Just Chilling…

The vent she has her nose planted firmly over is the air conditioning vent.  She had just been outside playing in the backyard with Greg.  She may be laid back, but she’s not stupid.

A Star is Born…

We have been searching for a new member of our family for awhile.  The last girl we tried was just a ball of energy.  She was wired for sound and unfortunately wasn’t a good mix with our little nasturtium-beret wearing Millie….or my elderly mother.

Today my brother, Bob, dropped off one of his puppies for us to give a try.  Her name is Star and she’s five months old. She’s very laid back and couldn’t be more lovable.

She’s easy going enough and young enough that Millie can still bluff her into keeping her distance.  She just would love to play, but Millie needs to be a little more comfortable with her size.

There is an “understanding” between them and a peaceful truce reigns for now.  I hope that Millie will not only tolerate Star but come to enjoy having a “little” sister around to play with.

She’s a long drink of water and will still get bigger.  She’s half American Bull Dog and half Rottweiler.  She’s a perfect fit for our family and comes with a money back guarantee.  What could go wrong?

Back home and winding down….

Well, didn’t do much winding down today. It was a busy day. Nicole and I did our housework thing and then because we seem to have caught the last mouse , we pulled everything out of all the cabinets and cleaned and bleached and cleaned and bleached.  I’m thinking they’re coming in to get out of the heat (or maybe away from the roadrunner).  Tomorrow will definitely be a down day.  We may even head somewhere that has a pool and take a dip.

Here are some of the critters I saw while I was up north.

 

 

We went to a goat farm. They sold goat cheese and fudge…yes…fudge. No, I wasn’t brave enough to try either.

 

 

 

They had llamas on the goat farm too. They were way out in their pasture and didn’t want to come close for a picture.

 

 

 

  I had been calling this a Pinyon Jay but I believe it’s a Western Scrub Jay. They love peanuts and take them and hid them in the woods.

 

 

 

These guys love peanuts too and go around digging up the Jay’s peanuts and reburying them. That’s what this little guy is doing in this shot.

 

 

 

 

He got tired of me watching him, so he climbed a tree and watched me.

 

 

 

Two nights this fellow and some of his buddies visited us. They are very noisy and smell awful! They’re not too shy and can be mean. I stayed up on the porch while he scrounged around for peanuts. This is a Javelina and he says “Don’t call me pig!!!”

 

 

 

We were fortunate enough to see these Big Horn Sheep outside of Camp Verde on our way home. They were quite a way away and didn’t plan on getting any closer to us.

Sorry, I’ve been neglectful.  I’ll do better now that I’m back home. Watch for more shots from up north.

Time spent in Heaven…

Annie asked if I had ever been to the Tonto Natural Bridge. I said I thought I probably had as a small child, but didn’t really remember.  Well, let me tell you, if I had been before, I can’t help but believe I would remember.

This is water from a spring that flows over the bridge. We didn’t take the hike down into the canyon where you can walk up under the bridge….next time we will though.

The hike takes you 200 feet down into the canyon. It’s a nice trail, but considered difficult.  At the top of the bridge there is a grate covering a hole looking down under the bridge. If you know me very well, you know I have vertigo issues out the whazoo.  I couldn’t resist taking a photo through the grate.

The spring is diverted and also forms a waterfall.  We did take that hike….it was only 300 feet long.  But it was all steps down the side of a canyon.  It gave us a workout, but was so worth the trip.

There are blackberries, columbines and ferns all over the place. It was gorgeous. I couldn’t believe we were in Arizona and not somewhere in Hawaii.

This is one of the parks that Arizona is struggling to keep open.  The area towns are fighting hard to keep the park operating.

I, for one, hope they are successful.

Got Hoof?

I’ve known for years that dogs love to chew on hooves after the farrier comes.  Annie brought a hoof on our trip for Trixie.
When Annie and I walk around and step on the hoof, we develop hoof and “mouth” disease.  *&#@*$  It hurts!!!  Annie says she doesn’t understand how the horses can walk around on those things.

First evening...

Feet up and enjoying the cool evening breeze...

Rest and Relaxation…

Oh, do I need this…

My buddy invited me to spend a few days with her up in her cabin in the north country of Arizona. The cabin is in Strawberry and is a little piece of heaven.

Pine is a bustling community just three miles down the road from Strawberry….so much charm.

“Honey, I’m home!!!”

You will see plenty more of this beauty over the next couple of days.  If I can get up the gumption to blog.  I am relaxing, you know.

Frustrated….to say the least

As you can probably tell, I’m attempting to change the photo in my header. I’m terrible at this sort of thing.  My tech person (aka Tracy) has been out of town and did offer some advice via email….I’m more a hands on kinda girl. So please be patient with me. I’ll get it all worked out eventually.

I’m going to be heading up north for a few days and hope to be able to post from up there. Won’t know until I get there. It’s been a busy couple of days and promises to stay that way until I’m gone. 

But for those of you who are interested….

The okra is coming!  The okra is coming!

Quotes:

“So few people eat okra (more radishes are grown in this country) that it never even makes it onto the lists of Top 10 hated foods”  Julia Reed

I’m just impressed I found a quote about okra…and I only found the one.  :)

According to ecobites okra or gumbo, as it is also known, is really Hibiscus Esculentus.  So get out there and eat more hibiscus!!

Browsing the shelves….

Today my blog is one year old!!  And how did I celebrate this momentous occasion?  I went out with my bestest buddy and we went used book shopping.

  Today that meant hitting all the Savers and Goodwill stores we could find.  We had so much fun and scored some good finds.

As a young girl, I loved the Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart. I’m curious to see if I’ll like these older ones.

Quotes:

“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.” Anna Quindlen

Night Stalker….

Several months ago one of my blog followers suggested I try some night shots.  Specifically of a bridge I had taken a daytime shot of.  I’ve been waiting to get a new tripod to make the job easier…I got tired of waiting. So, Maha, these shots were taken with you in mind. I hope you enjoy them.

Some shots had cars going through them.  All you can see are the lights…so they’re like ghost vehicles.

This was a shot at the local airport.

Munchies, anyone??

Don’t ask me why….I couldn’t say.
So much good food…..in vivid array.
Veggies, cilantro all so fresh….packing a crunch.
Why is it then….it’s cookies I want to munch???

Just wandering around….wondering…

When I dropped Nicole off at her school for a meeting the other day, I headed out for a drive in a direction I’ve never gone before.  I saw lots of interesting things.

They have some really beautiful landscaping outside of several of the new neighborhoods.

 

Such an unusual color on this cactus.

 

So here’s what I was wondering while I was wandering….which do you prefer….real or  Memorex?

 

Just wandering….

Some of my favorite people….

This is my nephew, Julian.  He’s such a hoot!!  I can’t even tell you all the funny stuff he comes up with.  He has an unusually dry and sophisticated sense of humor for someone his age.  He also is autistic, but has been so blessed.  He’s mainstreamed at school and will begin the sixth grade this coming year.

 

 

 

He’s a mean bowler on the Wii and has tournaments with his Aunt Jodie every time she’s in town.

 

 

 

This is my grandnephew, John Taylor.  He has a smile as big as all outdoors on his face every time I see him.  It just lights up a room.  He’s not as outspoken as Julian is, but he’s making headway everyday.  He’s also autistic.

                                                                                                                             

 

 

He’s quite happy playing alone and loves being outside.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Jayden.  He’s John Taylor’s younger brother.  He is such a ball of fire.  Once he got walking down, there’s been no stopping him.  He tends to be a little shy and he’s still pretty young.  He’s also autistic.

 

 

 

 

He’s just like any other little boy in so many ways.

 

 

 

Our family is blessed with so many unique and one-of-a-kind children.  We are a big, warm, loving and accepting family.  We realize it takes more than just parents to raise children in this day and age.  All these young men are special and wonderful in their own way and have enriched all our lives tremendously.

Stormy skies…..

We’re having some lovely weather today….anything different this time of year is a treat.

My grandson, Joseph, is just hanging with Grandma Nancy today.

Sink or swim….

I’ll take swim….swimming that is.  Today we’re off to go swimming at Lisa’s.

This will be at the pool that has Oscar in it.  My grandson, Joseph, is staying a few days with us and we’re all headed to get wet.

 

This shot of Nicole was taken at my cousin’s pool…we’ll be making use of that pool this summer also.  Tracy will have some time on her hands and we’ll get some visiting in along with our swimming.

Hope you’re all out enjoying your summer too!

Swing set built for two….

 

I apologize for the photos before I even post them….they’re not the best.  I took most of them out of my back door directly into the sunlight.

My Pop gave me this really neat seat he made for my hummingbirds.  He has one in his yard and when Lisa and I admired it, he made one for each of us.  Today I quickly shot some pix of what I believe to be a momma hummingbird and her baby sitting on it.

 

  I think momma is imparting some words of wisdom here….maybe “Do what you can do and let the rough end drag…”    

 

“Rough end?  Rough end of what, Mom?”

 

The bronze hummer spins in the breeze and was moving….sorry about the quality of the shot.

 

  How many hummers to you see in this shot and how many are real?

Thanks, Pop, for the swing…I’m really enjoying watching the hummers enjoying it.