This past Sunday, we celebrated the birthdays of both my aunt and brother. We had a wonderful time.

While we were at the party, the kids made scarecrows. The two that you see above were made by my son and daughter. They are currently ‘standing guard’ below a couple of fruit trees that I have in the yard.

On a side note – I couldn’t help but notice that scarecrows are fairly useless when it comes to scaring crows away. The crows have no fear of them. To be more accurate, I think we should change what we call them from ‘scarecrows’ to ‘unscarecrows.’ Ha!

If you’ve never made a scarecrow from scratch, it’s actually pretty easy. So, here’s a crash course:

1. Get some old clothes you don’t care about anymore. Whatever you’re okay losing, because after being on a scarecrow for a few weeks they will become moldy, faded, and well-worn.
2. Get two extra-large pairs of pantyhose.
3. Cut shapes of fabric for whatever facial features you want – such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc. I recommend a thick fabric such as felt.
4. Get a hot glue gun and a stick of glue.
5. Fully stuff the pantyhose with straw.
6. Put the pantyhose legs into the pant legs you are using.
7. Put the pelvis part of the pantyhose into the chest of the shirt you are using.
8. Fully stuff the second pair of pantyhose with straw.
9. Insert the legs of the pantyhose into the arms of the shirt you are using.
10. Tie the pelvis of both pantyhose shut. When you tie the lower pair of pantyhose shut, attach by hot glue, or tie them to the lower pair of pantyhose.
11. Hot glue the facial pieces to the front pelvis of the second pair of pantyhose.
12. Wait five minutes for the glue to dry, and place the scarecrow where you want.

Now you know how to create your own scarecrow!

Just remember that the crows in your area won’t care one way or another if you put one in your yard. Ha!

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Apple picking…It’s a fun family activity here in New England, as well as other parts of the country.

This is a picture of my family when we went last Sunday. From left to right is my son Henry, My wife Becka, myself, and my daughter Bella. The weather was perfect and the apples were great.

We went to Windy Hill which is a local orchard in Greenville, NH. I highly recommend visiting them. They have a variety of different apples you can pick. They have a great onsite food truck that makes yummy snacks for families, too. There’s a gift shop, pumpkins to buy, a really awesome corn maze, animals to interact with (goats, pigs, a cow), and lots more.

We got enough apples to make an Apple Crisp (maybe two). I love Apple Crisp, and my mother has an amazing recipe for it. Do you go apple picking or make apple pies?

Full disclosure here – the apples that you buy from your local grocery store are often cheaper, that is true. But what you don’t get is the amazing freshness of a new apple picked right off the tree. You also don’t always support the local apple orchards if you buy from the grocery store. Lastly, you don’t get the fun experience if you buy apples from the grocery store – the going to the orchard with your family, traveling through the corn maze, getting homemade and fresh cider donuts, etc.

Do you ever go apple picking with your family? Do you find it fun and enjoyable? What are your thoughts?

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This is Fiona. One of our expensive and beloved family pets.

She’s a Congo African Grey – a parrot breed known for exceptional talking skills, and she definitely falls into that category.

Sometimes when I’m working around the house, she’ll say things like: “Alexa, what’s the temperature outside?” And it’s clear and coherent enough for Alexa (the Amazon machine) to answer her.

What’s truly fascinating is that this is a breed that understands context to some extent.

For example, I will ask her if she wants seeds, or wants to go for a walk. She nods her head. I don’t think she nods her head because she understands the complexities of things like initiative, directive, and action.

I think what she understands is that if she nods her head it leads to her getting what she wants. A head nod means she gets seeds – a treat she loves.

Her timing is excellent too. When I let my dog outside to go potty and stand by the door, she will begin doing a whistle I use to call my dog. Why does she do that? Because she understands that with the dog going outside and where I am standing, that is the next thing that is going to come out of my mouth.

She is out all day so she can play and explore, but at night I lock her in her cage. Once that is done, I will move my face up close to her cage, to which she replies: “Goodnight.” Again, this is context and timing. She knows this is the time of day and context in which this word will be said, so she recites it.

African Greys, in my opinion, are an amazing and fascinating pet, but be warned. They are extremely messy, expensive (she cost me $2,200 – and that was eight years ago), and they live between 30 to 50 years. So, depending on how long you live and what age you acquire the bird, it could end up being a lifetime commitment.

One last thing I think is critical to remember. African Greys have been heavily studied over the years, and it is generally accepted by folks like Irene Pepperberg that they have the intelligence of a three-year-old child, and the maturity of a five-year-old child. Meaning, if you get one, you’re could have a child between the ages of 3 to 5 years for the rest of your life. Haha!

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My son Henry has really fallen in love with his new Meta Quest. Watching him play with it is quite amusing.

Note: If you read this article and would like bonus points for the Free Amazon Gift Card contest, enter the codeword “Headset” below and you will receive 5 loyal points which boost your score in the contest.

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From left to right, front to back:

My wife Rebekah, my son Henry, my sister’s daughter Penny, my sister Becky, My sister-in-law Colleen, Me, My father-in-law Glenn, My mother-in-law Karen, my daughter Bella, my niece Ava.

From left to right, front to back:

Me, my late aunt Patty, my cousin Joanie, my mother Laura, my daughter Bella, my aunt Diane, my cousin Donald, my stepfather Ken, my aunt Linda, my brother Nate, my sister-in-law Bethany, my wife Rebekah, my stepfather Glenn, my son Henry, and my mother-in-law Karen.