I know I’ve said this before and before that and before that too! (Enough about the dogs already, right?) But going up north to visit the family is really all about the dogs.

We often sit in the family room talking and before we know it we are playing complicated games of fetch with the long haired dachshund. He’s too smart. He’s attached to this little blue rubber ball as if it’s his pacifier or something. You can ignore him but he will “accidentally” drop the ball on your feet and bark at you until you can ignore him no longer. Throwing the ball is a mistake because then it means the “games have begun” and you will be stuck playing fetch with him for hours on end. So in order to give us some peace from the never ending fetching and barking we hide the ball in places we think he won’t be able to get it out of.

Nothing works. No matter how well you hide it, or ignore it, he will bark and root around until he finds it. Toby’s Dad stacked the ball inside three empty dog food bowls and he STILL found his ball. It took a lot of pushing the bowl around the living room with his nose but nothing comes between the determined little German dog and his little blue rubber ball.

Too bad I didn’t get any action shots and all I have to show you are some cute dogs sleeping.

We did take some pictures of this giant mosquito eater. I’d have to ask my Dad, the bug man, what it’s proper name is. It was so huge! I’ve never seen a mosquito eater that big. Maybe he got so big from eating all the mosquitos! They are out in droves this year. Even in the middle of the day you have to watch it or you could get bitten to pieces.

The sun came out for a little bit yesterday. Actually it was setting and there was a little gap between the fog and the ocean where the sun managed to shine through. I took advantage of the pretty light and got some pictures of my mother-in-law’s beautiful dahlias.

p.s. I finally updated the spy cam pages! Whoo Hooo! Happy Viewing!

The guys and I went to Ruth Lake on Saturday. (The guys being: Toby, Toby’s brother and his dog, Tuff) It was a perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold but just right! We had to drive two and a half hours inland to escape the fog and dampness that shrouds the coastal town of Eureka. But it was totally worth it. There is something about the smell of the pine and bark and the water and the mountains that envelopes you and you immediately remember that this is what vacation smells like. We sped off in Toby’s Dad’s fishing boat to the family boat lease to enjoy a day at the Cove.

When we got to the Cove, Toby and his brother went right to work, limbing trees and clearing brush for the cabin that’s going to be built some day soon. Last year I spent a lot of time helping them clear brush and pulling up some old tubing that was stuck in the creek. But this year I got to laze around on the shore, read a book and take a nap because I’m pregnant. Everybody spoils the pregnant lady.

While we were there, we saw a bald eagle and two ospreys (commonly known as a fish hawk) fighting in the blue sky right over our heads. Apparently, bald eagles don’t catch their own fish to eat. They just steal it from ospreys. So two ospreys got tired of that pirating behavior and ganged up on the bald eagle. It was quite a ruckus. They dive bombed it and even plucked out some of the bald eagle’s feathers. One feather even floated down to us. I guess you can get put in jail for holding a feather of the national bird.

I also caught a fish! Just a little spotted blue gill but still it was fun. As Toby’s brother said, I caught the biggest fish, the littlest fish, the ugliest fish and the prettiest fish! In other words, I caught the only fish of the day. We got quite a few nibbles on our bait but nothing very exciting. It still made a perfect day more perfect. Then we let the fish go and Toby took a shot of me fishing and looking pregnant so someday I can tell my kid, “See there you were at the lake before you were born.” I love looking at old pictures of my mom when she was pregnant with me.

As the sun began to dip behind the tree covered mountains and the shadows crept across the lake, we pulled ourselves away and headed home. It’s always tough to leave the lake because it’s just so pretty there at sunset. But we can’t leave too late because it’s a good long drive to get back to town. One of these days we want to camp over night.

Here we are in the land of winter. It’s the middle of August and I’m drinking hot cocoa, wearing a sweater and wishing I had some warm socks to wear. No matter how much I thought about how much colder it would be up here, I still managed to pack clothes that are completely flimsy and ill-prepared for the brisk wind and damp fog. My maternity jeans with their stretchy spongy waste band were nearly unbearably sweaty to wear down south. Up here they are cozy as can be. The only thing that bothers me is that they are cropped pants and the four inches of bare leg they expose is where I’m wishing I had knee socks or boots or something. Oh, the fashion faux pas! But I’m cold and I have no long pants that go all the way down!

We took our chilly selves to the chilly Ferndale Fair today. It was fun. It was definitely interesting. It just didn’t remind me of summer like a fair usually does. I’m used to walking in flip flops on hot black asphalt, with my cotton candy melting and watching where I walk to make sure I don’t step in somebody’s melted chewing gum or sticky spilled coke. It’s strange to wander around in the foggy fields where kids are wearing coats and boots to ride the carnival rides. It doesn’t exactly make for colorful fun pictures either because the fog makes everything seem cold and gray.

The best part about the fair was watching the 4H kids. I was never into 4H when I was younger but I sure wish we lived up here and I could get my kids into it. It just seems so wholesome in a way that Orange County could never be. The kids were amazing. I was really amazed at the way they paraded their stubborn cows around the corral while a judge to critiqued everything from the way the cows hooves were positioned to how high they held the cow’s head in it’s muzzle. It takes a lot of patience and skill to lead a cow in a direction it doesn’t want to go. Especially when the cow is bigger, stronger and meaner than you are.

The whole time I was at the fair, I had this incredible deja vu feeling because I’ve been here probably when I was three or four. I lived in Eureka until I was five, before my family moved down south. I barely remember anything about the fair but something about that old rusty Zipper ride really brought back that feeling of familiarity. I know I’ve never been on it but I think I remember my Dad went on it when I was little. Either I remember watching him go on it or maybe I remember him explaining it to me how it worked. I just can’t believe it’s still here. That was back in the 70’s!

How can it still be here and be safe? It probably isn’t. It looks pretty rickety and half the light bulbs in the sign are smashed out. I just can’t believe these rides are safe when they assemble them and disassemble them as they go all over the country. Plus, the people that run them look like they are strung out on drugs. I guess part of going to the fair is just accepting the risk and living a little.

Thankfully I’m pregnant and I have the perfect excuse not to go on any crazy rides.

p.s. No posting lately because we haven’t been near any internet connections and every time I want to post I have to beg Toby to take me into town to the nearest internet cafe. But on Monday we will be staying in a hotel with free wireless so I’ll be back to posting regularly then! Good thing too because I’m going through withdrawals!