Let The Parade Begin

Summer has official started, at least here in Mackay.  Today was the good ol' home town parade and rodeo.  For me, this begins it all.  I know it's a small town parade but I really enjoy seeing all the old cars, tractors, and anything else that anyone wants to parade down main street.  I took over 40 pictures and of course, I couldn't put them all on my blog so I just randomly picked a few pictures to show.  Let the parade begin.

Enjoy The Tour

Hmm-m-m-m-m-m, I've done more things in the past few weeks with my sister than I've probably done in the past few years.  I think the past few weeks have been good therapy for the both of us.  Today's adventure took us to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.  Jan has a hard time walking, so we didn't explore any of the caves or hikes but we did enjoy the 7-mile loop tour that you take in your vehicle.  Woot, woot, for old....er people.  My sister had a pass that got us into the Park for free, otherwise, it would have cost us $8.  All-in-all, it was a fun trip that I haven't done in years, getting to see beautiful scenery that I had forgotten existed.  Enjoy the tour.

No Greater Love

This is my Father's wallet. When Dad and Mom started dating, he took her to a dance. The ticket on the wallet is the ticket from that dance. He kept this ticket safely tucked away in his wallet until the day he passed away, 67 years later. 

We were going to have the ticket framed in a shadow box with a picture that was taken of them before they were married.

At the last moment, we decided that if Dad had kept this ticket with him all these years, out of the deep love he had for Mom, that it should still be with him, and we gently tucked the ticket through the lid of the casket.

After the funeral, I was going through some of Dad's pictures and I came across this one.  At first, I thought......how weird.....double exposure?   Then a thought came to my mind and it reminded me that we are never alone and that life is eternal and no matter what the situation, our loved ones are always there, waiting to greet us.

Leaving Paradise

After our adventure out back today and after our lunch, my sis and I went outside to plant some flowers by the greenhouse.  I know, it's like a dirty word, but I actually used "Silk Flowers" in this particular spot.  All the hoses and faucets are used to water the lawn areas and it is difficult to get water to this area so thus, the silk flowers......Sorry!

After we finished planting (a-hem) flowers, we went and sat under the pines.  The wind was blowing and if you've never sat under the pines when the wind is blowing, you're really missing out.

While we were sitting there, I noticed something really sparkly and glittering under one of the pines (sorry, it didn't show up in the picture).  I said to Jan, "wow, look at that sparkle...maybe it's gold".  She replied, "we rich".  And to her reply I stated, "WE".  After closer observation, it was only tree sap......how disappointing.  You had to be there but we laughed over this for quite some time.

The pines are also getting these red-like knobs on them.  I am assuming they are little pine cones in the making.  After awhile, it was getting a bit chilly so we left paradise and went in the house

A Little Bit Of Heaven

My sis and I went out back behind our house today to see if we could see any deer.  We didn't see any deer but this is the beauty of our place that we did see.  This first photo is what you see out our back door.  On the right-hand side is a lane that goes quite aways back from the home.

At the bottom of the lane and when you turn around, you get a beautiful view of Mt. McCaleb nestled in with the sage brush and trees.

This is a view of the lane as you head back towards the house.  Everything is so green right now.

If you look along the lane and out in the trees, you can see the wild iris that are in bloom.  Ah-h-h-h, we went to see deer and saw a little bit of Heaven instead.

Didn't Know What Hit Him

Isn't this bird beautiful.  As I was doing dinner dishes, I heard a thud against our dining room window.  Janis was standing there and she said a bird hit the window and that it was down on the ground.  While the bird was in a stunned state, I grabbed my camera and headed out the door.  It was totally stunned and I got right up next to it to get a good picture.  I watched it for awhile to make sure it would be OK.  After about 30 minutes, it left.  Sure glad it didn't really get hurt bad.  I came in the house and got on my computer and about that time my sister, Maxine (bird watcher) called and I was explaining the situation to her and what the bird looked like and she told me to look up Bullock's Oriole and sure enough, that's what it is.  It sure is beautiful and under the circumstances, I hope I don't get that close to another one.

High Water Reflections

My sister and I went for a little ride today..  On the way back, we took a cut off on a road that takes you over the mountain and into the Sun Valley area.  About 2 miles down that road, we took another cut off to the left that would eventually lead back to the main highway.  Along the way we saw some areas with pretty high waters and the following pictures are the results.  BEAUTIFUL.

 

Enjoying God's Creations

This may look like just an ordinary clothes line pole sitting in the middle of a yard just to hang flowers on.  But, I'm here to tell you it's not.

It's home to this chunky, little robin. He's adopted this pole as his perch and sits on it most of the day. 

While sitting there, he is constantly preening himself.

I think he also enjoys looking at this gorgeous, flowering crab apple tree. All the while sitting on his perch, he is facing the tree. I could be wrong, but maybe he enjoys God's creations as much as I do.

Pass Creek Picnic

Another wonderful day for us.  Today, my husband, my sister, and I went up Pass Creek for a picnic and ride.  The picnic area we used was just beautiful, sitting right by a small creek.

This is Janis.....sister's don't come much better than this but in my case, I have two wonderful sisters.  Maxine, my other sister lives in Utah.

After we were through eating, we ventured on further up the canyon and came to a side road we have never been on before.  Since we were in a suburban, we decided to see what was up there.  It was very pretty and we were not disappointed that we took the little detour. 

Reservoir/Mine Hill

Yesterday, Janis (sister) and I went for a ride up to the Reservoir.  When you drive down below the reservoir you can see where all the water comes out.  There wasn't too much water coming out of the pipes but there was enough to make this beautiful site of water and moss on the rocks.

After our reservior jaunt, we decided to venture up the Mine Hill.  This structure was once the beginning of an aerial tramway which transported buckets of ore six miles down to the smelter on the valley floor.

A view of our small little town from up on the Mine Hill.  Yes, our town is small, but a wonderful place to live.

This home is towards the top of the Mine Hill.  It was built around 1889 and belonged to the Ausich family.

Some pretty deep snow still remains on the Mine Hill in areas.

This snow slide took out some trees on one side of the road and continued on down the other side of the road.

Oh, and yes....do you remember my last blog about the psycho, blue bird.  He was still there yesterday, waiting to greet us before our adventure up the Mine Hill.  Too Funny!