Coyne Operated

Well, our pumpkin-painting contest got cancelled thanks to the Red Sox World Series.
We called a truce and decided that we would post our foliage pictures instead.
So, please enjoy, and look for our next post of pictures of the Red Sox Rolling Victory Parade.
Happy Halloween, everyone!

It's still surreal. 2004 and now 2007. It leaves us to wonder why the heck it took 86 years to win a World Series. It took a bunch of self-proclaimed "idiots" to end "The Curse," but this year was a lot more enjoyable for me. The Sox were led to this title in Game 4 by two guys known as "survivors" -- and from cancer for that matter.
Congratulations to Mike Lowell and Jon Lester. Mike came to us in the Beckett trade as a "throw-in." He is now the World Series MVP. Jon Lester was undergoing chemotherapy just a year ago and was unsure of his future. Now, he got the win in the clinching game.
It's time to soak it all in and enjoy it.

Ok, so that may be an incorrect exegesis of that passage from the book of Revelation, but hey, we are talking about the World Series. Game 1 starts tonight and I am the first Sox fan to admit that I would not have imagined it being in Boston just a week ago.
Cleveland can rock all they want, but the bow did break, and boy they did fall. I will give that team credit for taking it all with class and dignity. That is something Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys cannot do. Excuse my digression.
Now, we often hear people say, "you have to take the good with the bad". I am excited to see the team I grew up with, and suffered with, try to win their second title in just three years. However, it means dealing with at least another season of Terry "Dead-From-the-Neck-Up" Francona, Manny "Being Manny", Julio "I tried my best to help Cleveland" Lugo, and J.D. "Nancy" Drew (he did get some bonus points by hitting the grand slam in Game 6). Please, Lord, don't let them trade Jacoby Ellsbury in the off season.
I am now ready to hunker down and see how this team does in the next week. They have taken us on a wild ride this year and I expect no less in this Series. Perhaps I will be able to witness another "Rolling Parade" through Boston before I have to go back to work.
You have noticed that I included a picture of what Jeter and ARod are up to since being knocked out of the Divisional Playoffs.
Go Sox!

Well, it's not the stuff in the bottle, but interesting to say the least.
We have a whole bunch of wild turkeys that like to stroll around our yard. They don't bother anyone and it's kind of fun to watch them from time to time. Well, I came home from my doctor's visit on Friday to one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. There was one of the turkeys perched high on the point of the roof.
When I looked up he moved back out of sight. I went to the side of the house and noticed that he had four of his buddies up there with him, just hanging out.
I ran inside and got Lauren's camera. I figured it was best to take pictures since I'm sure nobody would have believed this without proof.
What are these dudes thinking? Don't they know it's only a month until Thanksgiving Day and I will gladly save the 20 cents per pound for a Butterball?

Fall is a season that has really grown on me as I've gotten older. It used to mean the end of shorts and warm weather (ugh), the start of school (double ugh) and way-too-early sunsets. But I can now really say I appreciate the appearance of the autumnal equinox. (Big words, I know. But I wouldn't have that vocabulary if I hadn't returned to school each fall...)
Today, Mike and I decided to go pumpkin-picking, and we chose to go to one of our favorite towns -- Guilford, Connecticut. We found Guilford when we first started dating in 2001. I was in New York; Mike was in Massachusetts. After studying our maps, we decided Guilford was about halfway for each of us, and that became a place we could meet and spend occasional weekends together so neither of us had to make a long drive. And it's just an adorable little town. We also discovered one of our favorite restaurants -- Chips' Pub II. (If you're ever in Guilford, head to Chips' for the boneless buffalo fingers, if for nothing else.)
When we arrived in Guilford this afternoon, we went to Bishops Orchard and scouted the area for our perfect pumpkins. We differed somewhat on what "perfect" was -- "That one's too dirty.... That's too lop-sided.... That one's side is smushed in.... That one looks like it has eczema." (Yes, that last one was an actual quote from yours truly.) But we finally filled our wheelbarrow with the chosen few.
Next to the area with the pumpkins was a little pen with llamas and goats. I tried to snap a few good pictures of the baby goat, but he completely ignored me. He took a liking to Mike, though.
We completed our trip to Bishops by purchasing their apple cider and cinnamon donuts (we snagged the last pack!). We then drove down to the water and capped off the day with a lovely dinner.
So, the pumpkins have been picked, the painting will begin, and the contest winner will soon emerge. Stay tuned....