And speaking of baby chickens.....

So, a few weeks ago now, Callum and Amanda went down to visit Andrea and Michael in Rochester, NH. I stayed home, since some of us have to work :) At any rate, Callum was ecstatic to see the Clauss-Veal's new addition: Baby chickens!! They were only like a week old or something, so they were still in their little box with the light and all the mumbo jumbo....Over the last two years, it has become pretty plain to see that Callum is a farmer boy at heart: This kid absolutely loves (toy AND real) cows, chickens, ducks, cats, dogs, and horses. Also, he loves carrying his watering can around, and he LOVES his little garden, where right now he is growing some peas--he checks on them every single day. In addition, his affinity for birds (and birdseed in particular) is mildly concerning for a kid his age; sometimes, upon waking up from a nap, he will speak in a panicked sort of manner about how he has to feed the birds, etc. Very funny. Oh, and he loves doing firewood. He has, technically, already split his first piece of wood. More on that another time....Here's Callum with the chicks.

You really need to click on each picture to blow they up. Yes, they.
One thing I really admire about my son is his respect for people, things, and animals. He understood the fragility of these chicks, and it shows here. He is gentle with babies and kittens and my emotions.....you know, all types of fragile things.
Paying attention as Uncle Michael explains how to clean the poop.....
I can almost hear Callum shouting: "Ooooooohhhhhhh.....baby neaks!!!"
Oh, and getting back to the title of this post--"And speaking of baby chickens"--we wanted to make it public on our blog (in case anyone still reads this) that we are indeed expecting our second child on December 6th. Amanda is doing AWFUL, in case you are wondering. Very sick. Very tired. Very dead-weight. But, I DO have her doing extra chores and workouts, so.....
Just kidding. But she is not having a good go of it thus far. But all is well, we heard a very healthy heartbeat, and we are so blessed to be expecting our second baby. Callum, too, is elated. He likes taking care of things. We are about 11 weeks along right now....

Let's play a game....

Can you guess which one of these is the Obama Supreme Court appointee Elena Kagan....and which one is that fat dude from the show "King of Queens?" Let's see how you do....

Elena Kagan, or Kevin James in drag??

hmmm......

Is Elena having nightmares about the grilling she'll get from the Senate??

I wanted to make sure to post this ASAP....so you can say you saw it here first, before SNL, The Daily Show, etc get ahold of this....

Hey Dad, if all goes well, we'll finally have one of our people on the bench!!! Mazel Tov!!

More stupid PC crap.....

Yesterday on NPR I heard a news story concerning the state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin, it appears, is the first state in the country to put a ban on team mascot names that are "racial" in origin and are "offensive" to certain groups. Come on. The school in question--the one NPR interviewed--involved a high school with the mascot of "The Indians." The school will need to change their mascot now. The big mural on the gymnasium wall (the same one that has been there for 65 years) that says "Welcome to Indian Country" will need to be redone....probably with a big painting of Obama or something. Kids have gotten in trouble at the school for wearing "war paint" on their faces on the days of big games. So, so, so silly.

But then I got to thinking that maybe the liberals are right....and maybe there are MORE team names that should be deemed offensive. Why stop with the obvious ones like the "Braves" and "Redskins?" I think all the following team names need to be changed......

YANKEES AND PATRIOTS: As my wife is part British, she takes offense to the Yankees and Patriots, because, in essence, all this is doing is hatemonging against the Brits and rubbing in the fact that they lost war over 200 years ago. I mean, you dont see "Bangor Talibans" or something...why should we honor and celebrate warmongers?

SAN DIEGO PADRES: As a Christian, I find it insulting that all priests are portrayed as Spanish origin AND are bald AND wear brown burlap robes. Plus, the Padres sucks. So does that mean all ministers suck too? What is the subliminal message?Can you imagine if there were a team called the "Philadelphia Clerics?"

MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Vikings raped, pillaged, and stole. They burned everything and killed what was left. Plus, they ate too much meat, which has led the American diet to be too high in cholesterol

MILWAUKEE BREWERS: Disrespectful against Amish and Baptists, who don't drink. Plus, it propagates the idea that beer is cool. Beer is NOT cool. It kills children. Almost 600 kids die every year from beer!

DALLAS COWBOYS: Are you kidding me? The Cowboys are called "America's team." Cowboys were drunken immoral men who were homeless settled disputes by shooting each other. Plus they cheated at cards.and stole money. So....I guess they ARE America's team.....

LA DODGERS: Glorifying all those hippy draft dodgers in the Vietnam war.....

OAKLAND RAIDERS and PITTSBURGH PIRATES: My ancestors were killed by pirates....and they still havent returned my doubloons. I find this offensive

This list is only from baseball and football.....and I think it barely scratches the surface.....

Being a bachelor

Hopefully Timmy's bud George doesnt get mad at this......

Right now I am taking a break from stacking some rock maple that I have been splitting over the past week or four....Amanda and Callum are safely arrived in Rochester, NH to visit Andrea and Michael. As I have already spoken to Amanda this afternoon, I know Callum is enamored with the Clauss's baby chickens they are raising for eggs. Callum just LOVES animals of all kinds. Perhaps he will grow up to be a James Herriot or a Calum Buchanan or a Siegfried Farnum, even...

I am enjoying the house all to myself. This morning, after church, I did a 20 mile ride through some beautiful country (I call it the RIVER ROAD LOOP). The only downside to this is that, whereas my ride takes me through some beautiful farmland, farmers are out in full force, dropping manure on their cornfields. This, in turn, means that the road is covered with dried up manure tracks from the big tires of the tractors. I got home, had lunch, and I have been out doing firewood ever since. Later, I will get a Ming Lee combination plate (which I will eat with a spoon) and watch some serious X-Files (well, I mean I will "seriously" watch several episodes....NOT that I will only watch X-Files individual episodes of a serious nature....)

Callum has been really loving building towers lately....



These things are taller than him, even. Amanda and I clash over blocks. She grew up as a Lego kid, and I grew up as Lincoln Logs kid. There were basically only three types of kids when we grew up: Lego kids (who are now all the left brain, sequential, logical thinkers who can, let's say, put together kid's toys, follow directions of manuals, etc), Lincoln Logs kids (who now are all grown up and plagued with a keen fascination for all things wood...particularly firewood), and Tinker Toys kids (these kids are all at WPI or MIT now, and probably will never marry)
Before I get back to my wood, I wanted to show what else Callum has been really into lately: Drawing. He loves crayons--but he particularly loves colored pencils. When I say he "loves drawing," what I really mean is that he loves to hold crayons and tell US to draw him things on demand. Like, for example, he'll hold three crayons and say "Cat!" and want me to draw him a cat. Then, he says "I did it!' and takes credit for the work I did. Hopefully, he grows out of this liberal-American phase.....
Have fun Amanda and Callum. Be careful. Dont get pecked by chicks. Get me a present!

Summer Plans??

SORRY....THE INTERNET IS TOO SLOW TODAY TO UPLOAD PICTURES....YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT TIL TOMORROW......


So, since last night we had a winter storm warning (and some parts of Maine got a ton of snow), and since right now we have a fire going (like we have for the past two nights), and since it is almost May, I thought we would ponder our summer plans. What are yours? As you know--if you know me well--I absolutely positively HATE the summer. We talk about moving to Minnesota or Alaska or Newfoundland, since we hate the heat and want as much cold weather as possible. I HATE THE SUMMER. But anyway, here is what is on tap for the Goldsmith family

1. A season pass to Lake George park, where we'll go several times per week to swim, canoe, explore bugs and fish and turtles, and stop at Oak Pond Brewery at the way back...
2. Lots of long bike rides--Amanda and I would like to do an overnight ride (not where we ride through the night, but where we stay at a hotel, with our bikes, and ride for a couple of days)
3. MS Ride for the Cure: I will be doing this in August. Last year I did the Trek Across Maine, which was awesome. But more people closer to my heart are living with MS. And not that the Lung Association (Trek fundraiser) isnt great and all.....but just dont smoke!
4. Trip to NJ to see the Real Housewives of NJ, eat crab, tour the QVC studios, and maybe get some cheesesteaks.
5. Several trips to Mt Desert Island, since Callum is now an ocean freak
6. The Adirondacks (?) We will have to see about this one. We went last year, but it is a ten hour ride. I dont know. Our heart wants to go.....
7. Visits with the Kranthonys: Hopefully no one will have to go to the ER this time, and hopefully they wont have any more ragers at their house while we are staying there (wah wah wah)
8. Camp Greenlaw. We'd love to get out and see our neighbors on China Lake more this summer. It is awesome to get out, have some drinks, and let Callum drive Uncle Dana-the-Pirate's party boat...
9. Firewood.
10. Firewood again
11. Sitting in the cool basement to escape the oppressive heat (oppressive, for me, is anything about 70)
12. Nannie is taking everyone to the cape for a week....
13. Dirty Weekend '10!!! I am greatly looking forward to this. Sometime in late August. The boys come up. We go to the Forks. The rest is privileged information.
14. VBS: Amanda and I are helping out with Vacation Bible School at church. Word is I have to dress up like a bee. A yellow bee. In tights
15. Triathlons and such and such.....

Meanderings 60-Yup......that's America....

Wow. Only 40 more meanderings more until I reach 100. At that time, I'll have a party. Most likely. Here are some things that make Americans truly "American." I have thought of all these in the past couple of days, after I observed #1....

1. I was driving home from the grocery store the other day, when I happened to drive by "South Beach Tanning" (a tanning salon, in case you havent figured that out). Standing outside the door of the salon was a chubby girl wearing clothes that were way too tight. She was texting. A chubby girl wearing too-tight clothes standing outside of a tanning salon texting. YUP, I said to myself, THAT IS AMERICA.....

2. In most any other country, when cooks make something a "salad," it usually means they are adding some type of vegetable collection to the beef or chicken or whatever.....like maybe they are adding lettuce or spinach or julienned carrots or something. You have to wonder why we are all so overweight when, in America, making something a "salad" means you simply add MAYONNAISE to it. Have a can of tuna? Want to make tuna "salad?" Add mayo. Potatoes? Add mayo, and you've now got potato salad. Same for seafood, chicken, macaroni, etc.....

3. The American restaurant-goers decency as a human being is inversely proportional to how loud they ask for chopsticks at their local Chinese restaurant. You know....so EVERYONE can see how important they are for using them. Chopsticks? Come on. Unless you use chopsticks for all your meals, all you are being is an elitist showoff. You probably order "spring rolls" instead of egg rolls too. Why does people using chopsticks bother me so much? I dont know. I think because there is this certain liberal arrogance Americans have where they have to "one up" each other as to how "cultured" they are; the usage of chopsticks is like the "poster child" for this type of haughtiness. I've actually been out to Asian restaurants with people who are appalled that I dont use them.... like if you dont use chopsticks, then you are just a fat, ignorant American carbo-addict. I mean this without the slightest bit of sarcasm: What is the advantage or reasoning behind chopsticks? If anything, it looks like rice would be the most inconvenient thing on earth to eat with two wooden sticks. But what do I know....

4. The first lesson American kids get in how much the world in which we live makes no logical sense whatsoever comes when they buy their first pack of crayolas, and see the ever present "white" crayon amidst the "real" crayons. The white crayon is the crayon who sits alone at all the junior high dances; the white crayon has probably turned emo from both the lack of attention it gets and the uselessness of its own existence. I pity the white crayon. Why does crayola include a white crayon? You can't see it on white paper, and, no matter how hard you bear down with it on colored paper, all it looks like is that you either sneezed on your construction paper and then smeared it across the 8x10....OR that a slug from your dad's tomato garden has just traversed the blank space. Either way, gross and useless.

So that is what I have been thinking about over the last two days.

Mt Desert Island Part II

The annual "moose" picture. Last year, Callum was afraid of it. This year, he thoroughly embraced it. Literally. George always dresses up the moose to reflect the season, and this year, Merlin (the name of the ebony moose) was all set to do some fishing. One of the many things we love about Callum and his language is the way he "itemizes" everything. What I mean by that is that, when he talks, he is so complete and thorough in including everything when he says HI or BYE. When we would leave to go to the park or to eat dinner, Callum would start his goodbyes--"bye bye Moose....bye bye Moose bag....bye bye moose hat....bye bye moose fish rod...." and so on...

We took a short hike to "Wonderland," which is about a mile or so of nice, flat woodlands that lead out to a beautiful stretch of harbor just beyond Seawall. I believe that is Cranberry Island in back of us, out to sea (where else would an island be though!?) We loved combing the beach for pretty flat rocks and shiny shells. This was the one place where we let Callum throw rocks, so he was in his glory....
Good family picture.......with a haircut like that, Callum looks like he teaches physics at MIT or something....
Amanda snapped this on the Wonderland trail. Nice picture Sally! The brightness in the background is the trail leading out to the sea. The little guy LOVES sitting up on my shoulders (or, as he calls them, "der-dersh). I thought it looked funny how far over to the right he is up on my shoulders, and when I brought this to Amanda's attention, she said that he always sits like that. Weird. We have an interesting son, I guess.....
Mommy and little boy looking eastward.....out towards the beautiful islands that make downeast Maine so special.....