My stars.

June 4, Leola.

The Amish farm country in front of us was lit by an army of fireflies last night and Dylan rushed in from the Poemas to tell me then went gamboling around, trying to catch them (and did.) He looked like a lamb first out in the field.
Fireflies, butterflies, ladybugs and stars, my suns Dylan and Nicolas like to point them out, and the other night Nicolas excitedly showed me a lone star then asked: What does it eat?
The two of them also like to find the moon in the approaching dusk.
Dylan says it's following him.

Out-take (the elephants.)

June 4, Leola.

A trailer with a view.

June 4, Leola, Pennsylvania (10 miles, flea market.)

Champ.

June 3, Strasburg.

It's the biggest piece of news of the year for us and I didn't even report it.
Yesterday Nicolas went all day without a diaper, asking to go potty every time and at the end of the day even going there all by himself.
So. Months of unsuccessful trying and then one day is all it took (for today he went on as if he had been doing this all his life, clean as a whistle.)

Trains.

June 3, Strasburg.

There was a school trip today to a train museum, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. I took both Dylan and Nicolas there and it was like living the movie The Polar Express, their favorite of the year, with all the impressive, beautifully restored old locomotives and coaches.
Unfortunately I became utterly sick half-way through the visit and ended up spending the day back home in bed with a killing headache and nausea, but the kids had a great time.
There was even a Mister Conductor asking for "Tickets, please!"

A trailer with a view.

June 3, Strasburg, Pennsylvania (41 miles, community park.)

More BBQ.

June 2, Shiloh.

Armando's other sister, Mona, stopped by today too with her family, and there was a BBQ at the Poemas for the occasion.
The Poema connection: circus people all know each other, the old cliché, and in this case Armando's wife's family, the Fuscos, are from Argentina, like Adrian Poema, and thus the two families are life-time acquaintances and friends.

The elephants (show.)

June 2, Shiloh.

The elephants.

June 2, Shiloh.

Carson and Barnes leases their elephants to circuses around the country and Jason stopped by on his way to shuttle elephants between shows, so that Kelly Miller presented a six-elephant act today.

Maté.

June 2, Shiloh.

The Fuscos always sit down for maté in the morning. Maté is an infusion drunk in most of South America, particularly in Argentina and Uruguay.

A trailer with a view.

June 2, Shiloh, Pennsylvania (83 miles, church grounds.)

A trailer with a view.

June 1, Westminster, Maryland (31 miles, fairgrounds.)

The Lincoln Memorial.

May 31, Olney.

The White House.

May 31, Olney.

Memorial Day sight-seeing.

May 31, Olney.

In retrospect it wasn't such a good idea.
On our third stay here and at my insistence we went to visit the capital this morning. It had turned hot and muggy, and walking the miles of the Mall with two small children without a stroller is probably listed high on the list of "What NOT to do" in some highly-acclaimed book on parenting.
A long, heavily guarded motorcade of dark-glass limousines passed us by on Constitution Avenue and I like to think President Obama was in it.

One step at a time.

May 30, Olney.

Nicolas this week started knowing how to ride a tricycle.
Still a time of sweet steps.
Just today he also asked to go potty, and did. Twice.
Startling, sweet steps.

Christmas in May.

May 30, Olney.

The little sisters have arrived! And they'll be with us until the end of August.
Why it's also Christmas: one of my favorite lots of the year (although the thrift store, my Kelly Miller Circus route top-notch source for good used books, is closed,) ideal weather, a Dunkin Donuts breakfast after an incident-free drive, fresh bread from the lush farmers' market next door, and a cornucopia of presents in the weekly mail, among which the much-awaited Thomas the Train set Fridman had ordered online, and a package from my Mom, always Christmas-in-a-box.

A trailer with a view.

May 30, Olney, Maryland (86 miles, Montgomery Hospital grounds.)

Ta-da!

May 29, Hancock.

They call her Chunks, Toot, but mostly Baby Bear (Georgia's Little Bear.) Genevieve likes to raise her arms Ta-da!-style, a true circus baby (or better balance, it's a toss.)

Pool time.

May 29, Hancock.

We are parked next to the municipal pool and Aaron arranged it so that it would be open late for circus people.
It was Kelly Miller on Water.

Nap.

May 29, Hancock.

Brian's tools.

May 29, Hancock.

Golden girls.

May 29, Hancock.

Rituals.

May 29, Hancock.

Same lot and even same day as last year, as the circus has played here all three years we've been with it, and again the yearly river wash and splash of the elephants, which Nellie Poema was most excited to tell me later that I had "missed" (for pictures see the 2009 entry - same place, same day, same elephants.)
There was something much more important than the elephant bath here, and that no circus Mom would miss: a laundromat within walking distance to the lot. Seeing the world one laundromat at a time, as Carolyn mockingly remarked.

A trailer with a view.

May 29, Hancock, Maryland (56 miles, Widmeyer park.)

A trailer with a view.

May 28, Mt. Savage, Maryland (21 miles, Moss Cottage park.)

Delena.

May 27, Midland.

Show girls.

May 27, Midland.

Delena, the youngest of the Fusco siblings, is one of the show girls, doing web, riding the elephants, dancing, and whatever else is needed on any given day. The other versatile show girl is Cathy of course.

Ryan and Tatiana.

May 27, Midland.

Somehow forgotten among all the hubbub, one of the biggest piece of Kelly Miller Circus family news: Tatiana is two-month pregnant.

Family circus.

May 27, Midland.

Cool waters.

May 27, Midland.

There is a small stream that runs by the circus, its waters cool, clear and shallow, and the kids have been playing there all day. Right behind our house, by the cook house and the shaded picnic tables, there is also a whoop, making this my all-time favorite circus family lot.
Dylan crashed as soon as I was able to get him back in the trailer.
One down.

A trailer with a view.

May 27, Midland, Maryland (39 miles, Baker park.)

Department of complaints.

May 26, McHenry.

Another day, another ninety miles drive.
With steep grades for spice.

A trailer with a view.

May 26, McHenry, Maryland (86 miles, fairgrounds.)

Wedding.

May 25, Waynesburg.

In the tent during the second show's intermission Marty and Lois Riggleman got married.
They are both birthday party clowns from Morgantown, West Virginia.

A trailer with a view.

May 25, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania (101 miles, Giant Eagle parking lot.)

Nathan's birthday.

May 24, Wellsville.

Today was also Nathan Moss' birthday party. He turned seven.

First day at school.

May 24, Wellsville.

Today was Dylan's first day at school.
He did great, said Jackie, our new teacher, when I came to pick him up. I couldn't have been prouder.
I didn't take any pictures because sometimes pictures just can't speak your heart.

A trailer with a view.

May 24, Wellsville, Ohio (82 miles, high school grounds.)

BBQ.

May 23, Old Washington.

Everybody's doing a BBQ on week ends at Kelly Miller. This one was at Lucky and Vickie's.

Backdrop.

May 23, Old Washington.

Mass.

May 23, Old Washington.

Father Notter has been with us for a little while and there was a mass today at the cook house.

A trailer with a view.

May 23, Old Washington, Ohio, (51 miles, fairgrounds.)

And some more.

May 22, Dover.

And some more.

May 22, Dover.

And some more.

May 22, Dover.

And some more.

May 22, Dover.

Having some fun.

May 22, Dover.

I've been playing with a long lens that came back from the dead and having a lot of fun.
The lens got water damage from, surprise, a leak one of the trailer's storage compartment; earlier this year I finally sent it off to have it checked, and they fixed it. It would have come in handy for the program.
The fun all started when I wanted to replicate a picture of Casey from a newspaper and failed miserably; it might be a long lens but it's not nearly long enough. Excuses, excuses, said Casey.
So, little pictures of anybody but.
In other non-related news, it's been raining since forever and I watch Dylan like a hawk for any signs of asthma.

A trailer with a view.

May 22, Dover, Ohio (28 miles, Meteor Sealing System grounds.)

A trailer with a view.

May 21, Millersburg, Ohio (43 miles, fairgrounds.)

Families.

May 20, Lexington.