April showers ...

It's been a while since I've written but it's been a busy time.  That's my excuse!  Got the flower beds cleaned and "preened".  Last week I got the yard décor (which I'm discarding more and more of each year) out of the garden shed and dispersed amongst the flower beds and the potting table.  Still have the big whirly-gig to put out yet.  That job will need some assistance from W.  He's mowed already of course; he got a new zero-turn mower.  I think it's the first new mower he's ever had; everything else has been purchased used.  He really likes his new mower!  (I don't think I'll learn how to drive this one ... LOL!)

As I was working that day, I saw this squiggly arrangement on the wall that's next to the basement door!  Yikes!  I hate snakes but this was sort of interesting ... the smaller one had his tail draped around the middle of the larger one.  I just let them alone; they weren't hurting me and obviously I wasn't bothering them.  HOWEVER, early this week W. whacked two smaller snakes which were hanging around on the front deck, way too close to our screened porch!  They don't need to be up there!  (I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't around to kill snakes, set mouse traps, and get spiders ...)

We've had some amazing sunsets here lately.  I'm sharing a couple.  I think there's something about sunsets that attract everyone, don't you?  Doesn't the Bible say something like, the skies proclaim the work of His hands?  I believe it!  But man-made things are awesome, too.  Earlier this week we were in Bloomfield for dinner and as we walked back to our car, we heard the train whistle blow.  I said, 'I'll bet I can get to the trestle before the train does!'  And I did. 

 

Here's a couple pictures I took.  We've been fortunate to see a few trains cross the trestle in the 20 years we've lived here and it never ceases to interest me!  (BTW ... they put out one of those 'little lending libraries' at the trestle overlook parking area and I found a neat old book on crafts!  Two birds ...)  And we met the nicest young couple there with their two little girls.  They came from Linton!  They've lived here all their lives and never saw a train go over the trestle so that was neat, sharing that with them.  Then, sadly, just as the train left the trestle this young couple came whirling in and they were very unhappy to have just missed it; they, too, had never seen a train cross this magnificent trestle!  All in all, it was a good day ...

 

We drove out to Goose Pond last week and saw rafts and rafts of pelicans (pictured below)!  When they fly you can see specks of black at the tips of their wings; beautiful in flight.  Also lots of ducks of several species, and plovers and sandpipers, as well as tons of red-wing black birds!  We saw the eagles nest that's on the Pleasantville Road but didn't see the eagles.  Hadn't been through Pleasantville recently and it was interesting to take note of their old high school gym, still standing and in use as a special-occasion rental facility.  It's a quiet little town; no businesses & just a few homes.

Well, I'll close with a photo of my favorite tree near the edge of the woods, taken from the deck just outside our front door.  Wish we had more dogwoods!  I love them.  Take care of yourself and enjoy this lovely spring weather!  And remember, these spring rains are good for the earth and good for us!

 

Home again, home again, jiggety jig ...

     We're back.  Got home late Wednesday afternoon and by late Thursday we were unpacked, laundry caught up, house whipped back into shape, and feeling like "it's over (sniff, sniff)."
     But, I wanted to share some pictures I took on the way home.  Biggest thing for me was finally seeing the Grand Canyon.  That's been on my bucket list for years.  And we finally got there!  Along with some other beautiful spots on the way home.  About the Grand Canyon ... here's the words that describe how I felt while there:________,________, ________, & ________!!! Hey!  There are no words!  It was truly indescribable. 
     The day we were there snow was on the ground and we started out in long pants, winter coats, hats, gloves, etc.  It was mid-morning when we arrived.  By the time we left the park in late afternoon we were in our shirt sleeves.  All the time it was clear and sunny.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day!  And the cold did not keep the people away.  One of my FB friends said, you probably had the place to yourselves from the pictures with snow on the ground.  NOT!  There were plenty of people to go around! 
     But, anyway, here's some pictures from our trip home.  (Usually we take about 4 days/3 nights to go to AZ but this year we were out 8 days/7 nights.  So we experienced more than usual.)

My first view of the Grand Canyon!

Here we are at Mather Point.

That's the Colorado River you can see WAY down there!

     The Grand Canyon was our second day out, then the third day we went through Monument Valley and 4-Corners.  I've always wanted to go to 4-Corners and stand in 4 states at one time.  Let me just say that the 4-Corners Monument was disappointing to me because there were four rows of booths -- one in each state -- of Native American tourist crap there.  It was like putting slot machines in a cathedral.  That's how I felt about it.

Obviously Monument Valley was far more beautiful before the native people started putting shacks and trailers all over the place.  That's what the little dots of color are in this picture.  And they were everywhere, almost ruining the beauty of the place.  You had to get off the highway to see the rock formations free of civilization.  Over and over we'd say to each other "Too many people."

My favorite shot of Monument Valley ... there was virtually no traffic and I stood out on the highway for a long time, getting several shots.

Here's what 4-Corners looks like when you first come into the monument part of it.  The rows of booths along each quadrant are native Americans selling trinkets.

Here's Wendell standing in all 4 states at one time! UT, CO, NM, AZ!

Here's a couple pics I took In Utah ...

Here's a balancing rock just outside Mexican Hat, UT.  It's supposed to be the namesake of the town.

The Twin Rocks Trading Post was built up against the bluffs in ----- Bluff, UT!  Very interesting place to visit.

We saw some other interesting stuff.  Here's a few more pictures ...

Can you see those black spots in the center of this picture?  That's cattle, grazing on this very sharp slope.  That terraced area is overburden of a mine!  I thought I'd seen cattle in some out of the way places out there, but this was crazy.  And it was right in the middle of Miami, AZ!  (see the traffic light?)

A beautiful saguaro cactus in the Roosevelt Lake area of AZ.

The bridge over Lake Roosevelt, taken from the dam overlook.

These two pictures are taken at the NRA Whittington Center near Raton, NM.  What a place!  We just stumbled onto it; didn't plan on going.  But W. truly enjoyed it and we wish we had had more time to spend there -- they have a museum, reference library, meeting room, gift shop, shooting ranges, cabins, you name it.  All this on the old Santa Fe Trail.   

     After we left NM we decided to go east through Kansas instead of Oklahoma!  Big mistake!  Talk about the middle of no where!  Yikes!  Two days of nothingness.  (I hope no one reading this is from KS but I have to tell you, that is one big boring state!)  At least now I can say I've seen a lot of Kansas .....
     Then, of course, we finished the last two days as we usually do.  Stayed overnight in Springfield MO and went to Bass Pro the next day and spent the a.m. there, then took off for Sikeston, where we stayed overnight and had dinner at Lamberts, home of throwed rolls.  It was great.  But all good things must come to an end.

     Now, it's back to reality.  We had a great winter.  Sierra Vista was a great place to visit and there was lots to do.  We kept very busy and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  The question now is: Where to next winter?!