Forever and Always

A week ago today I wrote a blog about my dear father being in the hospital and the re-hab center and about the beautiful flowers that were at both the hospital and the re-hab center and how they were there for all to enjoy and brighten their day no matter what the situation.  Well, I need those flowers today.  I just received a phone call from my sister a few hours ago telling me that my father had just passed away.  He was down in physical therapy when he unexpectedly passed out and never recovered.  Oh, to put into words what my heart is feeling at this moment.  I loved my father so dearly.  The only comfort I have right now is the knowledge of knowing that my father is with my mother, in heaven.  I know this for a surety, that family's can be together forever through our loving Heavenly Fathers plan.  I will miss you dad...................Love you forever and always!

 Picture of dad in re-hab center.  Looks like one lonely tooth in the corner of his mouth but it is actually a little dinner mint.  Cute, huh.

Window Garden

Evan started planting his little garden seedlings last month.  I couldn't even begin to tell you everything he has planted on the card table in front of our dining room window.  Although I do know we have tomatoes, onions, and squash, for sure.  Evan tends to them like little babies.  All I do is spin the card table around once in awhile so they get equal sun and don't lean too far one way or the other.  Now, if it would only warm up so we could plant them.

The Great Escape

I tried to plant a bunch of tulips around the yard three years ago.  At first bloom, the deer wiped them out.  The next year when they came up, I tried to put a hot sauce, soap spray mixture on them and it kept the deer at bay for awhile but the minute (one day or two) I didn't get them sprayed, off with their heads...the deer love tulips.  Last year I didn't even try and the minute they came up, the deer had them.  So far, I have one lonely little tulip this year that has made quite the progress.  It's over by the fence and tucked away under a tree.  Wonder how long this poor little feller will make it before it is discovered.  Who knows, maybe it will make the great escape and not be noticed.

Mowing the Grass

When I got home from Kindergarten graduation last night, I pulled in the driveway and there were deer all around the house.  They started to run so I just sat still and they turned around and looked at the car, staying by the house.  When they turned back around and started mowing our grass, (nice deer to mow our overgrown lawn) I snuck out of the car and went around the corner to the other side of the house and took a few pictures.  Most of them pranced off but six of them stayed around so I could take their photo.  It sure would be nice if they would eat a little faster and then we wouldn't even have to mow our lawn.

Kindergarten Graduation

Last night was Kindergarten graduation.....another year of Kinders accomplished.  It used to be that days went by so quickly but now it's years.  Where did the school year go?  Working with the Kinders is such a joy, along with some stress.  I guess it's the mixture that keeps me on my toes and makes for interesting days.  Mrs. Gamett retired at the end of last year and I had the opportunity of working with Mr. Gordon this year.  It has been rewarding to see how he works with the little children.  I've learned a lot from him.  Below is a picture of the t-shirts that Mr. Gordon had made for Himself, Mrs. Gamett, Myself, and the Kinders.  They were so darling....they had all the little Kinders signatures on them along with ours - too cute.  There are also pictures of the graduation caps, poem, programs, candybar wrappers and diplomas that I made.  I got the cute graphics from image google and a web site (www.cutecolors.com) that has a lot of freebies.  I'm all about free downloads that work for you.

Pretty Boy Decoy

Evan and I went to Blackfoot today to pick up some alfafa/grass mixture to plant in the fields.  From there we went to Idaho Falls to the LDS Cannery to pick up a few things and then off to Applebees for a late lunch.  As we were leaving Applebees, I looked across the street and there sat a Malard Duck.  Yupper, a picture moment.  I crossed the street and stood by a tree, quite a ways away from him to take the first picture.  He seemed pretty calm so I decided to get a little closer to see what he would do.  What a pretty boy.........he let me get to within 6 feet of him to take more pictures.  I didn't want to press my luck so that is as close as I dared venture.  I actually took 9 pictures of him before I decided it was time to quit and head back to the truck where Evan sat waiting patiently.  When I got in the truck, Evan asked if I was taking a picture of a decoy because he never seen the little guy move the entire time I was taking pictures of him.  Guess he just wanted to have his picture taken, huh.  Of course Evan was joking but if you didn't know better, it could have been a decoy.

God's Beauty

My dear, 86-year old father fell and broke his hip last month while helping a neighbor pull out some old bushes in front of their home.  At the hospital he was staying in, they had a garden just off of the dining area at the cafeteria.  They had the most beautiful flowers and waterfall there.  Who would have thought that a hospital could be so beautiful.  You could see this area from the floor my father was on so guess what......of course......I grabbed my camera and headed out for pictures.

From the hospital, he was relocated to a re-hab center to get physical therapy on his hip and to build his strength up so he can come home.  Even here, at the re-hab center, there are beautiful flowers all around the facility.  What a way to help the patients and those visiting, by making the place beautiful.  Only God could have thought of something so marvelous as the beauty of a flower to brighten a persons day, no matter the situation.

 

Wizard of Oz....Sorta

Evan got called out on a power outage around 1:15 this afternoon.  He finally got home around 2:30 and was just eating lunch when he got another 6 calls for power outages.  The reason for all the calls........we had some pretty high winds traveling through here today.  On the first call, the wind blew a tree over the power lines and for the others, I haven't heard yet.  It is 8:24pm and he still isn't home.  Just to give you an idea of the wind, see the pine cone in the plant below?  Well, in the next picture, you can see where the pine cone came from.  You can't tell it in the picture, but the lawn is covered in pine cones, some even going past the porch.  We watched them out the window and they were actually flyling that far.  I'm surprised that I even have a plant left between the wind and the deer.  Evan just walked in the door and we counted the calls that came in and he had 31 calls, not counting all the missed calls while he was on line taking other calls.  Busy day.

Little Deerlings

Do you remember my posting I sent out a few days ago on my pet deer?  If not, I stated why we don't get a deer hunting license and get some meat in the freezer during hunting season because it's kind of hard to kill something that is so tame and are on your yard all the time..........well, that was before I came home from church today, only to find that my new hanging plant that I just purchased was missing a few parts.  I guess my winter brain was not in full gear until I looked at my "once so pretty" hanging planter.  It reminded me pretty quick of the fact that I can't grow very many flowers around the house and the garden that they totally destroyed last year.  Those little deerlings (darlings)!  About right now, that freezer meat sounds pretty good. 

 On a better note, look at the beautiful sun rays bursting through the clouds this morning.  This picture was not even the best part.  By the time I looked out my window and ran to get my camera, a lot of it had disappeared.   

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm......gotta love the digital camera invention. It's so great that you can snap a picture and post it all within a few minutes of time, letting others share in your joys, and sometimes, the not so joyous moments!

Wowzers!

I just got home from seeing the Bar J Wranglers.  It was the best concert I have been to in a long, long time.  Um, as a matter of fact, it is the ONLY concert I have been to in a long, long time.  Not only are they masters in their singing and playing instruments, they are also hilarious - TOTALLY.  It cost $20 per ticket but I'm telling you, it was so-o-o-o-o-o-o worth it.  I haven't laughed like that in weeks, or months, who knows.  All I'm saying is that if you ever get the opportunity to go see these guys in concert, DO IT!

Totally Fried

For the past couple of weeks, our lights in the bedroom has been flickering, but not very often.  Last night, I noticed them flickering a lot in the bathroom so I talked to Evan about getting an electrician to come and check it out.  This morning when I went in to the bathroom and flipped on the light switch.........nothing, so I started checking other parts of the house.  We had power in the living room, dining area, kitchen, and the back two bedrooms but nothing in the rest of the house.  Evan was out in the garden putting up fence so I told him what was going on and he came to the house to check things out.  We flipped all the multi-breaker switches, still only getting power to the same areas.  Then, the rest of the house started losing power.  Evan said, "this is getting weirder by the minute".  We called the electrician and he said he would come and check it out but he could not be to our home until 1pm.  Evan kept checking things out and he found the problem.  The electrical wires that come from the pole and connect to the house were fried.

 In this picture, you can see how it melted the electrical tape.  Must have gotten pretty hot to do that.

Here you can see the underside of the electrical tape and how it is totally fried.  I'm so grateful that we found the problem and that it didn't cause any other damage.....like a house fire!

Deer Pets

I just took these pictures out my front room window.  People ask why we don't get a deer hunting license and get us some meat in the freezer during hunting season.  It's kind of hard to kill something that is so tame and are on your yard all the time.  They sure look shaggy this time of year still wearing their winter coats.  Last night I took another picture of a buck that was on our lawn and his antlers were just starting to nub.  It was too late in the evening when I took the pictures and they didn't turn out so good so I decided not to post them.  Oh, and how do you like the looks of our lawn.  The mice/voles really did a job on it this year.  You can see trails all throughout the yard.  This happened a few years ago and the lawn really came in beautiful.  Here's hoping for the same this year.

I took the below picture of these two deer on May 31st, of last year, just outside the back door.  Ah-h-h-h.....Idaho - Life is Good!

It's Official?

Here we have it folks......I think it's official.  I went outside today, camera in hand, looking for signs of SPRING.  Look at all the Spring Treasures I found right in my own back yard.

My first picture is my Piony bush.  It's not very high but at least it's green.  Even the green blade of quackgrass to the right of the Pionies looks fantastic.  I may not be saying that later, but for right now, let's just pretend how beautiful that little blade is!  Also, notice how blue the sky is!  I think I'm in heaven.  You can see that there are not any leaves or buds on the tree yet but I know they will come.  Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h-h.......I think it's official  

Next, we have the beginnings of my rhubarb, starting to poke through the ground.  I love rhubarb...there are so many desserts you can make from it.  I think one of my favorites is rhubarb cookies.  So yummy and moist!

Now for the Poppies.  I can always depend on the Poppies.  I think they grow where nothing else can, other than Columbines.  The big, vibrant orange blossoms of a Poppy plant are gorgeous.  Too bad they don't bloom longer.

And last, but not least............Magpies.  We actually have them all year long but only in the Spring do you see them on your grass and in the fields, getting worms.  On the other side of the pasture, we just plowed and planted oats, another sign of Spring ....... Farmers/Ranchers planting their fields.  Wahoo - I'm excited!  Is it official?

Majestic Mt. McCaleb

Do I live in a place of beauty, or what.  On my way to work this morning I looked over at Mt. McCaleb and look at the view I was privileged to see.  My first thought was....if I pull over to take pictures I will be a little late.  I bet you can guess what my second thought was and which thought won out.  My family gave me some money for Christmas so I could purchase myself a "Point and Shoot" camera.  I have a bigger camera but it is much to large to carry in my purse.  Now, with my new point and shoot, I am always pulling off the road to take pictures.  I never knew I could get so much joy out of taking pictures.  It all started about three years ago when my father gave me my first, nice camera...a Canon Powershot S5.  A year previous to that, my husband gave me a little point and shoot Kodak for Christmas and I've been totally hooked on photography ever since.  

Mother's Day Surprise

     Evan gifted me with a dozen carnations for Mother's Day - AWE!  Amber and Corey picked them up for him on their way here to visit for the weekend, thus, I get to enjoy them before the actual date of "Mother's Day" - Yes!  Then, get this....they, Amber and Corey, asked if I would also like to get their gift early - DUH.  I'm one of those people that shakes, rattles, and rolls my Christmas gifts trying to figure out what they are.  I love presents!  They brought me a Kindle, an electronic reading device - I LOVE IT!  Beside photography, reading is something I really enjoy.  My only sadness for Mother's Day is that my other daughter, Brittney, was not able to come home.