Barking Mad

A Preview of Things To Come

Now that I'm feeling better and not as blue as I was, I thought I'd post a little teaser out here, sorta-kinda to let ya'll know I hadn't totally fallen off the face of the earth.   We've been busy too.  Combine that with not feeling well, feeling blue, taking Meg and her friend, Katie's senior portraits (they begged so I gave in, although I stand by what I said earlier, I HATE taking photographs of anything that breaths!), and running after Gaby, it makes for almost no time to blog.  I don't really have time right now, as I should be in bed...why should I be in bed you ask?  Well because tomorrow is Wednesday and every Wednesday Meg's school has late start, so a whole group of girls rotate having pancake breakfast at one another's homes.  And tomorrow it's our turn.  I've pretty much got everything set up, but being that I'm going to have to be semi-awake to deal with ten 17 and 18 year old females plus one bundle of almost two-year old female...well dang it, I need my rest!

In the meantime here's a little taste of what Meg and her new BFF Katie have been up to.....

The above was taken last Sunday when we went out to Reid State Park and then Popham Beach to take the girls' senior portraits.  Once we were done with the fancy stuff they cut loose...and how!

Here they are being, well, absolutely adorable!

I'm not going to post the nicer ones that the girls will probably use for their pictures in the annual...not just yet anyhow.  I'll wait until they've seen the finished product and then if they say it's ok, I'll post.

And one more.....

I'll post lots more in the next day or so.  We got some great shots at the recent Great State of Maine Airshow at Brunswick Naval Air Station.   There are tons of other pics as well.  And it goes without saying, those include several of the little imp as well.  Oh and my goodness, she's been impish lately!  Uhg. 

Tune in soon! 

Meg, the Mathematician

Well, not really. 

But at least she's having a whole lot of fun with her study-buddy, Matt.  He's a nice kid, but I tell ya, hearing him trying to drill intergers and other related concepts into her head makes me want to stab myself in the eye.  At least they are having fun with it.

I can't recall what I said to get them laughing so hard, but Meg is now promising to kill me. 

She's kinda cheesy, but I love her!

Matt is a sweet kid and even picked her up from work last night (for which I am so grateful, it meant I didn't have to drag my big butt out at 11:30PM and get her myself.) and they went bowling for a little while and came back here and watched a movie.   

Meg seems to be adjusting well to life here in Maine.  Her first month has been filled with some ups and downs, normal of course when you consider that she's moved 3000 miles and 3 time zones.   She decided to join the cross country team at school and aside from it really kicking her butt, she loves it.  She seems to enjoy most of her classes too, which is good because they are not the easiest ones out there.  We loaded her up in order to prepare for college next year.   Hence the reason Matt is here...helping her with her calculus.  Well that and if you ask me, I think he's pretty taken with Meg, and I kinda think the feeling is mutual.  But we'll see.  She has so much ahead of her and she just got out of a pretty serious dating relationship.  I just want her to have fun and focus on school.

She also went to her first Mt. AHS football game yesterday.  I dunno why it was on a Saturday afternoon, but it was.  I guess, to hear her and the other kids talk about it, the team pretty much sucks.   They had to call the game at half-time anyhow due to heat and several players needing an ambulance as a result of heat stroke.  I think that was the merciful thing to do seeing as how we were down 34-7. 

Aside from Meg's study antics that's pretty much it.  We've had a mostly boring weekend due to the suffocating heat and humidity.  Mother Nature took pity on us today and it never got over 63F (whereas yesterday it was 95F and 90% humidity) and it's been raining a lot.   The trees are already starting to turn which is oddly early.    Our folliage up in this part of New England doesn't typically tend to go ablaze until late September or early October.  But for some reason all of the trees are starting to turn.  Who knows, maybe I might get a few good shots.

That about does it for now.  I'm trying to keep out of Meg's way but yet not too far away, I mean they are teenagers afterall.

Gabriella Rose, Get Off the Coffee Table, NOW!!!!!

I have uttered that phrase throughout the day at various times and at various volumes at least 150 times!  Do you think she listens?

I think not.....

Wolfe's Neck State Park and Land's End

I'd better preface this by stating that Great, Bailey, and Orr's Islands are all part of the trip down to Land's End, about 25 minutes from where we live.  Wolfe's Neck State Park is down in Freeport, again about 25 minutes from where we live.

We decided to go exploring yesterday and take Meg to see more of her new 'home'. I also wanted to scout around for a bit to see if there was anything worth photographing. I did find a couple of things but nothing that jumped out at me that I'd want to include in this year's collection. Anyhow,  we didn't want to go to the usual run of the mill places and had been talking to one of the boys from across the street (Meg dragged two of them in the house to meet Gareth and I) and they suggested WNSP and Land's End.    There was one other place they suggested too, but I can't recall the name. 

Before I forget, Meg took a great deal of the pictures from yesterday and I'll try and remember to point out which one's she took.

We hit WNSP first and hadn't really intended on taking the hiking trail, but we did and Meg found a great little rocky inlet. 

The girls goofed off on the rocks (I tried not to have a stroke with Gaby being that close to really choppy water, but Meg does a great job with her and senses how nervous this makes me.) and I took pictures.

We decided to head up the trail a little further and I'm really glad we did.  In addition to getting a cute shot of the girls on one of the bridge's...

...the Maine Forestry and Conservation dept. had a guide and a high powered lense set up so that we could view an Osprey nest.  In the nest was an Osprey chick (they are HUGE) which was one of the most gorgeous birds I have ever seen.  I only got a shot of the top if the tree the nest was perched on (the nest's are huge as well), but I was so glad they had a great lense set up so that I could see the bird close up.  It was absolutely magnificent.  There was something about seeing it that touched a part of me deep inside.  I can't describe it, so I probably shouldn't. 

This is the view across the inlet where the nest was.  I have a little red arrow on the lousy shot I got that shows where the nest is.  You can kinda-sorta barely see the top of the Osprey chick.

Um yeah, I pretty much know what I want Santa to bring me this year.  A high-powered lense!  Can you imagine the shots I could get with something like that.  Wow!

Meg took this picture of the hiking trail...

We really had perfect weather yesterday for our little adventures.  It was cool enough to where Gaby needed a little hoody but Meg, Gareth and I were fine in our shirt sleeves.  Not a cloud in the sky and a really nice breeze.  It made for a gorgeous day.

Gaby explores the moss on the root system of a tree...

From Wolfe's Neck State Park we headed north through Harpswell and onto Great Island then Bailey's and Orr's Islands which lead the way to Land's End. 

The Islands are typical of Maine life on the water, with pretty cottages dotting the coastline, loads of boats out on the water pulling lobster pots or just enjoying the remnants of the summer and locals sitting on their porches breathing in the sea air and waving to anyone who passes by.

Here are some pictures that Meg took on the way down and way back. 

Old chapel on Orr's Island...

Inlet on Orr's Island...

Land's End.  A view from of one of the rockly ledges that surround's the area...

Gareth took this one.  I've not a clue as to who the statue is, but will find out as there is a huge gift shop down at Land's End with gorgeous lighthouse stained glass window pieces and I'm going to go and pick up a couple of them, so I'll have a chance to go back and look at the statue close up and answer my own question.

There are hundreds of quaint cemetaries that dot the coastline here in Maine.  Several of them date back to the revelutionary war and some even preceed it.   Meg was fascinated (as I am) by the 5 or 6 we passed on the islands during our drive and got out to take some pictures of one of them.  This particular graveyard  only dates back to the mid 1850's. 

We noticed something kind of funny, I just wish one of us, be it Meg, myself or Gareth was able to get a better shot of it.  Right next to the cemetary was a sign for a local realtor.  We all got a laugh at the name of the realtor due to the fact that it was directly adjacent to the graveyard...

I got out to take this one...notice the hills in the background? If you look closely (click on the photograph so you get it in full size) you'll notice a huge house that sits on that hill and overlooks the cemetary. I just thought it was kinda interesting.  I guess they won't have to worry about their neighbours throwing any loud late-night parties now will they?

The church which is adjacent to the cemetary had  an unusual (it was unsual to me, because I wondered how it was level) foundation.  Stones.

On the drive back home I saw an old-fashioned water pump and thought it was interesting.  Although I know a lot of you probably think it is little more than yawn-worthy at this point.  *lol*

Meg being, well Meg!

And that pretty much wrapped up our day.   Of course, once we got home and Gaby was able to run wild again, she grabbed not just one, but both cell phones (mine and Gareth's) and had a blast with them.  Is this typically female or what?

"Snake in a Bucket"...and Other Adventures in the Continuing Saga of Life With a 17-Year Old Female

Snake in a Bucket

I tell ya, kids get up to the nastiest things these days!

Let me just preface this by letting you know this is NOT for the squeamish! Or for the prudish. Or for anyone prone to fits of morally righteous indignation. Ok, you’ve been warned.

Most of you know that Meg got her first job here in Maine working for a local cinema. She thought it would be her dream job. All the free movies you can watch and popcorn and soda you can gorge yourself on. Ok so maybe she didn’t count on the boredom factor but that doesn’t stop her from having a good time. She’s excited that she got to bust someone for bringing beer into the theatre. When others didn’t want to bust the girl who snuck the booze in, Meg stepped up and said; “I’ll do it!” Atta girl! Well, maybe not. It’s not like I want her getting busted over the head with a beer or booze bottle when someone gets pissed off at her that they can't indulge in the theatre.  Anyways she thought that was pretty cool that she got to do that last night, her first night on the job.

I get to the theatre tonight to pick her up and she asks me (I was so not prepared for this) if I know what “snake in the bucket” is. Silly me, here I am thinking they had some sort of terrorist threat at the cinema tonight with some lunatic trying to sneak poisonous snakes into the movies. I was ready to tell her she was quitting ASAP and screw giving notice! “Snake in a bucket” has nothing remotely to do with reptiles or terrorists! I don’t even know if I can bring myself to articulate what it is! I am going bright red just remembering that it was my daughter, of all people, who had to explain it to me.

Maybe all I’ll have to do is mention TEENAGE BOYS and you’ll get the picture? No? Ok, if I must describe it, I’ll try to do it without dying of humiliation.

Picture a big ole bucket of popcorn. After the movies the cleaning crews come through the theatre (i.e.; my daughter and her co-workers) to tidy up for the next showing and they find popcorn buckets on the floor, however some buckets have holes in the bottom of them. Are you getting the picture now? Please please don’t make me go into any more detail. No? You’re still a little fuzzy, not quite clear as to what I’m getting at?

Ok, this outta make things crystal clear. Think horny male teenagers! Yuck!!!!! Think sticky popcorn. DOUBLE YUCK! I will never be able to sit through another movie without making sure that there are no teenagers of the male persuasion anywhere near me.

You're How Old?

We leave the cinema tonight after picking Meg up after work and I have to head over to the store real quick to pick up a few things that can’t wait until the morning. I decided to grab some beer. Normally I’m not fond of the stuff, but I do enjoy a low-carb ale now and then…ok, I’m a sissy. It’s pretty weak and more like a beer seltzer and that’s exactly why I like it. It’s not like drinking carbonated hay!  I ‘spose it could have been Meg telling me about busting the girl with the booze that planted the seed.

We get to the checkout counter and even though it’s quite clear that I am the one paying, the checker asks Meg for ID. I was like, “pardon? I’m the one buying the beer, here’s my ID, that’s my daughter and no this isn’t for her!” So the checker tells me that it doesn’t matter, that it’s the law and Meg looks “of age” and being that I don’t look old enough to have a daughter that old (I swear, those were her exact words! Ask Meg if you don’t believe me) that they need to see her ID. So of course Meg has no ID with her with a photograph on it, so the store manager is called. *Cue annoyed sighs and grunts from the growing line behind me.*

Mr. Manager steps forward and makes a big show of looking Meg and I up and down and then asks me for my ID and asks Meg for hers. He asks how old Meg is and I tell him that she’s 17 and I’ve just picked her up from work and we just stopped in for a few things.  At this point I’m turning bright red because those “few things” mostly consisted of, *ahem* girly stuff, if you’re getting my drift, and the beer.  I’m sure the manager is deciding to choose his words very carefully as it appears he could be dealing with a PMS’ing female. He asks me when she’s going to be 18 because there is no way I could have a daughter that old (ok come on already, that line is getting OLDDDDD) and then Meg, child of my loins, daughter of my heart pipes up and says; “it’s cool, she’s almost 50!” To which I reply; “Meaghan Ashlee you are so dead they’re gonna have to bury you TWICE!” And we trade barbs back and forth for a minute or two.

The manager hands my ID back to me and looks at the checker and says; “Let ‘em go, that sounds like mother/daughter banter to me.”

To add insult injury, the checker smiles reassuringly at me and chirps up; "It's ok hun, there are lots of young moms out there."  Others might have been flattered, I was not. I just wanted to pay for my beer and girly stuff and get the hell out of there!

Oi! It’s bad enough to be interrogated like that, but to have my very own daughter age me by almost 12 years, in public no less…well, I tell you, there is just no justice in this world! That’s ok though…when she least expects it I’ll have something up my sleeve. You just wait my pretty, you just wait!