What's New on the River

Guess What Terry Did?

2011-11-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

Ally is getting older and slower and is heading into retirement, the easy life, sleeping in the house on her fluffy bed....so meet her replacement!

Lupin!

Fall Wildlife

2011-11-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, with the fall weather, and the cooler temperatures, the wildlife makes it's way through the yard eating the last of the garden and flowers.. BTW the dog is in the house laying next to the fireplace enjoying her retirement!!

Halloween Treats

2011-10-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

I just made some cake balls for Halloween Treats. Very easy to do and quite pretty. Watch out Kids, you are getting these for Halloween, see ya on Monday.....

Cider Time!!

2011-10-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder: More pictures are on this entry, just click on the date tag to open the entry completely.

Although this year was not a bumper year for apples, we did round up about 120lbs worth to try out the press. Thanks cousin Dean for the press. This press was in the barn back in Iowa at Cousin Deans place. When we went back to Georgia last November we stopped by and picked it up. Terry re-furbished it, fixed up some of the old wood pieces that were broken and spruced it up....so we are pressing the first apples through it!
The bottle of Brandy is ready for the first juices to fill the cup!!

Rush is in charge of the pressing part.

Mom, Jeanne and I (Damon did a turn as well) cut apples and did a bit of quality control.

The boys were in charge of the actually pressing. Damon fed the apples in, Terry pushed them into the hopper, Seth turned the chopper and Rush pressed. Quite a functional operation. We went through the apples in no time flat. We got about 3 gallons of juice total. We were all happy....a beautiful day....fresh cider....and chicken noodle soup and toasted sandwiches. It was a great day.

Plum Harvest

2011-10-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

We have the BEST plum tree, it is a Satsuma, and this year it out did itself with big beautiful plums.

This is a picture of the plum cut open and one plum filled Emily's hand.

Emily picket out some of the biggest most beautiful for a close up.

As you can see, we picked three big boxes of these beauties!!

New blog features

2011-10-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

As you can see the site looks a bit different. In order to fully see the postings each time you must click on the Date icon, it opens the page more completely so that you can view all the pictures.

Tahoe in the Fall

2011-10-03T09:01:00.001-07:00

The Sugar Pine cones are ready. As you can kind of see they are covered with sticky sap, they sparkle in the sunshine.

We hiked to the top of the hill (something that is done each time we visit Thelma and Bobs) it is great exercise cause it is uphill and at 7017 feet above sea level so you really get a cardio workout!!

Surprised with a kiss for the pic.

The sun on the lake is fantastic. The shade from the trees makes for a beautiful silhouette shot.

Bear Sighting

2011-10-03T08:56:00.001-07:00

As we were heading out of the Canyon on the way to Tahoe, we had noticed ALOT of bear "sign" in the road.....so we were kind of looking around just in case....and we came around a corner and a big black bear sow crossed the road right in front of us. She didn't immediately go into the bushes but stopped at the side of the road and looked as if she was going to climb a tree...looking up into the tree and then looking back at us. We couldn't get stopped in time so we went on around the corner turned around and came back....and she was still by the base of the tree and this is why....

We stopped and took a few photos but didn't want to disturb them, Mom bear stayed in the bushes below the tree watching us intently...

UMMMMM Cheese!

2011-09-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

So my first attempt at making mozzarella cheese, and it turned out not too shabby. Actually it was really quite easy and tons of fun. I made two batches in the same day. The low fat version is more firm and rubbery while the full fat version is soft and creamy, would be great for pizza!!

o

Tomato Time

2011-08-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

I just picked 20 lbs of tomatoes (and a couple of green peppers and yellow peppers) from my garden. We had planted no less than 4 varieties from the very large to the grape tomatoes which we planted by the back steps so we can grab a handful each time we walk by!!
Who has ever planted a garden and harvested the fruit without giving glory to God?! His creation is AWESOME and AMAZING.

Camping on the Imnaha

2011-08-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Terry and I were fortunate to be able to take a couple 4 days and go camping with friends on the Imnaha. We swam in the river, picked huckleberries and went 4-wheeling. 4-wheeling is not an off road experience like you may envision, but is actually a "travel the less traveled" dirt roads that lace the mountains in this area of the country. You can get to some very beautiful vistas via 4 wheeler.

We stopped by Lick Creek and Diane found this HUGE mushroom growing out of the cut bank of the creek. Anyone want to venture a guess at what kind it is???

It had a fleshy cap so maybe it was edible???? We didn't pick it cause it was so cool and so big.

Blackberries are on!

2011-08-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

The kids came home for the weekend and we got the boat out, the fishing poles loaded the worms gathered and the berry buckets on board....We caught some fish, swam some and picked blackberries by the bucketful!! yum yum, the taste of summer

Other solar oven designs we saw

2011-07-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

This design uses a reflective shield, an turkey roasting size oven bag, a rack and a dark aluminum pan.

This is a hard metal reflective shield with a pyrex bowl with lid.

This is made by a non profit organization and can be use in summer or winter with different orientations for season.

This on is a windshield reflector an oven rack, a bucket and a stump. She baked a pan of brownies with this one!!

Time to Bake Bread

2011-07-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

I had also gone to a work shop on how to bake with sourdough (unleavened bread). The presenter for this work shop is the wife of the cob oven workshop, and they bake bread in their cob oven all the time. So when they were in John Day about 10 years ago they built a cob oven at a local area home and some of us were invited up to see how the bread baking happens in the cob ovens.

This pic is the door of the cob oven and a loaf of fresh baked whole wheat sourdough bread.

I am using the peel to get the loaves out of the oven.

See how big the inside of this oven is.....wow, we had 5 loaves of bread and a pan of roasted garlic in there all at the same time.

So dinner consisted of fresh from the oven bread, garlic dip and homemade mozzarella cheese, some red wine and beer if you preferred.

This is Hannah the maker of the bread as she slices the still warm loaves. YUMMMMMMY!!!

What I did this weekend

2011-07-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

We don't get alot of weekends off (which means to go away to a different location) but this last weekend we packed the camping stuff and headed to John Day, Oregon to the SOLWest fair. I was very interested in learning how to build a cob oven, and Terry was interested in how to update out solar hot water heater.....Here are some of the pic from the fun weekend.

DAY ONE
We started by making a matrix of clay soils and sand....always mixing with our feet. Until it was like pie dough.

In order to mix it thoroughly we used the tarps to turn it over.

Terry had the camera at another workshop so some of the steps are not going to be in picture here.

This is John and I getting cardboard and newspapers wetted to make a layer on top of our oven to provide a "void" for insulation and inhibit heat transfer.

I am not taking a break and reading the local paper, I am separating sheets to get wet before being applied to the oven.

This is Sue, Lew, John (the other John) and I placing the paper layer on the oven.

This is John (no hat) and Kiko (with hat, also the presenter and expert!!), after the first stage of the cob oven is constructed. We had applied the clay/sand matrix over the sand/rock "void" for the inside of the oven and have applied a layer of newspaper and cardboard. We are discussing what happens next

More mix is required....this time the clay/sand is mixed with wood shavings. This produces an insulation layer to inhibit heat transfer out of the oven so all the heat is kept in the clay "battery" for baking.

This was the most fun of the mixes....it felt really great on the feet. My pedicure didn't hold up well but I did get the exfoliation treatment from the mix!!

Here we are applying the mix we just "stirred up" onto the oven.

This is what the oven looked like after day one. The door is constructed, the void is still full of sand and the cob mix on the outside looks like mud with shredded coconut in it (the wood chips)

Patricia and Sue are enjoying the shade and a break to discuss the artistic touches the oven will have. Patricia is a local artist that had painted many of the murals you will see in and around the John Day area.

DAY TWO

More mixing....now our matrix is clay/sand and straw. This pic shows Terry, Sue and I dancing on the straw trying to incorporate the slurry of clay and sand. This was the hardest mix to do.
Sue is showing you her "cob sandals"!!! Boy did we meet some fun people during this fun weekend.

John, and I along with more eager hands placing the straw cob mix on the oven. This is the final structural component to the oven.

It looked like a beaver dam, or a giant kiwi fruit when we got the straw mix on.

DAY THREE

Time to add the final layer on the oven. This matrix is clay/sand and manure!! Yes, it did smell a little but it wasn't terrible. Your hands smelled a little like a feed lot after you were done, but it washed off. This is Sue applying to the top and Sarah applying to the front. Sarah is the spear-head of this project. She is a community member who has volunteered her time, energy and lots of space in her garage to buckets of mud and clay for this community project.

We are just about covered.

Ta-da, now just awaiting the artist!!!

Patricia arrived and began drawing on designs for us to follow as we "colored" them in with a colored plaster mix (clay/sand/manure).

This is Patricia beginning the coloring process.

And this is a pic of me with the final project completed. Awesome huh!!

The Hummingbirds

2011-07-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

OK, so I finally broke down and put up my hummingbird feeder. I wasn't too worried about them this year, the spring blooms seemed to last forever followed by the late blooming gardens and flowerbeds, but I had been dive-bombed by a couple who were letting me know that they usually can "fill-up" at this locations. I went looking for my feeders from last year and I have "put them away" so I can't find them!! SO...off to the store I went to purchase one. I had to fill the silly thing twice a day...

Pats Graduation Party on the River

2011-07-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

We weren't quite done celebrating Patricks graduation so we had a quick get together on the river at my Moms house.

More Cake!

Then gifts.....

tools of the trade....

Then we made him work!!

After the wedding

2011-07-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

After the wedding:

Georgia is too tired to even play......now that is dog tired.

The confetti is the only evidence of a wedding in the yard.

But we still have oodles of beautiful cut flowers to decorate our empty deck!

Behind the scenes of the beautiful wedding!!

2011-07-22T17:15:00.003-07:00

What you didn't see was all the mess and work!!
We had 3 days of party!! So here are a few candid shots to show it didn't just happen!!

At the wedding, Boone is getting some mic time!!

With Boone singing and Dan on the drums, the Sullivan's are showing us how to get it done!!

Georgia wore herself out dancing in her tutu!

But she was soooooo cute!!

Shelley and Annette trying to get the decorations up on the deck. They both were so good to help and I couldn't have gotten it done without them. Thanks a million!!

Hanging the center piece and the lights for the big dance afterward.

Melissa and Shane overseeing the chair and table placement etc.

My sister Lori from Arkansas got in on some of the work as well... she also was in charge of doing hair before the wedding. It was great to have her home for this fun event.

The girls have on the wedding colors!

I am working the fondant for the cake....is it the last minute yet?

One down and three more to go.
We took a break to make sure the Karaoke machine was working properly for the rehearsal dinner.

The Wedding

2011-07-22T16:24:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce a new member of the family....Dan Sullivan!!
Meet Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan!!

The last day in Georgia

2011-07-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

I can't find any zoo pictures, but we did the zoo on Sunday before our flight left. I guess we figured we could sleep all the way home so we may as well cram as much in as possible!! We saw the pandas which the Atlanta Zoo is known for....but it was a typical zoo, and very hot that day...we melted.
After the long 31/2 days in Georgia and the long plane ride home we were glad to get back.
But no rest for the weary.....we have a wedding in 6 days so "snap" "snap" everyone up and at
'em!!

After a very long day at the Aquarium.

2011-07-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

We were all dragging a bit after the aquarium. We are at a Mongolian type restaurant awaiting our food.....

The Aquarium

2011-07-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

We had to go to the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday, our free day.

The whale sharks are the highlight of the Georgia Aquarium. It was awesome!

This was a good pic of the kids, or at least it will be when I crop it down a bit...

We were in a big tube that went under the water and I am pointing up at a sturgeon.

Seth is getting a ear nibble from a friendly fish.

And I think we touched ALL the stingrays!!

After party

2011-07-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

And then there was cake....

Pat got a gift from his friends in China! and a card from his Chinese Grandma too!!

Pat chats with Leigh's Mom and Dad

And then the after-after party began....those girls from Auburn....you have to watch out!!

magnolias

2011-07-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

The magnolia trees were in bloom and were spectacular!! I found a couple of seed pods and brought them home. I hope I can get one to grow.

Graduation Celebrations

2011-07-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

Patrick poses by the sign.
Pat and Leigh by the big hands in the front of the University.

Family shot after Graduation

Leigh and Pat get a photo with Doc and Pam. Doc and Pam were the faculty at the the #1 China hospital where they (Leigh and Pat) did their 3 month internship.

Graduation Day!!

2011-07-22T15:52:00.001-07:00

We are all set, awaiting the ceremony to take place.

Leigh, representing one of the 8 Life Proficiencies, lights a candle.

Leigh getting a photo after receiving the Diploma

Patrick is holding still so the person behind him can straighten the collar/hood of his Doctor of Chiropractic gown!!

As a tribute to the graduates and so that they will not forget where they all went to school they had a special musical presentation of "Georgia on my Mind"

.....and the award goes to......Patrick!!

2011-07-22T15:42:00.001-07:00

Patrick was chosen to receive the Clinic Excellence Award for achievement in patient care and communication, demonstrations qualities of the Life Eight Care Proficiencies.

The proficiencies mentioned are: Integrity & Citizenship, Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Learning Theory/Critical Thinking, Contemporary Scientific Paradigms, Philosophy of Human Existence & Health Care Policy, Communication and Relationship Theory/Skills, Belief Systems and Performance, and Integrative Change.

Here is Pat with Grandma's (plural)

"Let the wild rumpus begin"

2011-07-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

June 15: Pat flies out to Georgia, to prep for graduation.
June 15: We travel to Boise in prep to board the plane at 7:00am to fly to Georgia for the graduation. Traveling with us are Terry, Me, Emily, Melissa, Grandma Dixie, Grandma Thelma and Seth. Quite the crew
.

June 16: Arrive in GA....get rental car head straight to the Banquet Hall for Awards Banquet.

Luckily they fed us at the Banquet.....Cause we also had "refreshments"!!
I have found that a "refreshment" after a long day is just what the Doctor ordered!!

OMG it's June Already!!

2011-07-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering why the panic. Well June is going to be quite the roller coaster of a month. We are still working on getting all the "stuff" done for the wedding.
This pic shows the invitation/announcement process....and we all got in on it.Oh yeah, you may have noticed that Patrick is home now from his big adventure in China. We all got good stuff, pearl jewelry, jade necklace, nick nacks and a whole bottle of BaiJo to drink.. Gam Bay!!

Easter Sunrise Service on the Deck circa 2011

2011-07-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

Easter was later in the year this year, but it was still pretty chilly that morning. We had a great turn out and a wonderful service. We do enjoy seeing our friends again this time of year.

You can see we had quite a spread as well. No one goes home hungry.

Three Island Crossing Camping Trip

2011-07-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

We were invited by our group of friends from Boise to join their annual Three Island Crossing Camping Trip. They make the journey to Glenns Ferry on the Snake River and camp. The best part (aside from being able to spend time with such great people) is that the campground is next door to a Vineyard/Winery and golf course.....so of course we sampled wine, and golfed. Some of the guys knew how to play golf and the rest of us just drank wine and drove golf carts and tried to find our balls!! The best pictures taken were by Mary Mouser who has an awesome eye for photos. She has a great camera, but even if I used her ultra camera my pictures would still just be ordinary....she is extraordinary. I would invite you at this time to take a look at her website http://fairlycandid.wordpress.com/ to see what I mean. Also on this site is the pictures of the group at Three Island Crossing.

Owls!!

2011-07-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

This year in the park that Jeanne caretakes, was a nest of Great Horned Owls. They had a couple of fledglings and it was very interesting to see them around as they learned how to fly etc.

They are such awesome looking birds. Do you know that they eat skunks! I guess they don't have much of a sense of smell......I wonder if skunk tastes like skunk??

I have used this photo as my screen saver.....

Spring is Coming.....time to plant

2011-07-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Prep time for Melissa and Dan's Wedding in June. We are planting floral baskets to use for decoration. We have 20 pots to plant.......along with Terry and I, I had my sister Jeanne, my mother Dixie and my grandmother Ruth helping to get the work done!! Nothing says spring like playing in the dirt!!

It was awesome that Bonnie's Blossom's in Richland Oregon opened her greenhouse to us. She provided the bedding plants and most of the potting mix and we just provided the elbow grease.. and some elbows were greased more than others. Terry was our primary soil mixing technician!

Patrick in China

2011-07-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Patrick was chosen to do an internship for his Chiropractic Studies in China. He flew out Jan 4th to begin his great adventure. The time he spent in China and all the activities, sites, and adventures that he had will be located on http://www.travelpod.com/members/landpdochina which is their travel log. You should check it out, they did some awesome stuff.This is a picture of Patrick at the Terracotta Army dig in Xian, China.

January in the Sun and Surf !!

2011-07-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

I was afforded the opportunity to travel to the Grand Caymans with the Girls! Thelma, Annette, Carol, Kristen, Kristen and I did a girls trip to the Cayman Islands.

Annette had a time share condo and we swam, snorkeled and had a great time touring the beautiful island.

We even got to go feed the stingrays at Stingray Island.
It was a hoot and just what I needed to get through the cold snowy winter!
Next time I promise to take Terry!

More New Years Pics

2011-02-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve.

2011-02-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

We had another great New Years Bash, but the weather was frigid cold! We didn't get a band, which turned out ok cause it was soooo cold. We had great friends join us and had a great time!!

Christmas Eve

2011-02-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

Terry catching a nap during the festivities.
Seth with his cool calendar he gave to Grandma with all his pictures on it.
I got a holiday print dickie. So I had to put it on right away to show everyone!! Thanks Jeanne

More Hike Pics

2011-02-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

Everyone on the boat heading home
Pat and Geo, with matching attire!!
Another pretty shot of the day.
Roasting weiners and marshmallows.

More Pics from the Christmas Eve day Hike

2011-02-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

Going down the trail
The sun was out, but the breeze was cool.
Pat, bundled up.
Mel and Dan
As the sun was getting low in the sky the boat headed out.

Seeing Triple

2011-02-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

With Georgia, Sassy and Hazel, we had a houseful of Pugs!! Geo likes to play with the grey thing, Sassy likes to boss the others around and Hazel is permanently attached to a pant leg. It was crazy.

Boating Again

2011-02-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

We actually got to put the boat on the water a couple of time this Christmas break. Patrick tries to catch a fish but they weren't biting.
Terry "fixed" up the pontoon boat with an enclosed area with a heater. It made it nice even if it was a bit cool and breezy outside.
Sitting in the sunshine.
It was pretty out there.
Pat and Melissa in the sunshine!!

George Says "What's Up"!!

2011-02-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

Time to Look at Some old photos

2011-02-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

While we had Gran home for Christmas, we decided to get out some old photos of Copperfield, Homestead, Robinette and other surrounding areas.
As Gran explained what she knew and recognized in the pictures, Jeanne took some notes. We learned alot of fun stuff about the area, and I think Gran had a great time remembering as well.
Gran and I kind of have that same intense look!!

Let the Games Begin

2011-02-12T16:03:00.001-08:00

We got out sneakers on and headed to the gym. It was time for some Badmitton! First you have to get your equipment ready.

We had two courts going at once. Some really intense games happened here!!

Christmas Eve

2011-02-12T15:57:00.001-08:00

We had some awesome weather this Christmas season. (most of the snow was after Thanksgiving) So we decided that we would do a Christmas eve day hike. We did the McGraw Creek trail, put the boat in with firewood and snacks and headed out.One good thing about a hike is that is sure wears out the dogs. Dog pile in the back of Em's car.

A Winter Visitor

2010-12-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

You just never know who will drop by for a spot of lunch. The deer LOVE the arborvitae shrubs, they must taste like candy cause every chance they get they nibble around the edges. This morning I had this little buck in the yard. We had quite the dumping of snow here, close to 8 inches on the ground.

Turkeys in the yard

2010-11-30T07:21:00.000-08:00

I just got off the treadmill, too slick to walk outside lately :-(
And when I looked out the window I had a yard full of turkeys!.
The tom turkeys were all fluffed out like the typical picture of turkeys you see on all the Thanksgiving decorations. But in real life when they get all fluffed out they shimmy and shake and gobble alot trying to impress all the hen turkeys. It is cool to watch, so a ran to get my camera and when I got it set up they had decided to take a break and peck around for food instead. Fickle turkeys

Stuff on my blog page

2010-11-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

If you all have checked in from time to time you have seen some new stuff added to the page as features.
I have a lunar moon phase chart, a NASA picture of the day, and a National Geographic picture of the day.
If you take some time to look, there are hotlink areas you can click to learn more about the photos shown. It is kind of interesting. Sometimes I don't know what the NASA picture is (can't guess it anyway) so I click the link and learn something new!
The picture it shows currently looks the the landscape of the moon, but click it and find out what it really is!!
And for all you readers, I have updated my reading list. What have you read lately? Check out some of the books that I have currently read if you are not sure what to read next, or maybe you are a murder mystery reader and just don't know what else you would like.....try a few different genre's just for fun!

Also at the bottom of my page is a jigsaw puzzle for you to put together. It is fun and there is a link there as well to the jigsaw of the day.

So when you come to check out what I have been doing, take sometime and browse around the site to see what may be new.

More Pretty Ice Pictures

2010-11-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

I do love the sunshine on the ice. You can even see the stones on the creek bottom.

Another picture of the ice on Hunsacker Creek.

Nature creates a perfect circle of ice

2010-11-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

We went for a brisk walk this morning in the brisk fall weather, and on Hunsacker Creek the water action on the freezing surface made a ice disk...cool huh?! I got my video camera out to share this wonder of nature. Ice is sooooo cool!! (I guess you can tell that I've lived in Alaska for too many years to be so excited about ice!!)
So all you math fanatics.....why the perfect circle? I know....do you????

Napping Practice....Check!!

2010-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Because Georgia is new...she really didn't know how nap time was to be done properly. So when Emily came home for Thanksgiving Break they did some practice sessions until it was well learned. This gives meaning to Three Dog Night. It has been cold here, between 15 and 20 degrees overnight. So they couldn't have learned at a more opportune time!

Pug-O-War!!

2010-11-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

The beautiful fall weather

2010-11-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

In October, the week of the 22nd to be exact. We had the most awesome weather on the river. Lori (the sister in Arkansas) usually comes home in October so we decided that it would be great to go salmon fishing down below Hells Canyon Dam. The fish were up and so why not.
This next pic shows Lisa and I out on the point trying our luck. Fishing was great, catching was impossible!!

The weather was great as you can tell from the sunshine pics, and the wildlife viewing was great as well. If you look closely by the waters edge (thankfully it was on the other side of the river) you can see a bear. He had come down the draw on the opposite side of the river and he did a bit of fishing as well.

Our fishing spot is about a mile or so hike down river on the Oregon side at Stud Creek. The trail to take to get there is a beautiful hike. Jeanne is posing, (mom is taking the pic, and Lori had gone by already) Lisa is next on the trail and I am bringing up the rear.

Jeanne ended up catching the only fish of the day, a bass. But at least she caught something!!
I caught a few Vit D's from the sun, and had a wonderful day anyway!!

Equal time for Hazel

2010-11-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hazel got to stay with my mom while we were on the road trip. She had a good time but was excited to see us home. She is also posing pretty in the fall leaves.

Welcome to Oregon Georgia

2010-11-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

We brought Pats dog home. And so far she has had a pretty good time learning how to be a country dog. She likes to be outside with whoever is doing chores etc. Here is a pic of George in the pile of maple leaves.

We rakes walnut leaves and then put down some grass feed. She is partial to Terry (now that Pat isn't here) so she follows him around and "helps".

Geo and Hazel are beginning to be buddies. Geo still doesn't know how to 'nap' yet, we are waiting for Emily to get home so she can get some good practice in :D

Hoover Dam and the completed bridge

2010-11-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

This is a bronze statue dedicated to the workers who build Hoover Dam. It is an awesome piece of artwork. Very detailed and very lifelike.

The sign shop must have a sense of humor.

The view of the bridge from the top of the dam

The view of the dam from the top of the bridge.

One of my favorite Canyon Pics

2010-11-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

Side Trips on the way to Georgia

2010-11-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

We made a side trip to the Grand Canyon. I have never been before and it was spectacular. It was a beautiful clear sunny day. And you can see we were in our shirtsleeves.

At the Watch Tower build in 1933

We got another tourist to take our picture. Isn't the scenery beautiful!

Almost on the edge.

The colors of the canyon walls are so varied, from purple to red and everything in between.

To Georgia and Back

2010-11-19T14:43:00.000-08:00

We headed down to Georgia on Oct 28 from Boise. Our first stop was in Las Vegas to visit some dear friends, Gloria and Gilbert Mata. Gilbert stood up for us at our Justice of the Peace ceremony in Carson City Nevada many many moons ago! Gilbert, Gloria and Terry go way back to when Terry was stationed in Germany in the Air Force. It was great to visit with them. They have a new camper and I am hoping that they will pull it up north to come visit us!!

Several stops along the way, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and the Pat Tillman bridge, Flagstaff AZ, Shamrock TX, Tupelo MS and Marietta GA.
We loaded all of Pat's stuff, books, bike, dog and headed for home. Pat isn't done on campus until the middle of December, and he will be driving home and doesn't have rooms for stuff, so that's the reason for the trip. We did enjoy getting to visit and tour the campus at Life University.

Pat and Leigh share the apartment. They have both just been notified that they have been chosen to go to China in January for part of their internship work.

On the way home we stopped in Arkansas to visit Lori and Dennis. We had not seen the house that Dennis and Lori built. When you get off the interstate highways you can see some awesome scenery. Dennis took the day off and we hiked through his childhood stomping grounds and he showed us some of the prettiest places.

This is Lori and Dennis' home. It is beautiful as well as a work of art and heart! Dennis used timber logged from his families property and finished all the wood beams by hand. Inside it is gorgeous!!

We made it to Iowa. We spent a day and a half in Des Moines visiting Terry's sister Carol and her husband Ken. Carol and I went to a Holiday Bazaar that was huge! Bought a couple of cool items and had a great day. I actually got to see my first bright red Cardinal at Carols house. Ken had just put up the bird feeder and it didn't take them long to find it. Wow, are they pretty birds.
This picture is taken at Terry's cousin Deans farm place in Klemme Iowa. Dean had restored and painted up this old tractor and I took it for a spin around the machine shed.

In Des Moines, we visited Terry's Aunt Harriet and also Terry's cousins daughter who just had a baby. Sara is the proud mom of Cooper!! I got to hold the baby which was very special.

This is a picture of Lori and Dennis in Arkansas in front of their fire place.

More Arkansas pictures of the cool land formations carved out by the waterways.

This is a pretty purple berry that was growing in the underbrush in Arkansas. I will have to look up the name of it cause I have never seen these before.

In Iowa we had a fish fry. Byron and Millie and Dean and Debbie brought the fish and the fryer and we set up in Aunt Vivian's garage and visited with relatives and friends that just happened to be passing by.

This is Dean and Debbie and Gracie at their home in Klemme.

Card night at Vivian's house. Marian and Al and Kim and Dave and Vivian play cards on Sunday evenings. So we were in time to join them. We are playing Chicken foot dominos.

Apple Pressing Time Again!!

2010-10-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Another great apple year. We got apples from all over, even as far away as Hereford, OR.
We squeezed approximately 18 gallons on Saturday. We filled two carboys and a 6 gallon bucket, and we factored in what people drank as the day progressed. Not a bad yield.
Dan and Melissa taking a break from the squeezing.
Terry, Shannen, Cora and Seth working the press.
The girls, Cora and Leah were able to get some time to bob for apples.
Leah, proudly displays her apple!!
On "the line" is Jim, Diane, Rush, Eleanor,Kathy, Eric and Julie.
Shannen taking the girls for a ride. They rode the 4-wheeler back and forth to the compost pile as they emptied the squeezings.
Cody and Dan cleaning the hopper getting ready to squeeze another batch.
Leah is holding a frog we found.
Cora is helping Dad pick apples.
Leah is enjoying a cider break.
Shannen pressing the apples.
Leah filling her cup again with fresh cider.
More bobbing for apples.
Seth, Cutter and Hayden do their turn at the tub bobbing for apples. Alot of sputtering goin on.
We celebrated October birthdays, Jeanne, Lisa, Seth, Mark and Dan
Julie getting ready to light candles and cut cakes. Dan's Grandma Eleanor is looking on.
At the cake/food table
Cody and Miara and Shannen running the squeezing operation.
The "boys", Shannen, Dan, Brian and Rush.

Aren't the apples beautiful!
Apple picking

Dan's Dad Boone is helping to wash the apples before they go on the line to be trimmed and any "protein" removed.
Eleanor, Bob, Eric, Jim, Diane, Rush working the line.
We had alot of apples to process.
This is what it looked like most of the day on Saturday. People milling about, working, eating, drinking and visiting. It was an awesome day with awesome people, and awesome weather, and awesome fellowship!!

GO BEAVS!!

2010-09-25T13:46:00.001-07:00

Beavers OSU Graphics & Oregon State Beavers Pictures

Today is a big game day. OSU against BSU Beavs vs Broncos
Who are you going to cheer for?

It is the beginning of Harvest Season

2010-09-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

We have a Hazelnut (Filbert) Tree in our yard, and this year it has really gone overboard with the nuts!! I go out each day and pick up a double handful of nuts off the ground. I have to do this each day because the dogs like hazelnuts as much as we do.

I also picked all the pears from our pair of pear trees :)
They were so big and beautiful this year. They are Bartlett (Terry's favorite kind).

Terry likes to eat them fresh and also dried. So here he is setting up his assembly line to core, slice and put on the dryer racks. We filled four driers full of pears!! It was early in the morning (keeps the bees down when done when it is still cooler outside) and the sun wasn't on the deck yet.

Labor Day Activities

2010-09-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

We didn't have our usual Labor Day this year. We were invited to a dear friends sons wedding in Boise, so Saturday morning we jumped in the truck and went to Boise. We had a house full at home with Melissa's friends (that is our usual Labor Day, boating on the river with the kids) but they fended for themselves : ) We attended the wedding, it was beautiful and tons of fun with dancing and great food as well. But we were also able to take in the Balloon festival at Ann Morrison park Saturday night. The picture below shows the 'lighting up' of the balloons as they
all turned their flame machines on together.

It was really cool to see. The balloons didn't launch because there was a high wind advisory forecast in about an hour, darn, but they had been in the air over Boise on Friday, Saturday morning and maybe (if the wind quit)on Sunday morning as well.

There was quite a crowd at the park, but we had an awesome spot near the balloons, because Shannen had gotten their earlier and staked out some ground. The lady in the blue with her back turned away with the little blond boy are some friends of Shannen's. Terry made friends with all the little kids by bringing his popcorn. It's one of the things he doesn't leave home without, spectacles, testicles, wallet and popcorn!!

We headed home on Sunday morning.
It was kinda cold weather on Sunday, so we just played games on the deck with the fireplace going and had lasagna and roasted garlic and visited with the crew. It was great to have them come visit for their Labor Day vacation. They are all really great young adults. Boy, did that make me sound like a old fart or what : \

Donner Summit park

2010-08-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

At Truckee is the monument to the Donner party. It is quite an attractive exhibit.

The snow the year the Donner party got stranded was twenty-two feet deep. As deep as the top of the stone monument pictured.

The bear incident

2010-08-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

We were driving down the road from Truckee on our way home from Tahoe, just sightseeing getting settled in for the long trip home when Terry says...."Hey, I just saw a bear". We were right along I80 so I thought he had seen a rock shaped like a bear, but he stopped and backed up and sure enough it was a bear, right at the edge of the road. Melissa got her camera out and was taking some awesome shots.

Then he picked something up and started to carry it off. It was so cool
He stood on his hind legs to pick the carcass up to carry it. It was a dead buck deer with horns. As we watched with the windows down you could hear him crunching the bones as he tore off bits to eat. Some moron tourist got out of her car and stood between our truck and the bear to take pictures. I commented out the window that if I were her I wouldn't get much closer, cause the bear may try to protect his dinner. What an idiot....this isn't disneyland.

The cruise

2010-08-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

Dinner was awesome, dessert was divine....

After dinner (they had to seat the other people for dinner) we went to the upper deck for music and dancing. They had an awesome two man band. It was fun.

Cruise pics

2010-08-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Dan brave the out of doors on the boat to get a picture.

It was sooooo crowded cause the other dinner cruise boat couldn't do rough weather so we just crammed everyone on this boat.

It was so crowded that you couldn't even get up from the table and was a little crazy....we were all a little crazy.

The Boat Ride/Dinner

2010-08-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

As part of the birthday celebration Thelma invited the family and friends attending for a dinner cruise on the Lake. The weather was iffy to say the least.

Here is the boat...look at those clouds! It was a three hour cruise, a three hour cruise........(gilligans island theme for those who don't recognize the words :0 )

I think Russ got in trouble...he always gets caught.

But it should have been Terry....this is what was under the table and those are Terrys legs....he brought the bar with him.
That is why he is smiling!

Trip to Tahoe

2010-08-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

We (Terry, Julie, Melissa, Dan) just returned from a whirlwind trip to Tahoe. Terry's Mom Thelma had her 75th birthday celebration (I am awaiting pictures from the fam to post them)and we were fortunate enough to be able to go down for the festivities.
Tahoe is an extremely beautiful place, the trees, the view of the lake, the crystal clear water etc.

And Dan is super happy to be here too!

After the mountain trip

2010-08-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

After getting off the hill huckleberry picking, our fingers are purple, our clothes are dusty and we had sticks and twigs in our hair so we head down to the river for a cooling swim and cleaning off, and some fishing. It is wonderful to be able to be high in the mountains in the morning and down on the river in the same afternoon enjoying the peace and quiet of the water. We are blessed.

From the top

2010-08-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

In order to get to the huckleberry picking grounds we have to get up on top.....and I do mean on the top!! You can see our house from here if you have a good pair of binoculars.

It's a pretty steep road and you can look straight down off the side to see the river and below is Hells Canyon RV park.

Dan leans out the window for a good look over the side.

Honey

2010-08-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

A local area beekeeper set his hives down by my moms house for this season. He has since collected them and has brought back honey as "payment". This is primarily blackberry flower honey with a bit of the honey locust flower as well. It is so lightly colored and super good.

Our new "Secret Spot"

2010-08-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

We found a great huckleberry spot but its a secret (Jim and Diane, it is the same place that we got the morels) The huckleberries were fantastic here as you can see.

They were so good we could even pick from the truck as we drove by.

Look at the size of some of these huckleberries!!

Next stop....Huckleberries!

2010-08-31T09:15:00.001-07:00

Hazel gets to ride in the back of the truck for awhile when we got up to the top of the hill to pick huckleberries. Shes a mountain dog too!

Unfortunately she also likes to eat huckleberries.

Blackberries!

2010-08-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

The kids had alot of things they needed to get done this weekend. First fishing (of course) then they had to pick Blackberries for Dan's Grandmother. Look at the size of those berries! When 5 Blackberries make a handful, those are big berries.

The Float tube

2010-08-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Terry has had this float tube forever and we just haven't used it much. So we get it out, figure out how to pump it up and everyone gives it a spin. When the water temp gets around 74 degrees and it is around 100 degrees out side it feels really good to cool off and float around. We did some fishing from the tube as well.

Heading out to our favorite spot

2010-08-31T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hazel knows where we are going. She keeps watch at the bow of the boat.

Down on the river bank the immature Bald Eagles gather to rest and to try to fish. This time of year they make lots of noise as they call to their parents to come feed them.....their parents ignore them most of the time....trying to get them to fend for themselves. Teen-agers!! ;}

Here is the mom eagle heading for the trees.

Gettin' worms

2010-08-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why Dan always gets picked to get worms, but here he is again!

Maybe it is because he is SOOOO good at it and he only gets the very best ones!!

From the top

2010-08-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

A great old tree snag.

From this vantage point on top you can see the Deep Creek drainage and over to Horse Mountain Lookout and Sheep Rock area.

At Black Lake

2010-08-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

We made it to Black Lake and had lunch, took pictures and waded in the lake.

The road to Black Lake

2010-08-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

We rode to the top of the hill where the lookout tower is. It is unmanned but the view is breathtaking. Terry and Jim drove to the top while Diane and I waited just below the summit. The road was pretty rough.

Jim and Diane coming up the road.

This is the view looking back from the lookout summit. You can see how high we are.

Jim and Terry looking over the edge from the lookout.

We're goin' campin'

2010-08-15T20:21:00.001-07:00

We drove up to Huckleberry campground to go camping with Jim and Diane. Em came with us (her first time driving her car up the Kleinschmit Grade). We picked a few huckleberries Saturday afternoon and had dinner. Jim cooked up some awesome Flat Iron Steaks. Everything tastes better when eaten by a campfire!

These pics are from Sunday morning. We made omelets in baggies for breakfast. Em and I are assembling our now.

Hazel got to go with us camping.

Sunday morning was a bit chilly. So Terry got a fire going and we huddled while we drank our coffee.

Black Lake Trip

2010-08-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Jim, Diane, Terry and I went to Black Lake this Sunday on the 4-wheelers. It was a great trip! The scenery from up in the Seven Devil Mountains is spectacular! Black Lake is definitely a jewel.

Home Again

2010-07-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

After our weekend on the road it was good to be back home again. We were greeted with an awesome "sunset" of sorts. A storm was moving through and as the sun went down it colored the bottoms of the thunderheads a brilliant orange.

On the way to Hiawatha

2010-07-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

We took the St. Joe River Scenic Byway to Avery and then North to the Route of Hiawatha. We had to travel through 3 tunnels to get to our camping spot.

I took this from outside the truck window and I accidentally got the antenna in the shot as well.

Here we are ready to go through the tunnel.

We are set up at our overnight camp spot. We were right on the banks of the St. Joe and the little trout were jumping in the water. We sat on the river bank with our cocktails and watched the river flow by.

Route of Hiawatha

2010-07-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here we are on one of the first trellis' that you cross on the route. We started about 8:30 in the morning at the bottom of the route and rode uphill (only about a 2% grade, which wasn't tough at all). We didn't see anyone for about 2 hours!!

When we got towards the top of the route there was a waterfall that was very cool and refreshing. It was a main stop for people coming down from the beginning of the route, cause they needed to regroup after the long tunnel.

It took us 3 1/2 hours to bike from the bottom to the top. We stopped and read each info sign and took pictures. At the top we had lunch and then down we came. The return trip to the bottom took a little less than 2 hours.

This is the first tunnel you have to go through if you start at the top of the route. As you can see it is a long one!! Very dark, very cold (about 40 - 45 degrees inside). If you are the least bit claustrophobic this would be a tough one. There are about 10 tunnels on the route and 7 trellis to cross.

All the tunnels are either named and/or numbered as well. Each has an information plaque that tells the length of the tunnel as well. The trellis have the name of the creek or draw it spans and the length and height of the trellis. There are info kiosks along the route that talk of all things railroad and other bits of interesting info. It was a very fun way to spend the day.

2010-07-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

We camped at Lolo Hot Springs on the return from the trip to Route of Hiawatha. It was great to soak the sore saddle in the hot springs. This is the view from our tent area. This is a beautiful campground and one of our favorite overnight spots.

At the border with Idaho and Montana along Hwy 12 they have an Interpretive Center for the Lewis and Clark expedition, which is another of our favorite places to stop. We walked the wetlands trail and took a few pictures.

As we followed Hwy 12 down the Lochsa Canyon we spotted a Moose eating out of one of the boggy areas, so we turned around to get a picture.

The Lochsa River is soooo pretty. The water is clear and in the sunshine was very sparkly, and the big timbers grow right up to the edge of the river.

camping on the Imnaha

2010-07-26T08:53:00.001-07:00

We have only taken the pickup tent out a couple of times, so this was a great time to practice again. We drove the Hess Road to Hidden Campground on the Imnaha River where friends Jim and Diane were camped. We were the only people in the whole campground, and maybe even for miles around. It was beautiful up there.

Jim and Diane with Ally

We all posed on the big rock by the creek. This is the same area that Diane had cleaned off for lying down to star gaze in the evening. If you want to see stars, this is the perfect night time sky to look at.

Balanced on the log...about 6 feet off the ground. A little scary, that is why we are holding on!

My First Attempt at Cake Decorating with Fondant

2010-07-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at cake decorating using fondant. We had a family in church that is expecting and we gave them a baby shower. It isn't a perfect cake but was ok as a first go.
I have to start practicing if I am to make a wedding cake next June. Anyone need a cake??

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

To All of you out there...Happy Independence Day!! Hope your day is sunny and filled with watermelon, sparklers, and good friends!

Cherry Pie Time!!

2010-07-01T12:17:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Pat picked pie (sour) cherries from Grandmas tree. He had picked enough for three pies. One for Dan, One for Pat and One for Shannen. Hopefully they will share with the rest of us!

Making Beer

2010-07-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

When Pat comes home he usually gets another batch of beer brewing. This time he is brewing up some Wizard Wheat & Huckleberry Beer. We used the last of the huckleberries from last year to make it so we hope it is delicious!

This pic shows Pat and Em straining the chunks out of the wort. Sounds icky, but the results will be divine!!

Mushroom Adventure

2010-06-20T06:29:00.001-07:00

For our Saturday Mushroom Adventure, we, Jim and Diane and Terry and I, decided to take the 4 wheelers up the Hess Road to the top to scope out the mushroom hunting. Jim and Diane had found a few up top earlier and so we decided to give it another try. This pic is of Jim and Diane coming up the road. It doesn't LOOK to bad, see the switchbacks....

This is a view of Oxbow from Oregon side on Hess Road.

Jim and Diane coming 'round the corner. A little easier to see the steepness of the road.

My view from the back seat. It is a CLIMB to the top! But a beautiful day to do it.

We found mushrooms of all varieties at first, not many Morels. This is a picture of a cauliflower mushroom, they are edible and this one wouldn't be too bad, but most of the time they come up full of dirt and pine litter and are super hard to clean.

We finally got into some good Morels. We would jump off the 4 wheeler and begin picking. It was great fun. Not bad sized 'shrooms either.

When we got home we divided the 'booty' and got to cleaning them. Notice the difference in the color of some of them. I guess there are white and brown morels.
Here is a little 'Wiki' knowledge for you about the 'shrooms.

Morel

Morchella conica, a black morel, in Poland
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Subdivision:	Pezizomycotina
Class:	Pezizomycetes
Order:	Pezizales
Family:	Morchellaceae
Genus:	Morchella

As a bonus for the trip we were on top and jumped off to pick mushrooms again and we could hear elk chirping in the trees just out of view. We maneuvered around and saw a whole herd of cows with calves that we had disturbed. They chirped and squeaked and began picking up to move, so we watched as they filed out of the wallow area and disappeared into silence and the thickening forest. AWESOME!!! Made our whole trip!! We took a few odd turns, had to turn around when the trails ran out and made it home by around 8:00 that evening. (don't you just love the longer days).

I guess I'm just into Rainbows!!

2010-06-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

Can you blame me? We have had so much rain this spring that I thought my toes were beginning to web!! So whenever the sun shines I run outside to look around. This morning, as I was sitting on the deck doing my bible study lesson I happened to see the Sun Dog. Which is a rainbow too, just not in a traditional sense.

Scientifically speaking: A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion,) is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.^[1] (formed by ice crystals)

Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of the sun, 22° distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun, and in ice halos. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Sundogs are best seen and are most conspicuous when the sun is low. (info taken from Wikipedia)

Not so scientifically speaking: Another confirmation of God's promise!!

All Is Well

2010-06-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Amidst the rain, flooding, mudslides, God demonstrates his promise.

Almost to the bottom of the bridge

2010-06-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Almost to the bottom of the bridge. Last night there were logs and trees stuck on the pilings under the bridge. I don't think a boat could squeeze under now at this level. And speaking of boats......

What is the first thing you would do when the water got high and muddy....
We launched the lagoon hopper and took to the river just like so much flotsam and jetsam and navigated around the floating logs and trees.

As you can see, the rain had subsided, the sun was out and the river was full of stuff.

The Force of Pine Creek

2010-06-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

Pine Creek takes on a monster personality when full of mud and trees and rocks. This is along the road just out of Pine Creek on Highway 86. Pine Creek straightened out its channel, and began eating away at the bank on the road side. As we gingerly edged to the precipice to look over we could see pieces of the bluff calve off into the raging creek below. It was awesome.

No Habla Ingles

2010-06-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

These signs have been up for a long long time, and usually people take no notice of them. But....

when it rains for this many days straight and the water starts to look a little muddy.....I would think it would be prudent to seek higher ground. When this guy gets back.....he will wish he had.