Life on the High Plains

Are we in Colorado or Oklahoma? A little tornado activity in the high desert of southern Colorado last night.   These were sent to me by a friend.  Thankfully no one was hurt.   Happy Skywatch Friday!

The vacation house in the Tetons has been secured.  Now I just have to wait for August 15th to get here. 73 days and counting! Can't wait!!  So glad I finally have something to look forward to this summer.

My life is in upheaval at the moment and boy does it feel good! You see, the painters are coming tomorrow.  That means we had to clear the walls and "get ready".  I decided to take it one step further and do a little spring cleaning.  I also decided to let Irv know that I was going to replace the china cabinet that we bought when we were very poor 30+ years ago.  It's been all over the country with us, but now it's time to go. You know what Irv said?  He said why are you going to replace that when we're moving to Phoenix in five years?  Did I hear that right?  Is he actually admitting that's the plan for our retirement?  He was absolutely right!  Now I'm not only getting rid of the china cabinet, but 90% of what's inside it also.  Gone are the silver and crystal that I've collected over the years.  The only thing I'm keeping is my mom's china and the set of Rosenthal china that I bought in Germany.  I don'...

If you ever been exactly where you need to be at exactly the time you needed to be there? Over Memorial Day weekend my daughter, grandson, and I flew up to Idaho Falls to hang out with my dad. My dad had a few to-dos for us.  Mr. Bean's swept out the boathouse and helped my dad haul a load of trash to the dump. We did a little flood mitigation work because they've been having an unusual amount of rain up there too.  The neighbor said we needed to get some gutters back up so guess who go to learn how to hang gutters. Mr. Bean got to use some power tools.   We got the snow blower put away. We made a trip to Lowes to get some extensions for the downspouts.     Then it started raining.  Then it starting hailing.  Then it started raining a little harder.  Then all hell broke loose.  This is where the camera got put away and Mary, Mr. Beans, and I went into emergency mode.     This picture doe...

I'm the most lucky grandmother!  I have the two most wonderful grandbabies on earth. The only problem is that one of them can't be called a grandbaby anymore, he's a young man now who just graduated from the 8th grade.  I cannot believe he'll be starting high school in a few months.  Where has the time gone? Mr. Beans, you have become an amazing young man.  Even though I call you Mr. Contrary, I hope you know how much your Pappy and I love you! Then there's this little lady.  Her mom humored me and made her wear the dress I sewed for her.  I hear the dress made her kind of angry because it covers her legs and Miss GiGi does not like things on her legs.  She has great fun kicking those little legs. Isn't she a doll? Truly blessed!

My daughter, grandson, and I visited Idaho Falls last weekend to see my dad.  Each morning we made our way down to the Idaho Falls Greenbelt. The city has done a marvelous job of developing this area with 5 miles of paved trails that line both sides of the Snake River. We have a favorite 2.3 mile loop.  My favorite spot is this view with the falls in the foreground and the beautiful LDS Temple on the horizon.  It is spectacular. Here's a shot from the same spot on Christmas Eve. A really nice thing about the Greenbelt is that it's a perfect place for families to hang out--even families with feathers. If you're ever in Idaho Falls you should take a stroll on the Greenbelt. Happy Skywatch Friday!

We're going to have some babies around here soon. These are our front yard eggs. And these are our backyard eggs.  Aren't they pretty?  I'm not sure they're real, I think maybe Irv put some of those malted milk chocolate Easter eggs in a nest.  This is our cranky gander, Yoder.  I wish he were still a pretty little egg. He's mean and evil to everyone except his Father Goose...aka Irv.  I have to carry a rake with me wherever I go to keep Yoder from biting my legs.  (Don't worry...no geese have been hurt by this rake, it's just used to threaten them.) Did you know the life span of a domestic goose is 20 years?  Yes, I know.  That is the most depressing news.  I don't think it's right that an evil goose gets to live longer than a dog.  Makes no sense. Anyone want a goose for Sunday dinner?