Herding Cattle by Houston, Dallas, Galveston, or Austin

This morning around 8:30, the neighbors were herding a few cattle up the road.  As you can see at the beginning and again at the end of the video, our new neighbor, who has the same name as a city in Texas (Houston, Dallas, Galveston, Ausin, or something like that), was clowning around for the camera.  At the very end, we were telling him he would be seen all over the world and you can hear him asking....."Are you filming or taking pictures?"  Ha.....he'll learn! 

Spring Starts With Wild Flowers

I saw these little beauties on the lower end of the mine hill on the 6th of May.  I’m hoping when the rain stops I will be able to go to the top and they will be flourishing like they were last year.

White Mountains…Green Valley

With the cooler weather we’ve been having plus a little extra moisture, we still have quite a bit of snow on Mt. McCaleb.  It’s such a pretty contrast with how green the valley is from all the rain we’ve been having.

Deer On Hind Legs Eating Leaves & Blossoms

It was fun watching deer in our yard last evening.  One deer had two of our cats treed (I didn't get a picture of this because the leaves and blossoms were hiding the cats), one deer was amused by the cat on our porch (see, he's even laughing) and another deer was walking around, getting on his hind legs and eating the leaves and blossoms off our flowering crab tree.
I was thinking....hmmm....I really should scare them away and try to keep them off the yard and away from my flowers but then I finally realized they were fun to watch and the probability of keeping them off of my yard was impossible!

 

Husband’s Tick Bite

Thursday morning around 3am, my husband felt a lump on his leg so he got out of bed to see what it was.  YUCK, it was a wood tick.  Those little creatures give me the creepies.  He took it out of his leg and put it in a zip-lock baggie.  We’re keeping it incase we need to have it tested, or something like that….and as of today (Sunday evening), he is still alive.  This is the actual tick he took out.

I didn’t get a picture of my husbands leg but I found a picture on Google images that looks like his leg. His leg had the dark center with the red ring around the outside.

We are putting essential oils on the bite and his leg looks better every day.  We are watching closely for any changes/symptoms he might be having as far as Lyme Disease, or other tick illnesses humans can get from tick bites.
On the internet Healthline, it states that lyme disease can be very difficult to diagnose and that the best time to test for Lyme disease is several weeks after infection occurs. This is when the tests are most accurate.
On the other hand, WebMD states that most ticks don't carry diseases, and most tick bites don't cause serious health problems. But it is important to remove a tick as soon as you find it. Removing the tick's body helps you avoid diseases the tick may pass on during feeding. Usually, removing the tick, washing the site of the bite, and watching for signs of illness are all that is needed.

Canadian Geese - Parents and Babies

Earlier in the week, when I was up on the mine hill bridge, I noticed some parents and babies (Canadian Geese) getting out of the water.  Oh my, they were so darling toddling up the river bank.  I didn't get any photos, but I did get a few videos.  CUTENESS!

New Graveled Driveway

Due to a water leak and having to replace underground pipes, our driveway was such a mess this past winter with its DEEP ruts of mud pockets……Shutter!  I had to wear muck boots to go to my vehicle then change to better shoes once I got into the car.

Yesterday we had a gravel mixture brought to our home to SAVE our driveway and my sanity!  We had a big load dumped on the yard and then my husband used the tractor and a rake to level and smooth it out.  HAPPY DANCE!

Grandson at Snake River and Walking Area

While still visiting my daughter and her family in Idaho, we (my daughter, grandson, and I) decided to take a Sunday drive.  We headed up Kelly Canyon way and had the best time.  Before heading up the canyon, we stopped along the Snake River to let the wee one throw some rocks in the river.  I know it looks like he is sitting very close to the water but he was actually sitting back a ways and the grownups were right next to him…..and, we were at a spot that was very shallow.  He had so much fun sitting and throwing rocks into the river. 

 

In the picture below, his shadow looks like he has a pet giraffe sitting next to him.  If you use your imagination and look at the shadow closely, you can actually make out the top part of a giraffe body, followed by his long neck, horns, and small mouth.

After throwing rocks for a bit, we decided to take a walk along a dirt road that ran along the side of the river.  I stated walk….do you ever walk with a 2-year old?!

Ok…….he’s slowing down………..

Time for mom and grandma to catch their breath while the little one stops to pick up rocks and sticks.

AND………….we’re off again…………

Too bad we had to destroy a little of his fun by taking the stick away from him.  Didn’t want him running with a stick in his hand.  And shortly after that, he did fall.  He is such an adventurous little boy.

Flowering Crab Tree Gist

It’s been pretty cloudy here most of the day and I wanted better lighting to take photos of the flowering crab tree out our back door but I was afraid of the blossoms fading and the wind blowing them away if I waited another day.  It doesn’t take long for the blossoms to fade once they start appearing on the tree.  This tree stands right out our back door.  I can’t explain the aweness there is each time I step out the back door.  If ever pictures do not do something justice, this is it!

When God gives me such beauty to photograph, I sometimes think he is saying…….”Hey Marsha, get a load of this”!  Well, maybe not in those words but I think you get my gist.

Tautphaus Park Zoo Trip

My Utah daughter adventures eventually ended and I came home, but only for one day and then I was headed back out the door to go stay with my other daughter in Idaho.  It was their anniversary so I went to their home to stay with my 2-year old grandson while they went to a dinner/play at the Mystique Theatre which under new management is now called the Palace Playhouse.  After the play they stayed over night at the Black Swan Inn.  I had a wonderful time with my little grandson and he was perfect, the entire time. 
My daughter wanted me to stay for a few more days and we had a great time.  One of those days was spent at the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls.  I think it was a bit early to visit the zoo because there were a lot of empty animal exhibits.  I personally do not think they should have charged us full admission where many of the animals were not in yet, but…………………..

I think of all the exhibits, my little grandson enjoyed the monkeys the best.

As a matter of fact, this monkey looked just like my grandson……..

 

Our Little Valley Is Greening Up

Monday, May 9th, after our Relief Society Presidency meeting, I decided to drive up the Mine Hill to see how green the valley was turning.  When I went to visit my daughters for a few weeks, the valley was still in winter mode….minus the snow.  I couldn’t believe how much it had greened up in just a few weeks.

And, to top it off, the wild flowers are starting to bloom.  I can’t wait to drive to the top of the hill and see the beauty in all its splendor.  GO HERE, to see how it looked last year in June.  Is WOWZERS a word?…..if not, it should be!

Mother’s Day Celebration - 2016

My husband and I celebrated Mother’s Day on Saturday by going on a drive (we have beautiful country to see where we live) and eating out.  We chose to go to the Bear Bottom Inn.  We haven’t been there in years.

We had no idea when we walked in the door that as a Mother’s Day special, mothers got to eat free……  The new owners have remodeled it inside and it’s a nice little place to eat.  It is a family oriented place,  even though they have a bar inside.  Out of courtesy for other diners, I blurred out their faces before posting.

The food was pretty good but we were glad that mother’s got to eat free as it was more than we usually like to pay when dining out.
All-in-all, it was a very nice Mother’s Day!

Painting - Daughter Activities Continued

On Friday, April 22nd, while visiting with my daughter in Utah, her swamp cooler broke and water was continually dripping from the top of her doorway frame into her bathroom and hallway.  The rest of the entire day was spent going between Home Depot and Lowe’s, trying to find parts to fix it.  Thanks to my cousin, everything was eventually repaired.
The Next day, Saturday, April 23rd, we were back to playing.  That afternoon, we headed to Salt Lake City….me still not having a clue what my daughter had planned.  We eventually drove by a building called “Lumpys Sports Bar”, and jokingly, I stated……oh, is that where we are going”?  Guess what her answer was!

She was quite nervous about taking me there but it was all good.  We walked in and when I saw all the huge televisions lining the walls, my first thought was whoopee, were going to sit around a sports bar and watch sports for two hours.  My daughter quickly informed me that our activity was not there but probably down in the basement of the establishment, so down the stairs we headed…………  We were about to go on a painting adventure.  Yes!  It was a paint and take class….. everything was set up and ready to go.

 
The theme of these classes are “Drink Creatively”, but from what I could see, no one was really drinking.  Everyone was so busy painting that they didn’t really have time to drink.  It really was a fun afternoon.

This is a copy of the instructors painting and he admitted that he had painted it at 3am and was probably a little drunk at the time………. and actually, the way he described it, it was pretty funny.

We started off by making the sky hues and the entire painting was done using only four colors of paint…red, blue, yellow, and black.

There were approximately 40 people taking the class and as we were walking around looking at all the finished paintings, every painting was totally different. 
This is my final project……….

And here I am with my daughter, proudly posing with our paintings.

Would I do this again……..ABSOLUTELY!  What fun.

Kindergarten Diploma…All About Bugs

My dream would absolutely come true if I had access to all the clipart graphics I wanted.  Since the year 2011, I have been designing Kindergarten diplomas for our local school.  The most difficult part is trying to find clipart graphics that do not have a copyright.  It takes me hours and hours to finally come up with a diploma, using free clipart graphic web sites.  Some clipart graphics are just so cute that I break down and buy them.  Sometimes, just one little graphic makes the entire difference in how something looks to me.  With that being said, the Kindergarten teacher said she wanted a diploma with a bug theme……here is the diploma that I designed for this year – 2016.

Manti Temple

I, along with my daughter and my sister, had never attended the Manti Temple, so on Thursday, April 21, 2016, we were on the road to Manti.  We arrived a little early so we drove down the main road looking for a place to eat.  There was only one place that we spotted, and Miller’s Drive-Thru Ice Cream & Donut Shoppe, was it.  It was a nice little place with good food. 

With our stomachs full, we headed back down the road to the Manti Temple.  This temple is one of my favorites.  Lot’s of history is placed all throughout this temple.  All the furniture was set for its time and the stone arch-way that the buggies used to drive through was kept in the temple and was included in the remodeling.  You can read and see more about the Manti Temple here, and here, and many other sites.
After our session, one of the workers took us on a little tour of the inside of the temple.  We actually had the privilege of seeing and touching the well-known spiral staircase.  When we had finished our tour, we decided to go down to the cafeteria and get some dessert.  Ahem…….we actually saw that they had chicken and rice soup on the menu so we each got a small bowl of soup with a slice of bread and a piece of pie – DELICIOUS!
When we left the temple, we decided to walk around the grounds before heading home.  The following are a few (LOTS) photos that I took………

For a short distance of 97 miles from my sisters home to the Temple, this is one drive I will definitely be taking again!