Bantam attack!

In the courtyard of Kerrytown adjacent to the Farmer's Market

Old German cemetery

Window of the Salem church, originally a Lutheran church. Not to be confused with the Salem church I posted a month ago, which is in the far NE corner of our county. This is in the far SW corner.

Sharon Mills millrace

Wish I got more of the daisies

My attacker: a bantam rooster. He is about one third of the size of most roosters. Smaller than the hens he bosses around. Tomorrow I will visit with another friend's Rhode Island Reds 

Later my cooking class: grilling healthy meals. These are grilled vegetables that were placed on top of a garlic, pesto mayonnaise to make a tasty sandwich. Our dessert? Grilled fruit (peaches, pineapple and bananas) with ginger-lemon yogurt sauce. Also grilled asparagus salad though some of my readers can guess my reaction to that.

It's been a long 5 months since I've had my fast growing hair cut and colored but due to injuries, vacations, illnesses on the part of my hairdresser, I had to wait. She lives in the remotest part of our county but it's a pretty drive out there (last time I was trying to beat out yet another winter storm).

On the way, I stopped by the Farmer's Market to buy stuff for my daughter and my daughter-in-laws' birthdays which I will miss yet again. They were born on the same day a year apart. Julie is closer to Shanna's age than Josh's. Also I picked up fresh veggies for a salad I am making for the Mom's tomorrow. If one is finished by 8 am, free parking. Yep, I hate paying for overpriced Ann Arbor parking. I fret about expired Groupons yet we have been tossing around huge numbers lately with abandon. But it is fun early morning at The Market. I ran into Farmer Dave with his new full beard looking very much like the Amish farmers that find their way here (except they don't have mustaches.)

It wasn't going to take an hour by freeways to get to my friend's house and with all her juggling, an early arrival would not be appreciated. So on to beautiful undulating country roads that I have bicycled on in the distant past. I went on the road that the bicycle club had its time trials on. You bike as hard as possible for 10 miles. My goal: to beat 30 minutes, which I did some of the time. My chief competition was a woman I called Thunderthighs (not to her face). She was powerful and much more experienced than me ( I was training to be a triathlete so lots of my time was devoted to running and swimming..and working full time and raising 2 kids and running a soccer team and a Girl Scout troop,etc). The only advantage I had was my relative lightness (sigh...) so I could go up hills more easily but her speed on the flats and downhill negated that. Later, she took up running and became much lighter.
Past the pretty lake that my deceased friend has his wedding on years ago (dead in a bicycle accident!!); stopping by an old stone mill that we found on a bicycle ride that at that time, was a winery with free tasting. (wine drinking and bicycling do not mix!) but now is a county park; past several old German churches and cemeteries dotting the very green landscape, passing country lanes with German names..finally I was on time.

It is fun to catch up with my hairdresser who Shanna and me have been seeing for 18 years. She offered me some tea but said I needed to give her guidance to prepare it as her religion forbids its consumption. Yeah, I forgot that she was Mormon. This led to an interesting discussion on her religion's prohibitions, notably alcohol. From what I can remember, there seemed to lots of wine being consumed in the Bible with the blessings of the powers that were. She said that her church believes that the translation of the Greek word was 'fruit juice' not wine. So in the Miracle of Cana, Jesus is providing fruit juice for the wedding guests? She conceded that in that case, Jesus did convert the water into wine, not juicy juice and that the prohibitions are really Words of Wisdom from the Elders as the body is a Temple and shall not be desecrated. Fine and dandy. But I remember that the Mormons were trying to stop airplanes flying over their state from serving alcohol and the craziness we had to go through in Salt Lake City to get a drink ( The U of U, sponsors of the meeting I went to, was quite generous in providing us it). And she was supposed to go to a wedding this weekend in Salt Lake City of a dear friend whose immediate family were barred from the ceremony as they were not Mormon and were understandably annoyed.

She raises free range chickens. Usually she comes out with me with a broom to avert attacks but this time, I was on my own. I tried to photograph the head rooster, pretty as he is but tiny. As I closed in for the shot, he rushed me intending to peck my toes.

Ah busy, busy, busy. Almost time for one last bike ride. Yesterday was the first time in ages, I didn't exercise. My excuse ?(I have thousands). My hair color needs to set and exercising would mean shower. But I needed a break. And I had little time. I delivered some flowers to Shanna and then on to my cooking class with the cancer peeps. It was fun. Extra fun, a woman that I am becoming friends with will be in Italy the same time as me and has all sorts of lodging info. Less fun, a new, very sweet woman with very young children has just been diagnosed with TNBC. I will get info for her.

And the house! @#$#@!!!! The well report is lost and will have to be redone. The septic engineering study? Who knows. If it takes them a year to get their act together, I wouldn't mind. But we are not closing on the date specified.

Later my hair dresser noted my whining about Napoleon , the Bantam Rooster attacking me. This is the sign she put up.