We have been quite busy this summer and I have not kept up with this blog very much. I also started up on facebook and got involved in getting reacquainted with old friends. I will start to post in here again if I get any indication that anyone looks at this.

Later,

Laura

Oh Oh!!!

Well, Ashley was driving, she had a car accident on September 18th. Now the family is busy trying to repair a 2002 VW Beetle that rear ended a suburban with a trailer hitch. What a mess!! We are certainly thankful for air bags and seat belts, because Ashley was not hurt at all!! Needless to say, the suburban was able to drive away. We have most of our winterizing chores done and now are really beginning to work on the car. As you can see in the pictures, the trailer hitch on the suburban rammed into the section to the right of the motor. Luckily, the motor was not hurt much - there is a small crack in the intake manifold, which we are hoping can be TIG welded. We have started the tear down and determination of what all needs to be replaced. So far we have quite a list - the front body, AC condenser, power steering fluid resevoir, coolant pipe and flange, ignition coil and wiring, headlights, etc. What a project!!

We're Growing Up in this House!!

Remember the infamous "red, white, and blue" bedroom?

A work in progress!!!

Sunday was Ashley's sixteenth birthday!! We had a celebration with some of her friends on Saturday. And the indicators of maturity are happening all over the place. Even as I write, Dick and Ashley are signing up to get her insured to drive, as she passed her driving test this morning. Wanted to send you some pictures of the "new" look for the bedroom. If you note in these pictures, even the hair has changed. There will also be a change on the sports front - Ashley has decided to return to swimming this year. So many changes.

Hay Harvest Over

Looking south from loft ladder

Looking north from loft ladder

Here's what it looks like when we are all done! We have already sold 3 tons of hay and have the entire barn loaded - much more than the horses will need. We only do one cutting in the summer and turn the horses out to pasture after that time and through most of the winter. The hay in the barn is to supplement their pasture feedings, for bad weather times, and during the hay growing season (April - July).

Hay Harvest

Dick checking out the height of this grass!

Laura pitchforking the windrows.

This year's hay harvest yielded about 11 tons of grass hay off of our 7 acre field; the wonders of adding a load of fertilizer!! The harvest was delayed and then interrupted by unusual late June and early July rains. This year has been quite wet. But we got 'er done. We both swath and bale our field and the field of our neighbor (using his tractor to run the baler). Then the neighbor helps with loading both ours and his hay into the respective barns. We did hire two hands to help us get all the hay into the barns (about 24 tons total) this year. Ashley does help with the process and is getting to be pretty good at bucking bales; unfortunately, she took the pictures and we don't have one of her. It was a great year, but alot of work!! Here are some shots of the operation.

Summer Projects

I am really behind on my postings!! Sorry about that, summer just ends up with one thing after another happening, and getting to the computer is fairly low on the priority list. Here are some shots inside the house. Sometimes projects just come through the inspiration of more rain than usual outside, causing us to stare at the walls a little too much.

Yellowstone Critters

The black bear was too far away and the wolves were in hiding!!

work break in Yellowstone National Park

So, after all the excess work with disposing of tree branches, we took a break to the Yellowstone for a day. This first blog is going to show some of the scenery we ran into on the trip; with the next showing some animals we ran across!! In this blog the two mountain scenes are illustrating how snowy it is yet in the mountains - considering that it is the third month of June. Also note how green the hillsides are this year!! All of Wyoming has remained green way into the hot summer months; unlike the usual few weeks in the spring. The rock cliff in one photo is an outcrop above the Yellowstone River that is quite fascinating. And the river shot is of the overflowing Yellowstone River this year - we've had a very wet snow melt this spring.

Home Critters

Wanted to do another post to see if the alignment has straightened out now.  I don't understand what happened with the last post.  My text was just going off in one long line as I wrote it and I had to insert returns to get it to fit the page.  When I finally posted it, it was really in a mess.  (Sorry!) If anyone out there can tell me what happened, I would appreciate it.  I am just going to include a few pictures I have taken around the house with this post.  These photos include the two twin does that we got to watch as fawns last year and one photo of one of the three young bucks that are coming around to visit.  Needless to say, I am starting to plant my yard in shrubs and flowers that deer find unpalatable!!!  The other picture is of a night hawk sitting on the fence.  I love it when the night hawks show up for the summer! Night hawks have a helter skelter flight pattern, and are fascinating to watch.  They have one broad white line on each of their wing tip areas, and somehow remind me of a boomerang that my sister once owned.  Maybe that is why I love to watch their jogging little dance through the sky in the summer's evening.  I have been told they are called bull bats in the South.

The Home Front

Finally finished up the fourth truck load of tree branches

from our disaster of June snow on the 7th.

The process of removing branches was delayed by

continual rains and other chores that required our

attention. Wanted to put in a few pictures of activities

around the house, before showing you some photos

into Yellowstone on Tuesday, June 23rd. We just had to celebrate the last

load of branches from the day before!! The branches set us back enough

from the regular early summer activities that we decided to do a few

short trips, rather than going camping.

Snow in June???

So we made it home from our trip to New Mexico and had a week preparation to take Ashley down to the University of Wyoming Summer High School Institute.  It is a special three week course that was offered to gifted and talented Sophomore students throughout the state of Wyoming.  Ashley was one of five students selected from Cody, Wyoming.  Yes, I am a proud parent; please forgive me!! 

 Anyway, the morning that we had to get Ashley down to Laramie was Sunday, June 7th.  We woke up to 3-4 inches of very wet snow, with snow still falling as we went out to feed the horses before we had to get on the road at 7 a.m.  Our cottonwoods and willows were all leafed out, and the weight of this snow caused branches to snap and come crashing down all around our property.  The sound of it was heart wrenching and it really had the horses stirred up.  I took these few photos of the mess before we had to get on the road.  Since Dick and I have returned from taking Ashley to Laramie that day, we have taken three truckloads of broken branches to the dump, and have at least one more to go.  The trees have enough other leafed out branches to hide the damage, but you can pick out a few naked branches pointing out in a few places.  Just like pinching a house plant, I know the trees will become stronger from this process, but it sure has been devastating to live through!!

Our New Family

Here are a few last pictures of our trip to New Mexico.  They were taken at Anne's house on the night of Avery's graduation party.  They are special pictures because they include Eli and Tomas, the newest members of our family.  This trip gave us more opportunity to get to know both Eli and Tomas, and it was great.

The Walker Family

 Annie, Grandma Ruth, and Katie(Laura) (with Dick, too).

Here is Katie (Laura), with her sister, Annie, and brother, Johnnie.

Del and Renee

Wow!!! sorry that I haven't posted anything lately; we have been very busy getting our summer chores done around here; we have had such rain, that it has been difficult to get everything done and by nightfall we both are exhausted!  I wanted to include some pictures of Laura's side of the family, which we got to visit on the way down to New Mexico and then on the way back.  We got to stay with Grandma Ruth on both trips, but also got to have meals with my sister, Annie.  It was great to have Johnny and Virginia, Rosanne and her kids - Irene and Ian, and Renee and Alex there on our Saturday drive back to Wyoming.

Avery's Graduation

Our Main reason for the trip to New Mexico was to participate in the high school graduation of our granddaughter, Avery. We are so proud of her accomplishments!! 

Prior to the graduation, we got to have our traditional breakfast at the La Fonda French Pastry Shoppe on Wednesday morning and checked out a few shops in Sante Fe.  The ceremony itself was Thursday afternoon, and held in the auditorium of the Santa Fe Art Museum.  It was neat to have the mariachi music at the end of the program - so Santa Fe!!  The best picture I got was of her dad, Ken, being a proud father!!  

Grand kids

I wouldn't be a good grandma if I didn't share these photos of the grandkids!!  Aaron and Eleanor have a very sweet couple of kids, they are good parents!!

New Mexico Trip

We had so much fun in New Mexico this time!!  Our first two days were spent with my son, Aaron, and his little family.  In the pictures you will see Aaron, his wife, Eleanor, and their two little ones - Elliot (6y rs) and Olivia (19 mns).  Of course others in the pictures ar Dick and Ashley.  Our first visit, down at his home in Albuquerque (the first photo); then roaming the streets of Santa Fe; and finally, in the little town of Madrid, for a late lunch.  We had a good visit!!  It was so good to see each of them!!!

State Track Meet

Ashley, again, participated in the Wyoming State Track Meet this year.  It was held May 21,22, and 23 in Casper, Wyoming.  Fortunate for us, she did all her running on the first day and we added the next days to our trip to New Mexico.  Did not place as she did last year, but did run the 3200 meter (2 Mile) in 14:04.96.  A good run considering the battle she has had in shin splints this year.  Her only other race was a 4X8 Girl's Relay.  It is a race where each of four girls runs 800 meters and hands the baton off to the next girl to run 800 meters.  Her team was holding a solid 4th place, which Ashley, as third runner, helped extend their lead by 100 meters.  Unfortunately, their fourth runner lost all of the gained lead and threw her arms out at 2 meters before the finish line, impeding an oncoming runner, and getting her team disqualified.  It was a major bummer for Ashley and the other girls on the team.  She still enjoys her running, and I guess that is the most important thing!!

Last Bus Ride

Well, had to get in these pictures of a memorable event in our family - Ashley took her last school bus trip on May 19, 2009 and these are a few shots of that day.  She has had her learner's permit for some time now and has driven us for the alloted number of hours before she becomes licensed to drive in the state of Wyoming in July.  We will no longer get to wait out at the end of our driveway, visit and goof off as a family, while we wait for that late bus @ 7:15 on cold winter mornings.  It will be a bittersweet memory for each of us.