I met Tracy and her cousin, Kathy, at Star Tower the night after the full moon. Because, of course, the night of the full moon we had too many clouds to take photos. We had such a good time and really didn’t want to leave.
I really enjoyed playing with the camera’s settings and Tracy (as always) is such a wealth of information.
My friend, Annie, who lives in Buckeye is in the process of adopting a basset hound from the Basset Hound Rescue. Before her home could be certified as safe, the fence around her pool had to be completed across the end of her patio. It seems that basset hounds can’t swim.
Saturday, Annie, and I worked really hard, but didn’t make the headway we wanted to. So Sunday Greg came to help. Having upper body strength sure is a plus when drilling in concrete.
Of course, while working at Annie’s one must accept the help of Trixie. She’s quite excited about her new brother, Baldwin, coming to live with them. The inspection should happen this weekend and Annie will get to hear the pitter patter of four new little feet.
Stoneman Lake…
Stoneman Lake lies in a depression that was formed by volcanic activity 8 million years ago. It is a “sealed system” lake with no outlet. It is fed by runoff from rain and snow. So at certain times of the year, there is very little water there, but it is still a refuge for wildlife.
Flagstaff is home to many beautiful, old, well-crafted buildings.
This is the Monte Vista Hotel where we stayed while in Flagstaff. It is reported to be haunted. We didn’t hear any bumps in the night except late-night partiers “bouncing” down the hallway in the wee hours of the morning.
This is the early morning view from our hotel room.
But for me, the main draw to Flagstaff is still the forest…the pine trees…the sound the wind makes blowing through them.
And, of course, the flowers. :)
Nicole’s Drama Club recently had a Blood Drive.
David is one of her classmates who is an everyday hero.
I know sometimes there is a lot of talk about where our world is headed, but with young people like these….I think we’re going to be just fine.
Monday afternoon my nephew, Dustin, stopped by with his dog, Daisy, to have a play date with Star.
Daisy is Star’s sister. They spent a few months living together when they were younger and they lost no time in picking right back up where they left off.
It amazes me how different they are built. Daisy has more of the Rottweiler traits and Star has more of the American Bull Dog features.
It’s a shame someone didn’t have a video camera going because at one point Star was roughing around with Daisy and headed straight for me, went up into the air, turned broadside and knocked me tea pot over tea kettle. Then it was literally “dog pile”. After Dustin stopped laughing he helped his old Aunt Nancy up. I do believe we re-broke my little toe that I thought was almost healed. We’ll have to get them together again soon, when the weather decides to behave like autumn.
On our way up north this last weekend, this little guy went zipping by us.
I didn’t have my camera out and ready, so I asked Greg to try and catch up with Herbie. That was a challenge…he had to be doing at least 85 mph.
He was pulling away quickly. I think he must have seen a vehicle trying to catch up, because he slowed down and dropped behind us….
then he zipped around us again flashing the peace sign all the way.
We’re off this weekend to celebrate our anniversary up north in Flagstaff. I’m really busy (so, what else is new?) and thought I would post some of my favorite flower photos. When I get back, I’m hoping to have some really nice pictures from our trip.
I hope you enjoyed my study in orange. I’ll see you after the weekend.
QUOTES:
“There is no blue without yellow and without orange.” Vincent van Gogh
"Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow." Kandinsky
I forgot to tell you, Nicole passed her test and got her learner’s permit! Last Friday after she and Kayla got home from school, we headed to the local MVD. I think I was more nervous than Nicole. She passed and we headed to Baskin Robbins to celebrate! She and Kayla both had a single scoop of Cookies and Cream in a waffle cone.
She’s driven twice since Friday and done a really great job. We need to be sure she has at least 30 hours of daytime driving and 10 hours of nighttime driving before she goes back to get her license in December.
We’re also looking for a nice, used, yellow VW Bug. :)
We’ve had company here from Georgia and we’ve spent every spare moment we can with them. They headed home today and we’ll miss them, but need to get back into our regular routine.
As I told you earlier this month, I’ve been going through old pictures and reorganizing things. Here are a couple of pictures that made me smile.
She’s always had a little flare and attitude!!
Tomorrow, I’m taking her to get her learner’s permit…time is just flying.
I went outside this morning and looked at the “cool” spider Nicole and Kayla found.
I am an arachnophobic that is actually having the creeps posting these pictures. I can’t explain the sweating, shakes and heebie jeebies….they just happen.
Nicole and Kayla did some research when they got to school. They discovered this guy is a burrowing wolf spider that has probably lost his legs in fights with either other spiders or me – if I saw him first.
I didn’t have the heart to kill it while the girls were there….so this precious little fellow lives in my flower garden. Thanks to my cousin, Tressie, for pointing out to me that we are never more than six feet from a spider at any time.
I have to go throw up now.
I was blessed with a beautiful baby boy who has been the apple of my eye ever since. He has been the anchor in my life steadying me and giving me purpose. During some dark years in my life, he was the only reason I could find to get up and function. We have shared joy, sorrow, happiness, encouragement, growth, fulfillment, disappointment, courage, fear, conquests, and all things in between.
I love you David more than I can ever say. Happy Birthday!
I’m sorry I haven’t been on here much lately. It’s been a very busy weekend….with happiness and sorrow. We had both a wedding and a funeral to attend this weekend.
There were happy and sad moments at each gathering.
Today we’re off to visit Greg’s family and laugh and play and enjoy each other’s company. Hope you are all finding moments of happiness in your weekend.
Was out enjoying the backyard yesterday morning after doing some yard work, when I saw a couple of macro opportunities.
I love the bees. Sometimes they fall in or somehow get in the water and can’t get out. At first, I would put a stick or something in there to help them out. Now, I just put my finger in and lift them out. They never sting the finger that helps them. :)
The sprinkler was going on the flower bed and I was inspired by Bellingham Daily Photo to get some drip pictures.
Notice the little ball of water caught on the spider web at the top of this photo.
The world up close is such a wonderful place.
This morning Tracy braved the almost pre-dawn hours to come with me to the newly discovered South Lake at Estrella Mountain Ranch. We had a wonderful walk around the lake and talked to some very nice and interesting people. Unfortunately, we missed an hysterical photo opportunity when a nice “elderly” gentleman did an impromptu pose for Tracy.
The sun had just cleared the mountains when we got there.
I’m such a work in progress. Tracy has so much knowledge and she very patiently answers all my questions about settings, shutter speed, aperture….you know photography stuff.
One day she may just tell me to go fly the coop! Nah – she’s too nice. We were both very surprised to see this pelican at the lake. He was such a great subject – until the sprinklers came on.
I hope you all have someone in your life you can share something you love with. I just get lost in my own little world when we’re out taking pictures.
with my 15 year old daughter.
What lesson am I teaching her, you might ask. How about - “A fool and her money are soon parted.” ?
The bet was whether there are one or two lakes at Estrella Mountain Ranch. Well…there are two. Guess how many I thought there were? But I think I still may have come out the winner, since finding the answer involved me visiting the South Lake. They have a wonderful beach with picnic tables, play ground equipment, basket ball courts and heaven knows what else.
I kept looking for just the right duck for a picture I wanted to take. I already had the caption thought up and everything. But none of the ducks cooperated….I wanted to find a “peeking" duck!!
Hope you all have a great day!
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