Parade Memories

Did I mention how much I like parades? Here are some highlights from the Elgin 4th of July parade. It was a good parade, though a somewhat odd mix. And I think there should be a rule that you have to do something INTERESTING or throw candy, because these businesses that just drive in the parade to blatantly advertise are annoying, not to mention boring.

So this was the Streamwood Marching Band for the Tone Deaf. Seriously, this was the worst sounding band I've ever heard. I'm not sure what they were playing. It may have been something by Journey? Don't Stop Believin'...or maybe in this case you should.


No parade is complete without men riding tiny motorcycles! Yay Shriners!


This was Elgin, so I guess the pimp union felt the need to represent. Really, I have no idea who these people are or why they were in the parade. Maybe they just took a wrong turn.


What does it say when the Peace Group needs a police escort? They were the only group in the parade being escorted.


These dancers are one of my favorites -- now THIS is how you be in a parade, people!


And here we have the Flamboyant Vampire Swashbucklers.


Yikes! He's totally wanting to suck my blood after the parade.


I don't really know what to say about this.


I am totally doing this next time Ducky is in a parade!


And no parade is complete without a pirate. Actually, I'm not sure he was really with any one group. He was just kind of working the crowd without any affiliation that I could see. Rock on Jack Sparrow!

Nippersink Guardians

Very few of my photos from the Nippersink paddle(s) turned out...except for a couple of turtles. They are the guardians of the creek. What they lack in speed, they make up for in charm, I think.

This one cracks me up -- the expression on its face is so come hither.



This is a great creek to paddle as long as it's not too hot, and the water levels are up. Great views, big sky, some mini rapids (very mini!) and lots of twists and turns. My favorite stretch is through a wooded section, but there are also some beautiful stretches through prairie and stands of oaks in the near distance.

Now, in an urelated but no less time consuming note, I'm off to battle tomato blight. I think I've found some organic remedies to try. What did we ever do before google?

Garden Visitors

(Baby was still kind of wobbly!)

So the other day, I started out my back door only to see these not-so-welcome visitors under my cherry tree. Admittedly, they were fun to see, and the fawn was SO cute, but they are just way to destructive to my tiny garden. I've already lost a few hostas to deer, so after admiring mom and baby, I politely asked them to leave. Not really. Mom took off when I made to come out the back door, and baby hunkered down in the black eyed Susans. According to dad, baby deer have no scent, so prey can't detect them if they hide and hold real still. So...I guess that's what they do while mom does her best to distract any threat by running off. This afforded the opportunity for some close-up photos, and I even reached out a finger and petted the little guy/gal. Very sweet! Mom, who was just a couple backyards away, came back as soon as I left and collected her offspring.





So...deer in the garden, chipmunks in the dryer vent, raccoon family under the shed...it's like the flippin' wild kingdom over here these days.

I also put up a couple new bird houses, which were immediately occupied. And the squirrels...grrr...they continue to wreak havoc.

But the garden is doing relatively OK despite all the onslaughts. I need to take some pictures to show progress.

Fun With PFLAG

(Me and my cute little friend Josie)

I keep forgetting how much I love parades. Today I walked with PFLAG in the Crystal Lake parade. It's a great parade and a very nice route...and the crowd was impressive. PFLAG gets a HUGE ovation whenever they walk in Chicago parades. In Crystal Lake...a little less enthusiasm, but still, it was OK. Sometimes there were just crickets chirping as people stared at us like we were aliens, but some groups and individuals along the way made up for it. And then there were, as Josie pointed out, those occasional lone teens or couples bravely cheering. Some of the people in our group had giant soap bubble wands, and I have to say, I underestimated the appeal of bubbles! I hope the children of Crystal Lake will forever associate gays with happiness and bubbles, because their unbridled joy was something to behold. Only one parent hissed at her child, "STAY BACK!!" when the kid went for a bubble. Yes, young person, stay away from the gay bubbles, for they may taint you!

I posted some pictures on Flickr, because it was easier than resizing a bunch for blogger.

It was amusing that we were placed behind some out-of-town Christian school. For the record, nobody burst into flames...well, not in the literal sense. Flaming yes. On fire, no.

The event was made more adventuresome because I rode my bike up there, which took a little over an hour. The trip gave me the opportunity to use the extended pannier pouches on my rear bike bag, which, even though I've had the bag for a few years now, I NEVER KNEW I HAD!!



In addition to all my usual gear, I took a pair of Crocs (one purple, one yellow), some non bike shorts, a rainbow flag to wave, and a string bag to carry my water and camera during the parade. It was a great morning for a ride, and I was able to lock my bike at the police station (the staging area was next door). Plus I lucked out when I got there, because a nice lady let me into the police station lobby so I was able to change, pee and cool off in air conditioned comfort while the rest of the poor parade marchers stood in long porta-a-potty lines.

The ride home went fast, and I treated myself to a delicious DQ cone afterward. Tomorrow is Elgin's parade, which I'll also bike to with Roland and Amy, and I may venture into Sleepy Hollow for theirs too. It's finally starting to feel like a holiday weekend.

First Harvest: It's Going To Be An Interesting Salad

Swiss chard, basil, rhubarb and lovage. Mmm.

Happy Dance!

More fun with movie maker. Who doesn't like to have their butt scratched?



Speaking of happy, doesn't this silly nosegay make you smile? It's an odd combination of blooms -- but it's the first of the month, so it must be documented.



Here's the last one from May.

Bruise Update

Pardon my fascination with the progress of this contusion. I've never had anything this size or variety of colors before. And it's in such a location that I can't even show it off. Other than emailing photos of it to Beth. I guess that like sexting for old people maybe. Well, I did surreptitiously show it to a fellow biker at the fitness center, and the first thing he said (after "ouch!") was "Oh no, you fell on the wrong side, is your derailleur OK??" (I could totally relate -- it was the 3rd thing I thought of after, "Holy FUCK!" and "I think I broke my hip!"

Speaking of updates...

Mattress update: I did get my allegedly improved mattress back, and it's a little better. After a week of sleeping on it, I'm still underwhelmed though. But it's not worth the hassle at this point. Lesson learned. Don't buy from a place that doesn't have a comfort guarantee that allows you to actually RETURN the mattress. I thought they all did, but I was sorely mistaken. Overall, I'm relatively pleased with it.

Generator update: It started right up! Alert readers might remember that I bought a propane generator to deal with power outages. Roland helped me start it for its initial trial (though I didn't hook it up to anything yet). It's quieter than I expected, which is a plus. And yesterday, while shopping for squirrel defense at Menards, I found a cute little swivel-wheeled cart thingee for 15 bucks. It's rated up to 600 lbs., so I think it'll do the trick. I'm not sure I could make one for less than that.




Kayak update: Beth's new inflatable kayak is SWEET. If only I hadn't shot my wad on a generator, I'd get one too. Now if we could get a day when it's not so windy there are whitecaps on the Fox, we'll be good to go.