Horse Manure Park

John McCain is either a genius or a fool. The next three months will tell the tale. He has selected, as his vice-presidential running mate, Sarah Palin. I imagine Mrs. Palin is scratching her head right now, saying to herself, "Like, oh my god you guys! Oh no he didn't ! I mean, like, whatever . Like, this is totally weirding me out." And all I've got to say is McCain has got fine taste in the ladies. Palin is one good lookin' broad. A 44 year-old MILF. She's got a degree in journalism, she's a former beauty queen, used to be a t.v. reporter, and somehow became the governor of Alaska (I assume her qualifications are right on par with Jesse Ventura's and Arnold Schwartzenegger's). I can't say I think she's qualified to lead the United States once McCain kicks the bucket, but who cares about any of that? Sarah Palin is one sexy beast, and McCain has got my vote for that very reason. Any way you look at it, this will be the most historic pres...

And just like that, it's over. Farm Fest V is in the books and boy did we have fun! Three days of food, fun, family and friends. The 80's party was great on Thursday night. Everybody dressed up in their best '80's attire, we played '80's tunes all night long and served up some pretty mean chili. We hit a few snags, including a very blustery wind (couldn't put up the big tent) and a faulty CO2 tank for the keg and had to improvise on the fly (in true '80's fashion, we were running around the countryside looking for a tapper!)... but we adapted, overcame and had a great time. I damaged my canopy on my camper right away Thursday morning. I tried to put it up in those high winds on Thursday and the entire canopy flipped right over my camper and bent the support poles. The lesson learned: Don't put up your canopy in high winds. Check. We had to break out our winter coats Friday night. The temperature dropped, the winds kept howling and our teeth were ...

One last post before we start packing for Farm Fest. Got up early today, not really by my choice. Grace woke me up at 3:30 a.m., whining because she wanted to get on the bed. Then I moved to the couch because I had two 70 pound mutts pushing me off of the mattress. Then Martha jumped off the bed and crashed into the t.v. stand, which sounded like somebody was trying to break into the house. Then Beth's alarm went off at 5 a.m., because she was supposed to work day shift today. Day or night, sleep just isn't an option at our place. As it turns out, Beth got to stay home, due to low census/low need at the hospital, so we've got the day together to get everything ready to go for Farm Fest. We need to pack, load up the camper, make food... and a bunch of other stuff I can't think of right now, but it's on our list . For the last two weeks, every time I think of something we'll need, I write it down on one big list, so hopefully we won't forget too much. ...

Home again at last. A long, but extremely fun and productive weekend at the farm. Everything is in place for Farm Fest V, all we need to do is wait for that weekend to roll around and hope the skies stay halfway clear. I guess there's nothing we can do about it if it does rain -- we've always been prepared for it, and we will be again this year, so let the chips fall where they may. Either way, it is going to be a great time. I got to the farm on Friday around noon or so. It is so quiet out there.. probably the most peaceful place that I know of. What a fantastic escape. Dale, Mel, Ross, Kevin, Jon Stokes, the Budahns all arrived Friday afternoon/evening, and we sat around the campfire Friday night. We imbibed in a few cold beverages, and Jon, Brian and I finally called it a night around 2 a.m. Bob, Ray and Sandy came out early Saturday morning and we hit rehearsal hard, putting in a solid six hours of reviewing, refreshing, and cleaning up rough spots. Of course, we a...

It was a sad day yesterday, learning of the death of my cousin, Dennis Buker. He passed away after cancer overwhelmed him, taken far too young. He fought hard, but in the end this goddamn disease took another good, decent human being. I initially had some reservations about having Farm Fest after hearing about his death -- after all, if will come just 17 days after his passing -- but after sleeping on it, it occurred to me that the best thing we can do is keep it right on schedule. Heck, Dennis and Kathy were always at Farm Fest and always had a great time. I sure hope Kathy can make it this year. We will definitely understand if she can't, but I think it would be good for the soul if she can be there. After all this sadness and pain, we all need a reason to smile and enjoy the gift of being together, because that's what it really is -- a gift. And that gift should never be taken for granted. So this year's Farm Fest is going to be special. I think we all feel that ...

What the hell is in the water around here? For the second time in five days, there was another house fire in our neighborhood, this time about a mile away -- easily within walking distance from my house. The preliminary investigation is indicating this was also accidental (just like the house fire on Sunday night a block from our place), but what are the chances of two houses burning down within a mile of each other in less than a week??!! The fire department and police department are assuring the neighborhood that the two fires were entirely unrelated and it is just an incredible coincidence, but it is still a little unsettling, ya know? The latest fire was reportedly started by an unattended charcoal grill on a deck. The coals were whipped back to life by a stiff breeze on Thursday afternoon, spread to the house and that was all it took. There was no one at home at the time, so thankfully no one was hurt... but the house was pretty much completely destroyed. What a terrible wee...