Backyard Hurricane!

Here are some very frightening pictures of a recent Hurricane sighting in the WildHawks' backyard. I apologize for the graphic nature of some of these images.

Hop Harvest Update

The first hop cones have been harvested in our little hop growing experiment. They have been dried and are now in the freezer waiting for use in a batch of brew. The hops that were harvested were from the lone Cascade plant that made it. The three Nugget plants are doing well and should be ready to harvest very soon.

Gardner Lake - Southern Johnson County's Hidden Gem

As some of you may know, the WildHawk family likes to spend an occasional summer day at Grandpa Jack's Gardner Lake house. Most Gardner Lake outings consist of the following activities:

- Lunchtime arrival.

- Snacking on various chips and dips and assorted other finger foods, if lucky gizzards may be provided.

- Drinking beer.

- Drinking tequila with Grandpa Jack.

- Chasing children and yelling at them (both yours and others').

- Swimming (not every time)

- Cruising the lake on the pontoon boat.

- Eating dinner (usually a pot-luck style arrangement)

On special occasions, activities can stretch into the wee hours of the morning. Highlights of the lake season are: Rot-Gut Beer Contest Day, 4th of July, Memorial Day Weekend, and Cousins Reunion Day. All in all, it's a pretty good way to spend a summer day. As evidenced by all of the beautiful new homes popping up around the lake, the secret is getting out. Look out Lake of the Ozarks, Gardner Lake is coming for you!

Here is letter to the KC Star written by one of the original Breitenstein inhabitants of Gardner Lake: http://www.kansascity.com/631/story/729948.html

Public Pools: Not as bad as I thought.

Ok, so the Wildhawk family was bored last weekend and looking for some aquatic fun. Hurricane Will was tired of spinning over land. After all, he's not Tornado Will. Since we do not own a pool, and have opted against installing one, the only logical solution to our problem was to take a little trip to the local public swimming hole. I must say, it was pretty nice. They have an entire section designated for little kids who can't yet swim. The Hurricane had a blast. I don't think it will be long before he is terrorizing a pool near you (and from the looks of this picture, it won't be long before daddy is terrorizing a Chinese buffet near you!)

Omaha Zoo Adventure

On Wednesday, July 2nd, the Wildhawks, along with Papa, Meemaw, and another related Wildhawk family all embarked on a journey to the great city of Omaha, Nebraska. Many of you know Omaha to be the home of the Royals AAA affiliate, The College World Series, Warren Buffett, and Creighton University. Well, it is also the home of Henry Doorly Zoo, which is one of the top 3 zoos in the entire world. With Omaha a mere 3 hours away by car, that kind of draw was just too much to pass up.

I have to tell you, I'm not much of a zoo fan, but the Henry Doorly Omaha Zoo is pretty awesome. They have an indoor desert dome, a bat cave, an aquarium that arches over a walkway beneath, and more, and it's all within a fairly short distance. We saw more worthwhile animal exhibits in the first 20 minutes than you can see in an entire day at the KC Zoo. Don't get me wrong, I love KC and definitely think you should support your local zoo, but you have to get to Omaha if you want to see a real zoo.

It was a fun day. We saw everything there is to see there. Hurricane Will was more of a tropical depression during the day due to a developing cold and cough that came about a day later, but he still had a blast. Come to think of it, he was a real trooper that week. He had a black eye and a welt on the side of his face (from being a little boy), in addition to the head cold. If that were me, I'd have been much higher maintenance. Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

(Side note: Notice the picture of the cloud formation. That was on our drive home. I think it bears a striking resemblance to a hand extending a middle finger towards earth and all its inhabitants. Interestingly, later on our drive, we were pelted with racquetball sized hailstones. Needless to say, we have been better about attending mass since that day.)

Mobile blogging

This entry is a test of my mobile blogging capability. I just learned about this, and I think it has real possibilities. With this feature, I can take the show on the road so to speak. Anyway, look for more of this in the future if I can figure it out.

Eddie The Wonderdog

We've been asking Eddie to make a blog appearance for a while now, but he has wanted no part of the internet. A few years ago, he was burned pretty badly by an online mail-order bitch service, and has some lingering reservations about putting himself out there like that again. Well, after much reassurance that nothing like that will happen again, he is ready for his blog intro. He's been working out very hard lately trying to get in shape for his blog pictorial. I must say, he's looking pretty fit.