HeatherMcCurdy.com

December 10, 2008

Good Bye George!

George is leaving for Florida today! Safe travels and we're all jealous. See you soon!

Posted by Heather at 09:13 AM | Comments (0)

Neat Food!

Posted by Heather at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2008

Fun Video

Visit www.wherethehellismatt.com for more info. YouTube has more videos of him, including his outtakes which are very funny.

Posted by Heather at 02:10 PM | Comments (0)

December 03, 2008

Missing Summer!

Posted by Heather at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)

November 04, 2008

Election Day! I voted!

Posted by Heather at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2008

Palin as President Preview

Please visit this webiste. Use the mouse to explore Palin's oval office. Clicking on different things will yield a result; you can click on some of the things more than once for different results (like the door, the globe). Try to find where she is hiding her rifle. Enjoy!
http://www.palinaspresident.us/

Posted by Heather at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2008

Exploring some cliffs on the river near Gillette's Castle

Big Nest on a Ridge

Posted by Heather at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)

Nice View of Essex

Posted by Heather at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)

October 03, 2008

Uncle Cameron Thompson

Cameron Acheson Thompson, April 15, 1952- September 25, 2008

Please visit www.kathymccurdy.com for additional photos and some words of remembrance from his sister.

Posted by Heather at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)

September 12, 2008

The Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC

Joanne and Jeff went on a trip to Victoria, BC. Here are some of their awesome photos.

Posted by Heather at 08:11 PM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2008

Neat Chameleon

Photographer Unknown
Want to learn more about this cool animal? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chameleon

Posted by Heather at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)

September 02, 2008

Stone Walls

Posted by Heather at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2008

Silver Lake, Vermont

This past weekend Alison took me up to Vermont to meet her cousin Nikki and her husband Jay for a weekend of camping.

Their good friend Rich joined us;

And Scott and Jaime, and their dogs Moose and Niko, who are Nikki and Jay's neighbors.

We camped on Silver Lake near Goshen, VT.

Look out point overlooking Lake Dunmore

In the 1880's, Frank Chandler, missionary and owner of Silver Lake, built a road from Goshen to the lake through Leicester Hollow and erected a beautiful 50-60 room hotel/seminary at this site. Until it was abandoned in 1919, the hotel- with its motto of "Godliness, Holiness and Cleanliness"- offered respite and religious instruction. The hotel burned to the ground aound 1940. (From the information bulletin, Moosalamoo Association, www.moosalamoo.org)

This is a view of our campsite from the lake and our beach where we spent the day.

View to the lake from the campsite

Silver Lake

Native American History around Silver Lake

The canoe provided great fun!

Nikki, Jay and Alison off for a paddle.

We lounged by the beautiful lake all day.

Refreshing Margaritas...

Floating...

Night canoeing

Alison and Moose

Jelly Antler Fungus

Campsite in the morning

Cooking breakfast

Also breakfast, due to necessity. We had to get rid of as much weight as possible so we wouldn't have to carry it out. It had to be finished.

Pretty field

Posted by Heather at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)

August 20, 2008

Camping with George's Family at Hammonassett

Group Campsite

Around the campfire

Fun at the beach

Hana toasting a marshmellow

Lily, Noah and Aiden

Mermaid Noah

Mia

Kevin, Mia and Robyn playing washers

Robyn and Lily in the bus

Robyn as an octopus

Aiden catching jelly fish

Donna giving scooter rides

Posted by Heather at 06:38 PM | Comments (1)

August 11, 2008

A Day at the Shooting Range

Julie and Melissa invited me to go along with them to the New Haven Sportsman's Club for some shooting. Our friend Wolfgang has been a member there for about 3 years; this was our first time but I think you'll agree that we all look like naturals.

Melissa

Julie

Heather

First was this gun, which shot 22 calibur bullets.

Julie shooting a revolver. I knew I wanted to try that next.

Loading it...

Then I saw the 45 automatic and headed straight for that. That made a pretty big noise.

This gun shot 223 caliber bullets, and made the biggest bang. It was the most fun to shoot out of all the ones we tried at the 50 yard range. Then we we taken to the 100 yard range to try...

The Semi Automatic AR 15. This is the civilian version of the gun the US Military uses. It is awesome. As you will see in this video:

Posted by Heather at 04:51 PM | Comments (5)

August 10, 2008

Our New Boat: Feather

This is our new Boston Whaler Super Sport. It is the most fun!

Mom and Dad came out on Saturday;

And an evening cruise through Seldon's with Alison was the best way to end the day.

Posted by Heather at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2008

Random Shots from the Past week

Spiderweb in the morning

Swans in North Cove

Sisson Family Cemetery in the woods

The Cemetery Wall

Posted by Heather at 02:25 PM | Comments (2)

July 23, 2008

Fun on the Beach

Lily and Shelby's sand art

Heath's Sand Sculpture

Sand pants- patent pending...

Posted by Heather at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)

July 21, 2008

How cute is this?!

Posted by Heather at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2008

Lesson of the Week

Posted by Heather at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2008

Is this REAL?!

Posted by Heather at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

July 02, 2008

Trapper Nelson's Homestead from the air

This is what Trapper Nelson's homestead looks like. I was bored today, so I've been exploring the world on Google Maps. Zoom in and out to see how far up the Loxahatchee he was.

View Larger Map

The white buildings near the center of the clearing are his cabin and his guest cabin. The group in the bottom left are his animal cages for his "petting" zoo. And the gray roof at the end of the little road was the picnic table area where he shot himself. Too much detail? More photos are in the blog post from our first trip in Florida, titled "Trapper Nelson's homestead".

Posted by Heather at 12:46 PM | Comments (1)

June 23, 2008

Patrick and Chrissy's Wedding

The bride and groom

Patrick and the bridesmaids

Chrissy and the groomsmen

The McCurdy Family

Mom, Dad and Julia

George and Heath

Dad and Heath

Julie

Mom and Heath

Pat and Chrissy

Posted by Heather at 09:02 AM | Comments (2)

June 16, 2008

Science Experiment

With this tube, we will be creating a Diet Coke Geyser.

Prepping the mentos...

Get ready!

Whoosh! Next time we will change a few of the conditions to see if we can get a higher geyser. This one was ok, but didn't have as much force as we expected.

Check out this video for some amazing domino geysers:

Posted by Heather at 03:50 PM | Comments (1)

Dandy

Mom's buddy Dandy

Posted by Heather at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)

A few Boston shots

Cemetery on the Boston Common

King's Chapel

Town Hall; The Boston Massacre occured outside of this building. You can see the building in the illustration below.

Posted by Heather at 03:44 PM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2008

Check these out!

Guido Daniele's amazing Hand Painting Art. Guido Daniele was born in Soverato (CZ - Italy) and now lives and works in Milan. Since 1964 until 1968 he attended Brera artistic High School and he graduated from Brera School of Arts (major in sculpturing) in 1972. In 1972 he started working as hyper-realistic illustrator, in co-operation with major editing and advertising companies, using and testing different painting techniques. In 1990 he added a new artistic experience to his previous ones: using the "body painting" technique he creates and paints models bodies for different situations such as advertising pictures and commercials, fashion events and exhibitions.
Official Home Page: guidodaniele.com

Posted by Heather at 01:54 PM | Comments (1)

June 09, 2008

Weekend Shots

Lily and I found this great spot for a picnic lunch on Saturday.

The best view in town!

Looking at the Essex River Museum

Looking towards Nott's Island

Then we were off to Mike Feeny's Burn Party, where activities included expert Scavenger Hunts with varying degrees of difficulty, sprinklers to cool off with, badmitton, bocce, eating the most amazing keilbasa dogs and hot dogs, and of course FIRE!

New Friends, Brandy Lynn and Lily

Good friends, Lily and Julie

Mike Feeny's tree

This is my fire: enthusiastically created and maintained by yours truly.

And finished off on Sunday with a GREAT paddle with Alison on the river from Essex to Deep River!

This was the best paddle of the season.

I wish I could do this every day!

Posted by Heather at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)

June 04, 2008

George!

George is off for a paddle!

Summer is the best!

Posted by Heather at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

"Dan" by Lily

This is our friend Dan, whose parents are Ken and Sue. Lily took these photos during our last cookout, and I think they are GREAT photos!!

Posted by Heather at 04:23 PM | Comments (3)

May 18, 2008

Heath on the porch

I love the weekends.

Posted by Heather at 06:46 PM | Comments (0)

Tag Sale Score

A tag sale yielded these two coloring books from 1943:

Playtime has begun kids!

They include some basic facts about a variety of weapons,

and different types of tanks and vehicles.

Do you play football? Then you're qualified! Sign up today!

There are other ways to have fun at war:

You can ride in a jeep that goes 60 miles an hour.

These men are definetly having fun.

These books also tell you how women can participate.

They can do minor tasks as nurse's aides.

Or stay trim and wear a cute uniform!

Or, if you have a pair of red heels, you can pump gas.

Your pet can also get involved. Doesn't every pet owner want their pet to sit on burning garbage?

Awww... this isn't a fun picture to color. Boo.

Back to the fun!

Posted by Heather at 05:58 PM | Comments (1)

May 17, 2008

Some spring photos

Daffodils at Thirsty Boots Farm

Lilacs

Looking up through layers of branches

pinwheel

Posted by Heather at 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2008

Underwater Astonishments by David Gallo

This is an amazing video! You'll love it!

Posted by Heather at 07:27 AM | Comments (0)

May 02, 2008

I love the whole world. I love this song.

Posted by Heather at 02:13 PM | Comments (1)

I love CUPCAKES!

Here is a photo of the cupcakes I made for the last VW get together. They were a big hit!

Photo by Jim Rolston; thanks for the photo!!!

Posted by Heather at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

May 01, 2008

Quote of the Day

"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar."
--Drew Carey

Posted by Heather at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

April 29, 2008

Bridal Shower at Winged Foot

The wedding is less than 2 months away, and the celebratons continue!

Pat and Chrissy

Julia, Heather and Chrissy

Mom

Dad and Heath

Dad, Sue, Fj, Uncle Joe

Uncle Cameron, Heath and Mom

Pat and Will

Julia and Heath

Chrissy and Aunt Barbara

Pat and a new Cuisinart

Posted by Heather at 08:47 PM | Comments (1)

April 24, 2008

White Siamese Racing Pigeon

On Wednesday, this little visitor arrived on the deck at work.

We didn't know if she was injured, but she looked very tired. So I brought her some bird seed and water.

When I put the food down she came walking right towards me, and only stopped about a foot away. She gobbled up the seed and drank a lot of water!

She was very hungry, but didn't appear to be hurt in any way. From some online research it was discovered that she was a White Siamese Racing Pigeon. A look at her tag told us she was from Triverton, RI.

So she decided to hang out for awhile...

A man that used to work here who currently owns and breeds pigeons stopped by to take a look. He said that she had lost a lot of weight and looked "stunned". He gave her some special pigeon food, which she really liked, and brought her home to take care of her and make her healthy again. So she is doing well and in good hands, and may soon be reuntied with her owner.

For me... it was a nice little distraction for the day.

Posted by Heather at 02:56 PM | Comments (1)

April 20, 2008

In Bloom

Posted by Heather at 06:44 PM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2008

George's New Crew Member

Posted by Heather at 07:15 PM | Comments (1)

Seagulls on the dock

Posted by Heather at 07:14 PM | Comments (0)

Buds of Spring

Lilac Buds

Lilac in color

Posted by Heather at 07:10 PM | Comments (0)

Lily's Fort

Lily built a great fort today!

Here she is looking through her "TV Hole".

There is even room for a visitor!

Posted by Heather at 06:42 PM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2008

Buddies

Posted by Heather at 12:57 PM | Comments (3)

April 09, 2008

Posted by Heather at 04:50 PM | Comments (1)

April 03, 2008

Heath and Dad

Posted by Heather at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

Blast from the past

Look what I found:

A JC Penney catalog from 1977. It's not often blog fodder just falls in my lap, but this is two solid inches of it! I thumbed through it quickly and found my next dining room set, which is apparently made by adding upholstery to old barrels:

Also, I am totally getting this for my bathroom:

There's plenty more home furnishings where those came from, however I'm not going to bore you with that. Instead, I'm going to bore you with something else. The clothes.

The clothes are fantastic.

Here's how to get beat up in elementary school:

Just look at that belt. It's like a boob-job for your pants. He probably needed help just to lift it into place. The belt loops have to be three inches long.

Here's how to get beat up in high school:

This kid looks like he's pretending to be David Soul, who is pretending to be a cop who is pretending to be a pimp that everyone knows is really an undercover cop. Who is pretending to be 15.

Here's how to get beat up on the golf course:

This 'all purpose jumpsuit' is, according to the description, equally appropriate for playing golf or simply relaxing around the house. Personally, I can't see wearing this unless you happen to be relaxing around your cell in D-block. Even then, the only reason you should put this thing on is because the warden made you, and as a one-piece, it's slightly more effective as a deterrent against... you know.

Here's how to get beat up pretty much anywhere:

Here's how to get beat up at the beach:

He looks like he's reaching for a gun, but it's probably just a bottle of suntan lotion in a holster.

How to get beat up in a meeting:

If you wear this suit and don't sell used cars for a living, I believe you can be fined and face serious repercussions, up to and including termination. Or imprisonment, in which case you'd be forced to wear that orange jumpsuit.

How to get beat up on every day up to and including St. Patrick's Day:

Dear God in Heaven, I don't believe that color exists in nature. There is NO excuse for wearing either of these ensembles unless you're working as a body guard for the Lucky Charms leprechaun.

In this next one, Your Search For VALUE Ends at Penneys.

As does your search for chest hair.

And this -- Seriously. No words.

Oh wait, it turns out that there are words after all. Those words are What. The. Heck. I'm guessing the snap front gives you quick access to the chest hair. The little tie must be the pull tab.

Also, judging by the sheer amount of matching his/hers outfits, I'm guessing that in 1977 it was considered pretty stylish for couples to dress alike. These couples look happy, don't they?

I am especially fond of this one, which I have entitled 'Cowboy Chachi Loves You Best.'

And nothing showcases your everlasting love more than the commitment of matching bathing suits.

Then you can relax in your one-piece matching terry cloth jumpsuits:

I could go on, but I'm tired, and my eyes hurt from this trip back in time. I think it's the colors. That said, I will leave you with these tasteful little numbers:

Very nice.

Posted by Heather at 02:03 PM | Comments (3)

March 07, 2008

George is HOME!!!

Welcome Home George!

Posted by Heather at 07:03 AM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2008

Bizarro Letter

We received this letter at the office. The post mark was from Long Beach, CA. Pretty Crazy!

Download file

Posted by Heather at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2008

Walk with Lily

Some hangman fun.... hee hee!

On our way home...

Posted by Heather at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)

Fondue Party

The Fondue Tablescape

New Tablecloth, argggg!

Alison and Julie

Dave and Keith

Posted by Heather at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)

January 07, 2008

George!!

Posted by Heather at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)

January 02, 2008

Some photos for George.... miss CT yet?

Ahh... the Seal

The River Museum

Up River

Down River

Two Tugs for George

The Rock in the park that is fun to climb.

Posted by Heather at 03:03 PM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2007

Wish it was summer... or I was in Florida.

At least there are still awesome sunsets up here!

And pretty mornings too...

Posted by Heather at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

December 17, 2007

Goodbye George!

George is on his way to Florida! He and the van will be dropped off in sunny, warm Orlando in about... 20 hours from now (noon on Monday.) Feel free to email him all of those nice thoughts that are going through your head right now.

Have FUN George! And Safe Travels!

Posted by Heather at 12:13 PM | Comments (1)

December 16, 2007

Fun-doo!

George is the best! His Christmas gift to me was a beautiful blue fondue pot. Which we of course put to use immediately!

Our feast of chicken, pork, steak, veal, shrimp, scallops, mushroom, onion, and garliic. And of course Teriyaki, Hoisin, Yakitori, Honey Mustard, and Cocktail Sauces.

Oh Boy, what fun we had.

Posted by Heather at 12:48 PM | Comments (1)

November 26, 2007

Lighting of the Boats Parade, Essex CT

On Sunday night was the annual Lighting of the Boats Parade in Essex.
There were quite a few boats participating, however the video below shows one of the best.

Posted by Heather at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

Thanksgiving Weekend Project

We now have a new view from our bathroom!

I drew this free hand with pencils and my foam block to make a straight line. Then I filled in the color with craypas crayons that Julie gave me awhile ago for Christmas. I wasn't planning on this much progress; it was just supposed to be a sketch. If I expected to do so much I would have primed the wall. Too late now!

There is a sailboat heading for the sea, one out on the horizon, and one anchored in front of the beach. There is a kayaker over on the left shore, and some houses dotting the right hillside, one on top with a great view of the ocean. George has asked me to add a fisherman so he can picture himself there. (Not that he won't be fishing in paradise soon enough...) So you can look at the view and picture yourself in any number of awesome places. Oh, I also drew in a little bar on the beach, for Happy Hour.

Posted by Heather at 07:13 AM | Comments (1)

November 14, 2007

Bored at Work

This morning I changed the language options on the office coffee machine to Dutch. It is only 9:19am and it has already paid off with a good chuckle.

Posted by Heather at 09:19 AM | Comments (2)

November 08, 2007

Weekend Scoot

Off for a scoot on a beautiful fall day!

Headstones

Angel

Amazing view from Jeff's deck, with St. Joseph's steeple peeking over the tree tops.

View of Gillette's Castle from Deep River

Off for more adventure!

Posted by Heather at 07:20 AM | Comments (0)

November 05, 2007

Fall Ferry Ride

George is heading across the river to mow, so I tagged along with my kayak to be dropped off on the other side.

Gillette's Castle

Beautiful day for a paddle!

On the river

2 VW's hanging out on a cliff, Whalebone Creek

Selden's Creek

Posted by Heather at 07:00 AM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2007

Work

Posted by Heather at 03:45 PM | Comments (1)

September 26, 2007

George and Edy Come for a Visit!

Lily with her grandparents, Edy and George

Playing Connex

Ta Daaa!!

Fun Time

George's Fun Time: his nap

Edy and her apprentice

Lily and Bunny with matching sweaters. Please also note Lily's many missing teeth, of which she is very proud.

Lily's Photos:

Grandma and Dad in the office

Heath

Photos on the fridge

Stocked fridge on lobster night. Mmmmm.....

Posted by Heather at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2007

Labor Day Weekend Camping

Lily and Shelby in the hammock

Some adjusting...

Jeff and Ken

This is Jack the turtle, who Lily and Shelby found.

Posted by Heather at 07:19 AM | Comments (2)

August 14, 2007

Biggest Moth Ever

This moth is hanging out on the balcony outside our conference room. It is huge!!

My friend Geff at work checked with a friend of his who knows about moths:

You’re right, it IS the biggest moth ever… at least in North America. My friend says it’s a type of Cecropia, or silkworm, moth.

http://www.wormspit.com/cecropia.htm

Posted by Heather at 09:27 AM | Comments (2)

August 07, 2007

Congratulations Pat and Chrissy!!

Congratulations on your engagement!!

You are both so great!

WWWAAAHHOOOOOO!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Posted by Heather at 02:29 PM | Comments (1)

July 18, 2007

Selden's Cruise a few weeks back

My Idaho photos are coming!! In the meantime please enjoy these:

Jeff, George and Abby

George

Jeff

I like the shadow in this one.

George enjoying a cigar.

Look who's driving!

George and Abby

Matt and Crew

Rock!

Posted by Heather at 04:51 PM | Comments (0)

July 05, 2007

Whalebone Creek

We're headed to Whalebone Creek!

Nice Rod George! Let's see what you can catch with that!

Oh....

Nice Fish!

Bird Spectator

Posted by Heather at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2007

George's Birthday, May 21

The boys, from the right: John, Bob, Carl, and George

Posted by Heather at 04:52 PM | Comments (1)

June 08, 2007

Broken Computer

I do apologize for the interuption in regular postings. Our computer broke. We won't get into who's fault it was.... as we still disagrgee on this issue.

Please accept my apologies! We bought a new computer but it was crappy and didn't work. Grr..... And the folks at Best Buy are very unhelpful. I don't recommend shopping there.... ever.

So, here are some postings that I owe you and will have up as soon as possible!

1. George's Birthday
2. Day on the River with Lily, Jeff, and Shelby
3. King Crab Legs at Bob's house

Posted by Heather at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

Play Time with Emily and Heather

Posted by Heather at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)

April 29, 2007

Camp Hazen Family Fun Day!

Get Ready for some Rock Climbing!

Lily

Shelby

Heath

Heath coming down

Jeff made it to the top!

George was having fun too!

Canoe Ride

And of course a bouncy slide...

Posted by Heather at 05:51 PM | Comments (1)

Hooray for the Weekend!

Posted by Heather at 05:49 PM | Comments (1)

April 23, 2007

Ancient Rainforest Revealed in Illinois Coal Mine

One of the fossils coating the mine's ceiling was a pteridosperm, an extinct seed-producing fern-like plant. Credit: Howard Falcon-Lang

Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience Staff
LiveScience.com
Mon Apr 23, 12:25 PM ET

Scientists exploring a mine have uncovered a natural Sistine chapel showing not religious paintings, but incredibly well preserved images of sprawling tree trunks and fallen leaves that once breathed life into an ancient rainforest.

Replete with a diverse mix of extinct plants, the 300-million-year-old fossilized forest is revealing clues about the ecology of Earth’s first rainforests . The discovery and details of the forest are published in the May issue of the journal Geology.

“We’re looking at one instance in time over a large area. It’s literally a snapshot in time of a multiple square mile area,” said study team member Scott Elrick of the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS).

Forest find

Over millions of years as sediments and plant material pile up, layer upon layer, the resulting bands become time indicators with the newest, youngest layer on the top and the oldest layer at the bottom. Typically geologists peel away a vertical slice of rocky material to look at material, including fossils, over a period of time.

A coal mine offers a unique view of the past. Instead of a time sequence, illuminated in the layer upon layer of sediments, the roof of an underground mine reveals a large area within one of those sediment layers, or time periods.

Miners in Illinois are used to seeing a few plant fossils strewn along a mine’s ceiling, but as they burrowed farther into this one, the sheer density and area covered by such fossils struck them as phenomenal, Elrick said.

That’s when they called paleobotanist Howard Falcon-Lang from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and William DiMichele, a curator of fossil plants at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

"It was an amazing experience. We drove down the mine in an armored vehicle, until we were a hundred meters below the surface,” Falcon-Lang said. “The fossil forest was rooted on top of the coal seam, so where the coal had been mined away the fossilized forest was visible in the ceiling of the mine.”

Forest snapshot

Here’s what the miners and other scientists saw underground: Relatively narrow passageways wind through the “cave,” marked off with stout 100-foot-wide pillars to ensure the roof doesn’t collapse.

“It’s like in some bizarre Roman temple with tons of Corinthian pillars that are 100 feet across and only six feet tall,” Elrick told LiveScience. “As you’re walking down these passageways you see these pillars of coal on either side of you and above you—imagine an artist’s canvas painted a flat grey and that is sort of what the grey shale above the coal looks like.”

The largest ever found, the fossil forest covers an area of about 40 square miles, or nearly the size of San Francisco. This ancient assemblage of flora is thought to be one of the first rainforests on Earth, emerging during the Upper Carboniferous, or Pennsylvanian, time period that extended from about 310 million to 290 million years ago.

A reconstruction of the ancient forest showed that like today’s rainforests, it had a layered structure with a mix of plants now extinct: Abundant club mosses stood more than 130-feet high, towering over a sub-canopy of tree ferns and an assortment of shrubs and tree-sized horsetails that looked like giant asparagus.

Flash freeze

The scientists think a major earthquake about 300 million years ago caused the region to drop below sea level where it was buried in mud. They estimate that within a period of months the forest was buried, preserving it “forever.”

“Some of these tree stumps have been covered geologically speaking in a flash,” Elrick said.

Because the spatial layout of the forest has been maintained, the scientists can learn about entire plant communities, not just individual plants.

"This spectacular discovery allows us to track how the species make-up of the forest changed across the landscape, and how that species make-up is affected by subtle differences in the local environment," Falcon-Lang said.

The fossil forest extends along the ceiling of two adjacent mines, the Riola mine and the Vermillion Grove mine, which are located in Vermillion County, just south of Danville, Ill.

Posted by Heather at 07:24 PM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2007

More mower...

Spring is Here!!

Mom and Sweetie, the barn cat

Rooset for Sale! If anyone would like this rooster please let me know!

Posted by Heather at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)

George's New Mower!

Introducing! The Bob Cat Predator Pro:

George is happy!

Heated Seats, back massage...

It even has a cupholder!

and I was just joking about the heated seats and back massage.

Posted by Heather at 10:19 AM | Comments (2)

April 16, 2007

The Flood

Posted by Heather at 07:48 PM | Comments (1)

March 31, 2007

Coming Soon....

View image
I'm finally updating the blog and I thought I would give you something to look forward to.

Posted by Heather at 11:07 AM | Comments (1)

March 18, 2007

Lily's New Pet

This is Spike! He is staying with us for a week. He eats crickets and likes to climb.

Posted by Heather at 10:11 AM | Comments (1)

Snow Day!

Lily's Fort

Time for some sliding....

This looks like a good hill for a slide...

with a twist thrown in. Difficulty 2.1.

And off for a walk!

Posted by Heather at 09:59 AM | Comments (1)

December 22, 2006

Missing!

Hello Everybody! Due to George being in Florida with the computer, and the chip for my camera (yeah, that was smart) my blog will be taking a brief hiatus.

Posted by Heather at 01:20 PM | Comments (1)

December 10, 2006

Stromboli Night at Jeff's

How one becomes a horse...

Posted by Heather at 06:54 PM | Comments (0)

Camping in December

George

Heath

Jeff

Sean

Morning Group

Breakfast

Ken

Posted by Heather at 06:42 PM | Comments (0)

December 01, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE!!!!!

Happy happy happy Birthday!!!! Happy Birthday to yyooooouuuuuuu!!!

Posted by Heather at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2006

Ode to Summer

Posted by Heather at 08:56 PM | Comments (1)

Early Turkey

George had a craving for turkey, so we made one on a Sunday. It was delicious!

Dave and Julie joined us for the 18 pound feast,

George was happy.

YUM!

but save room for Julie's desserts!

Posted by Heather at 08:46 PM | Comments (1)

November 20, 2006

Gillette's Castle

William Gillette was best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage, he also wrote, produced and performed a play entitled Sherlock Holmes (adapted from a version originally written by Conan Doyle). The play was praised by contemporary critics and audiences alike. Through his association with this play, he broadly amassed fans all around the world.

Leading to the castle

In 1912, while sailing the Connecticut river, Gillette spotted a hill, part of the Seven Sisters, over a ferry's pier in Hadlyme.

View from the river!

He docked, disembarked and climbed up. He was so amazed by the view that he purchased 115 acres of land, the next month. He decided to build up a castle at this location based on the Norman fortress Robert the Devil.

Julie and the view of the river

The material for the castle was carried up by an aerial-trolley designed by him. The castle's walls tapered from 5 feet thick at the base to 3 feet at the upper levels.

The castle possessed 24 rooms and 47 doors, with puzzled hand-carved locks, which were also devised by Gillette. The main salon measured 30 by 50 feet and was 19 feet in height, featuring a complex mirrored system of surveillance that ended in his bedroom. He explained this as a means "to make great entrances in the opportune moment".

The mansion was finished in 1919, at a cost of 1 million US dollars. Gillette called it Seven Sisters.

Grand Central Station- Its small train was his personal pride. The train's layout was 3 miles long, and it travelled all around the property. Gillette also enjoyed strolls on his property in company of his guests, Albert Einstein among them.

And on to our hike...

and rock hunt.

The train tunnel

Have you heard of letterboxing? It's FUN!!!

Posted by Heather at 07:10 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2006

George in a skirt

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November 10, 2006

a few photos

Julie and Lily

Halloween Night Ride

Loretta and Jesse

Posted by Heather at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)

Flood!

A few weeks ago it rained and rained and rained. This is the Essex town dock underwater at high tide.

Posted by Heather at 09:22 PM | Comments (0)

November 05, 2006

Happy Birthday Mom!

Kay Aurin and Mom

Dave and Julie

Pat, Chrissy and Bob Cashman

Kay and Dad

Cake!

Everyone likes a Tiffany's box!

From Dad

Earrings from Kay

Outside for fireworks!

Pat, Chrissy and Mom

Posted by Heather at 11:17 AM | Comments (3)

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October 15, 2006

Introducing!

A new blogger has entered the arena! Now that all the women in our family are blogging, you really have no excuse to not be keeping up with the exciting goings-on in our family. Ha ha!

Mom's blog can be found at www.kathymccurdy.com or www.thirstybootsfarm.com.

Julie's blog is www.juliamccurdy.com.

Posted by Heather at 12:02 PM | Comments (2)

October 14, 2006

recovery status: happy to be pretty again

After a few days and a shave George is looking much better! One can hardly tell it was broken; at least that's what we're telling George.

Posted by Heather at 06:23 PM | Comments (5)

October 11, 2006

George had an accident

This is the email I received from George: "I took a tree limb in the head and broke my nose today just got back from emergency and they said they wouldnt straighten it. That i should got to a nose and throat specialist so I tried to do it myself I think it came out ok. wow what a day so far. How is yours going. See ya for lunch"

Poor George!

Posted by Heather at 08:29 PM | Comments (5)

October 07, 2006

Our New Buddy

This spider is currently residing right next to our front door. And it is quite large.

It's a Garden Spider.

Posted by Heather at 03:52 PM | Comments (3)

September 26, 2006

Dad's Birthday

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dave, Dad and Mom

Pat, Chrissy and Julia

George and Heather

Heather and the wall of fame

The Birthday Boy!

Mom and Julia

Pat and Chrissy

Yum!

Hooray!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Posted by Heather at