Life on the High Plains

Finally!  Blogger had some issues uploading photos today, but it seems to finally be resolved so I can make my Skywatch Friday post. Today I made another trip into Yellowstone. My first stop was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and my favorite viewpoint -- Artist's Point.  It was a very overcast and foggy morning which kind of gives it a mystical look. This is the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.  It looks so perfect that it almost looks fake.  Know what I mean? If you've ever wondered how Yellowstone got its name, it is literally from the yellow walls of this canyon. After leaving the Lower Falls I went upriver to view the Upper Falls.  Not as big as the other falls, but still very impressive. Then I crossed to the other side of the river and visited the Brink of the Upper Falls. The roaring of the water as it goes over the edge is amazing. I had front row parking at every attraction I visited.  With the upcoming holiday weekend, the park will be packe...

 I've been hesitant to get out on any of the trails in Yellowstone yet so I decided to play it safe and do a walkabout at the Lower Geyser Basin where Old Faithful is located. I pulled into the Old Faithful Inn parking lot about five minutes before Old Faithful erupted.  It was a huge eruption so I'm glad I waited around.  Most people sit on the benches and wait for Old Faithful to erupt then load back into their cars to drive to the next stop. There are miles of trails, boardwalks and paths behind Old Faithful to explore.  There are lots of other geysers like Castle, the geyser above.  No, it didn't erupt while I walked by, but the cone is very cool and the water was boiling and spouting up for me. There are lots of beautiful geyser pools all over the place. I don't know if they have names, but their coloring is spectacular. The Firehole River runs through this geyser basin.  It gets its name from the many geysers that drain into it.  The water is war...

 I'm back in Yellowstone for the summer!  A few nights ago my hubby and I ventured into the park.  Our first stop was the Grand Prismatic Spring. This is a big turquoise colored pool of water that is normally breathtaking.  It was very cold that evening so we mainly just got to see the steam that rises off of it.  It's still very beautiful though. There's a overlook on that snow covered hill you see in the background.  Later on in the summer I'll make the hike up there to get some good shots.  That trail is closed right now for bear management. A few minutes later we got this shot of a huge grizzly that was very near the trailhead for the overlook.  Bear activity is very high in Yellowstone this early in the season.  He is a beauty! Happy Skywatch Friday!

 You won't believe it.  I actually got some of my own artwork framed and hung on the walls in my house.  I decided to finally do something with them other than keeping them in a stack. This the dining room artwork.  With the exception of the impressionist horse, it's a collection of my still life paintings.  I thought it would be appropriate to have these in the dining room.  My next project is to find a sign that says something like "Gather" to hang above them.  You may wonder why I threw the horse in.  Well, I needed a larger piece to balance out the right side of the display.  It also ties in with the background of the white vase and therefore draws the viewer's eye across the whole display. The living room has been designated as the National Park collection.  I can't just say Yellowstone because I'm got paintings from Glacier and Teton National Parks as well.  I love these rustic frames, I think they're perfect for the National ...

Have you ever woken up in the morning and within five minutes you realize the day isn't going to go as planned?  After getting out of bed the other morning I tried to turn the water on only to find there wasn't any water coming out. The first thought was that a pipe had frozen.  Nope, not cold enough.  The Breaker was flipped. No, not that either.  After further investigation it was decided it was the worst option yet...our well's water pump had malfunctioned.  Who to call now?  We never had any well issues before.  Thank goodness for Google. Luckily we found a well company that could get out here quickly.  They assessed the situation and also decided it was the water pump. We learned that our water pump is 600 feet below ground.  Do you know what that means?  No, I didn't either, but now I do.  They have to pull out 600 feet of pipe in 20 foot sections.  Hence the tall pulley thing on the truck. This was a lengthy process....

Something pretty exciting is happening here in Colorado!  Wet stuff has been falling from the sky.  Sometimes it's rain and sometimes it's snow and sometimes it's hail or grapple, but you know what?  We'll take it. If you look real close you might see a hint of green in the pastures.  Woohoo!  Pikes Peak is still covered in snow in the distance. The daffodils have finally bloomed.  I know many of you have daffodils that bloom around Easter.  Not here though. I don't know what these purple flowers are, but they're very pretty. The Hosta plants are making an appearance. Even the wild loco weed is in full bloom. The Lamb's Ear is coming in.  It's always such a relief when the perennials show up in the spring.  Our winters can be quite cold so sometimes they don't make it. The Columbine I planted last year is coming along. Then there's the Birch tree in the front yard.  It still thinks we're in the midst of winter.  I did check to make ...