Look Who Came to Visit!

It's Christmas time! Ah, the chill of the 50 degree weather, the rain falling gently on the pavement...WAIT! This is Indiana! It's supposed to be cold and snowy. Oh well, I'm sure it's coming.

With all the Christmas lights and activities going on, my humans haven't been out way marking or geocaching much. They've been busy decking the halls.

To ring in the season, Diane and Rick have welcomed Santa Mingo and his Rein Mingos led by Rudolph the Red Nosed Rein Mingo to their home. If you want to come by and honk, I'll wave a feather to you. And they will leave the glow of electric sex from the leg lamp in the upstairs window on for you.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Philbert

Bibliophiles Unite!

I'll be you never suspected that I, Philbert, Pink Phlamingo Extraordinaire, Leader of the Phlamingo Phlock, is also an avid reader. I get this from the D half of the dnrseekers, who loves to read. To be fair, the R is a library lover, but he is not as into the reading as D and I are.

So. In the course of our geocaching and waymarking, we found "Bookcrossing Zones". A book crossing is a place where people have dropped off their previously read tomes so that someone else can pick it up, take it home, read it, and then pass it along. It's not exactly hopping with popularity. But it's still a fun way to go.

Bookcrossing has its own vocabulary. Placing a book isn't called "laying a book", which is what I would have called it. Placing a book is called "releasing it into the wild". Finding a book is called "catching" a book. I've had to get used to this vocabulary. As a bird, being released into the wild conjures up thoughts of NO MORE FREE MEALS! Getting caught is eerily reminiscent of a bird cage and BECOMING SOMEONE ELSE'S FREE MEAL! But Diane and Rick have assured me that this is not the case.

It is fun for me to release a book into the wild...or "lay a book" as I would have called it. Just today we dropped one off at a local sporting goods store...someone had left one there before. So we logged it as a waymark visit since someone else said it was a waymark, and logged it on the Bookcrossingzone.com website. It will be interesting to see if anyone picks it up and logs it in as found.

I've never known anyone to release an ebook into the wild. Wouldn't that be great? Instead of one book, it would be TONS of books! But in the meantime, what a great way to recycle and show concern for the environment. Free books...free reading...life is certainly grand. OH! And just so you know, it's not unheard of for a geocacher to leave a book hidden in a geocache. There's a little extra incentive for you to go out hunting...

Since I don't have any photos of me actually "laying" a book, I thought I would show you some of the things I have mistaken for Phlamingo Eggs. Uncle Philbert got caught reading outside a Carnegie Library in Union City, Indiana. Here's the proof! Until next time...

Happy Reading

Philbert

(just for the record, sometimes I get confused about the difference between "on" and "in". And I just learned eggs are more oval than round. Who knew?)

Oh the Things People Hide

This geocaching things is getting out of hand. I think I've told you about this hunting for hidden treasure thing. My humans really seem to enjoy it, but I don't get to pose quite as often. But I go along for the ride. I have to say that those geocaching folks are really clever. They found a way to hook my human Diane. It was all started on a business trip. Diane did a visit, then she and Rick went to find a cache. They had already visited a lot of way marks in that particular community, so they thought they'd find a quick cache instead. And in it was a special gold coin...

Granted, it's an awful picture.

Rick was laughing at Diane for taking the picture of this, but she was THRILLED! If you are not of the literary variety, John Grisham is an author, and The Racketeer is his latest book. Diane says it's been years since she's read a Grisham book, even though she likes them, but I know what she did later. She went and ordered the ebook version. Somehow or another, geocaching and great marketing are all tied together. There are a limited number of these "trackable" coins out there. This one hadn't been incredibly far, so we took it with us. But if you asked Diane about it, her answer was something along the lines of "I don't know what you are talking about."

So on the next caching adventure, Rick and Diane took me along to observe. There was some talk about mountain goats in hints, but since I'm a bird, I figured I could fly up a hill if need be. But Diane fell...well, slipped on some wet leaves. Rick had to be chivalrous and help her up the hill. But they were successful.

If you're curious about what a cache looks like, here one is...

And that thing that Diane says we didn't have...well, it's in the upper left hand corner of the box. If you want to see it in person, go to www.geocaching.com and look up cache number GCH3DA. Who knows--that gold thing might even still be in there....

I hear Diane and Rick have two more trackables in their possession from a day of caching in Fort Wayne. One is to be heading back to Denmark...they are trying to figure out the best way to move it along closer to the goal. Since neither are planning to Denmark, and Diane was just in Ireland and not thinking about any transatlantic flights any time soon, they may have to do some big city caching. They also found Lefty...a trackable little left foot shoe that is looking for his right foot shoe...oddly enough called Righty.  Who knows. I'm just waiting to be back in the photos.

Oh--and if you've been following this blog, Percy has been picked up from the cache Diane lost him in.  We're hoping he will be able to find himself heading back to Indiana soon. Arnold has also moved on a bit. Remember--it's always good to have friends.

Until next time,

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Philbert

Good Bye Arnold!

It's always nice to make new friends. Arnold was certainly a great pig. It's wonderful to be part of a flock, but it's even better to have friends. One of my humans, Diane, took her mom to Colorado to visit her sister. Arnold, who had been discussing moving on and travel plans, had booked a flight with the travelocity gnome. Oddly enough, he ended up on the same flight as Diane, her mom and me! I've been mentoring a new "phlock" member as well...Percy. I decided to bring him on this flight also. He's not the brightest bird brain of the bird brains, and I worried he would get lost. But we started at the Indianapolis International Airport. We went to Denver, and then sat outside the house we were visiting.

It was certainly a nice place to visit. Diane took us geocaching. Sure enough, Arnold was ready to be on his way, and he went to visit a nice piney kind of place. Good bye Arnold!

And then...the unthinkable happened. Percy did get lost. Diane and her sister were out in some grassy area and Diane found the cache...and then...Percy fell right in. Diane has heard from some other nice geocachers they will try to help Percy come home. I guess every bird has to stretch his wings and fly sometime! Hope he makes it home.

So then I was alone and kind of bummed out about it. It's lonely when you are part of a phlock to find yourself alone.

But since we were in a new place, Diane took me to see some of the sights. We went to a zoo...but it was the weirdest zoo I've ever seen...I did feel better because I got to see a wiener puppy dog...

play guitar in a heavy metal rock band...

and drums

and go fishing...

All this was very well and good, but then I almost got eaten by a two headed monster.  HELP!!

Fortunately Snoopy came to rescue me...and we flew off to fight the Red Baron!

Since I've been back from Colorado, I've had many more adventures. I'm getting writer's cramp tonight...it's not easy to write with wings!

Signing off for now...

Philbert

Discovered

I am soooo excited, I can hardly get this out. Yesterday I met a new friend. This is my first non phlamingo friend in quite some time and I just can't wait to introduce him to you. His name is Arnold PiggyWinkle and he is a Geocaching Travel Bug. My people discovered him near a church out in the woods where he had been for a few months, and decided to bring him home, feed him and move him on to another cache. In the meantime, we had a great time together. First of all, we were going to play the Wii.

The problem is, I don't have hands. And Arnold has hands, but doesn't seem to know how to work this thing. I thought he should be an expert in Wii, as I've been told he has gone Wii Wii Wii all the way home. Arnold says he's not that kind of pig.

Arnold is a British pig. And boy oh boy has he traveled! He started his travels in England and has been to places like Germany, Hawaii, Washington State and Arizona. He's not certain how long he has been in Indiana, but his log says he has gone more than 30,000 miles! He began traveling in 2003. Almost ten years of being on the road.

With all that in mind, Arnold and I decided we should make more travel plans for him. I'm thinking of going on the road myself...getting a travel tag and hitting the road. However, I'm kind of dependent on my humans and they really like to pose me in pictures for their Waymarking thing. I have overheard talk...

So while Diane and Rick weren't looking, Arnold and I highjacked Diane's computer. First we went to Travelocity, because we wanted to meet the gnome.

We got a couple of ideas there, but then we decided to do some price comparing. Arnold had heard about some guy that used to pilot a space ship, and since he hasn't been in outer space, he thought that might be a good plan. So we got to talk to William Shatner....

but it turns out that he doesn't drive a space ship anymore. He did give some travel advice on a different website. Good advice!

All that planning made us thirsty, so Arnold suggested we step outside and have a pint. We got all settled in, then realized the state of Indiana doesn't sell beer on Sunday. Not only that, neither of us had anyway to carry drinks outside.

We just chose to bask in the sun. I hear Arnold will be getting a bath soon, and plans have been made for his release back on the road. You'll have to stay tuned to get the scoop on where he goes. In the meantime, I have decided I want to meet another flamingo...my humans discovered they are not the only ones who love the pink birds...I may have kin somewhere named Vooodooo! I can hardly wait to find out if it's true.

Good talking to you all again...

Philbert

Falling for Fall

Ok...so my headline is a little trite. But after a record breaking summer drought, I am enjoying the fall! We have been fall festing like no one's business. The great thing about fall festivals is the food. Yesterday we went to the Dekalb County Fair. Most fairs are in the summer, but not this one. I had the opportunity to check out a nice looking horse...

and the we found the elephant ear stand. Mind you, this was after the pulled pork sandwich and the sirloin tips. These were enjoyed while watching the free stage entertainment. But the elephant ear...oh my oh my oh my. Talk about mm mm good! I couldn't be photographed any more yesterday. I was in a sugar induced coma and left at the side of the road.

So to celebrate the last day of September, we set off to see a bit of the southern part of Indiana. We found this great little community called Hope. Isn't that a great name for a town? Apparently they wanted to be Goshen, but that name had already been taken. But I digress...Hope was having a fall festival. We showed up for the last hour and thought perhaps we would be left with the dregs of the party. But oh no! They were going strong. A great band was playing in the Gazebo, there were a ton of people everywhere, and there were lots and lots and lots of crafts booths.

Hope has an interesting museum...located in the park and dedicated to rural mail carriers! It's kind of a "walk around museum"...as in no entrance (which means no entrance fee and no open or closed hours) and just fascinating information. Here it is...

And in the crafts booths...my crazy third cousin "Sticks" Philbert decided he was tired of being naked. So he bought a Halloween outfit made for a yard goose. Now seriously folks--does anyone know a good tailor? Yard geese are bigger than yard phlamingos. But he HAD to have the witch costume. It just hangs on him. And he's a male phlamingo...

Well, the festival was winding down after we had been there about an hour, so we went exploring. We found a waterfall that wasn't really active this time of year. (It was a drought year, after all!) but it was a beautiful park. And "Sticks Philbert" decided to model his costume. What do you think about it?

And here he is in search of trick or treaters in Hartsville, Indiana...

Wonder what next weekend will bring? Till then....

Philbert

And Introducing....

Dnrseekers has a new phlock member.... Cousin Philberto from Mexico. He's a phlamingo on a steeck. (Thanks Jeff Dunham for Jose Jalapeno on a steeck. We know we are totally stealing your joke.) Philberto made his debut at the Fort Wayne Children's zoo  yesterday. So now without further ado, in his world wide debut....

COUSIN PHILBERTO,  A PHLAMINGO ON A STEECK!

Cousin Philberto is not the  most flexible of phlamingos.  That's not his choice, it's just how he is designed.  He's most useful for ground shots. After all, he is a yard stake. 

So last week's adventures included the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne. There had been talk of going to somewhere over the rainbow to a festival in Chesterton, Indiana, but alas...it was not to be. Diane says there is a sock monkey with her name on it somewhere. This is what that festival looked like...

And today's festival was the Bluffton Street Fair. There were weiner races. I bet 200 shrimp on the dog on the left. I lost.

There were weiner dog puppies for sale. The 1/2 to this cutie was for sale, but Rick said NO WAY!

  New phlock members of the phlamingo variety are always welcome, especially if they look like Uncle Philbert. But four legged phlock members have a limit. Diane says sigh...

And just so you know Uncle Philbert has been adventuring also, here he is at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo...almost becoming a snack for Mr. Alligator....

So with that...

LATER, GATORS!

No Autographs, Please

Whew--my wings are tired!! And you know I love my fans and normally would be happy to at least give you a feather-print, but after all the posing I had to do yesterday, I'm just not up for any autographs. Diane and Rick went to Fort Wayne, Indiana's annual celebration--"Be a Tourist In Your Hometown". It's not actually Diane's hometown, but that didn't stop her! We were all over that town. It's a neat event--local attractions open their doors for free during a Sunday afternoon. Some things that aren't actually "tourist attractions" become just that. For example, the county courthouse and the Lincoln Tower open their doors for tours. Educated employees give tours and explain things...like what the murals mean in the courtrooms or the symbolism in the lobby of the bank building. It was a lot of information for my bird brain to absorb, but that's ok. They provided information sheets too! We got our passport stamped in several of the attractions.

Of course, the city is named in honor of Anthony Wayne, who established a fort here by the river. He is memorialized by a statue in a park...and I decided to ride along...

Uncle Philbert tried to hide in the Japanese Garden--did you even know that Fort Wayne had a Japanese Garden? It's between the Art Museum and the Theater...by a parking lot!

After being coaxed out of the little stone hut, Uncle Philbert  tried to hide behind the time capsule...

There's a very swanky bar in Fort Wayne where reportedly Harrison Ford visits once a year. Uncle Philbert thought he would check it out and get an autograph--but alas--not even open. So much for the autograph!

The "high"light of the day was the trip to the top of the Lincoln Tower. You can see the entire city from there. Uncle Philbert was resting comfortably in his bag, while I took over! I waved hello to my friends the pigeons and just relaxed. Thanks Fort Wayne for a "PHABULOUS" afternoon!

A Tail of Three Festivals

Fall is here...cooler temperatures and a difference in festivals. Last year, Diane and Rick stumbled upon the Middlebury Fall Festival in Middlebury, Indiana. It was wonderful! The downtown area was packed with people, craft booths and FOOD! As it happens, D & R had company with them...the fat poodle Schnickers. Schnickers was on his leash and was very well behaved. He is a bit of a chicken and a MaMa's boy, and if anyone got too close, he would hide behind Diane's legs. Little children asked if they could pet him. For the most part, he would let people pet him, but he stayed awfully close to Diane. In the meantime, D & R went shopping! They sure took advantage of the craft booths and food booths. The beef and noodles were delicious, (or so I've been told. For some reason, my humans don't seem to feed me too often) and Diane bought her sister's Christmas gift, a welcome flag, and a Halloween decoration for her house. Total money spent: approximately $100.  A photographer even snapped a picture of my buddy Schnickers hiding behind his mommy's leg.

Fast forward to another festival...the Marshmallow Festival in Ligonier, Indiana, Labor Day weekend, 2012. Very light attendance. Of course, when one of the officials absconds with over $100,000 of festival money, it makes for a more tense situation. But, the dnrseekers (Diane, Rick and of course, Philbert the Phlamingo!) wanted to support the festival they have attended for years. As timing would have it, Schnickers was with them this time as well. Out of the car, and the "sniffs" were great. We headed for the food vendors, but stopped to get the free bag of marshmallows along the way. Outside the information tent where the marshmallows were, there was a sign that indicated no dogs and no skateboarding. So Diane had Rick stay outside the tent with Schnickers while she went in to snag the marshmallows. Immediately after, it was my turn to spring into action--my photo opportunity was calling--but we were asked to leave because of Schnickers. Turns out it wasn't just the tent--dogs weren't welcome anywhere at the festival.

Rather than take the great photo op, R & D decided to snap a quick photo with me on top of the sign...and then head for Auburn to the Aburn Cord Dusenburg festival. Ligonier doesn't have the only festival in Indiana on Labor Day weekend! As they were snapping an only so so picture of me, ANOTHER staff member asked us to leave because of Schnickers. Again, I only have a bird brain, but it seems odd that a leashed dog on a public street is not welcome. If it was inside the beer tent or where food was being served, it would be more understandable. So we left. Total money spend: $0.

Dnrseekers made it to Auburn in time for the parade. The attached photo is of me and my buddy Schnickers watching the parade.  Doesn't he look harmless?

 After the parade, we wandered around the courthouse square where these absolutely gorgeous, priceless, cars were parked. You would think the owners and festival organizers would be worried about dogs doing business on the tires, but there were lots and lots of dogs on leashes at this festival and no one seemed to care. Although D and R didn't do much shopping, they did indulge in an elephant ear.

I guess the moral of the story is--dog owners spend money. Most dog owners are responsible and know enough to keep their buddies under control when there are a lot of people around. If festival organizers want to keep attendance up, then they should be welcoming of leashed and well-behaved pets.

I'm baaaack!

I'm back and my wings are tired. I've been to Mexico, Ireland, and various places around Indiana. But most importantly, my nest is back to being safe and secure. Both Rick and Diane are waymarking (and even geocaching) TOGETHER and not worrying about human drama.

It's August in Indiana...and this means festival time is in full swing! The state fair is winding down, the county fairs are done, the kidlets are back in school weekends are meant for exploring. There have been some limitations placed on the amount of exploring that can get done, but hey--I'm happy to be out. More to come!

What's a little hurricane?

Philbert here! It's Saturday morning, Labor Day weekend. Rick and Diane are hanging out together...despite Diane needing a garage door opener fixed? (Whatever that might be. I just fly in and out.) There has been debate about what festival to attend...blueberries, marshmallows or cars...It doesn't really matter to me, although my sweet tooth likes the idea of a marshmallow.

Unfortunately, my southern cousins got hit by a hurricane...Isaac was his name. Forecasters are predicting rain leftover from this hurricane will hit Indiana. If that's the case, no fest sounds fun. Do you know how hard it is to dry pink feathers?

My wings have finally recovered. I've been to Mexico and Ireland...that's a looong way for one bird's little wings to flap. There are both visit posts and new waymarks to view if you are into that international thing.

And sadly...my phlamingo buddies that adorned Rick's houseboat...down with the ship. Due to an unfortunate accident last winter, the houseboat is in repair-land. No boat rides for this "phlock" this summer! Sniff, sniff. Tear, tear. Fortunately, my buddies had long legs and could walk away from the seen of the disaster which was in shallow waters. They were starting to fade anyway. (As is this post...)

So--off to double check an existing waymark that someone couldn't find...Wild, I know since the address was actually listed! Then it's fest time...hopefully before Isaac finds his way here to us.

Happy phlying!