Some llamas en route to the Resevoirs. 

On one of our outings we swung by the little red schoolhouse on 236 and 568 - interestingly, you have to almost trample the tulips to get a glimpse inside. More interestingly, the hand pump in the front of the schoolhouse still works! Though with all the brownwater reports around Findlay, who knows the safety of the source! 

This is a shot of Katman looking out of the front window at the new, strange, porch-swing. 

This, finally, is the Backyard Bunny. Unfortunately, we noticed a very young and very dead offspring just next to the back deck.  

So, I had a long weekend. Since it's difficult to take a quick trip from here - requiring a 2 hour drive to an airport, then a few hours' flight, then a 5+ hour drive to my favorite locations out West, I decided to take a road trip. Except there were storms across the northeastern US. So I drove north to Ontario, Canada, and through that province eastward to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. I made a quick stop at the souvenir shop to pick up some sweets for the girls who were cat-sitting for me. I didn't think such a high cheese factor existed outside of Las Vegas. However, it does, and is very much alive in Niagara Falls. I didn't take any photos of the main tourist strip, because I didn't stop there - but it was filled with hard rock cafe, wax-museum, souvenir kitch gone mad. 

Niagara Falls via drive-by shooting. I opted not to pay $15 to park..... 

The falls have a great pedestrian promenade..... 

View of Niagara Falls from the Rainbow Bridge to the U.S. 

Leaving Canada via the Rainbow Bridge. 

I stopped for the night at a basic Best Western off the main hotel strip. Even though it was a basic hotel, my room had a gas fireplace..... 

....and heart-shaped, mirror-walled jacuzzi tub. 

This is holiday valley, western New York. It's a really neat little town and a family winter ski area. I wonder if they manufacture their own snow? Since it's been in the 60s and 70s up here recently, I find it hard to believe that snow from the last real snowfall (December?) would be left on the slopes..... 

Pennsylvania country barnside advertising...... 

This was the most fun event of my rapid-road-trip weekend: I found the optimal window configuaration that would result in my hair being sucked out of the sunroof! I'm posting this even at the risk of it being an otherwise really bad self-portrait. 

Spring is bringing forth a few more surprises in the yard, as it does. One of them is patches of mushrooms in the back yard. I'll have to look these up to see if they're edible.