Monday morning came all too soon. Benz didn't want us to leave. We didn't want to leave but Donna's bus was leaving, with or without her. We headed of (...)

Benz doesn't just retrieve tennis balls. He brings them back and then attacks them. He plays with them in much the way a cat does with a not-yet-dead (...)

Benz had given Don & I a ho-hum reception. However, when Heather & Donna arrived, Benz was all tail wagging, tongue lolling, eyes sparkling and attack (...)

Sunday morning, coming down. Well, I was up and perky. The remains of the bonfire still leaked tendrils of smoke. Don is no longer content to just thr (...)

Back inside, Donna surprised us with a fabulous lunch of jumbo shrimp stir-fried in garlic butter. Oh, I could have eaten them on the head of a leper, (...)

The lord and master of the Mayo Hermitage. Don't let the smile fool you. He is a merciless task-master. First, we had to return the roast pan to the E (...)

Don has only three crops in his main garden - squash, potatoes and beans. Mind, he also has a large crop of Jerusalem Artichokes. [Image©2013 Donna L (...)

Don finally stirred and, to our surprise, so did Donna. We attacked the second pot of coffee and the girls retired to the back porch for a smoke. They (...)

Saturday, I awoke at the crack of Dawn only to find Heather up as well. We drained the first pot of coffee while awaiting the others. The sun rose abo (...)

We returned to the Hermitage with the roasting pan. There was a preternatural silence in the house. Benz was crouched with his head down. He was stari (...)

I was still recovering from seeing all the fields around Mayo covered in Goldenrod. Many would have cringed at the sight and begun sneezing. The truth (...)

With all the doggie excitement we all feel the need to relax on the porch. Some drink coffee, some smoke, some chat and I take pictures when they aren (...)

Meanwhile, Heather is looking askance at Don who is spinning another of his improbable tales which he swears truly happened. As usual, it involves mer (...)

The gals then took off to shop for the meal. Don wanted to check his mail and make some calls so I went walkabout in his woods nearby. My eye was attr (...)

I found these colorful, little guys about 6 feet from Don's garage. Once you get past the inital shrubbery the woods are remarkably open. Shrooms love (...)

We came back and Don began his roasting pan inquiries. It turned out that Don's ECL had a large roasting pan so we went to pick it up. Her husband is (...)

Once outside, Benz runs around like crazy to block off all avenues of escape. Brinker saunters up the step and lays down. It takes Benz several minute (...)

Since time was at a premium, the microwave was used to speed things up. You can see the result. There is danger of fat boiling explosively. Nothing ha (...)

The gals came back and unloaded their culinary loot. Knives were drawn and vegetables were butchered. We got out of the way. The roast was introduced (...)

The fat is then strained to filter out any foreign material and burnt bits. The fat is still very hot so this is done slowly to avoid splashing. The f (...)