We here at Intrigued wanted to extend a hearty Merry Christmas to each and all! Mr. Freeze has decided to insure we have a white Christmas for a change – at least here in the Midwest Tundra. Sprinkle in some wicked windchills and you have the perfect conditions to stay inside and enjoy some hot chocolate nestled around the fireplace…or basking in “the soft glow of electric …”.
Hit the jump for our holiday wishes!
Continue reading Time for Reindeer Games 2022!Well, it has been one hell of a month leading up to our favorite holiday. Our annual haunted trail, the 100K attempt, the prediction race at a local cemetery a few nights ago and the rather sad news covered in the last post. Through all the ups and downs we finally made it and can now relax and enjoy a day devoted to all things that go bump in the night….and day…
My haunted trail reaper had a growth spurt this year – decided to add over 3 feet to increase the scare factor. Although not shown, the son of Nyx has an animated lantern and thanks to a flea market find earlier in the year, now has a real scythe. Then there is the flaming pumpkin tradition. Nothing sets the mood for horror night better than 3 feet of flames spewing out the top of an evil Jack-o-Lantern.
Some like to look at clouds and let their imagination flow…me, I prefer flames. The shot above is one of my favorites from this year’s haunted trail – like a Rorschach test for the inner demon, everyone sees something different. I personally see the face of the devil hiding behind an upside down cross. Might be therapy in my future..although this was a bit ominous.
One of the tombstones that immediately caught my attention in the Sturtevant Haunted Farm cemetery (has my initials). It just occurred to me I have yet to introduce you to one of the creepiest haunts in all of Illinois. If you are not faint of heart, hit the jump for a quick look at some of the scenes awaiting you at that location.
Have a Happy Halloween everyone – let your spook flag fly high!
As promised, hit the jump to see some shots from this year’s visit to Sturtevant Haunted Farm in Walnut, IL
Continue reading Happy Hauntings
Some sad news here at Intrigued. I had mentioned previously we were informed of serious health issues Linda’s brother was going through. With a heavy heart Charles (Chuck) Barton was laid to rest in Blue Grass, IA yesterday at age 76.
Please hit the jump for more background on Linda’s oldest brother.
Continue reading In Memory of Chuck Barton
In Loving Memory of Barbara Doerfler
June 8th, 1933 – May 8th, 2022
Hit the jump to learn more about the most wonderful Mother a family could ever have
Continue reading A Reunion on Mother’s DayIt has been a while since I’ve had the chance to get back to the blog, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter. It also gives me a chance to post my favorite bunny pictures.
Hit the jump for an update and another blast of bunny cuteness.
Continue reading Happy EasterMerry Christmas Everybody!
Hit the jump for some Christmas cheer!
Continue reading What to My Wondering Eyes Should AppearThe official haunting day has finally come … or as we say around Intrigued.. The best day of the year! I am still processing all the images from this year’s Haunted Halloween Trail and hope to get the official posts out sometime next month as I am still exhausted from all the work it takes to put on that event ha. With this being the official day and all, thought I’d give you a sneak peek – especially for those on the wildlife side of Intrigued since those posts are usually not published here.
My friend in haunt, Paul Rybarczyk, did create another fantastic video which covers some of the sights and sounds from this year’s trail.
Grabbed a few of the images we took just to celebrate this special day. As mentioned above, the full walk through will be coming soon. Our resident witches were brewing up a tasty batch of toad stew for the night – it was a bit under spiced this year as they were unable to trap any children this year.
Hit the jump to see more… if you dare!
Continue reading Happy Halloween Everyone!!Hello everybody. For those wondering, we have been a bit out of pocket for the last week or so. It all started when I woke up to my wife looking at her phone in absolute joy. All my groggy ears could make out was garble that sounded like someone meeting a new baby for the first time.. “how cute”, “adorable”, “oh my” .. the usual fare. I had a moment of “my god what have I done” until she showed me her screen with a YouTube video playing of a puppy. Apparently she had just been alerted by a friend that they were looking for a qualifying home for … well, THIS!
We had been looking for a new addition to the family now that our youngest, Raven, had recently turned seven (link here). While finally getting the sleep removed from the eyes, Linda explained how the puppy I was looking at was a performance bred toy Poodle and they were looking for a home where he could continue his champion line in the performance sports – agility, dock diving etc. To be honest, it sounded too good to be true. This puppy was going to be slightly bigger than Raven which is what Linda wanted due to the difficulty our Raven has with the teeter being so light. The video included scenes of him already doing introductory apparatus familiarization, treat awareness and a number of other skills which he already excelled at – far earlier than our other agility champions.
Hit the jump to read more about our new addition.
Continue reading Say Hello to Our Little FriendHello everyone! Thought I would take a break from your regularly scheduled programming and bring you a bit of self-indulgence. Actually, since I have very little to do with any of the honors, I should really classify it as some family bragging. Take a look at what our little dude brought home from our recent trip to Michigan.
That is one proud puppy! As mentioned in some previous posts, we had the opportunity to head up north and compete in the UKC Premier Nationals. Raven and his mother were in the top 50 UKC Agility Level 2 (AG2) Toy Division (4″) dogs in the nation. This got them invited to their annual Premier where they go head to head in the agility ring.
Hit the jump to see a few more shots of our little ball of fur.
Continue reading Time for a Little BraggingUnfortunately, I am late on this particular post. It isn’t so much a case of procrastination as I had written the first version prior to Monday. During the course of several activities over the weekend (including birding with Ron), I mulled on the approach I had taken and the words written regarding the topic. Thoughts went back and forth until the time came to publish and I decided to scrap it. I still hold firmly the opinions originally expressed, but decided Memorial Day was a time to honor those that have fought for our freedoms and principles at home and abroad rather than sully it with accounts of worthless politicians and seditious mainstream media.
Instead, I wanted to focus on the brave men and women who volunteered or were called to duty like my Father to defend our nation’s founding principles. To all who have or are serving we owe a level of gratitude that can never be repaid. I would contend that all have been permanently altered to some degree by their experiences. My father would not discuss what he went through during his time in the Army deployed during the Korean War. Piecing together tidbits gathered over my lifetime – a photograph here, a rare comment there or an emotion that momentarily forced its way through his stoic facade weave a tale no one would wish upon their child.
Continue reading Not Just a Long Weekend
Wildlife Intrigued 