They come from Earth -- how about you?

Rhythm and Booms -- the Midwest's largest fireworks display -- takes place about a mile from our home each year. People come from all over, of course, and fill nearby Warner Park with campers and picnic blankets. People who live in the neighborhood are likely to invite folks over for cookouts, meantime.

Ulysses and I walked up to the playground on the grassy hill on the property of the mobile home park. We danced in circles and fell on the grass (Audio track provided by Ulysses: "Dancing! Dancing! Clunk. Dancing! Dancing! Clunk."). Ulysses went down the slide a few times.

We found some soft, swishy, leafy branches under the pair of maple trees that turn firey red in the fall (first the northerly one, then the one to the south). I picked up the larger cluster-- the wood end was about 1/2" thick, and with all the slender stems and leaves shooting from it, it came to about two feet both long and wide. U picked up the other. We waved them in spontaneous semaphores, playfully batted one another with them, held them aloft.

Still holding our branches, we left the field and continued our walk. A group of fifty- and sixty-somethings were sitting out front of one of the houses. The side yard was tidy, shady and inviting, with plantings and a grill that was apparently cooking dinner, but for some reason, they had squeezed themselves and their resin chairs in the narrow slice of pavement between the house and the car parked on the roadway in front of it.

"Hello," I said as we approached. A woman said something that I couldn't hear. "What's that?" I asked.

"Are you keeping the bugs away?" she repeated, pointing to our branches.

I hadn't noticed any bugs so far this season. "No, we're just playing," I answered. "He calls them trees," I added, "So that makes us giants, right?"

There was a pause. "Are they real?"

Now it was my turn to pause. "Yes, they're branches. Tree branches."

She looked at me blankly. "Where did they come from?"

By now we were past them. I pointed to the field a few dozen yards away, and the maple trees. "Right over there."

I was glad we were too far to talk after that.

Some exclusions apply

Don's mother was in town for about a week earlier this month. She took Ulysses to Sears to get portraits made. After paying for the pictures, we got a valuable coupon for future purchases at Sears! Some exclusions apply, but the text of the coupon is priceless. Here it is. The coupon is written in all caps, but I'll spare you that much. When you get to the end, compare the "Valid from" dates with the issue date at the top. I can't wait to take advantage of this amazing offer!

SEARS
FUTURE PURCHASE COUPON
$10 OFF ANY TOTAL APPAREL PURCHASE OF $50 OR MORE
Some exclusions apply. See below.
Issue date: 06/11/07
May not be used with any other coupon.

Savings off regular and sale prices apply to merchandise only. Not valid on clearance and closeout merchandise, special purchases, great price items, Land's End merchandise, Levi's jeans, Sears.com, Sears auctions on eBay, outlet store purchases, parts and repair centers, catalog orders, fragrances, Kenmore Pro, Stearns and Foster matresses, introductory offers, Celestial Star diamonds, electronics, DVD movies, video games, video game systems, CDs, Weber, propane tanks and exchanges, water heaters, automotive services, pharmacy, beer and wine, Sears license businesses including Two Hearts Maternity, installed home improvements and repair services, gift cards, money orders, wire transfers, and protection agreements.

Other exclusions may apply... Valid 06/09/07 to 06/23/07.

Handprint shirt

On Don's mother's to-do list for her trip this summer: make Ulysses a T-shirt with all of our hadprints. Click the pic for more, plus a short movie.

2007_0613 Handprint Shirt

Dough ornaments

On Don's mother's to-do list for her trip this summer: make dough ornaments with Ulysses. Click the pic for more.

2007_0613 Dough Ornaments

Berkley Park

U and I went out and around town with Don's mother, Janice -- to the library, to Berkley Park, and all over. Ulysses and I have played together there so many times since that first Arpil weekend afternoon in 2005 when we drove there together and played among the neighborhood children out enjoying the early spring warmth. I was glad to have pix and video taken of us at the slides and swings and trees and climbing thingies we've spent so much time with.

Click the picture below, then click the "Slideshow" button, to see the whole thing, including a few short movies.

2007_0612 Out and About

Sears photo shoot

2007_0611_SearsShoot

Donald's mother was looking forward to the chance to take Ulysses to get some pictures made during her visit from Georgia. We went to Sears, and instead of buying any prints, we went digital and bought the CD of the pix. (I was glad to see that it included the copyright to the photos.) That way we can print whatever we like. Click on the picture to see the album!

Bonus: you'll also see behind-the-scenes pix I snapped surreptitiously in the studio, and pix taken in the waiting area.

Little Amerricka

On Sunday, Don, his mother, Ulysses and I all went to Little A-merrick-a, an old-fashioned amusement park in Marshall, a little town just 20 miles or so northeast of Madison. We rode the train again and again. Ulysses rode the old, restored kiddie rides like the little boats, cars and planes. There was also a mini-ferris wheel. At the beginning of the day, Ulysses was scared on the rides, but by the afternoon he was well past it and rarin' to go for more. Click to see the pix of the day, with a slideshow option that'll automatically run the little movies, as well.

2007_0611 Little Amerricka

Weightlifting

Everybody's gotta get in shape!