Fall is in the Air ~

We love the seasons.  There is nothing as sweet as moving from winter to spring and summer to fall.  The air turns brisk, the colors seem more vivid and something about the smell .. seems so fresh.  We are all feeling frisky, even the animals.  We wake up to the chickens "caw-caw-cawing" and the sheep "baa-baa-baaing" and the doggies wrestling.  Soon the trees will be bare and the grass will no longer need mowing .... Yes!!

I'm in the mood to make things .. bread .. crochet dishcloths .. wool pin cushions .. and it's time to start thinking about Christmas presents and stocking stuffers.  I've thought from time to time of having a "Homemade Holiday" ~ nothing but homemade presents.  I think that would be sooo fun.

These pin cushions could be small accent pillows also .. hmm!

Go Arizona State Sun Devils

Hubs and I have season tickets.  Saturday night we play Wisconsin Badgers.  Our sons girlfriend (Shana) lives in Wisconsin and is a die-hard football fan . . . so the heat is on!  The spread is ASU by 5 .... woooooo!  Go Team Go ....

We Love Our Devils

Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

Bye for now ~ enjoy life's little blessings.

Fishing ... Again :)

Hello Friends!  You probably think all we do is fish . . . actually we do other fun things too.  It just so happens that we get cute pictures when we are fishing.  This mama cow decided she was thirsty ~ I am happy she didn't let us get in her way.  Another mama cow thought my bag looked interesting and she was nuzzling around in there until I stood up to ask if there was something I could help her with . . . she got the hint after that.

This little guy wanted to help us fish ~ he (or she) is a Dragonfly and a beautiful one at that!  I learned a few things about dragonflies that I didn't know.  They are great hunters . . snatching their prey in midair 95 percent of the time.  They usually sneak up behind or below their target ~ catching it by surprise.  Dragonflies are magnificent aerialists, able to hover, dive, fly backward and upside down.  They pivot 360 degrees with three tiny wing beats, and reach speeds of 30 miles per hour.  Their eyes are the largest and the keenest in the insect world, a pair of giant spheres each built of about 30,000 pixel-like facets.  They can see when flying toward you and still see when they're flying away.

Kinda like those of us that are Mothers ~ we have eyes in the back of our heads too!

We are back to an empty nest for awhile.  We have had our two marines home for about a week ~ it's been a fun and crazy time.  Need to keep them in our prayers as one heads back to Afghanistan for his 2nd time and the other heads back to her base in Okinawa.  Here they are ... getting their poles ready.

Ashley, Shana (Mike's GF), Mike

Sorry for the blurred photo ... but this bald eagle was spotted nearby looking very regal.  There is so much to see at the lakes up here in God's country.  The wildlife is spectacular ~ always making for an adventure.

Have a great weekend and encourage one another ~

Bye for now.

Busy Livin' .....

I'm feeling guilty . . . . sometimes I get busy with livin' and don't make time for bloggin'.  Our son has moved to AZ from MN to attend school so we have been busy getting him settled into his apartment and ready for school.  We also had our sweet #4 granddaughter up for a week and that is always a busy and very fun time.  And now here I am with some free time . . . do I want to work in the yard ~ or clean the chicken coop ~ or work on some frame decorating ~ or maybe just sit and read outside on the porch.  It's feeling like Fall is in the air and it's so pretty and cool outside.  Maybe the porch is best for now ....  Oh wait ~ first a few pictures of granddaughter's visit:

Minnie Mouse helped Papa drive from Mesa to our home . . . she did a fine job!

Such a cute picture . . . taken on the way to the park.  Every morning we packed up after breakfast and headed to the lake for a walk around and then some play time at the park.  She's all ready to go in this picture ...  looking a little sleepy but that didn't last long.  After the park we ran a few errands or stopped at Starbucks for a treat.  Then home just in time for lunch and her afternoon nap . . . 

Not sure how it happened ~ but I have started with a newfound interest in Astronomy.  When our daughter was living at home her and I loved getting up in the middle of the night, setting up our lawn chairs, wrapping up in a warm blankie to watch various meteor showers.  We had so much fun (one night we were even joined by a skunk).  Well anyway ... after the most recent Perseid meteor shower that passed us by on August 12, 2013,  I decided to buy the book "Astronomy 101".  

This astronomy stuff will rock your world ... literally!  The solar system is our local place in space.  It contains the Sun, eight planets, several dwarf planets, comets, moons and asteroids.  Pluto, which is the most outlying planet and the smallest planet in our solar system is 3.5 billion miles from the sun ... a distance I can't begin to comprehend ... especially when I read that there are many many solar systems out there.  Where does it stop .... some scientists say "infiniti".  Scary, huh?

These pictures were taken by hubby ~ looks neato with the clouds in the background!

Roses with the morning dew . . . so beautiful!

Life is Good ~ celebrate every day!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Thank you for being the very best Mom anyone could wish for!

Mom was born August 5th, 1927.  Today she turned 86 years old.  Such a special, fun adventurous life we have been blessed with.  Where would we be without our precious Mother ...

A Mother is one to whom you hurry

when you are troubled.

                             ~ Emily Dickinson

Mom and I

A cute bunch of little kids ~ the girls with short bangs and pincurl hairdo's and brother with his buzz cut.

The Kids

Mom with two grandsons and hubby

We Love you MOM . . . Happy Birthday!

What's Happening in our Neck of the Woods ...

Hummingbirds everywhere at Paw-In-Law's House . . . we have a few here but good grief what is my father-in-law feeding these guys?  Something good I guess!  We have to keep our eye out for them when we're visiting on the front porch . . . they're little dive bombers.

We have had lots of animal happenings this week . . .

A rogue skunk wandered in during the middle of the day.  He was in bad shape ~ he had very little fur and was blind.   How we knew this was because he was out during the daytime and also he was rolling down steps and running into posts .... poor fella.   But he was sure ready for battle with that tail straight up in the air.  Have you ever coaxed a blind skunk into a trap?  Us either ... and it doesn't work well.  Hubby had to take action on him after being sprayed several times ~ and off to Happy Skunk Heaven he went.  Ugh ....

We are nursing one of our hens back to health ... Lacey, our pup in the picture above, wanted to bring her home for supper ~ fortunately she was stopped before things got too bad.  So a few feathers later along with a slight limp she's coming along.  Lacey is a very sweet pup (even tho she looks like a toughie in this picture) . . . but she is soooo curious about all things around her ~ a nice way of saying she's into everything.

Sunflowers ~ AT LAST!!  Aren't they gorgeous ... love love love all things Sunflower!!!  I changed it up this year and planted smaller varieties and in various colors and I really like it.  A few years ago I planted nothing but the mammoth variety.  They grew to 8 feet tall and the heads were so huge and heavy that they hung straight down ... although they were spectacular you had to stand under them in order to enjoy their beauty.  These I can admire from my kitchen window ... and anywhere in the yard.

I get to be the birthday girl this week!!  So excited ... who knows what's in store but whether there is nothing or something in store, birthdays are always a blessing.

Have a special week .... love one another!!!

Veggies and Craft Room ...

Imagine my surprise . . . every day I check for zucchini and every day I have found nothing but big beautiful blossoms.  So get this, today I had my glasses on ~ haa haa ~ and I found these huge veggies.  Actually it wasn't the glasses so much .. but more where they were .. very well hidden and sitting just on top of the soil.  They might be too big to enjoy ... we'll see!  

Ahhh, time in my craft room!!  I don't know why but I'm not very good at getting in there and having fun ~ always seem to find something else that needs attention I suppose.  Our #2 son (and wifey) found beautiful fabric and asked that I make table runners for them ... I started one of them after doing some long-overdue mending on hubs clothes ... and also found these fun things that I've recently finished.

Roosters Crow .... but the Hens Deliver!!

Halloween Needle-punch

I found this cute pattern at Pine Needles in Gardner Village in the little town of West Jordan, Utah.  I intended to make it as a gift but fell completely in love with it.  So adorable ... You may want to check out the Pine Needles blog or even better ~ visit the shop if you're up that way.  It's one of those shops that you wish wish wish was in your neighborhood.  

The hubby and I were out and about when we saw these Cow Elk ... grazing on the green grass.  I wish I'd had the camera the other day ~ I saw a huge Bull Elk, probably the most magnificent animal I've seen in some time.  He was all alone .. and looking so regal.

Don't take life too seriously,

cuz no one gets out of it alive!

The Big City . . .

Hubby and I went to the "big city" on Thursday ~ I must admit it felt so good to be at the Mall.  It's been nearly 4 months and I was having withdrawals from the hustle and bustle.  We hit a few of our favorite places in addition to the mall ... Bass Pro Shop, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, Kirkland Home ... so much fun!  Cookout with the kids and grandkids Friday evening was a blast.  It's always hard to leave ... but the animals and flowers and veges need us home.

"Ganny" and her girls .... having a fun time with "Ride A Little Pony"!!

Here are the sunflowers!  Pretty soon they will have beautiful yellow blooms to show off.  Can't wait ~

Zucchini plants are looking great ... lots of blossoms!

We have five apple trees with apples galore ... I am excited to make apple butter!  Even the dogs are excited ~ they help themselves to apples off the low hanging branches.  

Doris is enjoying a peaceful nap while the chickens are rooting around.  I tried to get a picture of the chicken standing on her back ~ but she climbed down when she saw me coming with the camera.  The sheep, chickens and wild bunny rabbits have a great camaraderie.  They all play together very well.

Be encouraging!  Happy Sunday to YOU . . .

Happy Birthday America!

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, 

and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all !!!

I have moments of overwhelming pride about the blessing of living in America.  Sometimes it's the simplest things that bring on these feelings ... from the wide open beauty of our land to our privilege of free speech.  Hubs and I have the gift of traveling to other countries with his work and it's always a surprise and a wake~up~call for me when I see how different life is in other places ... some live in very confined quarters where life is more complicated, where a garden is one pot with one tomato plant, where transportation is a motor scooter come rain or shine and yet they are very happy and content folks.  I enjoy experiencing cultures that are different than ours ... it helps me to be even more thankful for all that we have here in our piece of heaven in northern AZ ~ and we LOVE coming home to our America.

This nation will remain the Land of the Free only 

so long as it is the Home of the Brave !!!

We went fishing a few days ago.  I came up lucky that day and out-fished hubby ~ this is

always a sore spot for him.  Even worse when Grandson #1 said "Papa, I think Granny is the

master now".  Oh well ... He was busy getting ALL my fish off the hook and driving the

boat!  They were beautiful Rainbow Trout!  

This pretty fella paid no mind to us as we cruised by in the boat.  He's a Great Blue Heron ... I think he was eyeballing my fish for supper.

Be silly .. be honest .. be kind!

Dad-In-Law's Birthday Party!

We had a down home celebration for Dad-In-Law's 82nd birthday this week!  I found a really cute card with a silly looking couple . .  both with big buggy eyes and teeth in need of a dentist.  As we wandered around the store I also found these beauties ~ such purdy smiles!  We had a great time and lots of laughs.

Rain O' Rain ~ ~ We are praying for much needed rain for this dry, parched land ~ and also to cool things off a little bit.  We so enjoy the monsoon season with the loud cracks of thunder that come along with the afternoon showers . . . You can almost see the plants and animals breathing a sigh of relief when the stormy days begin!  Our grandbabies never met a rainstorm they didn't like . . .

Some people walk in the rain ...

Others just get wet.

                       ~ Roger Miller

Hoping you have a sweet weekend . . . 

Summer ~ Fishing ~ Homemade Bread

There is so much pretty-ness this time of year.  Our flowers are all enjoying the bright sun and the cool breeze.  Hollyhocks ~ Clematis ~ Roses and the Sunflowers are growing so fast you can almost stand there and watch them getting taller .... I know why they are called Sunflowers.  The top leaves of the plants face the sun all day long ~ in the morning they are facing East and by evening they are facing West.  Such smart little fellers . . .

Some of the original seeds didn't want to come up so the smaller plants were replanted a few weeks ago.

We are enjoying our grandkiddos for two weeks and as always we went to the lake and the park for some play time.  Papa and Grandson #1 were skipping rocks until this cute little family swam by . . . we watched them for the longest time.  It seems that mama was showing off her brood to all the visitors at the lake.  She made sure to swim right along the shore line ~ the fishermen reeled in their line, the walkers stopped to look ~ everyone was interested in her little family.  So Cute!

Hubby and I had a hankerin' for Sourdough Bread.  So I went shopping online at The King Arthur Flour Company and decided to order the sourdough starter, both kinds ~ the quick easy starter and the slow-feed-me-every-day-make-a-commitment-to-me starter.  A dear friend agreed to make the quick starter and I made the slow starter bread and then we compared loaves.  The flavor and texture of both loaves were wonderful, almost identical!!!   But we both kinda like the slow starter so that we can share starter with friends and family.  It only lasted for two days here at home ~ nothing better than fresh baked bread.

More About Feathered Friends ~

I found this birdhouse at a country gift shop . . . it's a little rough around the edges but fits in quite nicely around home.  I like anything handmade!

Posing for this picture is one of our Acorn Woodpeckers and it's our first year having them.  As their name implies .. they depend on acorns and other nuts for survival.  We have several oak trees in our yard which explains why they like us!  They live in small colonies which consist of up to five males, one or two females and up to a dozen juveniles from previous years with all members helping to raise the new babies.  They are very vocal, giving a loud, nasal "wheka-wheka-wheka" call.  

Granddaughter #2 catching her very first fish . . . all by herself . . . no help from Papa.  She actually caught two on this fishing trip.  Her big brother caught five but even so ~ she was tough to live with after that.  We are so proud of them both!

What good is the warmth of summer,

without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.

                                                                                                ~  John Steinbeck