Little Creatures

It was a beautiful day today so I decided to go for a hike. My destination was our favorite park, Wilson Island. I didn't see any wildlife, well not any large wildlife, but what I did see were some little creatures. These are the guys that we only pay attention to when we're swatting at them. So, here they are, the "little creatures".

I found this cikada (not sure on spelling) just as he was finishing sheding. You can see in pictures 2 and 3 that the wings are still curled up. Pretty cool.

Then I stopped by the chute, which is my favorite spot. I caught these guys getting a little sun.

And then I found these guys. I usually take alot of pictures of flowers, but the flowers aren't the focus of these shots.

I'm not even sure what to say about this shot. Bug Love????

Take the time to check out the "little creatures" you find. Have a great weekend :)

Friday lunch at the park

I used to go to the park near my office to eat lunch nearly everyday, but stopped for some unknown reason. Well, today was so beautiful and Kerri and I were having a hard time concentrating at work, plus she just found out that her husband has to have heart surgery again. Anyway, we skipped out for a long lunch. A new Jimmy John's opened near us and today was their grand opening. $1.00 subs were calling our names. We braved the crowd, got our food and headed for the park.

As I said, I haven't been going there to eat lunch for quite awhile, and while I was away they have done alot of work. There was a very small lake, which they have enlarged, and there's a walking trail all the way around it.

We sat and ate our subs, talked about anything but work and enjoyed the view.

It wasn't long before this guy wandered by.

Surprisingly, he wasn't at all bothered by my presence. This last shot was taken using no zoom at all. I kept hoping he would catch a fish while we were watching. But alas, nope.

Anyway, across the lake from where we were sitting were some more residents of the park.

I was amazed by the variety of wildlife that call the park home. I wasn't quick enough to get pictures of the turtles or frogs. There were also some white ducks and a variety of birds. What a great way to spend a beautiful Friday afternoon, or at least part of one. Right before we left we also saw a muskrat swimming across the lake. He was pretty shy too and opted not to have his photo taken.

Mother Nature also provided some lovely flowers to decorate the lake banks.

Well, here's to Mother Nature. Now go out and find your own beautiful spot to enjoy the view. Have a great weekend. :)

Old Photo Wednesday (Thursday) # 2

I think it's a little strange looking at photos of your parents when they were kids. It's not just the clothes, the older cars, etc, it's that you never really think of your parents as kids. I mean, they were, you just don't think about it. Anyway, here are my parents as kids.

This is my mom and her brother, my Uncle Jim, on their first day of school.

This is my dad with his sisters.

This is my dad in his high school baseball uniform.

This is my mom, her friend Phyllis and my Uncle Jim.

So here's to your parents and the "kid" within them. Have a beautiful day. :)

An oasis in Hell

Yep, I said it. And guess what? I really mean it. If you've been reading any of my posts, you know that I've spent alot of time in the dessert lately. I've come to discover that I consider the dessert, or at least most of the dessert, hell. It's hot, it's dry, it's dusty, it's hot, it's scary, some parts are pretty in a hot dry dusty scary kind of way. But anyway, it's mostly hell.

After 3 trips to the dessert I really needed to find that "oasis" and I found it. Santa Fe New Mexico. Jen, Tom, Kent, Linda and I took off for Santa Fe and the temp in Tucumcari was hovering somewhere near 99. By the time we arrived in Santa Fe is was a balmy 68. Heaven on Earth or my Oasis in Hell. I loved every minute of it.

We discovered Canyon Drive, the art district. Every store was a new treasure chest, just waiting for me to open it. Of course every store had prices way beyond my budget, but the looking was s00000000000000 fun. And of course, the picture taking. Well, let's just let a few pictues do the talking, especially since I've run out of things to say.

Tom visiting with one of the artists.


This is my favorite shot of all. Something about this scene just looks so peaceful and calming.

This little guy reminded me so much of Brandon.

But I finally found a spot to shop where I could actually afford to buy something. The street vendors. Loved it!!!!

And while we were shopping there was a street band playing some really cool music. It was the perfect ending to my trip to my "oasis in hell"

I definately want to go back when I can stay longer.

I hope you can find your own oasis. Have a wonderful day and please come and visit again. :)

The Best Things in Life

The best things in my life

1. My hubby. We don't alway see eye to eye, but when it really counts we are a great team.

(Michael and his dad, Milo)

2. My girls, Cindy and Jen. For someone who doesn't really like kids, my 2 girls are the best things that ever happened to me

3. My grandkids. The best part of getting older is Brandon and Lauren. They are definately keeping me young.

4. Family and Friends. What would life be without them? Someone to laugh or cry with.

5. EJ a.k.a. E.J.'s Legacy. Our camper, named for my Aunt Emma, whose bequest in her will allowed us to purchase the camper.

That's not the whole list, but definately the top 5.

Be sure to remember the best things in your life and have a great day!! :)

Family Pets

Having Sugar in the house has started me thinking about all of the pets we've had over the years. There have been a few and, interestingly enough, most of them have been cats. We've had a couple of dogs, one bird and assorted fish, but mostly it's been cats. Sadly, as I've been looking through old pictures, I can't find pictures of all of them but I'll try to post as many as I can.

The first pet arrived on the scene way back in 1975 and was a pound kitty named Sylvester. He was really cute and curious. At Christmas time he tried to climb the Christmas tree and knocked it over. I knew that we were in for trouble. Sylvester had alot of attitude and we loved him alot.

Our next cat was a little yellow kitten named Harry. I don't know where we came up with all our pet names, but we weren't very original. We never knew what happened to Harry. He just came up missing one day.

After Harry we did a brief stint into dog ownership. We were actually adopted by a yellow lab mix that we named Sonny. We didn't get to keep Sonny very long. He discovered that our neighbors down the road had chickens and he decided it would be a good idea to kill them. Sonny ended up going to the pound before the neighbor caught him and did something worse to him.

Our next experience as pet owners came when a VERY skinny cat showed up on our doorstep on Christmas Eve, of all times. Michael, the big softie, let her in for the evening since it was pretty darn cold outside. Tigger became "our cat" and it wasn't long before we discovered that she was going to give us her own special Christmas gift.

4 kittens.

They were born on a March afternoon when everyone was gone to work or to school, right in the middle of my bedroom floor. It took awhile to convince her that our closet would be a better spot for her family than the middle of the floor. We promised the girls that they could each pick a kitten to keep and the rest of the family, mom included, were going to go live with a co-worker of mine on their farm. Having 4 kittens in the house was a blast. Once they were old enough to be away from their mom 2 of the kittens and mom left for their new home and we were left with Patches and Koko. Patches belonged to Jen.

And Koko was Cindy's.

They were best buddies.

There is always tragedy in life and our family had two at the same time. My dad had been ill for about a year with Cancer and on Christmas Eve (seems to be a theme in our family) he was hospitalized. We all knew he probably wouldn't be coming home. One evening while we were all at the hospital, I got a call from a sobbing Cindy. The neighborhood bully had injured Koko and they were taking her to the vet. Long story short, the cat had a broken back and died a couple of days later.

My dad died within the week as well. Life isn't always a happy place.

Cindy, of course, asked a couple of weeks later if she could have another cat. We said yes, but probably not right away. Fate of course stepped in and about a month later Fifi arrived at our house. Fifi was probably the coolest cat we have ever had. She was the sole survivor of her litter, mother included. They, unfortunately, froze to death. Again life isn't always a happy place. Fifi was however a very happy cat. We were pretty sure she had some brain damage from her exposure to the elements, but she was very loving and made Cindy very happy.

A second attempt at being dog owners started one afternoon when Michael called me and said "do you mind if I bring a friend home for supper"? I said of course I didn't and went home and made supper not sure who was coming home with Michael, but figuring whoever it was, they would just have to be happy with Hamburger Helper. (We didn't really have hamburger helper that night, but it is something we had alot back then) So, Michael's car pulls into the drive and I absolutely couldn't believe who, or more specifically what, got out of the car. A puppy. And not just any kind of puppy, no, a St. Bernard puppy. Brandy had arrived in our lives and I have never been sorry she came. We had her for eleven of the best years ever. She was, to put it mildly, the best dog in the world!!!

Somehow, while we already had a cat and a dog, we decided to get another cat and Buster arrived on the scene. We were a pretty happy family, until the unexpected happened. Fifi got pregnant. About the time her kittens were due, we discovered that Buster (who turned out to be a Busterette) was also expecting. We didn't end keeping any of the kittens from either litter, but our vet did keep one of Fifi's kittens. We got to see her for quite a few years, every time we visited the vet.

Sadly, we lost Brandy to cancer after eleven happy years.

As our girls grew up and eventunally moved out the pet population at our house changed again. Patches, of course, went to live with Jen and when Cindy moved in with Jen Fifi went to live with them. Leaving us petless. This situation continued for awhile and Michael and I were pretty happy with the situation. The girls, however, decided we were lonely. That's when Kit Kat came into our lives.

Jen's friend April had Kit Kat (then known as Guilty) and she turned out to be allergic. Anyway, we got a new cat that we hadn't really planned on, but we were ok with it. After awhile, Jen and Cindy decided they couldn't handle a house with 2 cats, especially since Jen was very allergic. So, Fifi came back to live with Grandpa and Grandma.

Fifi and Patches were good buddies.

Life isn't always a happy place, as our pet story seems to tell us. In 2000 my Aunt Emma passed away. She had never married and was a huge part of our lives. There is not one event in my life, big or small, that my Aunt Emma wasn't there. Her passing left a huge hole in our lives and an even larger one in her cat Grey's life. Michael had promised her years ago that she shouldn't worry about Grey. We would take care of her if anything ever happened to Emma. So, Grey came to live with us.

Fifi died of a heart attack one summer day while we were camping and Grey had a stroke and had to be "put down" a couple of years later, leaving us with Kit Kat. Kit Kat just passed away this spring leaving us petless once again and I said, no more pets for me.

That brings us to August 2009 and the arrival of Sugar. I really mean it this time. When she's gone, NO MORE PETS!!!!

Oh yes and somewhere in there we had 2 goldfish, Moby and Dick, and one yellow Canary, whose name sadly I can't remember.

Give your pet a hug and have a good day!!!! :)