Yes...Time Really Does Fly

   I have been meaning to blog for some time now.  As evidenced by pictures in the Fall before I raked and pictures of Christmas lights before and after snow. Our two beautiful daughters and their husbands came here for Christmas...and now it's 2012...time flies and it flies fast. So before I have pictures of the Easter Bunny, here is my pictorial blog.





                                                                        

First on the to-do list is buy popcorn...and buy it in bulk! I like to make it and I like to eat it. And Cindy puts grated cheese on it and calls it supper. Its not just a snack anymore.

We are blessed with many trees in our yard and then the blessings fall down upon us. Who can complain about that?

Then I share the blessings with our trash man. This is only 8 bags of 32 I raked-up.

Next to buying popcorn I like to get wood. OK...buy wood and have it delivered. In NE you can't just go out and chop down a tree. Some of my favorite memories as a kid are going out and getting wood with Dad in our old blue pickup and having a neighborhood party to carry the wood around back to the wood shed. Then Mom would serve root beer floats out the kitchen window to all.

I like to keep the bird bath clean. Look how it shines...at lest the birds believe that.

Party mix, need I say more?                                                                                         

OK I don't really feed the squirrels

Moving right along lights go up.




It snows.

It's pretty.

Now let the party begin. We really enjoyed both families coming home.

It was bowl week and I don't think Tyler missed a game. And Michael was happy to share the experience as long as he had control of the remote. It didn't take Tyler long to remove the batteries.

It looks like Michael is in a time out. But really he liked playing with the door stop (right behind his butt). I think he just didn't want to get caught playing with that on camera.

                                      Here Michael is making sure the dishwasher is set correctly.

               Did we tell you Dene' and Tyler have a dog? She is the most calm, well-behaved dog I have ever seen. Frances and Michael got along very well.

                                                                   New Fire Truck!

                                                             Not as fun as ribbon though.

Alex and Ashley got Michael a deck of cards. What a riot. I didn't know so many card games existed. Here is a game called...I will take what is in your hand and put it in the oat meal bucket.

It kept grandpa entertained.

                                                                           Solitaire

                                                                 Meal time is always fun.

                                                        I can walk...with a little help.

                                                                 Gotta love the hat.

                                                                        And tongue.

We had a good time.

Thanks for your listening.

Is This Heaven?

No... it's Iowa. More specifically it's Dubuque. Cindy and I went to Dubuque over Labor Day to visit Dene' and Tyler in their newest adventure. What a fun town. A college town sitting on the Mississippi river with lots to do and lots to see.



We had our own personal taxi



The town of Dubuque sits on the Mississippi river but is built upon the bluffs. Some of the roads are steeper than in Lead and have amazing views of the town and the river.







The view



The photographer

  
A look back towards town from a park.






On the river. 



 Dene' and Tyler's Apartment is one block from the river/harbor. They have a great view from their roof top terrace.

 

D and T's place



It was a little chilly that weekend but was a nice change from the 90 degree heat of Lincoln.



Breakfast on the terrace.



Tyler is working for Focus doing Varsity Catholic.

The school sits on top of a bluff over looking the river. A very beautiful campus.



And the visit would not have been complete without a soccer  match.



The crowd

We went to a river museum just across the street from Dene' and T's apartment. We learned everything there is to learn about the Mississippi River and the steam boats that navigate it.





Photo op on the boat.





The newest river boat captain!



Such a good looking bunch.



Tyler is looking at the one that got away.



So next time you're planning your vacation or driving through Dubuque...stop and spend sometime with these two people...you"ll be glad you did.





Dubuque...is for lovers.



Fly Little Bird

   The story you are about to hear is true...well mostly true...OK...some parts are true. Some of the photos are completely natural (flowers) some are reenactments of what really happened...and others...are just plain staged.

I went out to mow my lawn the other day and as I was picking up sticks I found a baby Robin in the grass.                                                                                      

 



Of coarse this isn't the baby Robin I saw...this is Roger who agreed to be a stand in for this blog. But I did see a little robin in the grass. I put on a pair of gloves and picked the little guy up and moved him\her to the side of the yard. The little birds' mom was not pleased that I was picking up her little one. I didn't catch a lot of what she said but it was either "I told you not to stand so close to the side of the nest" or "You think you can fly but you really can't" (kind of a movie line...which really impressed me...I didn't know birds could play that game).

It got me to thinking of how we send off our kids. Either with a shove out of the nest or try and hold on to them as long as we can. (You didn't know that mowing the lawn was such a philosophical experience did you?) I think I left the nest on my own when I joined the Air Force. I left for boot camp in TX without a change of clothes...just a tooth brush. Where as Cindy said she was kinda pushed out of the nest with "fly little bird." When she graduated High School her Mom moved to NM as she started off to college. But that's the nature of things (get it?). So how do we balance raising our kids with all the care and love we can to only end up having to let them go...or push them out? I found one answer just outside our kitchen door patio. We put up a couple bird houses last year and both of them have renters. Only this one seems to have an addition put on...either to give junior a head start out the door or he came back to the nest after he was out for awhile. Either way Mom and Dad needed space.



They started to add a nest on the roof



This bush  glows at twilight

 Speaking of nature...we have had a good growing season with alot of rain this year. It's the survival of the fittest in my yard...meaning those plants that take the lest amount of care do the best...that includes weeds that pretend to be flowers . We're letting them grow this year because we didn't get any annuals planted. A lot of the plants that flower seem to spring up over nite and then last only a week or so.







These are awesome for a week.



 



 

Wild flower









 

This is some type of weed but looks great...it got to stay






















 

You guessed it





Busy as a bee?



 

                                                                                 

That got me to thinking (dangerous I know)...how I need to slow down and enjoy nature. And pay a little more attention to what nature has to offer, when it's offering it. We have a jungle growing in our back yard and I'm trying to get a handle on it. I cut a path through it a week ago and found an amazing discovery!







 A giraffe! Do you know how rare these are in Nebraska? I'm talking rare! I thought, "if this little guy could be hiding all this time in my backyard, what else is out there?" I started staking out the old watering hole...and sure enough...a zebra showed up. Not nearly as rare as the giraffe, but pretty cool.









Either he's getting a drink or checking out his reflection





                                                         

Then I found out these two know each other...I caught them playing in the back yard.

Ok...I got a little off track here (can you get off track in a blog?)...but that is my adventures in my back yard. What's going on in your backyard?

                                                                              

                           



                                                             Thanks for haning around!