.

So for all you bugged by bugs,

YOU GOTTA GET ONE OF THESE!

Saturday August 26

A few posts back I mentioned about those nasty Japanese beetles. Well, They finally seem to be
winding down some. I mean, there's not nearly as many as there have been most of the summer. Since they first started coming out in July, I haven't seen any of my roses bloom. They eat the flowers as fast as they try to open. Same for my perennial Hibiscus.

But as you see here, I was able to take a picture of them not full of holes. This particular Hibiscus is called "Copper King", due to the reddish foliage!

Here's a pic of a common Hibiscus.
As you see, the folliage isn't as nice as "Copper King". And the red center isn't as large.





And for those who aren't familiar
with those nasty Japanese beetles,
Here's a pic of the little buggers!
By the next day this flower was shredded!



But like I said earlier,
I just try to enjoy other parts of the yard.

Thursday August 24

As the summer passes quickly,
I've been walking around the yard,
enjoying the progress of my
many types of plants.
Alot of them have been
here for years now, and
they're becoming a mature size.


One of my favorites is Hosta's.

So many sizes and shapes.
I've posted just a few of the
50 or so that I have .




The first one is called "Blue Angel".
A very large hosta about
4 feet across and 3 feet tall.


Second one is another large hosta
called "Francis Williams".



Notice the colors and
different textures of the leaves.

One of Craig's favorites
is number 3,
"Great Expectations".


They really do come in so many sizes,
shapes, textures, and color combinations.
I think they're a real asset to the yard.



You might not have noticed,
but I'm abit of a plant freak!
What can I say, I love gardening!

Tuesday August 22

I'm Alive!
But seriously, everything went fine. A simple surgery. Not near as sore as I anticipated! Went in at 6:15, surgery at 7:00, the doctor was talking to Craig at 7:15, on our way home at 8:00. You should've seen the big ugly blob he pulled out! He didn't even use stiches! Three pieces of tape to seal the two inch incision!
Took this pic this morning with my cool new camera! Isn't it tiny! Now the incision is actually on my right shoulder, but I took this in the bathroom mirror, so it's reversed. Craig sleeps in so late and I usually post in the morning, so I couldn't wait for him. ;-)
I liked the surgery center. Everything went much quicker and smoother than my hernia surgery at the hospital last February.

Sunday Aug. 20

Well, tomorrow I go under the knife!
Actually, I'm having a lump removed from my back shoulder blade. It's nothing serious, just a fatty deposit under the skin. It's out patient at Lansing Surgery Center. I've had it for years, but it's been slowly getting larger and starting to show thru my tee shirts. YUK! I'll be glad to have it gone.





Also I got a nifty new camera! a Sony Cybershot,
6 megapixel, 3 optical, and 2 digital zoom.
And a large 2 1/2 " screen! And it's truly
a "pocket camera". It's sooooo small!
Now I can take it everywhere!
Here's a pic from my new camera!

South Haven

While at Campit we took a short drive south to South Haven.
A very nice little town!
A river with many marinas snakes thru it.
Here's a pic of the main bridge
going up as a boat goes up river.

You can walk from downtown

all the way out to the lighthouse and beach.

Though as you can see a bit of a walk.

But it was a beautiful day!

Here's Craig at the end of the breakwall.

here's a view of the town on the way back from the beach and light house.

And here's an unusual bird on the rocks near the breakwall. Not sure what it is. Will have to dig thru my bird books to see if I can find it.

Campit

Went to a new campground,
will, new to us,
called Campit.
It's about ten miles south
of Saugatuck. It's a private membership
campground. People were very friendly.
Got a full hook-up site, the first time
for that and I have to admit I really liked it.
No worry about how much water I can use.

Here we are all set up. I have to say we really like the mo-ho for traveling. Still don't know if we could live in it full time. I guess that's why we got it so early to give us time to try it out.

This campground has theme weekends.

This particular weekend was Mardi Gras.

Here is our mo-ho dressed for the occasion.

They had a crazy parade with golf carts all decked out, and a big street party afterwards.

The campground has a number of individual areas. We were in what they call the East Village. That was where the street party was,

so we were right in the middle of it all!

Lot's of fun!

I think we'll do it again next year!

Mackinaw City

Went to Mackinaw City last weekend.

Stayed at Mill Creek Campground.

And a LARGE Campground it was!
600 sites!
Was quite busy despite gas at 3.17 a gal.

Here's me in our tight campsite.

This park had the smallest sites

of any park we've been at.

But enough room for our awning and chairs.

We had a great view of the

bridge from the campground.

We had a mile of shoreline at this park.

It is located about

4 miles south east of the city.

This is a pic of me and our friends from

Wisconsin, Dean and Tom.

They have a fifth wheel.

We did all thee tourist things.

Went to mackinaw City,

over the bridge to St Ignace,

and took the ferry to Mackinaw Island.

It's been years since I've been to the island,

but it's the same as I remember it,

lots of fudge and t-shirt shops.

But it's still a beautiful island with

beautiful buildings and flowers. And as you can see, very busy! And do you believe,

$20 for a round trip ferry ride!

Fortunately, we had some

free passes given to me!

We even saw a freighter go

by the island while we were there.

All in all, we had a good time.