Thanksgiving 2014

Grandpa playing "catch the string" with Ilkka

Anneli with her favorite uncle of the moment.

Ilkka finally caught it.

Cats work best laying down, btw.

Two very happy girls.  The secret to a happy child is a happy mother.  Anneli knew what she was doing when she picked Jeni.

Getting down to business...

As usual, the chow was delicious and in abundance. 

Four generations.

Great grandpa.

Whee!  The snowsuit was made by Marja's mother Aune.  I'm sure she enjoys seeing Anneli wearing it.

Anneli bringing in her first Christmas tree.

Our Christmas tree needed new lights.

Fortunately, the pikkupojat happened to be available to do it again.

 

Christmas trees in the moonlight.

November 2014

Anneli reading a book to me.

Paul Lewis, meat carver extraordinaire is also a great talker.  He entertained us with stories the whole time while he was skinning my 6 lambs.

Gourmet Icelandic lamb

November sunrise over a glaze of ice.

We had hoped to have skating ice this fall, but heavy snowfalls covered the ice right after it froze.

It's hard not to take too many pictures of sunrises - particularly when the cloudy mornings of winter are almost upon us.  A midwinter sunrise is a rare sight in the snow belt.

Duane C stopped by one Sunday afternoon when grandpa was over.

Yeah, what can I say...another sunrise.



Anneli learning her Finnish numerot.

Uncle Johnny

Cyclocross!

Cyclocross is kind of like mountain biking on a road bike.  It is a spectator friendly short course race invented in Europe for the muddy fall season to give racers a different way to punish themselves.  This day happened to be dry, but the temperature was in the 30's and the wind was cold.

The course contains several barriers where the riders have to perform a running dismount and remount.  Having a smooth technique is important to maintain your speed.

Part of the course is smooth, giving a cyclocross bike a speed advantage over a mountain bike.

Because the race consists of many laps of a relatively short course, spectators get to watch the racers progress from many points along the course.

Snaking through the S curves.

Pounding up the field.

Busting through the weeds.

Hopping over the barriers

One more lap to go...

Mike bringing it home  (Not really, kid in the checkered shirt caught Mik before the end, but we won't have to tell.)

A strong finish for the hometown crowd.

Harvest

Apples are sweetest after a few frosts.

Ilkka helping to dig carrots.

Carrots require a lot of weeding, but it pays off.

Our colored field corn grew very tall, but produced only a few ripened ears.  Like they say in Texas, all hat, no cows.

Ilkka sampling the harvest.

Spuds!  Yukon gold are tasty, very rich and store well.

Sully borrowed and apple press and invited us over to make some cider.  It was delicious! Next year we are definitely making more.