Happy New Year!

Have a Holly Chocolate Christmas

This was a special Christmas indeed. There was much excitement in the Ballou household this year, and lots to celebrate. Saint Lawrence Chocolates has opened!

Ellen and Angela, in cooperation from the entire family in Potsdam, has opened up a dream. One day Ellen was driving home along the river, and she thought she should pick up some gourmet chocolate for her work mates. It was stressful time of year, and she knew it would lift their spirits. Problem was, she soon realized, there was no where to get gourmet chocolate in St. Lawrence County. Ellen's vision became clear, why couldn't she use her skills to open a gourmet chocolate shop? She could make chocolates, couldn't she?

Ellen went to work. She took chocolatier classes online. She started to taste different kinds and brands of chocolate. She began practicing, and purchasing molds. At first, the plan was to run the business from home. However, after inspectors deemed it necessary for many renovations on her house, it seemed wiser to open a shop right away. Then Ellen found the space. A storefront right downtown in Potsdam, right near the movie theatre and across from the Clarkson Inn. She could hire Angela to make chocolates. If she only had the money.

After months of securing loans, and remodeling the shop, it happened. She opened the shop. Ellen and Angela couldn't make chocolate fast enough. The customers wanted chocolate, and they cleared out the cases as fast as they could. Ellen needed Tom to help sell chocolate. She needed Marylee and Mom to put together boxes. She even needed a temporary employee to help run the cash register during the week. It became a family affair. Everyone chipped in, and the shop was up and running. It appeared that even chocolate could catch fire.

The most popular items became the handmade chocolate cream, solid chocolate shapes, and dipped oreo's and pretzels, not to mention bark. They bought Jelly Bellies too, and sugar free and organic chocolates. Don't forget lollipops. Special orders started to come in too. And with Christmas only 15 days away! Long days and nights followed. No stopping now, the chocolate show must go on!

At Christmas, even Laura and John helped chip in where they could. The Warmers made some chocolate too. The whole family wanted some! Adam couldn't believe his eyes. The whole family was there, and behind them 100%. Congrats to Ellen, Angela, Tom, Marylee, Mom, Dad....you all did an amazing job. We are all really proud!

North Country Christmas

Laura and I headed north for Christmas 2006. We had a great mix of new and old traditions this year. We exhanged gifts on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day, because we had everyone there, and Adam couldn't wait. After a real great meal, we gathered around and had our first sibling gift exchange. Instead of buying for everyone, we drew names last year so that each sibling gave a gift or two to only one other sibling. I think it worked out great! We all gave to Adam and Mom and Dad, no restrictions needed there.

Laura and I had drawn Ellen and Angela. Here they are with their new aprons for the shop. After the sibling exchange, we also did a "Dirty Santa/Yankee Swap" with handmade gifts each of us made. I loved the ginger snap cookies I got that Dad made...yum. We decided to do it again next year, and we drew names again.

Adam was so much fun this year. He has reached a great age, and is really into unwrapping gifts. He is also in command of a bigger vocabulary, so he is real funny to talk and play with. He really loved playing with Tom! He really is doing great, and we all had a good time interacting with him!

Well, it was a great time, and I guess someone has to clean up after the party, so of course Wendy volunteers for dishes. I'm glad someone like to do them, thanks Wendy! Merry Christmas everyone!

Dirty Santa Gift Exchange

It has now become an annual tradition for us. Laura and I love to host a holiday party, and include our version of the "Dirty Santa" gift exchange. Why is it "dirty", well, its not because of the questionable tastes in gifts (or is it?), but because you can steal gifts away from other people. As long as everyone knows its in fun, it is always a good time. Thanks to Brian for his great pictures...

We do two rounds, the first round is for gag gifts...

The second round is for more tasteful gifts, this year the theme was, "Made in Rochester."

Chocolate for Gerry.

Wine for Chris.

Cards for Brian.

Grrrrr...owler for Cait!

New haricut for me!

Good times for all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all!

Christmas Bliss

One of our true joys of Christmas is getting to spend time with our friends Lauren and Sarah. Though sometimes we exchange gifts, it is the time spent with one another we truly cherish. I love seeing the excitement in Lauren and Sarah's eyes when we get together. They are so full of the joy of life, that it is easy to understand the real meaning of the Christmas Spirit.


This year we started with dinner out at Friendly's. The girls ordered drinks that would change their tongues colors, and we teased them about their friends seated at others tables.


Then we headed home to bake some gingerbread cookies. But we had fun first posing for some pictures with John's new funny hat.


The smell of gingerbread filled the air from fresh cookies, as we decorated a gingerbread house. We were all very pleased with the kit, but we had fun adding extra candy left over from Halloween too.


It was a night full of laughs, and everyone got a chance to eat some candy.


So what is the real meaning of Christmas? You don't have to look very far if you have young friends who can remind you. Nothing is more important than time. We are thankful to have this special time with our special friends.

Chips: The Ones without Ponch

Check out the Reduced Fat Potato Chip Taste Test.

Thanksgiving Letterboxing

What a wonderfully mild Thanksgiving! The temperatures were in the sixties, so what better to do then get out and walk off that turkey, and do some letterboxing.


We have been talking to Julia about getting out and doing some letterboxing. So we went up a little early to Lobster Dinner and showed her how its done. Julia had no difficulties of course, and she found the first box like a pro.


Though the second one was a bit trickier, we had a real funny surprise as the clues led us to this historical gem in the woods. We were kind of freaked out walking up to this derelict old shack, but once we saw the sign we got a good chuckle out of it.


We also did some letterboxing with Sandy and Dick. We walked a real nice trail, that was really flat at first, but then had some real big up's and down's. Everyone took it like champs, and we had another stunningly warm walk.


Dick knows how to rehide a box, even down to covering his tracks!

Strangest Bird of Ohio

This bird may be coming to a feeder near you!
Enhanced photo copyright of Dick Beery

Lobster Dinner

This is one of the most unique traditions we celebrate with the Yarnell side of the family. It's the annual Thanksgiving Lobster Dinner, typically done a day or two after Thanksgiving proper. Most recently it has been done at Sharon, John, and Julia's house. Scott does the lobster honors, and he does an amazing job each and every year. Large or small, Scott has gotten the lobster boil down to a science.

Sharon is famous for her soup, whether it's hot or cold. Everyone else fills in the holes with deserts and appetizers and sides. The laughs are frequent as members are sprayed with lobster juice, or friendly teasing about one another. This year everyone had a lot of fun with "Hot Sex" after the meal (that would be the vodka cordial that Sharon kindly shared). We ate coffee ice cream cake, pumpkin cake, and sugar cookies for dessert.

Julia kept us entertained with a cornstarch and water concoction that we were told demonstarted anti-Newtonian physics. If you slapped it hard, your finger wouldn't go in. If you slowly pushed your finger in, it would sink and get covered with goo. We were impressed. Sharon and John have been celbrating lobster tradition for 25 years, and I hope we continue it for another 25!

Birding Ohio

Sandy and Dick's birdfeeder always brings in a nice variety of birds in close. I decided to try to take a few pictures on high zoom to see what I got. Not too bad for my first try, I thought. Here we have some tufted titmouses (mice?), and a red-bellied woodpecker.

This morning though, I wasn't getting very many birds at the feeder and I couldn't figure out why. After about twenty minutes, I saw some movement in the closest tree. You can see why the birds were keeping their distance. Kitty was about 20 feet up this tree. I didn't call the fire department, the cat got down somehow later in the day.

I've Been Sick...Feel Bad For Me!

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Gabcast

Flown the Coop

What can I say about Bob (Coop) Cooper? I think you know a person is special when you have only talked to them a few times, and yet you feel you have known them forever. You feel somehow connected to them. You admire them. You wish you had more time to spend with them. Coop has that kind of impact on you. His smile, his wit, his knowledge, his charisma. You could sit by a fire and listen to him weave a yarn, or tell you everything you wanted to know about a mushroom. He captures an audience.

Coop has worked in one capacity or another with the Rochester Museum and Science Center for over thirty years. He has been the face on the Cummings Nature Center for over a decade. I jumped at a chance to go to his retirement party this November, because I knew I wanted to see him one more time. I don't think Cummings Nature Center or the RMSC will ever be the same for me. Coop's family and friends were all at the party. I felt I really didn't know anyone. But as I talked to people, many of them didn't know each other either. It seemed that Coop had touched each person in the room in some way, but one thing was clear...he had that impression on them. That impression that you would never forget.

Coop is going to become a migratory bird. Just like the ones he could identify from the window for you at the CNC on the drop of a hat. Gulf Coast Florida for Coop. Is he sitting still...hell no. He already has two nature centers who want him around. He has three lovely grandchildren to chase around when he comes back to NY. He has buck to chase too, Coop like a proud papa showed pictures of the two bucks he had got with the bow already this fall. Coop already had plane tickets in hand for the Galapogos Islands where he lead nature tours. He's trading in the ice fishing gear for salt water fishing gear. No stopping Coop.

I really hope I can keep in touch with Coop, he's that kind of guy you want to be around, and secretly want to be.

This is Halloween...

Well, for the first Halloween I had trouble deciding on a costume to wear out. So I had to go with what I wore last year, and that was my goth/punk outfit. It served me well last year, so it got recycled.


I had more fun helping out Laura this year with her costume, a Pink Lady from Grease. I think her shirt came out great, and I enjoyed helping her put it all together. We had a fun time out, and saw lots of great costumes, and I got a good idea for next year...Clint Eastwood.

The Dark Side

Just wanted to post this photo for your viewing pleasure of two fake pumpkins I carved for Brian last year. Happy Halloween everyone!

Weekend at Beery's

Do we need a reason to visit the family in Ohio? Nope. Did we have lots of reasons. Yeah.

The catalyst for heading to Shreve this October was a wedding. After long discussion we decided that Laura's great aunt's daughter Sara was marrying Laura's new great aunt's son-in-law, or something like that. The bottom line was we were invited, and we wanted to go, so there we were. It was a beautiful day, and a beautiful wedding, and it was great to see the Yarnell side of the family.

Of course, the next day we saw all of the Yarnell family again, at an early "Thanksgiving" with Grandma. You see Grandma Nina leaves for Florida, so all the local siblings gather for a meal before she goes. Sharon gave us a great "antler" decoration that I will proudly display in the rustic room. I scavenged an old "tree farm" sign from Scott's dumpster after I passed on an large aluminum canoe. Is this a random entry or what?

We did manage to also get a trip to Books in Stock, our favorite used book store in. We also got to visit for a little while with Grandma Beery. That evening we had a great time with Brian, playing regular and Disney versions of Scene It! We enjoyed pizza, and laughed our guts out.

On Monday, we got up way to early (for Beery standards) and went out to hide and find some letterboxes. I will not disclose locations, but we managed to hide one box before we were informed by an "official" that the land we were on was closed to the public at that time because of the upcoming waterfowl hunting season, and they didn't want us scaring the ducks. No need to worry I thought, the hunters would have plenty of time to "scare" them on their own. Anyway, we cut our loses and headed to another great park to find two letterboxes, as we admired the lovely fall foliage and snowflakes in the air. It was a great morning of hiking and exploring, and was glad to have rbbceo and Daffy Lady with us!

Fall Planting Weekend

Well, you getting sick of reading about all my great weekends? If so, skip over this one, because it was another fun one! Sandy visited us to help us plant fall bulbs and plants. First she had to drive all over southern New York to get to us, since the NYS Thruway got closed because of the big snow storm in Buffalo. The longer drive was scenic though, and she saw no traces of snow.


Though some of our fall flowers were still in bloom, it was time to think about next year. Laura and Sandy planted close to a hundred bulbs and plants around the yard. They divided plants, and spread them around. I dug a new bed behind the deck to put in the new hibiscus that Sandy bought for us. It was hard work, but I think it will look great. We had a cold weekend, but we dodged the raindrops and got everything done.


We did find time to do other things though. We went to the movies. We ate out at the Crystal Barn. We watched football and hockey.


We found a good balance, and Sandy always helps us keep the house in order, doing all our dishes and being a gracious guest. No wonder we like when she visits!


We even got some letterboxing in. We walked an old railroad bed, enjoying the fall colors. Joystar and Daffy Lady are seen here making the grab!

Test Drive of Gabcast: New Audio Service

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The Big Sit! Wrap-Up

The morning started before the "crack of dawn". I wanted to be on site for a 7 a.m. start. Laura needed the car for the day, so that meant she had to shuttle me up to Durand Eastman Park. It was early for her, but she willing to get up to help me out. When we arrived, not a sole was around as expected. We shuttled my gear to the spot, and I was birding.

The moon still had a few hours before it was to set. However, the morning sun was coming up to chase it away. Luckily there weren't too many cars and dogs to chase away my birds. I saw 85% of my birds before 10 a.m. The morning was cold, in the forties. I had on a knit cap, gloves, and multiple layers. I didn't sit much, trying to stay in as much sunshine as I could and keep moving. The morning was beautiful though.


You see a lot of strange people this early on a Sunday morning. One guy pulled up his white truck the parking area, pulled out his golf bag, and hit golf balls into the lake for a good fifteen minutes. What a loser. I enjoyed watching the birds on the lake in the morning though, before the armada of boats hit the water, I saw a large flock of cormorants diving for fish, and the gulls would surround them to get any scraps, it was exciting birding.


The sun started to hit my seventeen foot circle, and I was able to take off some layers. The people and dogs started to arrive as well, and the birds started to take cover. I think I saw more species of dog then I did birds. I couldn't find anyone I knew who had a scope I could borrow, so I resorted to using my telescope. I called it my "poor man's scope." A passerby asked me if it was a cannon. It had 15x magnification though, while my binoculars are only 7x. It did help bring in some birds on the lake and across the road for positive ID's. I'm glad I brought it along.


Another observation was the changing light. Photographers always talk about this, and if you have never sat in the same spot all day long, you don't fully understand this. When birds are backlit, you can't tell what it is very well. So certain trees weren't worth looking into at some times of days, while others were lit up with sun and fall colors and were great. Its all about angles I guess.


The afternoon brought out sailboats and visitors. Dom and Mary stopped by for a chat and a walk on the beach. A pack of my letterboxing friends showed up to offer their support, enjoy the weather, and collect the stamp I carved for the event. I also got a call from Connie wishing me good luck. It was great to have all these visitors, because there wasn't much bird activity. After this bunch left, Laura stopped by for the rest afternoon with me.


Laura sneaked in a nap in the chair, but this gave me long enough to get my last bird of the day, an Osprey. I watched it as it soared by with its fresh sunfish catch in its talons. Laura awoke and we together tried as we could for one more bird, but it wasn't to be. I finished the day with 21 species, a respectable number, but a few shy of what I had hoped. Where were the robins, cardinals, starlings....I didn't even get a house sparrow! None the less, I'm sure I got some species I wouldn't have got in my backyard. Special thanks to Laura for being a good sport about crazy ideas like this, and for being willing to help me out with them. I couldn't have done it with out you!

The Official List: (in order of sighting)
American Crow
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Double Breasted Cormorant
Song Sparrow
Mute Swan
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Black-capped Chicadee
Hairy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Bonaparte Gull
Blue Jay
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Osprey

The Big Sit! Official 2006 Results