Ah summer! Jim and I got to take a road trip out east to see friends and family. It was beyond wonderful to see them all. (FYI, we were super covid cautious, and felt lucky to get it squeezed in just before things started getting critical again.)
We got to see dear friends, Meg Boscov and Randy Brown after waaaaay too long. Here they are with Jim, at an astounding public garden outside of Philadelphia, Chanticleer. It’s been called “the most romantic, imaginative, and exciting public garden in America” (so says their website), and I can see why. I could spend days there. If you love gardens and are anywhere near the area, it’s a must. (Pennsylvania readers–been there?)
Meg is my dear friend who picked up a camera a few years ago and has turned into one of the country’s finest nature photographers. She has taught me a lot, and inspired me to take the photo below, it’s my favorite flower photo of the day.
Here are another two that worked out nicely:
After Pennsylvania it was on to Jim’s son Shane, daughter-in-law Rachel, and the grand kids in upstate New York. Here’s our last night together at a great restaurant on the river.
And here are our fascinating, fun, smart, and creative grand children (said with objectivity, of course), Quinne (7) and Taylor (14):
Back at home, Skip and Maggie attempted to line their ears up for me in front of the water lilies at a nearby park:
Skip got to work sheep at friend Donna’s on Sunday, and enjoyed the ubiquitous water tank while watching Donna’s new dog, Wisp, work.
Maggie is ARGH a little bit lame again. She was doing great when we left on our trip, but came up limping after a moderate amount of exercise. Back to laser treatments, no sheep work and no play with Skip. And a trial coming up in a week and a half. I’ll take it day by day, not going to push her into anything.
And finally, when your husband has to extract the ATV from the fence because you mistook the accelerator for the brake and hit the “brake” hard and rocketed into the fence and flew off to the side and watched the ATV start to roll over on top of you but watched it roll back up because a wire caught a bolt in the front of the machine.
Breaking Olympic News! Trisha eliminated from ATV prelims, and banned from future competition. Jim wins the gold medal in “Husbandry” Finals for compassion and delicate extraction procedure. Breaks world record by admitting, so that his wife would feel better, that he did something similar but was too embarrassed to tell her before. (Sports update: (Trisha is stiff and sore but recovering well by binge watching Alone and drinking massive amounts of tea. Please keep her company with examples of stupid ass stuff you’ve done, although she has no expectation that you’ve got one this dumb.)
Meanwhile, have the best week you possibly can, and do your best to avoid stupid ass stuff. Just saying.
Minnesota Mary says
Wow! That ATV experience was epic! Glad the fence caught on a bolt and you didn’t go through a rollover. No similar experience on my part, but I did convince my younger brother to pee on an electric fence when we were kids. He didn’t speak to me for a month after… The good news is that he and his wife have 3 kids, so no lasting harm done!
Trisha says
MM,amazed your brother waited only a month!!!
Frances says
Ow! Not me, but an elderly neighbour with several even older ladies as passengers did the same thing on a tight bend and shot right through a fence and hedge. Then they discovered that the wire from the fence was wrapped so tightly round the car they couldn’t open the doors… Fortunately a passing driver noticed the recent damage to the undergrowth and came to investigate before tempers got too frayed, but people were very wary of accepting lifts from her ever after.
Kathy says
Oh my goodness, I’ve been following Meg on her Instagram account for awhile now. Although I didn’t know anything more about her other than her beautiful photographs. She provides gorgeous color and serenity to my day! (You provide my weekly dose of dog fun, with the occasional laugh-snort thrown in,) thank you!
Kat says
You have such a fabulous way of retelling that adventure. So glad it ended well so you’d have such a great story to tell. I’ve done so many not entirely bright things over the years. The first one that comes to mind is washing my eye glasses which doesn’t seem too bad until you know it was in the washing machine with a load of jeans. The optician spent quite a long time straightening the frame.
The stories on your Facebook post about your adventure are fabulous. The Great Catsby is at the Emergency Vet waiting for surgery to drain an abscess on his face near his eye (paws crossed not actually in it but this is Catsby until he’s sedated no one is getting to examine it closely enough to tell). Reading all the stories is the best medicine. I needed the laugh.
Trisha says
Sending healing thoughts to the Great Catsby. So glad the stories were a good distrqction.
Mary Ellen Hagenauer says
Here is my stupid ass story which might even top yours.
Back in the day, my husband and I were driving through the Yucatan in a VW bug.
The road from Cancun to Cozumel at that time was a single lane dirt track through the jungle. As we were tooling along, we spotted a huge stone arch nearly covered in vines off to the side of the road. To get a better look, I started to make a Y turn by backing up onto the margin. Turned out that the ‘bushes’ on the margin were actually the top of a tree and I had managed to back off a cliff. Picture this – a VW bug perched in a tree top, two tires in the tree, two front tires on the road. As we sat there suspended in a swaying tree, stunned wondering how we could evacuate the car ourselves, never mind retrieve the car, a truck full of laborers zoomed past. The stopped briefly, stared at us, and then drove on. Miraculously, the re-appeared a half hour later with a large rope which they proceeded to tie to the front axel of our car and haul us out of the tree.
They would not accept any money just our sincere gratitude.
Deborah Mason says
Not so much a mix-up of controls, but … years back, while snowmobiling, I was going to pull in tight between my husband and a 3+ foot snowbank. I didn’t realize how much “skooching” forward happens during a ride, and I had a camera case that I wore in front so I had quick access to the camera. Well, with the skooching and camera case, when I gave the handlebars a quick turn, the throttle lever hit the camera case, causing instant acceleration. And next thing I knew I was on top of the snowbank between my snowmobile and the garbage can top (the kind that had a “mail box” top to keep bears out). Once I caught my breath I told my husband “I need a smaller camera”. I was so glad it didn’t happen earlier in our ride when we wee on a mountain road with huge drop-offs. Whew! And, yes, I did get a smaller camera soon after.
Judy says
Oh my goodness! Glad you’re ok! ❤️
You’re grandkids are beautiful and handsome, and what a lovely location for a meal!
Lynda Costello says
Much needed mood lifter! Thank you!!!
Dumb things? Oh yes. Sorry about Maggie. Glad you’re ok even though sore. And Jim is definitely a keeper.
Trisha says
Mary Ellen, that story is movie worthy! And nothing stupid about it?
rita penner says
Husband did something supremely stupid last week. I would tell but it’s that big a secret. He’s healing well. No hospital explanations were necessary.
Rebecca M Rice says
My “dumb thing” story from when I was young and a new driver: I was out with a friend one day, on a side street and decided to make a turn into a parking lot. It wasn’t very well lit, but I could tell that there was a divider. So, I dutifully took the turn (turn signals and everything)… only to find out what I thought was marking the edge of a center median was actually marking the edge of the outside lane. And that there was a drop off on the far side (not deep, just a couple of inches). But, it was deep enough that the car was firmly perched up on the axel, both front wheels off the ground. No big deal, right? EXCEPT… it’s a front wheel drive car. So there I am, stuck with no way to move the car! Thankfully, some nice young men from a nearby store came out and picked the car up and moved it off the curb, so no long term harm done.
The other really scary dumb thing was when I raced a train. Once again, new driver, came up to a railroad crossing with flashing lights, but no bars that drop down, paused briefly, said to myself “that train’s far enough away that I should be able to get across”, and went on across the track! Thankfully my judgement was correct, but it was about two minutes later that it hit me what an incredibly stupid decision that was and the adrenaline hit and I started shaking. And I have never, ever done that again, even when it’s a crossing with flashing lights and no train visible at all! (There’s a track near me where that happens sometimes, I think because the train has passed the crossing, but can’t get into the station down the road a bit, so it’s still triggering the crossing.)
Kat says
The Great Catsby has an abscessed molar. He’s home resting comfortably and I’m feeling much much better.
I want to see the movie of Mary Ellen’s adventure. How terrifying at the time and hysterically funny in memory.
j says
I have hit cars while riding my bicycle. They were parked on the side of the street or in a parking lot each time. I have done this more than once. Each time, unwitnessed, unhurt, no damage to either my bicycle or the vehicle, and I was able to slink off anonymously. How did I do this? Don’t ask. There was a skunk involved once, but only once.
gayla says
Honestly, I was worried about you on that damn thing from when you first showed us that you had it…
That Jim is a keeper is an understatement!
LisaW says
Oh, ouch on all fronts. Thank goodness the wire fencing held! Heal well, my friend.
It’s hard to pick just one story.
We used to have a T-shaped driveway and the big, white, work box truck was usually parked behind the car on the opposite side of the driveway. So backing the car up to head out, the box truck was then on your right. Well, it was a snowy winter that year and the driveway was narrowed by snow piles. We all piled into the car, and I backed up and heard a loud crunch! I thought I had hit a crusty snow bank and pulled ahead and turned the wheel and backed up again. CRUNCH! My ever-understated partner looked at me and said, “What are you doing?” I had hit his truck not once but twice! The car was much worse off than the truck. Once is bad, twice …
Then there was the very recent time that we were on our way home from one of our very first camping trips with the Minnie Drop tow behind camper. We are used to off road, more remote adventures, and so on our way home we wanted to find a place to stop for lunch, let Olive swim, get off the beaten track. I have a many years old annotated Atlas and Gazetteer map that I have notated good spots, ok spots, trail heads, I’d turn around if I were you places, good in a pinch, etc. I saw a logging road that ran parallel to a river that we had explored before, and so as the brilliant navigator, I headed us up. Again, Mr. Understated looked at me as we were climbing and asked, “Are there any turn-arounds?” Well, I truly forgot we were towing 20’ of trailer! Luckily, we eventually came to a T and turned left, then backed up and headed down. We did find a spot along a river to stop, but it was on a main road.
And then there was the time …
Margaret says
Dumbest thing I’ve ever done (so far):
Back in the early 1980s, biking down the west coast of Ireland. I camped on a mountain in Donegal, and it rained, because, it’s Ireland.
Next morning I loaded up my bike, and headed off down the mountain, without processing a simple sequence. Rain=wet brake blocks. Wet brake blocks=no brakes. No brakes=no way to stop.
I had just enough sense to realize that I HAD to stop before I hit escape velocity and launched into low earth orbit. So I picked a (relatively) rock-free bit out of the blur, dropped my shoulder, and rolled a couple of hundred yards down the mountain.
To this day I don’t know why I didn’t break my neck.
I walked the rest of the way down the mountain.
Debby Gray says
I’m glad you seem to be mostly OK except for bumps and bruises! Healing thoughts to you and Maggie
Melanie Hawkes says
Glad you’re ok, but poor Jim! And Maggie. Hope her lameness stops as quickly as it started again.
I crashed into a fence yesterday! Upton won’t toilet in a wet garden, and we’ve had lots of rain. So I was pushing a watering can to spill over his wee on my bricks, when I reversed my wheelchair too close to my plant (to avoid the pooh behind me). A branch got stuck in a loop on my wheelchair joystick and pulled it towards the fence at full speed! I had to call my neighbour to free me from the branch. Very lucky I went side on and not forwards as no harm done to my chair or legs, but have a nice dent in the tin fence and a good story to tell!
lak says
Loved the picture of Skip in the tub! Glad you are okay and no real lasting damage. My stupid story goes like this, I was young and needed my mom to drive me to work, it was snowing hard and she was upset that she would have to drive me and worried about the car sliding on the road. She wanted to put a large bag of salt in the trunk to help with fishtailing. I being the dutiful daughter and trying to make up for dragging her out grabbed this 50 or 60 pound bag of salt and heaved it with all my might, unfortunately my adrenaline allowed me to get it up but the momentum threw me and the bag of salt into the ping pong table which collapsed and tore a large piece off the top. She was furious! I laugh now 45 years late, she is still pissed when I bring it up! yep she is pushing 90!
Megan says
My stupid ass story is I locked my thumb in my car door & dropped my keys. Nobody was there to pick up my keys for me, so, fortunately I was able to reach down far enough with my other arm to pick them up & unlock the door. My husband is also great about not making me feel stupid when I do stupid things, but my locking thumb incident was before we were married. I did have housemates & one of them kindly drove me to the ER. I felt like an idiot, but it helped that the nurse showed me her scar on her thumb from doing the same thing!
Kristin Lucey says
Here’s my “stupid ass” story (dog-related for bonus points).
I was training basic sit-down-stay positions to a dog at a local shelter where I volunteered (as part of my freshman assignments for the Academy for Dog Trainers). I attempted to “dog-proof” the room I was graciously permitted to use. I hooked a nylon rope up over an LED-type light to get it out of the way of a VERY jumpy and under-stimulated dog. I left it that way when I returned the dog to her kennel. (Can’t you just feel the disaster coming?)
I smelled smoke as I was in the hallway outside the training room. The rope had melted onto the super-hot LED light and smoke was filling the room. To make matters worse, there was NO OFF SWITCH! It was one of those “always on” motion-sensor lights. I ran to get help and then ran back to open a door and hope the fire sprinklers didn’t go off. It took screwdrivers and calling in a facilities guy on the weekend to set things straight.
The best part? All on video since I was recording for my assignment submission. I was SO red-faced, heart-thumping embarrassed… (But now laugh at myself since everything turned out ok…)
Frances says
Same friend who drove through the hedge and wrapped her car in wire once spent two hours waiting for kerbside rescue in asupermarket car park after leaving her keys and dog in her unlocked car. The dog was so excited to see her it bounced all over the car and hit the central locking button…
I learned a lot from her mishaps!
Barbara says
This happened years ago. Gone but not forgotten. Hubby and I were fishing on an area lake. It was a calm sunny day. We were fishing the weedline for bass. I made a cast. Instead of expertly whipping through the air to its target, the lure with its treble hook ended up firmly embedded in my scalp. So there I was in the ER with a rapala sitting on top of my head. The doc removed it and said he saw this all the time. I was embarrassed but can laugh about it now.