1/12 of the year gone already.......

and the last time I posted on this blog was last year so I thought I would take some time today and do one.

We cheered Florida State on to victory in the Gator Bowl...won over West Virginia. It was a bittersweet game, to be sure, but we sure were glad that the guys pulled off a win for Bobby's final game. Sure are going to miss that guy!

We haven't seen much snow yet this season...only 104" so far and our average is 264". However the snowiest months are yet to come. We did have some pretty cold temps though. Here is a picture of frosty trees.

Bruce has started to "clean up" some of the stuff he brought home from the Arkansas River last September. This is the gold that he found after putting 12 tablespoons full through his blue bowl.

Not bad, me thinks. If you click on and enlarge the picture, you can see the gold better!

They keep promising snow and we do get it, little by little.

The mountain that is getting snowed on is Raspberry Mountain. I think that when it got to us, it dumped 3" of the white stuff.

The full moon was beautiful this month!

This is one of the pictures of Mount Blanca that Bruce took. The clouds cleared and then he took the one at the top of the blog.

So, now you can see why I haven't posted on the blog...nothing to talk about! We hope this finds you and yours doing well and enjoying a new year.

Sunday, December 27

Well, this is the last time I will be writing in 2009...unless something really "out of this world" happens! This year has flown by for sure.

Todd, Bruce's son, and Cari, Todd's wife, sent us this carousel from Germany a number of years ago and of course we get it out each Christmas. It sure is pretty!

A dear friend of mine died in May and her son asked me if there was anything of hers that I would like. I made this apron for her and thought that I would like it....reminds me of her everytime I wear it.

Bruce got me this gorgeous necklace for Christmas...and Sasha, the purple sweater.

I tried a new recipe for bread yesterday...made with beer. It was quick and easy. Next time I will use a smaller dutch oven and when I take it out of the oven, will brush some olive oil or butter on the top and cover with a damp towel for 10 minutes or so. It was tasty but a bit "crusty"!!!

Enjoying the college football games and hope that the Seminoles can pull off a win for Bobby before he departs. Go 'Noles!!!!!!!!!!

:)+

Christmas Eve morning after getting around 8" of snow

The sun shines bright this morning....fresh snow makes the world outside our windows so clean looking.

We wish you and yours a most blessed and Merry Christmas.

Bruce and Carol :)+

C-c-c-cold!!!!!!!

And I'm not kidding! We did have plans for this week but didn't carry through because it was just too darned cold to be outside....and we had snow too and too cold to get the tractor going to clear it out of the driveway! -1 was the low, I think, and for days the high was around 9!

Nearly full moon on Monday night so I took this pictures off our deck...

and this is what it looked like on Wednesday morning.

All the trees were frosted---there hadn't been any snow at this point.

A frosted aspen tree..............

and this is how it looked after we got the snow on Thursday!

Here's Bozwell all set to go for a walk. He must like his coat because I believe he is smiling!

Sarah, not so much!

And Gypsy, she just takes everything in stride!

And Bruce was the one taking them---not too far though. C-c-c-cold!!

Bruce got our Christmas tree (free!!!) and we finished decorating it a few days ago. It is upstairs in the sleeping loft and sure is a pretty one.

And so that is our week! Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as we enjoyed sharing them with you! :)+

Go Seminoles!

Today is the last regular season game for the Florida State Seminoles and we hope that since we have on our shirts in support, it will give them the boost they need to win the game. They are playing arch rivals Florida Gators at the Gators stadium....aaargh! Well, here's hopin'!

We had a quiet thanksgiving, just the two of us. Our family is all back East and Todd, Bruce's son, and Cari are in Italy! I made a turkey, dressing, cranberry relish, brussel sprouts and yams with pumpkin pie for dessert. It was yummy...and we have so much to be thankful for!

Yesterday Bruce went down the road Thursday afternoon and got our Christmas tree. We get them out of the ditches off our dirt roads and they cost zippo. Love the price!

When we went down to the Post Office a few days ago we had two CD's waiting for us. They are done by Robert Soto, a Lipan Apache and Christian pastor from McAllen, Texas. We have made his acquaintance via Facebook.

This and bagpipes are my favorite types of music!

If you are interested in learning more about Robert or ordering his CD's, go to www.sontree.org.

So that is about all for this week. No more snow yet but some in the forecast. As always, we'll see what happens. The best way to forecast the weather, in our opinion, is to look out the window!

:)+

Sunday, November 22

It is amazing how from one Sunday to another it is so different here. Last Sunday we were getting major snow again. This first picture is looking down our road. This part of the road is not plowed during the wintertime....and we love snowshoeing down it when it gets deep.

Our home from the road.
This is the way we walk each morning (if the snow isn't too deep). That is the ice covered lake.

Bruce went outside Tuesday morning to dig out the path to the propane tank as we were supposed to have a delivery that day.

A few years ago Bruce enclosed the propane tank with a rock wall and it has a lid on top to keep the snow off the tank. By the way, the delivery was changed to Thursday!

It is still very cold here (in the 30's) but the sun is out and it looks warmer!!!! Most of the snow from last Sunday has either melted in or off and it doesn't look like there is anymore in the forecast for awhile so we will take a breather.

Everyone, have a blessed Thanksgiving! :)+

November 14, Saturday

This is been a different week for us as we have gone to MEETINGS! Actually Bruce went to two: one that was for the roads and the second for a newly formed gate committee. He went alone so he had something to tell me. I went to a Red Hat Luncheon (only one out of 9 ladies had a red hat on!); went to Alamosa for lunch and it was really good.

That said, we haven't done a heck of a lot other than work around the house, do computer work and that sort of thing. No cowboy breakfasts, no visitors (other than some deer) and more relaxation than normal!

Snow is coming and that will keep us busy so we definitely enjoy down time.

Looks as though our Florida State Seminoles are going to win their game today against Wake Forest and we say YAAAAAAAAAY! :)+

Will check in next weekend....maybe we will have more news!!! :)+

Saturday, Novembet7/what a change!

Things sure do change fast here in the mountains! Here are a few pictures of how it looks today as compared to last Saturday's blog. Bruce cleared off the picnic/cowboy breakfast area and made breakfast there yesterday, just for the two of us. It was a little chilly eating outside but it is more fun to do it that way!!! And it was delicious, as always. He has that down pat!

I took this picture looking off our deck to the north east. This is Mt. Maestas which is on the north side of La Veta Pass.

And here is Bruce, trying to get some of the hard packed snow off the driveway. The driveway is about 100 yards long and it is extremely treacherous walking!!! We have only been taking the dogs for a walk once a day because the road gets really muddy when the temp goes up. Muddy paws and worse, muddy bellies, are NO fun for anyone!

Due to the road conditions we haven't gone down the mountain but once this week. It is 10 miles to the paved road and it is just too "iffy" to set out! We don't mind though because we agree that "there's no place like home!".

Hope y'all have had a great week. Remember Wednesday and our soldiers, past and present, in your prayers...... :)+

Snowy Saturday/last day of October already!

Tired of snow pictures already?? Sorry, that seems to be all that I have to offer! We got a bunch more snow bringing our total so far to 50"! It does seem early. 12 years ago when we had just moved out to Colorado, our daughter Sasha and fiance Rick got married on October 25 (1997). That day we woke up to 2 feet of snow.........so maybe it isn't early after all. Sure was a short autumn though.

This picture is looking east north east towards LaVeta Pass.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Looking up our mountain from the end of the deck.

No more cowboy breakfasts for awhile.

Our trusty old (1993) Toyota truck.

It had been pretty darned cold too---8 degrees yesterday morning with a strong wind but today the sun is out and maybe there will even be some melting. This snow will not go away though until next May!

I had the neatest thing happen today. Remember my college friend that I got to see when I went to Florida last May/June? Well, I got to Skype with her today! That is just so much fun! We talked and laughed for 20 minutes. Her webcam was on her laptop so I got a bit of a tour of her home....and I saw all that green in Savannah. In fact, as I recall, as I sit here with my long sleeved shirt on and fleece overalls, she had on a sleeveless blouse!!! It sure was fun though.

Okey dokey, I have pot roast in the pressure cooker and it is nearly done so off I go. Hope y'all have had a good week!

:)+

Saturday again!

It continually amazes me how quickly the days fly by....where is this year going??? Here it is fall (at least that's what the calendar says!) already.

Sarah found this nice spot in which to lay---surrounded by aspen leaves and the stone wall. The pole that is in front of her holds up the shelf she is lying under!

(click on pictures to enlarge)

This is the gate that goes down the boardwalk outside the back door. The post on the left where Bruce is standing gets loose so he decided to put an arch over the boardwalk to stabilize it. So far, so good. He had just started staining it when I took this picture.

So on Tuesday Bruce says, "It's supposed to snow tonight so let's take a walk up in the woods"...so we did. Here he is with our 3 best friends surrounded by the golden aspen leaves. So pretty......

and smelled so good!
And that walk was just in time because here is what we woke up to Wednesday morning.....

and it continued on through the day and into the night.

But here is what it looked like on Thursday........

in the woods. We get very little rain in the mountains so we don't complain about snow as it is our major source of moisture.

We were able to walk down the road Thursday as our trusty snow removal person came at 1:30 a.m.---our 3-dog alarm let us know he was doing the job. This is the meadow we walk down to each morning. The trees on the top are all snowy.

And this is looking south towards the Big Lake. That is Harrison Peak in the background.

Bruce went out to do some shoveling!

He got lost somewhere there!!

We didn't get to see all of the Florida State game and wish we had since they pulled off a win. Go Bobby and the team!

Have a great week, y'all and be sure to count your many blessings.

:)+

Saturday again!

Fall is still here---snow is gone and most of the beautiful golden aspen leaves are carpeting the forest floor. Weather is PERFECT though for cowboy breakfast. Here is the excellent cook, Bruce, making another delicious breakfast on our outside wood stove.

And here are the three friends he is making it for. Dave (left) and Frank drove out from Vermont with Rob (right) to do some hunting. Rob owns land here in Forbes Park as well as in the neighboring property, Forbes Wagon Creek.

And here is the Christmas cactus blooming in October! Bruce says that "they" say we are going to have an early winter---could Christmas be coming early too??

As many of you know, we worship on line with communicants at Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood, Florida. Tomorrow we will be doing the Call to Worship from here in Colorado via Skype! We are really excited about this new adventure!

Have a great week, y'all! :)+

Saturday, October 10

This hasn't been an exciting week at all---a week off!!! I attended a luncheon on Monday with a bunch of gals from our area which was lots of fun and a meeting on Friday.

Bruce had a project that he completed---put some new shelves in the basement area that has a dirt floor...where we store stuff like extra food and also the washing machine is there. The shelves allowed him to get everything much more organized and "seeable".

We also got around 3" of snow this week but most of it has melted off. I don't imagine it will all disappear though as we are already having very cold temps. It sure was a short fall!!! The trees have lost a lot of their leaves already.

Our Florida State Football isn't doing well this season but perhaps they can pull off a win tonight!

Y'all have a super good week! :)+

Need Avon?

A friend of mine in Georgia who has been unemployed for some time is starting up as an Avon representative. They sure do have a lot of good products and have diversified over the years. I just placed an order---Christmas is right around the corner!!!

AVON Representative SHANNON BILES serving the Hampton, GA area

Source: www.youravon.com

AVON Representative SHANNON BILES serving the Hampton, GA ar

I am such a geek!

The "add image" button didn't work because the window was open BEHIND the browser window!!! Geez! So here are the pictures!

Abby, me, Vicky, Matt and Bruce (and Bozwell)

(Vicky and Matt were married last December)

standing are Vicky, Sandy and Matt

Jim is hold Abby

My certificate!!!! (what do you do with these things??)

Beautiful aspen trees down behind the Big Lake at the end of our road

Hmmmmmmm, next time MAYBE I will remember to see if the image window is open! :)+

bummer!

Well, folks, I have a whole bunch of neat pictures to post but the "add image" button isn't working!!! I will have to do it later in the week, I guess.

Had some visitors from Texas this week on Monday. We met newly weds Matt and Vicky, Vicky being the daughter of Jim Steifer. Jim and wife Sandy were here as well with their granddaughter, Abigail.

Wednesday I had jury duty and have the certificate to prove it. Alarming that the State didn't have the evidence it needed to convict! Geez! It was a good experience. I nominated myself as foreperson when no one would step forward---I wanted to come home. The trial was in San Luis which is a 50 minute drive from here---most of the other folks lived right there in San Luis.

Thursday I went to lunch with my friend Jane---she is who introduced us to Sandy and Jim---in Ft. Garland where we met them. They headed back to TX on Friday. It sure was good to see them.

So that is what I call "boring" without the pictures---but maybe it will straighten itself out later, or tomorrow, or the next day.............and I will post them then!

Have a great week, y'all! :)+

October is right around the corner.........

and although the calendar says AUTUMN, the temps say HERE IT COMES, READY OR NOT!!! The next two pictures were taken the day before fall was declared!!

This is the meadow that we walk the dogs down to each morning. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see how the trees at the top of the mountain are all covered with snow or frost.

On Wednesday we took a drive up to Bonanza, Colorado to check out a "ghost town". The day was somewhat dreary---we don't have many of those here---but the trees were really pretty.

This is where we stopped so Bruce could do a few "test pans" in Kerber Creek. There were silver mines in the area and no gold in the creek.

But you never know unless ya look!

An abandoned cabin........

and abandoned mining spot.

The Bonanza Cemetery was right nearby so we checked it out. There were a lot of OLD gravestones and some that had no markers at all. Some too had boards that at some time long ago probably had some words on them but they were worn off long ago.

This is of the Sangre De Cristo Range as we drove down the road to get back onto 285.

I looked out our breakfast room window a few days ago to see a mama deer and her two fawns. Again, you will have to enlarge it to see them. I took it through the window so as not to scare them away. As always, I wish I had the camera with me when I first saw them as one of them was right outside the window!

Our old Sony digital camera seems to be having a hard time even though it was just repaired. Here is a pic of Bruce doing a cowboy breakfast for friends yesterday. I think I need a new camera!

The breakfast was in honor of our friends from Florida, Liz and Tom Wilson. They have property here in the Park that they hope to build on as soon as their home in Florida sells.

So that is "the week that was". Bruce has gone over to help another friend who is building a cabin bend some rebar so he can get started on the foundation the next time he comes out from Delaware. Friends from TX will be stopping by soon....and I may have jury duty this week!

Hope your week has been as great as ours (the only disappointing thing being the loss of ball games by both Florida State and Michigan State!). :)+

Sunday

Back home again, having come back on Tuesday. It takes a few days to get back into the swing of things! The Arkansas River is so beautiful, runs swiftly and is as clear as glass. Here is one of the "holes" that Bruce worked when trying to uncover some gold!

(click on pictures to enlarge)

See how clear it is? We love this river!

We woke up to snow on the mountain tops a few times.

This is Turquoise Lake. It was beautiful! All of the campgrounds around it were closed already for the season.

It was getting ready to snow so it wasn't looking very "turquoisy"!!

Another snow covered mountain (taken in the campground).

We also drove up to Cottonwood Lake. Our intention was to see if there were any fish in it but since it had been raining, the lake was high and the fish were happy with what had washed down! Oh well, next time! The aspen were already starting to change color.

Beautiful aspen trees and a gorgeous sky!

More aspen..............
Bozwell relaxing (which he finds hard to do since he is not even 2 1/2).........

and Sarah, relaxing, and remembering that it was one year ago that we rescued her........

and Gypsy, loving camping!

Here is Bruce with our good friend, Ken. We have met them in Buena Vista the last 4 years and enjoy every minute with them. They are from Austin, TX and come up to enjoy our cool weather. Ken uses a dredge to get the gold!

Here is Ken and Jeannie's dog, Pepper. She is quite the photogenic gal and blends right in with the gravel!!!

Jeannie and me. We do miss them........

So here we are at home. I picked what is probably the last of the lettuce and spinach---and we have had a fire in the wood stove a few times. We hope to travel up to Bonanza later in the week to check out a campground up there---a change of scenery.

That is all from this end, y'all. Have a great week! :)+

Sunday again.............

and it has been a busy week for us as we are still camping. September 11 is a bitter sweet day as we commemorate all those who died on that dreadful day..........

but still celebrate Bruce's birthday! Here he is with his new birthday hat checking email!
The emblem on the hat is from the SAC Elite Guard in the Air Force of which he was a member....back in the good old days.

Saturday after we went to the Apple Fest at the Turner Farm here in Buena Vista, my friend Jeannie and I went to a goat farm down the road from where we are camping for a tour. Their website is www.jumpingoodgoats.com. Here are some of the kids.

Jeannie named this one "Checkers"!

Here is Gus getting some of the gals ready for milking. Man, those little things have great suction!

This gal struck quite the pose for the camera!

They have quite the cheese making production. This is the entrance to the aging cave.

After everyone else left, I asked why we hadn't gotten a chance to milk by hand...so Dan took Jeannie and I back to give it a try. It isn't easy but once I got the hang of it, I got about 1/4 cup into the bucket! The gal was getting a little impatient with me!

And here is my blue ribbon! We really enjoyed the tour and left with a few varieties of goat cheese. The business only started in March and are already sending cheeses overseas!!!

We will be heading home on Tuesday but it has been a great camping trip. We do hope to get up to Cottonwood Lake for a little fishing before we head back.

A couple of you have asked about that picture resizing site and here it is--it is really easy to use:

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/PIXresizer/pixresizer.html

So that is all from this end today, y'all. We had a bad rainstorm last night (lots of thunder and lightning) and I bet there is some good snow on the mountain tops when the clouds raise. If so, will post them later.

Have a great week! :)+

a rare Sunday posting!

The Labor Day Bash was a great time. The band that Jeff is in, Derringer, was all set up under a large canopy. Jeff and Margo own the campground and do this each Memorial Day weekend as well as Labor Day weekend. We have been fortunate enough to attend two Labor Day Bash's. They supply the meat (burgers, hot dogs and brats, buns, etc.) and we bring something to share. There was a slight rain break when we all scurried back to our camping units but then we went back for more music!

Here is Derringer's banner..............

and the band. Jeff is on the left with guitar and keyboard---and of course mike.

Jeff...........looking very serious which isn't usually the look he has on his face.

Jeff and his high school biology teacher, Barry Thorpe; he is quite the musician himself. He joined the band with guitar in hand for a few of the songs.

Just some of the folks that there there!

So that is that, folks. If you ever think you will be in the Buena Vista, Colorado area the weekend of Labor Day, be sure to check into spending a few night here. The bash is great fun! www.arkriverrim.com.

Happy Labor Day to all and safe travel! :)+

More of the river

Got these resized with a nifty FREE program I downloaded that a friend told me about! This is a picture of our friends from Texas, Jeannie and Ken Pate. We met them 4 years ago and have enjoyed seeing them for a couple of weeks each summer. Ken dredges meaning that he goes underwater to find that gold. Bruce prefers to stay topside!

The river looks so clean and beautiful!

And here is our camper. It is a Jayco Baja and it is perfect for us. We took the table out to give our long legs (and 3 dogs) more room and it works out A-OK!!!

:)+

Saturday before Labor Day

Here we are in Buena Vista, Colorado camping. Bruce spends most of his morning down at the river, digging holes and then panning out that dirt to find gold---and he does! It is beautiful here. If you click on this picture to enlarge it you can see that the tree on the right is already starting to turn color.

Bruce's birthday is next Friday but he got this chair early. I had it sent here to our friends, Ken and Jeannie, who are here from TX. I wanted him to have it early as this antigravity chair is supposed to be really comfy---and it is! After all of that bending over and shoveling, Bruce deserves something better than that $10 chair he has been sitting in!

Here are some dogs who love camping. Sarah is on the left, Bozwell on the right.

And then there is Miss Gypsy. She prefers the floor---maybe it is cooler there!

I had some more pictures but they are too big...will have to fiddle with them or retake them!

Hope you all have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend! Sure do hate to miss that FSU/Miamki game!! :)+

nearly September

I must admit that it is totally beyond me how Tuesday can be the beginning of September but it is true. This year just seems to have flown by. The trees are starting to turn here already which means that the white stuff will be here soon---but hopefully not too soon!

Saturday evening we were watching the Little League World Series (which we are still watching) and I happened to look out the front window to see this beautiful rainbow---and it wasn't even raining here! So pretty!

Monday another cowboy breakfast! We try to get folks here when it is nice and we can eat outside (like the cowboys did). These are our friends Jane and Gene Fix. They moved here permanently probably 5 years ago now and are really dear people.

Thursday we went to a picnic with some of the other folks out here and had a great time! Bruce is there with the red FSU cap on (go 'Noles!).

And here I am, on the right back with the hat on. Seems as though this white hair of mine is NOT stopping the sun from scorching my scalp...hence, the hat! We are pretty close to the sun up here, ya know???

We are getting ready to head to Buena Vista so Bruce can try to locate the mother lode. We'll let ya know if and when he finds it!

:)+

Saturday, August 22

Got bread on it's first rising and just posted the readings for next week for the online Bible study that I am conducting (the Book of Job) and thought I would get this posted for the week!

We haven't done much exciting but did try to go fishing again. We needed a couple of things at the little store in Fort Garland and wanted to pick up the mail and the reservoir isn't out of the way. Bruce got all of the fishing gear and our chairs into the truck and off we went.

What a surprise when we got to Mountain Home Reservoir. It had gone down a lot! It is used for irrigation and since we haven't had any rain, apparently those needing water are using it. It is still beautiful!

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Bruce drove down as close as he thought safe---as we fished there was a truck stuck that had gotten down into the mucky sand---and off we went. I had taken my rubber boots along, just in case, and sure was glad as we sunk right down into the soft sand that used to be water! In fact, we probably sat where we tossed our lines in last time!

After staying for probably 30 minutes or so of no action, we decided that the fish were probably way out in the reservoir where the cooler water was. As they say "a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work"!

Much to our surprise though, look who is out there? I zoomed in as close as I could and you will have to take my word for it but it is a PELICAN!!! I do wonder where it came from. It was all by itself and seemed to be enjoying the scenery!

No cowboy breakfasts this week, no meetings, nothing much---hmmmmmmm, maybe that is what "retirement" is all about! We have had more elk in the back yard but haven't seen any bears for a number of weeks. Must be they are hanging out somewhere else in the Park!

Will check in again next weekend. Have a great week, ya'll! :)+

Sunday August 16

Yesterday, the 15th, we celebrated being here 12 years as full time residents. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that we moved here but then we look around and see how much different out place is than in 1997 and we realize that the time has flown by.

Anyway, a lot of pictures this week! Be sure to click on them if you want to enlarge them. Here is Bozwell with his new ball!

And Sarah with Bruce in the hammock.

We have a lot of hummingbirds. We have three feeders off the mudroom and one off the front deck. The three in the back get a lot of activity! We go through a LOT of sugar! The feeders will come down in the beginning of September though....not too far off.

Skip and Sue came over for cowboy breakfast. I took their picture down the trail on our swing.

Friday Jim and Elaine were going to come over for breakfast. When Bruce started the fire, there was a slight mist.........but by 9 when they were to come, it was pouring rain! Elaine and Jim are camping on their property and have no cell phone reception so we had told them "if it is raining, come on Saturday!!"

Bruce remembered that we had this canopy tent so we set it up. You can see just what an incline our property is on by the angle the canopy sits!

Saturday was a beautiful day so Elaine and Jim came to enjoy a delicious breakfast.

Bruce looked outside this morning and there was a herd of elk out there munching on the grass!

Thursday night we went to a cowboy DINNER over in Cuchara at the Yellow Pines Ranch. It was really great and they had a male western singer there. The set up was in a nice barn---buffet style. And yummy!

So here we are at the beginning of another week and we don't know what is in store for us. I am starting another on line Bible study series, this time the Book of Job. Also the on line missionary program is keeping me really busy---and I am loving it. Bruce split some more firewood and moved the pile of wood mill culls to end of the driveway---quite a job. He also relocated some big rocks (small boulders??) from the backyard! Somehow we keep very busy!

Have a great week, y'all! :)+

August 8 and the woodshed's full!

And to that I say YAY!!!! It is good to get that done. Bruce says it holds around 6 1/2 cords sooooooooo...........

(click on pictures to enlarge)

here is the rest of it. Bruce will work on splitting more and I will stack it outside. The snow here usually is light and fluffy so we can just shake it off these piles to use it. We burn around 11-12 cords so we do need more but we still have time!

The weather here has been perfect. Still cool nights and not-hot days. Got the hammock up and it's been used a few times. This would be a good morning to be out there but we are getting ready to go to a picnic. Also there is smoke in the air (from who knows where) so it doesn't smell like that fresh mountain air that we are used to.

It is pretty shadowy in our back yard in the morning but couldn't resist this picture of our Bozwell with his new red ball. It is supposedly indestructible and so far, so good. He chases it and Sarah chases him! Gypsy just wonders what the heck they are doing!!!

So that is all for today. Not much exciting this week which suits us just fine! I continue to be busy with the missionary on line and the on line Bible study I set up---as well as this and the other blog I set up. The computer work keeps me on my toes. Bruce always has something he is doing around the house---fixing a leak in the basement, spreading more road base on the driveway, hauling and splitting wood. And of course let's not forget walking our three best friends!

:)+

August 1

I know I keep saying this but WHERE IS THE YEAR GOING??? This has been a quiet week around the McElmurray house. We have had cool temps still, the garden continues to grow and the dogs are enjoying the backyard.

Bruce decided to pan 0ut some of the stuff he brought home from Buena Vista/the Arkansas River last September and here is what he got! Looks good to me!

Thursday a friend came over with some pictures that I have posted on the new FB site I have set up called Forbes Park Friends. If you want to take a look, check it out at the following:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Forbes-Park-Friends/123619079107?ref=mf

Some of the pictures showed he and his wife fishing and I asked where they were. The pictures were taken at Mountain Home Reservoir which is sort of between our place and Fort Garland, a 40 minute drive. We decided to go down and get our fishing licenses!! I know, it is late but seems as though there has been a lot to do around the house. Anyway, here is what we caught---5 nice trout.
Bruce caught 3, I caught 2 and then it was time to come home. (I am not as wide as this shirt makes me look!) Since we get our mail at the Post Office, we figure we can take our fishing gear with us and when we go down to collect it, we'll swing by the reservoir and see what we can bring home!

Today we are heading over to Gardner for the church's annual Chuck Wagon Dinner. It is only $7 each and is great---roast beef, corn on the cob, tomatoes and cukes, sourdough biscuits, frijoles, cole slaw and pie for dessert. Yummy and it is such a pretty ride over that way! I will take the camera!

:)+

July 25 already

Seems as though all the days are busy! This week was "put the new fencing up" week. We decided on using some 6' utility wire rather than the 5'. Maybe the deer and bear will stay out of the backyard!!! Bruce is so amazing to me....seems as though he can do anything that he sets his mind out to do.

Anyway, here he is staining one of the posts. The black barrel on the right side of the picture is where we put the woodstove ashes when we have a fire going.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Still working on the framing. The fence you see here is the old one.

And here is the finished fence! This is looking down the boardwalk to the gate that we use every day. The picnic area with the table and old woodstove are in the background.

This is the new back gate that will take us to the woodshed. What is nice about this is that we shovel out the fenced in area for the dogs anyway but for the past years, we have then had to shovel a path OUTSIDE the fence to get to the woodshed. Not so this winter!!! YAY!

And this is the 3rd side which looks out to the rest of the lot our house is on and our lot next to it.
We finished it up on Thursday which is also when we celebrated 26 years of marriage. We had planned to take the day off and hike to the top of the mountain but it had rained the night before and it would have been too slippery/dangerous. It was good to get the fence done!

I have been busy too with the on line missionary work --- lots busier than I would have thought but I am loving it!

Have a great week!

:)+

Milling wood

The big project for this week was milling out wood. Last Saturday Bruce set up the Lucas Wood Mill (while I went to a picnic) and then we got started! Bruce does the hard work of the milling---I grab the culls or the good wood off the log and carry them to wherever he wants them laid. This time it was up the mountain a little ways so I got lots of good exercise!

This is the first pile that we accumulated.

Bruce loaded it onto the trailer which was attached to the Kubota tractor and pulled it up the trail to the deck on the woodshed.

This is the second and last pile that we did. Lots of good wood there and it is cut "true"---not what you get when you buy it at the lumber yard.

Steve and Vicky came over Thursday morning for "cowboy breakfast". They live a couple of miles from us but it seems that we don't get together very often.....everyone stays so busy....we sure do enjoy their company!

The purpose for milling the wood is to replace the fence posts that hold up the fence in our "back yard". First thing---mixing cement. Well, actually, the first thing was the hardest---digging post holes where it is all rock! Hammer and chisel helped but it was tough and tedious.

Putting the cement in the hole...........

and making sure it is level.

Bozwell was doing an excellent job of supervising!!!

Today will be more positioning and cementing. Next Monday Bruce will go into Alamosa to get the fencing and then we will be good to go.

As for me, I have been holding down the fort, making bread and cookies and being very busy with the Global Missionary Outreach. I have been made a Community Leader and have 20 people that I "supervise". I am loving doing it!

So that is all from this end. Hope this past week has been a good one for anyone who reads this and that next week will be even better. :)+

Saturday

This has been a great week. Our temps are still pretty nice with 40's at night and 70's during the day. We love it!

Last Sunday we had friends over for cowboy breakfast. Bruce cooked on the woodstove outside---over easy eggs, his special potatoes and fried Spam. YUM!

Doris and DJ are here at their cabin. They have a home in TX too but love coming to the mountains during the summer---and sometimes in the winter for a couple of weeks as well. The best of both worlds!

Monday and Tuesday were the 10 year old All-Star games and Jonathan's team didn't do so well. He is an All Star in our book though! Here he is heading for the field........

and warmups.............

and the team photo. Jonathan is in the back row, 2nd from the right.

Yesterday was "outside wood stove pipe cleaning" day. We got the ladder up there the day before which was nice. This is Bruce's FIRST trip up.......

taking the wind cap off.........

coming down VERY CAREFULLY with the wind cap in one hand.........

using the brushes to get the creosote down into the woodstove (2nd trip up).......

cleaning the windcap with a wire brush...........

heading back up to install the windcap (3rd trip up).......

and spraying the stove pipe black!!!!!!!!!!

Whew! All done up there. I stand at the bottom and pray---and take pictures. Then he cleaning the stove inside the house and ALL DONE for another year.

Today after I came home from a picnic we milled out 11 2 x 4's....so next blog I will have some pictures of Bruce milling them out. The plan is to put a new fence around the back yard---higher and more sturdy. The one we have now has been run over a number of times by bears that have found themselves inside the fence so it is time to re-do it.

Oh yeah, went into Alamosa to the dr. on Tuesday to have that broken toe xrayed and it is healing well so I am back to normal shoes---and I gave the boot the boot! YAY!

So that is all from this end, folks. Hope your week was as good as ours! :)+

4th of July!!!

This has been another busy week around our house. Temperatures remain pretty cool still which is great for getting the wood work done outside and for sleeping! We have the wood shed nearly full and will finish it in the fall. Bruce has some lumber in there that he wouldn't be able to get to (in the rafters) if we fill it up. We have some rows of split wood outside the woodshed and will continue to work on it. We can never have too much wood to get us through the long winters!

I just found out this week that my cousin Bob (second from the left) became a grandpa again inthe beginning of the year. Two little girls who had some serious problems as they were born way early. Here is a picture of them at 5 months today. Bob's Mom, my Aunt Shirley, is on his right, then the proud papa, Rob and his son, Robby. The girls, Riley and Reese, are so teeny but are coming along well. As always, if you want to enlarge the pictures, just click on them!

A fun thing for Sasha. Her friend Carole's husband was given tickets for the Toby Keith concert in Tampa last weekend with back stage passes even---and Carole invited Sasha to go. They went one other time but no back stage passes! The first picture is of Carole and Sasha BEFORE the rain came!

And here is Sasha with Toby. She was a bit washed out but you can tell by the smile that "all was well". They had a great time!

The wildflowers are a bit behind schedule this year because of the cool temps and the rain but they are coming out. This is one of the many wild rose bushes on our land.
Bruce took the next one. The smell is so nice--even makes getting the wood in more pleasant!

Here is some Indian paint brush. It is even more brilliant this year than normal.

And last but certainly not least, columbine, the Colorado state flower. This is the most delicate of all flowers. We have a lot of it on our property thanks to the deer that sometimes like to behead them and the birds too.

We are planning on going to a barbeque today and tomorrow will have some friends over for cowboy breakfast.

Have a happy 4th of July. We sure do have a lot to be thankful in our wonderful America! :)+

Saturday June 27

This has been a good week in the mountains. Almost every afternoon we have gotten some rain so the lettuce and spinach are growing really well as are the radishes and other things that Bruce has planted. He has been doing a lot of stonework outside as well! He does stay busy.

We have two nests that we can see. One has a robin family in it and the babies have hatched. We think there are two. I went down to take a picture and there was the Mom, sitting on them! She was giving me "the eye" but stayed put!

(click on photos to enlarge)

I went back down a little while later and saw this one chick. Bruce was doing some digging in the dirt and came up with an earthworm---took it over and gave it to one of the chicks. The chick gobbled it down!

We planted a couple of lilac bushes right after we moved to the mountains and they are growing, slowly but surely. It is amazing that they grow at all since they are totally buried under snow for about 5 months of the year. This year they had a lot of blooms. I cut 3 of them off so I could sniff them inside!! They don't last long once they are off the branches but they are easier to get to!

Bruce will be going to the annual landowners meeting this morning and I will stay home to hold down the fort. It should be an interesting meeting as the present Board of Directors doesn't seem to understand that it is meeting where the landowners are supposed to have an opportunity to speak out!

Have a great week. Hard to imagine that the next time I write it will be the 4th of July---where does the time go?? :)+

A rainy Saturday

I flew back home on Tuesday---thankfully non-eventful flights but a long day none the less. The connections out of Denver to Alamosa are few and far between so I had a 3 hour layover there. Got a lot of reading done and people watching too. Not easy gimping around with my broken toe but I survived.

I had a great last few days in Florida. It always seems as though the time flies by and we never get everything done that we intend to do---like going to Busch Gardens (they had free or reduced price tickets) and the beach. BUT I did get to see old friends and meet new ones and had a lot of time with Sasha, Jonathan and Rick. It was a great visit.

This lady is Rick's Mom, Lenore, but we all call her Nana. She will be 91 next month and is an amazing lady. I love her, her positive attitude and her loving heart.

(click on pics if you wish to enlarge)

Monday night we all went to Red Lobster for dinner---Sasha, Rick, Jonathan, and me---and when we came home, decided to take some pictures. Rick had changed into shorts and the t-shirt Bruce and I gave him for his birthday. That is Nittany Carlysle on Sasha' lap.

Sasha and me...............

Bruce and the pups did just fine without me here but they were all glad to see me. Bruce did a lot of work around the house outside and since there was a lot of rain resulting in dampness, he had to keep the wood stove going a lot more than normal. It is so pretty and green; it started raining during the night and still is so it will be an "inside" day for us. I think I will get some bread started to warm up the house.

Hope you all have had a great week and will check in with you next Saturday! :)+

Friday post

Phew, that took me awhile to get all of those downloaded and now I will tell ya what they are all about....and you will see how many pictures there are! 

If you want to enlarge the pictures, give them a click!

On Friday and then again on Sunday I got to have lunch  with my college friend, Carol.  I hadn't seen her since 1968 and it sure was nice to see her twice in a 3 day period!  She lives in Savannah and went to see a friend a little further on down the pike.

I met my on line Northland sister-in-Christ, Sharon, at Northland.  It is fun to meet folks that I have only known by their pictures and their words---and to give them a hug.

And this is my friend Kate, another on line friend from Northland.  She and I have gotten to know each other pretty well over the internet and it was nice to see her in person too---and give her a hug!  Been lots of hugs during this Florida visit! We met at Cracker Barrel in Sanford...and Sasha and Jonny went with me.....and then....

after we got home, I went up to the guest room to get my hat as Sasha and I were going out to lay in the sun and this is what I did to my little toe on the leg of the bed.  Major OUCH!  There is an urgent care right down the road so off we went.

After I had a couple of ouchy shots on either side of where the toe meets the foot they reduced it.  It only made a tiny POP---of course it was only a tiny toe!  It was taped to the next toe and I was told to make an appointment with a foot doctor so I did....and saw him on Wednesday. Apparently he thought that it was done A-OK as he sent me on my way.

Yesterday/Thursday we went to Kennedy Space Center.  Jonathan will be 11 on September 19 so I figured that he was old enough to both enjoy and understand.

Sasha took this pic of he and me at the entrance.  See the space guy over the entrance?

Sasha took this picture on our tour and it wouldn't be here if I got all of the pictures in sequence---but I didn't.  The launch will be tomorrow at 7:17 a.m. and we will watch it from this neighborhood.  Sasha says that we will see the large orange tank disengage!!!  We will also record it so we can watch it again.

Jonny and me with some astronauts! oh, by the way, I have one of those pretty "shoes" on my foot so was unable to walk---so Jonny and Sasha "pushed me around" all day.  Talk about good timing---got to be on and off the bus first, front rows, etc.  

Sasha and Jonny with the same astronauts.

The Rocket Garden.  Bet this is really cool at night as there are lights to shine on them.

Who could resist these?

This is the Astronaut Memorial...huge.  That is Jonny looking at it.

A plaque honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice in space exploration.
We took a lot more pictures but I didn't want to bore you TOO much!  Suffice it to say that it was a picture perfect day, weather wasn't too too hot,  and it wasn't crowded.

While we were there, Sasha received a phone call from a gal wanting to "know if Jonathan would be available this summer if he were selected for the 10 year old ALL STAR BASEBALL TEAM".  Yes, yes, yes.  He was sooooooooooo excited and had to call his Dad to tell him.  Then he said THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER. GOT TO COME TO KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, MADE THE ALL STAR BALL TEAM AND WE'RE GONNA SEE STAR TREK!!!!!!!!!!!  I was happy to be part of his "best day ever"!  

And then we did go in to see STAR TREK  at the IMAX THEATER.  Seeing it up close and personal on a screen that was 5 stories tall was really something.

So that about wraps up this week.  The time in Florida has been fun and eventful but it is time to head back to Colorado on Tuesday and help get things done---the best I can, anyway, with a bum foot.  I will have to wear this "shoe" for another 3 weeks after I get back. 

Bruce has reported seeing some bear and I hope that we will get some pictures of it or them to post soon.

Have a wonderful week---God is good!  :)+

Sunday

Here is a picture of me outside Northland last Saturday.  I was so thrilled to be there---but I couldn't find the picture to put on the other blog!!!  :)+

2nd Saturday in Florida

This has been a great week.  This is a picture of Jonathan getting ready to pitch last Saturday.  It was his last game of the season and his team won.  He did a great job!  He told me that since he won the prior game as well that I am his good luck charm!  That sure did make my day!

Here is Sasha's husband (Jonathan's Dad) Rick opening up his birthday gifts.  Bruce and I gave him a nice belt and a sleeveless t-shirt, both of which he needed badly.  Then up to have dinner at Rick's Mom's house with two of his 3 sisters and family.  Sasha had made Cincinnati Chili and as always it was great. Topped it off with Cherry Chip Cake and cherry icing and --- well, we shouldn't have had the ice cream too.  We were stuffed.

One of their friends was kind enough to lend us their car for this week so I was able to do some galavanting while Jonathan was at school and Sasha at work.  Jonathan and I went to see UP and it was a great movie.  It had some good life lessons in it---I always like that when they can work it into kids movies. Thursday night Sasha and I drove through a major rain storm to get down to Northland church for a meeting about becoming an on line missionary.  It is exciting!  I filled out the app and am now qualified.  I need to read the training manual on line first and then can start getting emails from those who have decided to follow Christ and are requesting followup.  I feel like this is a new exciting part of my life.  If this sounds interesting to you, check out www.gmoreachtheworld.com. I also met two new Northland FB friends, Sharon and Kate.

Friday was Jonathan's last day of school and Sasha was home from work so I drove over to the intersection of Rt. 50 and I-95 and met my college friend, Carol Cropper Obenshein. We found each other on Facebook and she drove down from Savannah and was on her way to visit another friend in Sebastian.  We met at Cracker Barrel and talked non-stop for 2 hours.  What a great thing, to see a friend that I haven't seen for 41 year!!!  YAY internet!  We may see her again tomorrow at the same place and after church.

Today Sasha and I went to an exercise class at her church and later on we will go to Northland for their Saturday evening service, then over to Rick's sisters for dinner.

So that is what I have been up to this week.  I will have more pictures to post next Saturday.

Bruce has been holding down the fort in Colorado---cool temps still and rain.  He and the dogs are doing fine.  We talk a couple times a week when I am here and also keep in touch via email.

Off I go.  Got places to go and people to see.  Have a great week!  :)+

1st Saturday in Florida

Well, I made it here safe and sound on Wednesday.  A long day of flying.  Got up at 3:30 a.m., Bruce drove me to Alamosa and took the one hour flight to Denver, 6-7. Then flew out of Denver at 10 and got in Orlando at 3:45 (of course lost 2 hours there).  Met at the airport by Sasha and Jonathan. WOW, he grew a lot since I saw him last year at this time.  Went to Sonny's for dinner and on home.  

Thursday everyone went to work and school---Sasha picked up Taco Bell and we met Jonathan for lunch at the picnic table outside the cafeteria.  Spent a few minutes in the pool and just relaxing.  

Yesterday Sasha had off---pedicures, lunch at Chili's and then a bunch of shopping that I can't do at Walmart (the only real store that is in Alamosa).  Probably if I searched out the small shops in Alamosa I could find some of these  things but it sure is easier here!!

Last night Jonathan had his second to last baseball game and he pitched the whole thing---and they won, 11-4.  That was their 3rd win of the season; the last game is today.

Rick has a birthday tomorrow but has to work---he is in indirect auto finance and times are especially tough here in Florida.  We WILL celebrate!!

I have some pictures of Jonathan from last night but they are in the camera and I need a cord to download them---and don't know where to find it so will post them next time.

'Til next time, have a great week!!!  :)+

Aspen budding

This has been an unusual week weather-wise.  It started out springtime---warm and shirt-sleeve weather.  Then we got rain Thursday and it was damp and cool both yesterday and today so we have had a fire in the woodstove in the morning.  That is why we try to  keep our woodshed full!

This was a teeny tiny tree when we first moved here and you can see that the leaves are starting to pop out.  A day or two of sunshine will help.  The whole area is "greening up" and it sure is nice. 

(click on picture to enlarge)

The springs along the driveway have pretty much stopped running but this one is over on our other lot.  Bruce takes his sluice box down and gets it all situated and hopes that maybe some little flakes of gold will show up.  He did have a few flakes in the sluice box when he had it at the spring that I posted a week or two ago.

The hummingbirds have been flying into our windows of late...something that they haven't done before.  I revived one but the darned camera wouldn't work.  Bruce revived this little guy.  They are soooooooooooo light and sooooooooooo thankful! You can see it is really dark in the background but it was daylight---we ordered a new digital camera from Walmart on line and are hopeful that it will be here soon.

I am getting ready to head to Florida on Wednesday to visit with our Sasha, her husband Rick and Jonathan and Tiff. I also hope to meet a few of the gals that I have met at on line church and to attend the "new" facility in which Northland, A Church Distributed, meets.  Of course we will probably hit the beach and do some shopping.  I'm not much of a shopper but when I have choices other than a Walmart, it is nice to take advantage!

Happy Memorial Day to all---let's remember what that "holiday" is all about. :)+

Saturday

This has been a pretty uneventful week at our end.  The spring that I posted last week?  Yesterday morning it was not running.  It shows up and then is all done!  The driveway is still very wet though from the other springs that run down into it. 

We got most of the mulching done and some of it spread out.  Today was going to be "set up the woodmill" day but a cloud moved in during the night and as I write this, we are still in it....misty, dark and dreary and damp as well.

The woodmill  is a Lucas from Australia.  It has more than paid for itself as we mill out the dead pine that is on our 11 acres and Bruce uses it to build things, especially rooms.  He has built the garage, the mudroom and our breakfast room out of wood milled right off our lots!  These are a few pictures of it that I took last year. 

(click on pictures to make larger)

We have discussed selling it but then Bruce thinks of something else that he wants to build.  This time the logs will be cut for fence posts as we are going to replace the fence we have in part of the "back yard".

The only other thing that has kept ME busy is the new blog site that I set up primarily for the landowners in our development that are all over the US as well as the world and other residents in the Southern part of Colorado.  However, it is for anyone to take a peek at and contribute to.  In just a week I have gotten nearly 800 hits!!!!!!  I still have more people to notify of it's existance via email.  Anyway, it is at www.forbesparkfriends.blogspot.com.

Bruce made the 2 hour trip to Pueblo yesterday and did "Sam's Club" shopping, then the 2 hour trip back.  I will be heading to Florida in another week and a half so he wanted to get the pantry re-supplied and plenty of dog food in.

So that is all from this end for now.  Have a great week!  :)+

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to anyone that might be reading this!  I have been prodded to mention the site of the blog that I set up for our community and any one else that is interested.  We have landowners all over the world plus folks in surrounding areas that might want to join the blog. So here it is!!  www.forbesparkfriends.blogspot.com.

Carol :)+

Spring has sprung...and not just the season!

When the weather gets nice we take advantage of it.  Yesterday Bruce took down some dead pine trees---I help by pushing them over---and delimbed the trees. I make piles of those limbs.  Here he is using the trusty Kubota chipper/shredder to make some mulch.  He finally took the snowthrower off the front of the tractor---keep your fingers crossed that we don't get 3 feet of snow!

The mountain we live on has a whole bunch of springs on it and when they let loose at this time of year, they produce a lot of water.  I walked about 1/4 mile up the mountain (key word being UP) to take some pictures of this one.  There isn't really a "spring" like a hole in the ground with water coming out of it---but the whole hill has water seeping out of it. This starts on the greenbelt behind us, comes through the neighboring lot and then onto ours.

It forms quite the stream!
The lower it gets in elevation, the more swiftly the water runs.  If it were a little wider we could white-water raft on it!!

I am standing in the driveway and you can see where the stream is. Near where the white marker is, Bruce put a 4" PVC pipe under the driveway for the water to run through.  The first time this happened a few years ago, Bruce woke up and heard water rushing---and walked outside to see this section of our driveway with about a 3' deep ditch in it --- ACROSS the driveway!!  We hurried up and got the shovels out.

This is looking up toward the driveway from the road---McElmurray Falls---where the water finally reaches it's destination of a ditch.  Then it goes down the side of the road, under the road through a culvert and washes out part of our neighbor's driveway! Not much more can be done at our end other than what we have already done.

Yesterday we were outside working in shirtsleeves.  This morning it was 30 degrees and "moist" so Bruce started a fire in the woodstove inside and then one in the outside woodstove and he cooked a cowboy breakfast for just the two of us!!! Yummy as always.

As I write this Bruce is outside replacing the blade in the chipper as there is lots to do!

The other "fun" thing I did is set up a blog for the use of anyone who wants to but primarily for those who have an interest in Forbes Park (the community in which we live) and this area of Colorado.  I have harped and harped about the lack of timely communication here and decided to go ahead and do it myself. Check it out at www.forbesparkfriends.blogspot.com. 

So that, my friends, has been the last couple of days around our place.  Have a good one....we will!  And Happy Mother's Day to any gals who read this. :)+

Sunday!

OK, so I said I was going to do these on Saturday but I forgot!!! You just never know when one will show up I guess, huh?

Well, it appears that spring has finally sprung. We have had a lot of melting this week and plus yesterday it actually RAINED instead of snowed! Today the sun is out and it is another beautiful day in Southern Colorado.

I have joined a group that is making pillowcases and drawstring bags for our wounded troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. They said to make them of cheerful fabric. The only place "nearby" that we have to buy fabric (at a reasonable price) is Wal Mart. The drawstring bags are of the Beatles!!

I found Looney Tune fabric for the pillowcases---I hope that they don't keep the guys/gals awake!
I am now making some more pillowcases out of Disney characters. When they are done I will put them all in one box and mail them off. Did you know that if you go to www.usps.com you can get those flat rate boxes with AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU OUR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN on them?? And they are FREE!! When I get to Florida I hope to be able to go to a fabric store and purchase some more "cheerful material".

I got some new pics of the grandkids this week. This is Aiden loving on his sister Ava. They are in Virginia and I think they are tooooooooooo cute!

And here are Jonathan and Tiff in Florida. I will get to give these two some hugs at the end of this month when I go for my yearly visit. I am going to take the camera with me so will be able to keep up on the blog.

Today is Bozwell's 2nd birthday so the next post will have some pictures of him and his lemon birthday cake with lemon icing. Bruce is outside trying to dig some postholes. We are going to replace the fencing we have enclosing the backyard as it has gotten pretty worn what with bears running through it!!!

So that is all for this time. Have a great week! :)+

Monday

I was chatting with my sister on Facebook this morning and she asked about the snow situation. We haven't gotten any lately  but we have huge piles that need to melt. It will happen eventually!!!  It was 32 when we got up this morning and the sun is out so there will be melting. ( I have no idea why this underline is here---maybe it won't show up when I publish the post?!?!?!?).

Here is the picnic area..............

and here is looking up toward the woodshed...........

and here is on the other side of the house looking toward the lot we own next to this one!

That's all for this morning!   Have a super week! :)+

A beautiful day in the mountains!

No snow pictures this week.  YAY!!!  We were supposed to get rain today but nothing so we spent a couple of hours putting more wood into the woodshed. We are thinking that it would really be neat if we could get it full---or nearly full---before I head to Florida at the end of next month.  That is always the very first thing we like to accomplish after winter is over and getting  a head start is a good thing.

We both joined Facebook some time ago and I have been most fortunate to find some high school friends and college friends as well.  This Wednesday my roommate from freshman year at SUNY Cortland, Louise, and her husband, Charlie, came to visit.  I hadn't seen Lou since 1966, I think, a looooooooong time ago but as  you can imagine, we picked up right where we left off.  We did stop to take a breath every now and then.

What was interesting was to find out that they had lived in the northern part of Colorado up until 2 1/2 years ago.  Thanks to Facebook we have been able to renew our friendship and we plan to get together a lot more frequently!

Lou and Charlie had just, eleven days prior to seeing us, adopted this cute little papillion, Josey.  She is the cutest little thing---and I do emphasize LITTLE....and 6 months old.  They brought her crate "just in case". Well, the 4 dogs hit it off!  Bozwell, the biggest of the 4, absolutely loved Josey.

They got a bit rambunctious a few times so Josey went into her crate to settle down.  It was good to see our 3 dogs interact with a tiny one!  How is this for adorable???

Bruce headed to Monte Vista on Friday to pick up some new shear pins for the tractor and was able to repair the snowthrower so it is ready for action.  You just never know when you might need it at this elevation!

So that is about it for this week. It was a great one! :)+

We need the moisture!

Well, after forgetting to do this last Sunday I thought I would start doing these on Saturday---if I can remember.  You probably saw on TV that CO was supposed to get a lot of snow.  Well, we got around 17" on Friday and it has still been coming down off and on all day today.  It is a wet snow so it compacts down and makes it a bit harder to have an accurate measurement.  Bruce figures we have gotten a total of 209" so far this season.  "They" show precip near the end of next week but in what form you never know!!!

Bruce got the trusty Kubota out this morning and moved snow off the driveway, mostly with the blade.  Seems as though the snowthrower may have been "frozen". Hopefully it will work the next time he gives it a try.

The GSD's love playing in the snow and the more secure Sarah (on the left) feels here, the more time they spend running around.  Sarah is always the chaser and Bozwell, the chasee.  You can see he has some snow on his nose here---and she is getting ready to strike!

It looks like Sarah is saying "didja catch your breath yet??  cuz here I come!" This is the back entrance of our home---small mudroom with a door on the right (inside) to the kitchen area.  The little room behind the mudroom is entered from the kitchen and is the "breakfast room".  We added it and the mudroom onto the house after we moved out here permanently.

I had gone up to get wood out of the woodshed and just thought it looked so pretty!

I had a fun thing happen on Friday (which was also Sasha's birthday).  I was in my gmail when all of a sudden a message popped up.  It was from my roommate when we were both freshmen at SUNY Cortland (NY).  We have gotten back in touch via Facebook.  Anyway, Louise and her husband are full time Rver's and are in NM right now and headed north via Walsenburg, CO.  We are planning on getting together next week---probably Wednesday, I think.  I am so excited!  I haven't seen her for 44 years but I bet we find a lot to talk about (we gals are that way!). Another college friend that I found is in Savannah, GA and hopes to come down to Florida while I am there to visit Sasha and family.  That Facebook is pretty neat!!!

So that is all the news from this end.  Hope that you all have had a great week!!

:)+

Here I am---the day after Easter!

It wasn't that I was that busy or anything---I just plain forgot to do this yesterday! Actually I remembered as I was chatting with Sasha in Florida in the early evening and then thought AAAAAH, I'LL JUST DO IT TOMORROW. Today is "tomorrow".

We had a wonderful Easter. Our on line church in Florida had an awesome service. Our God reigns and He has risen. An exciting day for all of us. We had no plans other than to have our Easter dinner together---ham, yams and a new recipe for scalloped potatos---and a bottle of Reisling wine that had been given to Bruce for his birthday last September. Still have half of a bottle left and it annoys me that we can't get it into the frig! Guess we'll just have to drink it.

In the meantime, you will see below what we woke up to yesterday.

I just need to keep reminding myself that we need the moisture!!!

In the meantime a friend had given us treats for the dogs and Bruce decided to give them to them yesterday afternoon. Bozwell's young German Shepherd teeth made quick work of his "cigar".

Same with Sarah. They both finished them off lickety split.

Gypsy, who just turned twelve, didn't go through hers as fast---fewer and older teeth. In fact, a good portion of hers is on top of the frig waiting for another time. Sarah thought she might "help" Gypsy with hers---NOT. Gypsy is a pretty mild mannered dog until some other dog decides to get near her food or treat! It didn't take Sarah long to figure that out!

So today is a new day. It is early here and the temp which was 22 around 6 a.m. is up to 31 and the sun is shining brightly. This was a heavy snow---around 14" was the best guesstimate as it compacts down. When it is heavy neither of us do any shoveling unless absolutely necessary (like trying to get out the door) as it is a back killer. It will melt down and off in a day or two.

I took this picture this morning from the spiral staircase that goes up to our sleeping loft. I carved the loon a long time ago and we call him Larry (the Loon). He keeps watch from the triangular shaped window. That is Mt. Maestas in the background---it is on the north side of LaVeta Pass. It sure is pretty!As you can see there was a giant cloud below us!

So that is life in the mountains of Southern Colorado. No big plans for this week but you never know! Y'all have a wonderful week and enjoy your Spring! We enjoy ours even though it is a lot different than one might expect! :)+

Birthday and more snow!!!

I forgot to mention earlier in the week that we celebrated Gypsy's 12th birthday on April 1. We go all out for our pups! Each of them had an egg on their morning kibble and then after lunch, they each got a piece of this strawberry cake with vanilla icing AND a little dab of vanilla ice cream. What Gypsy doesn't understand is why she only gets one piece and Bruce and I eat the rest!!!


Around 4 o'clock yesterday as we were settling in to watch Michigan State play basketball (and they won---YAY!) it started snowing. And it continued on and on and on. This is what we saw when we got up this morning....about a foot of the pretty white stuff.

No cowboy breakfast today!!! Here is the snow covered wood stove and picnic table.

Looking up to the woodshed. I did shovel a path this time as I think that the weather folks are saying that we are to get more snow this week. As they say THE WINTER WE NEVER HAD.

Bruce got out the tractor (snow thrower on the front and blade on the back) to move some of the snow off the driveway. Our road did get cleared around 10 o'clock but since we didn't have any place to go, we didn't care!

I wonder if this will be the last time he has to use the tractor to move snow? Bet not!

We will be in front of the TV tomorrow night cheering MSU on. Bruce is from Lansing, Michigan so he is a great fan---and I will support him!!!

Have a great week, everybody! :)+

April Fool's Joke??? Nope.............

The weather folks didn't indicate that we were to get any of this latest snow storm. It started snowing yesterday afternoon (on April 1) and this is what we woke up to this morning.

As they keep saying, this is Springtime in Colorado!!!!  And they say there is more to come!

We're gonna have a good week anyway! :)+

An old video

This was taken last fall. The story is at the bottom!!!!!!!!!!! This is the old video:

A number of years ago a momma deer came around with 2 young ones. Bruce talked to them when they visited him as he worked around outside. The next year the 2 young ones came back and he called them Junior and Eddie. Well, Junior became quite "tame" and was standing by the fence once day looking at the bird feeder in the fenced in back yard. Bruce thought he might jump the fence to get to it (which we didn't want) so he took some cracked corn out to him. Junior ate right out of the bucket! Bruce could also feed him apple right from his hand. Junior did come back last summer after having been gone for a number of years---he is a B-I-G buck now (see picture at the top) but still knows his name---and still likes that cracked corn although prefers it to be in a container on the ground!

Trying something new!

Having fun trying something new here. The German Shepherds love the backyard full of snow so thought I would give this a try. Bozwell, the long and tall guy, will be 2 in May. Sarah, the black GSD, is 4 1/2 or so, and the other black dog who just wanders around is our 12 year old Gypsy. And of course the tall, good looking dude is my husband, Bruce. :)+

March madness!!!!!!

So here is what happened to springtime around here.  The weather folks were saying 16-24 inches but we got around 8".  The snow was really fine stuff so it compacted down---meaning that it is heavy to shovel.  Now they are saying that we are to get more next week.  Guess this year March "came in like a lamb and is going out like a lion!!"......at least here in the mountains.

This first picture is right  near where Bruce was standing looking at the wood in last Sunday's blog.  The little platform that is snow covered is what he puts the extension ladder on when he goes up the very steep roof to clean the wood stove pipe.

Bruce brought our Adirondack chairs up and we were able to sit on them LAST WEEK!  Actually now that the deck and chairs have been cleaned off we could sit on them today as the sun is out and there is no wind, for a change.

You can see in the background that the road guy came and cleared the road---and that is our garage back there.  It is right near the road and at the right you can see the window that is in the upper part.  There is a door there too!  We use that for storage and also in a small area at the road end is where I have my carving bench and work area.  We do have a propane heater down there but it has gotten some expensive so I don't do any work down there when it is cold.

Here is the picnic area.  Bruce did cook a cowboy breakfast on Thursday but not today!!!

We are enjoying watching the real March Madness.  Of course our FSU was out in the beginning, then Syracuse fell last night but Michigan State pulled out a win. Bruce grew up in Lansing so we will be sure to continue to follow their progress which hopefully will be to the championship game.

So that is it for this week, folks.  Hope you all have had a great week---we have!

:)+

Spring time!

Well, one indicator of springtime is getting all that dirt and mud off the vehicles. We have had lots of sunshine and no precipitation. Bruce is washing the grit and grime off our 1992 Toyota truck---that was before they had "names" for all of the different varieties!If you look closely you MIGHT be able to see Mt. Maestas in the background. It is the mountain that is on the north side of LaVeta Pass on Rte. 160.Bruce is looking over our lot to decide which, if any, trees need to come down in order to protect our home in case of wildfire. We have only gotten a little over half of the average amount of snow so it will be very, very dry this summer.As you can see we still have quite a lot of snow! This is the path that we must keep dug out to get from the house to the woodshed.

We went for a hike a couple of weeks ago and found this skull and rack from a 10 point buck. Folks pay for these!!!! Bruce mounted it over the woodshed door.

We have really been enjoying the spring-like weather but hope that we get a couple more heavy wet snows. They always melt off and in quickly and give us lots of moisture.

Enjoying the NCAA playoffs. I am from the Syracuse, NY area (go Orange!) and Bruce is from Lansing, MI (go Spartans!!!).

Have a great week, everyone. :)+

Another one!

This is our grandson, Jonathan, pitching at a game last year.  Below is a link to a youtube video that was taken at a recent game!  Jonathan is 10 1/2 and loves baseball, especially the Boston Red Sox! You will probably have to copy/paste this link into your browser too!  :)+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyKjrS7xpxc

An experiment

Our granddaughter's birthday was last Saturday (she turned 3), the day after her Dad's. This is a picture of Ava with her brother, Aiden.  Ben took a video of her and I want to see if this link will let you see it too!  We had sent the musical birthday card to Ben and she loved it!  The clothes and tiara she is wearing is what we sent her.  The boa must have gotten in her way! I hope it works! :)+

You will have to copy/paste the link into your brower, I bet!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=efraimsons&target=PHOTO&id=5311678670934692274&aid=5311677721472365265&authkey=Gv1sRgCMv34NT8w_y1cg&feat=email

Not much happening..........

in our neck of the woods. We did get a little bit of snow but that is compacting down or melting in/off. We prefer it to melt in!!! Dogs are enjoying having more "backyard" to run around in.

I had a full day in Alamosa on Thursday. Left the house at 9:30ish and got home at 4. When we live so far from a "city" we have to make every visit count. That means bank, Walmart, Big R for dog food, City Market for people food, doctor visit, back to City Market for cold stuff, post office and home. That doesn't look like so much when it is written down!!!!

Bruce stayed home and kept the dogs company and kept the woodstove going. Even though it is looking a bit like spring, we need to keep the fire going as the sun doesn't come into the house much during this time of year. Of course when it is summer time and we wish it didn't, it does!

Hopefully next week I will have something to report! Y'all have a good week---and cheer FSU on in NCAA basketball playoffs!

Carol :)+

"Spring" snow

We need more snow and we got some Friday night. This was some of the heavier and wetter snow that is badly needed at our elevation. I think we got around 5" of it bringing our total to somewhere around 139" so far. We need lots more to cut down on the fire danger.

We did decide to take a walk down the road with the dogs but it is tough going when the snow is so wet. It sure was pretty though!

A few days ago Bruce started gathering flat rocks again. We have lots and lots of rocks on this mountain lot. He will continue to put them up against the house with cement so it looks like we have a stone cabin! He has done both sides of the house and it looks really nice---also, should a fire ever decide to come to our area, our home will be protected. The rocks also help with the insulation.

I tried a new pie recipe this week. A friend from back in New York State sent it to me and it is easier than a regular 2-crust pie---and sure was tasty!

So that is all that has happened this week---not much but that is OK. Spring will eventually come and we will spend more time outside doing fun stuff!

Have a great week---we will! :)+

March 1---how can that be?

Boy, it sure is hard to believe that 1/6th of the year has gone by already.  Yup, time flies!

On Wednesday we decided to take a trip down to the Sand Dunes and take the dogs for a hike. The pic below is one I took as we were traveling down our mountain to get to highway 160.  Lots of sagebrush is in the picture as we haven't gotten any snow here for over 3 weeks now. Hopefully March will bring us a lot as it is our main source of moisture. Today however is a gorgeous day with the temps in the 50's!!!

The Sand Dunes are about an hour from us---nothing is close!!!  It was a beautiful day to go down there and there was NO ONE around! 

 Our plan was to hike the Mosca Trail but as you can see, there was still a lot of snow there so we decided to take the Montville Trail.......

and there was a lot of snow on it as well.  However, Bruce took this great picture.  It was very bright there and since I didn't have my glasses with me, I couldn't make any adjustments on the camera.

I took this one of Bruce with Sarah and Bozwell and again, too bright.  The Sand Dunes were off in the distance.  Bummer.  We'll have to go again to get some better pictures.

Yesterday I mentioned to Bruce that since it was so nice outside, maybe we should put more wood into the woodshed.  That is the first and biggest job we have come summer time and the more we can do now, the less later.  Now in this instance, everything was in the SHADE.  I just can't seem to get it right.  As you can see, now the  picnic table are visible with no shoveling lately.

This is Bruce (in the shade) up at the woodshed getting things together.  He uses the electric chainsaw with a looooooooooong cord.

And here he is splitting the wood.  He does it all by hand.  We used to have a wood splitter---with a motor and all---but the guy we were sharing the splitter with bought us out.  All of the wood we use is aspen and it dries well so Bruce says it is easy to split. While he splits, I load the woodshed.  We have a pretty good system worked out.

So that is the story from this end for this week.  We hope that you have enjoyed sharing our week with us and we'll be back next Sunday, for sure.  :)+

nuthin' new

I am on my laptop and don't have very many pictures on here.  This is a recent one of my son Ben and my grandson (OK, his son, Aiden).  Ben loves his two kids so much....and is a very good Daddy.  They live far, far away in Virginia....

Well, this has been another non-event week in the mountains of Southern Colorado.  No snow, no company, no place to go!!!!  Bruce did cook breakfast out and used a yam instead of his normal white potato.  It was pretty darned good---for a change---but will stick with the regular from now on.

Dogs are doing fine.  Snow is melting. Our snowiest months are yet to come so neither of us are complaining.  There will be plenty enough to move in March and maybe even April.  We have long winters here!!!  The temps have been in the 20's in the a.m. when we get up (except the morning Bruce cooked out; it was 8 degrees so he waited until it" warmed up" a little) and in the mid-40's during the day....so lots of melting has happened.  The dirt roads are pretty much bare.

One fun thing is I have found another college friend as well as a few relatives on Facebook.  I really love that site!  Also were able to refer someone on the East coast to a German Shepherd rescue site as he is looking for a GSD.  Couldn't do that without the internet!

So that is all from this end. Maybe I will have something exciting to report next Sunday.  Even when nothing is happening, it is a good week!

:)+

Fun weekend!

I don't think that I know anyone in this picture but I thought it would be an attention getter!  A month or so ago I sent in the notarized form so that we could participate in www.booksforsoldiers.com.  We have sent one box to a gal who is in Quatar and believe it or not she had it 6 days after we sent it.  That website has all sorts of requests from guys and gals in all branches of the service and the one that caught our eye today was OPERATION FORGOTTEN SOLDIER.  Folks submit names and addresses of soldiers who get no mail---so we got a letter done that will go to 6 different soldiers.  We sure do feel for those folks who are so far from home and especially if they have no one to keep in contact with them.  We were so pleased to get an EMAIL from the gal in Quatar!

On Valentine's Day we went over to friend's cabin for breakfast---raspberry scones, yummy quiche and fresh fruit (blueberries, bananas, kiwi, strawberries and pineapple).  It sure was good and the company was great!  In the afternoon I made one of our favorite meals, the one I make for special occassions---Welch Rarebit. Then we had Chocolate Fondue for dessert.  We hadn't been to town for a week or so so all we had to dip was apple, bananas and maraschino cherries which were perfect! 

Got taxes done today on line --- didn't e-file them yet as it was supposed to be FREE but when I got to the end, it said $24.95!!  I expect that I will get a response to my email to them tomorrow.  Also have been spending too much time on Facebook----but it sure is fun!

We haven't had much of any snow---maybe 2 or 3"---but more will come, sooner or later.  We did take the opportunity to put a bit more wood into the woodshed.

So that is all I can think of to tell ya.  Have a great week!  :)+

Monday update

Anybody remember Little Lulu? I have an account on Facebook and have a lot of fun with it---and found my old friend in the "flair" department.

Anyway, after I wrote my two blogs yesterday, things got really interesting. I decided to go to our Mastercard on line and check the postings and found a post of $67.09 with Barnes and Noble. Only thing was, we hadn't ordered anything from Barnes and Noble. Got on the phone this morning; someone in Beverly Hills, CA had made that order! So after making the report, being assured that the credit would be issued and the fraud department would track this person/these people down and calling CitiCard to cancel the account, I started calling the 5 companies that automatically charge our account for services rendered to cancel that credit card number. Boy, talk about a "God thing". One place I called was Dish TV and as I was listening to the recording to figure out which number to punch, I could have sworn the recording said that our balance was $386.17!!!!!!!! HUH!!!???? So come to find out when the guy came to replace our old receiver with a new HD DVR on Dec. 4, he apparently neglected to turn the old one into the main office in Colorado Springs and we were being charged for it. After a number of phone calls, it was tracked down and a $300+ credit has been applied to our Dish TV account. Geez, that sure would have been a major surprise.

So to anyone who reads this, if you can, be sure to check your on-line statements. We anxiously await our new cards in a week!

We did get a couple of inches of new snow last night which is a welcome sight. We need more than 130" more to meet the average snowfall but since our snowiest months aren't here yet, we aren't panicking. If we don't get that snow though we will be looking forward to a scarey dry summer.

Have a great week!! :)+

Update

I have been thinking about the past few days and did think of a few interesting things. One and two: Monday and Wednesday night we saw the International Space Station wing it's way across the sky! The Denver TV station that we watch told us when and where to watch! It is soooooo amazing to see it up there, knowing that there are folks inside it. And the third thing: We found out when attending our on line church service this morning that the senior pastor there is one of 15 men on President Obama's advisory committee. I went to the website and saw a video of a meeting that Pastor Joel was at. Also he sat beside Muhammed Ali during the inauguration and helped him stand up at the appropriate time. A photo of him sitting next to Ali is also posted on the website.

So there was something interesting to share! :)+

A non-event week!

I don't have anything interesting to report at all. As I write this we are getting our first snow in 2 or 3 weeks, I had a dentist and a doctor appointment on Thursday, Bruce has been "down" with some sort of head and/or chest cold---and the doggies are fine! Nothing to report but nothing to complain about, for sure.

Somehow the days fly by whether we are busy or not. The snow has all been cleared back by Bruce and his tractor, making room for more. It will be interesting to see how much we get!

I hope that next time I sit down here to do this, there is something interesting to tell ya about!

:)+

Super Cowboy Breakfast on Super Bowl Sunday

Hard to believe that it is Feb. 1 already. I remember my Mom telling me when I was a young girl that as you got older, the time went by faster. Hmmmmmmm, I wondered how that could be? She was certainly right!

It was 18 sunny degrees this morning and Bruce decided to make his cowboy breakfast today---it wasn't windy---and dubbed it Super Bowl Breakfast. He cooks in our cast iron pan and griddle on the old woodstove that the contractor put in the cabin as he was building it. It isn't air tight so outside is a good place for it. Here you can see Bruce intently stirring his delicious home fries in the fying pan!
On the griddle are 3 slices of Spam and a split English muffin. Still to come were the eggs that go in the little round things there. Mmmmm, it sure was good (as always)!

Bruce took some pictures of our constant companions yesterday. This is Bozwell. He will be 2 on May 3---we got him from the German Shepherd Dog Rescue here in Colorado on March 19 last year. He is still pretty skinny. He has had an itching problem ever since we got him and thought it to be allergies and have tried EVERYTHING to no avail. We took him to the vets last Wednesday to find out that he has MITES!! They didn't even think to check that out because dogs don't have mites here in Colorado. However, he must have brought them from Ohio! He is being treated for them now with a weekly dose of medicine and hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks we will start to see less scratching. Those mites have to be making him crazy!

Next is Sarah. We don't know when she was born but was told by the rescue gal that she is "4"---so we gave her a birthday of August 27 which is when we got her. She is a real sweetie. She and her sister chased a calf into a fence and the farmer told his wife that "when I come back, if they aren't gone I am going to shoot them!". The wife was able to get them to safety (in Missouri) and long story short, Sarah is now safe with us. She is just the sweetest little dog!

And last but certainly not least is this darling gal, Gypsy. Friends of ours here in Forbes Park were doing a lot of traveling and asked us if we would take her. We had "dog sat" for her and fell in love with her. She will turn 12 on April 1---we have had her since she was 2. She has accepted the other two dogs really well and lets them know when she wants her own space.

Those three keep us entertained, exercised and on our toes all of the time!

Y'all have a great week! :)+

Sunday is here again!

Boy, it sure is amazing how the days fly by. Last Sunday I reported that I was filling up the woodshed. Well, I got some of it done but Sunday afternoon my left heel started hurting and by Monday morning I couldn't put any weight on it. After a few days of the heating pad and linament, it wasn't feeling much better. Then Thursday Bruce went to Alamosa and while there, bought some Absorbine Veterinary Linament --- ours was old and maybe had lost it's power? --- so I used that and an ICE pack and voila, it was healed. Therefore, yesterday it was back to the woodshed!

We had pretty much put all of the "cut to length" wood in the shed already so Bruce shoveled up to some wood that was cut in 6 foot lengths, tossed it down and got out the electric chain saw and loooooooooooooooooong extension cord. He cut it up and then split some of the bigger stuff. So now the woodshed is fuller!!! We should have plenty in there to get us through May.

While I was finishing up stacking the wood, Bruce went into the fenced in area of our lot and moved a bit of snow out of it. The dogs need a place to get out and run a little. The black 50 gallon barrel is where I bring the ashes from the woodstove out to each morning.

We have had pretty mild weather this past week with lots of melting and compacting down of the piles of snow. Bruce has used the blade on the tractor to move a lot of the snow out of the driveway to make room for more---which "they" say is coming. It is hard to see but this back yard has a bunch of big piles of snow in it, making it sort of like a maze for the dogs. They really like it!

The other thing I accomplished this week was making more marmalade. The 2 jars on the right are the Citrus Marmalade that I made a couple of weeks ago. The other jars are just plain Orange Marmalade. That should keep us going!

Bruce made breakfast outside on the old woodstove again this morning and added some grits to his menu. Everything was delicious, as always, but I am way too full!

Y'all have a great week! :)+

Refill

Our weather has been really nice---in the 30's during the day, minimal wind and lots of sunshine---so today we decided was a good time to put more wood into the woodshed. We generally burn 10-12 cords of wood during our looooooooooong winters and it is always better to have too much wood in the shed than not enough.

Below is a picture of the Lucas Woodmill that Bruce bought a few years ago. It does a really good job of milling wood. You can see some of the pine logs that he has lugged down from parts of our lot to mill out to use around the old homestead. We built our garage out of wood that Bruce milled as well as the breakfast room and mud room, additions made since we moved out here full time.
He also built the woodshed out of wood that he milled out. That Lucas Woodmill has more than paid for itself. You can see Bruce beside the woodshed here, shoveling out some snow so we could toss some of the split wood down onto the decks.

This is inside the woodshed. When it is full you can't see anything but wood when you open the door. We had used all of the wood in front of those uprights you can see plus that empty space. There are two rows on the left and one on the right---maybe enough for 3 more months---but maybe not.

These rows are probably 8 feet long (from the back of the shed to the upright) and 7 feet high.

I got a bunch tossed down and stacked today and will work on it some more tomorrow---and hopefully get it pretty much filled up. Gotta watch the inauguration on Tuesday!

Hope you have enjoyed checking out the woodshed! :)+

Warmest spot in the house

Gypsy, our oldest dog at nearly 12, found this spot but Bozwell, our rescue dog who will be 2 in May, seems to have taken it over! You can see Sarah, our 4+ year old rescue dog, behind him wondering why there isn't room for two! Lots of times whoever is lying there has their head right on the hearth!!!! :)+

Sasha and family

A few weeks ago I put my son and family on here for everyone to see and thought I would now present Sasha and her family. The three in the back are, from left to right, Trenton (goes to FSU/Fairmont State U. in West VA), Jonathan, age 10, and Drew (goes to UWVa in Morgantown). Tiff is lying down and goes to UCF---and there are Sasha and Rick. Nice looking bunch, huh???

This is a recent picture taken of Rick, Jonathan and Sasha. They live in Oviedo, Florida and have made one visit out here. I have been able to go to see them for a few weeks each year in May. I enjoy getting to catch up face to face!!!

So there you are. Next family will be Bruce's son Todd and wife Cari. I will post them soon!

:)+

Addendum about windcap installation

Bruce wrote an email this morning to a friend in Florida regarding the installation of the new windcap a few days ago. I thought it was so good I decided to post it here. He gives a bit more of an explanation since he is the one that is the installer---I am just the "pray-er"!!!!!!!!!! :)+

We also had to replace the wind cap on the wood stove chimney. The old one which was 8 (?) years old got to losing the grease it needed to make it turn with the wind and it would lock up. Trust me climbing up the side of an A - Frame house 32 + feet in the dead of winter to grease a cap is nothing but an un-necessary risk. You are almost straight up on a 40 foot ladder and when you get up at cap level you have to turn around and face out. That means you are only suspended there by your heels which have snow on them and the rungs of the ladder are metal and a gust of wind can send you right out into space. So you have to be very careful and quick... I have a climbing harness but with winter clothes on it doesn't make the situation any less dangerous. My wonderful wife went on line to keep me from going up that ladder a couple times a winter to do the grease act, and she found a cap that has no moving parts with a guarantee that it won't allow smoke into the house. Cost a lot more but when the wind blows and swirls up here in the winter and the old cap locks up we get down drafts and end up with a smokey house. Very unpleasant to say the least. I called the fellow in Mich. and he told me which one we needed and when it arrived and we had a good day - up I went to put it on and take the other one down. It went nice and easy and seems to be working well. Only one back draft in some major winds but the fire had gone out in the stove and was only smoldering so there was not enough heat to keep the smoke rising. What a great improvement and now I will only have to make that trip in the summer YEAAAAAAAH!!!!!

So that is the rest of the story---from the guy with the birds eye view! :)+

A trip to Alamosa

Today was supposed to be a really nice day so I made a trip to Alamosa, 40 miles one way. As I was going out to the truck, I said to Bruce WOW, LOOK AT THOSE NASTY CLOUDS. We can see the Spanish Peaks over near LaVeta from our house and there were very black clouds over them. Off I went. When I got to Alamosa, I called Bruce and he said REMEMBER THOSE NASTY CLOUDS? THEY ARE OVER OUR HOUSE NOW---snowing hard! I went ahead with all of my stops: a place to have our ink cartridges filled, True Value, WalMart, Big R, City Market, Walgreen's, picked up the cartridges, then to the bank---and headed back to Fort Garland to stop at the Post Office and pick up a few things at our local grocery. Below is a picture of the two of them---they share a building. As I headed out of Fort Garland the snow flakes started in earnest. I wanted to take a picture of Mt. Blanca to share with you but couldn't even see it---so here is one that was taken on another day. It is one of the mountains in Colorado that are fondly referred to as "fourteener".

The closer I got to home ,the more snow fell. Thankfully there was no wind to speak of so I made it home, safe and sound. It was difficult to see the road though---everything was very white!!!

So that is the report from the mountains for the day! :)+

Our Sunday afternoon walk

It has been a number of days since we have been able to take a walk. Either it was too cold, too windy, too cold AND windy, or the road wasn't plowed. This afternoon was a good time to go! This is how it looked walking down the road. We can only go one way from our house during the wintertime as they only plow to our garage. You can see that the grader has gotten right down to the dirt road.

We have gotten around 120" of snow so far this year---thank goodness not all at one time. It sure does keep the road crew busy. This is how high it is piled right now where the trees end and meadow begins. You can see the snow drifting from left to right behind Bruce and two of our 3 pups.

This is how far we walk, 'til we can see the Big Lake. You can't really tell where it is right now though as everything is white. That is Raspberry Mountain in the back.

So that is our Sunday walk. We moved a lot of snow today from the driveway and garage loft and got the Toyota swept off as I will make a trip to Alamosa tomorrow. Time to get a few groceries in before the next storm arrives!

Y'all have a great week! :)+

Wind Cap Replaced

One thing to be said for living in the mountains is it is a constant challenge. This is a picture I took from our deck of the chimney and windcap. This windcap has been on the chimney for a number of years---each summer Bruce scales the ladder to bring it down, clean it and grease it. The past two winters, the darned thing, which is supposed to "twirl" in the wind, has gotten stuck---so he has gone up there, brought it down, cleaned it and re-greased it. Well, a couple of weeks ago it got stuck and during some terrible wind, the smoke kept coming down into the house. It smelled like a smoke house in here---well, I guess it was a smoke house. So I went on line (what would we do without the internet??) and found a place from which we could order a new one---and it doesn't need greasing as it has no moving parts.

As the story goes, when it arrived on Wednesday we couldn't get off our road because of the blowing and drifting snow so FedEx left it at the Post Commissary in Fort Garland---20 miles one way. Bruce was able to get out yesterday and picked it up. This is the view of the roof. At the bottom of the roof you can see a rock-enclosed area which has a platform on it. It is about 6' off the ground and we have to haul the 40' ladder up from the garage and get it onto the platform!

The ladder is in place and here is Bruce on his first trip up. It is really a scarey proposition and the only thing I can do is stand on the ground and watch and pray!

Here he is, leaning over to get the old windcap off. He does wear a harness that attaches to the top of the ladder so should he lose his footing, the ladder should help keep him from falling. We certainly hope he never has to test that theory out!

After he brought the "stuck" one down, he then went up and put the new cap on---and down he comes. It is supposed to have some caulk around it but we think that it will be just fine until the summertime when, once again, he will go up to bring it down. I will be able to do the brushing/cleaning of it while he runs the brushes down the chimney.

So that is our/his adventure for the day! Got it done just in time as we are to have up to a foot of snow by tomorrow---and it started during lunch. We always say a blessing before our meals and this time it was thanks for keeping Bruce safe on his journey to the "top of the world". :)+

Marmalade!

Well, since it snowed all day yesterday and into the night, I decided that I would make some marmalade. Sasha's mother-in-law sends us a box of citrus from Florida each year at Christmas time and I use one orange and one grapefruit plus a lemon from the store to make Citrus Marmalade. It is quite a lengthy process but worth the time. This is the pot of peels and pulp that had to sit overnight....looks yummy! When it is cooking it smells great!


And here is the finished product! It doesn't make much but what it makes is absolutely delicious. Bruce loves orange marmalade so after we get to the store again, I will make some just plain orange!

I will post some more pictures of the snow.....I know that it makes you want to hop in the car and come help us move it!!!! I will wait though until the road is plowed so I can take some different pictures other than just around our house! :)+

Goodbye 2008!

Happy New Year, everybody! We didn't watch the ball go down in Times Square. We figured that the New Year would come in whether we were up or not...so off to bed we went. The wind came up again overnight and sometime before 2 o'clock a.m. the electricity went off. I woke up to pitch dark! Stumbled down the stairs to call the folks who want to know about outages. It was off for 2 1/2 hours at least. Came on around 6. Thank goodness!!!!!!!!! Got a bunch of important college football games to watch today.

Bruce is going to cook outside on the woodstove tomorrow---his delicious cowboy breakfast for two. It did take some shoveling though to get to it!!!

We hope that this year will be one filled with much joy for all of you. :)+

Our Christmas

We have gotten some snow lately including Christmas day.  It was a good thing that we had planned to stay home as we couldn't have gone anywhere anyway!  It was a nice quiet day except for the howling wind and blizzard like conditions!  We finally got out today/Sunday to do some snow removal.  Why bother when it was drifting so badly?  This is the "cowboy breakfast" area!  It will be some time before we are able to do that again!

Bruce has definitely gotten a lot of use out of his trusty Kubota tractor. Here he is clearing over by the side of the house that we will have to access to put the new wind cap on when it gets here.  The one we have is "stuck" and getting to the top of an A-frame roof more than once a year is not a good thing. Yesterday with the bad wind the smoke came back into the house a number of times---smells bad and sure can't be good for our lungs.

And this is a "guess who?"  The dogs are looking at Bruce as if to say WE RECOGNIZE YOUR VOICE BUT IT CAN'T BE YOU!!! This is how Bruce got dressed up yesterday when it was 4 degrees.  The tractor had been plugged in overnight but still wouldn't start-----------so he came in and took off this garb!!

So this is how it has been at our place. We haven't been down the mountain since Dec. 20---the wind has been so bad that we were afraid if we went down the mountain, we wouldn't be able to get back home.  Maybe tomorrow...........

Even with all of this weather we are so thankful for the many blessings that God has placed upon us.  We did attend Christmas Eve service online and it was awesome.  God is so good. :)+

The best sledding place in Forbes Park

When we moved out here in 1997, it was in August and we were looking forward to the winter activities---besides bringing in wood, taking out ashes and moving snow, one way or another to one place or another. One of the things that we really looked forward to doing was sledding!  We drove places, we walked places and we snowshoed places.  None of them worked well as the snow was always too deep to sled without using our hands/arms to propel us and then of course we had to slog through the deep snow up to the top.  

Two or three years ago we found the perfect place and it was right under our noses all the time----our driveway!  It is about 100 yards long.  You can see Bruce, a teeny dot, up by the house.  I am standing at the end of the driveway.

Ready, set, go! He is on his way!  The snow is packed down really well from Bruce's using the tractor with snowthrower on it.  Also the fact that it has gotten cold at night---all the way up to 27 today!

Here he is, getting ready to round the corner and head down the road.  We have no traffic on our road.  In fact, the snow gets piled really deep right after our garage entry. It got a little scarey for me at this point as you can never be sure just which way the "sled" will go!

Well, he made it past me and is on his way down the road.  We can go another 100 yards down that way!  The walk back isn't bad either.  Good exercise for the ole folks!!!

Hope you enjoyed your trip down the best sledding hill in the Park!  :)+

Baby, it's cold outside

It was 13 degrees and breezy when we went down the road this morning with the dogs. Only a foot or so more of snow but it has been so windy we figure most of it have flown over to Kansas---or South Dakota!

I thought I would share some family pictures with you. The following live in VA---my son Ben, wife Leslie and two kiddos. This little chef is Aiden. He was born on the 4th of July and is 4 1/2 now.
This is Ava, born March 14---she will turn 3 in 2009. Both of these kids are sooooooooo cute and I sure do wish that they lived closer to Colorado.

And here is the whole family!!!!!!!

Next time I will introduce you to Sasha and her family!!!!!!!!!!

Hope that all of the Christmas preparations are coming to a close at your end and you have a most blessed celebration of the birth of Jesus.

:)+

Soup

A few months ago I tried a new receipe for a vegetarian bean soup using cans of soup. It was OK but lacked any good flavor. This morning as I was waking up I was thinking of that soup---I had thawed out a ham bone and figured that I would add it to the soup to make it more tasty. I had always thought I would have liked to have been a pioneer woman (until I started reading how difficult it was for them!) and thought I would use a cast iron pot we have and make the soup on top of the woodstove.

I have got to tell you, it was smelling good! The wood is free as opposed to the propane that keeps our regular stove going---and the addition of that ham made the soup delicious! OK, it wasn't vegetarian anymore but some sacrifices must be made sometimes!

We are getting a little snow today but nothing compared to that 3+ feet a few days ago.........

Better pics

Time to get the snowthrower out. Bruce got the thrower put on the tractor a week or so ago so that it would be ready. It does a good job and he has become quite the expert at clearing the driveway waaaaaaaaaaay back to make lots of room for the rest of the snow we will get throughout the winter.
This is the door that goes into the area under the house---where the washer is and other stuff. It took Bruce awhile to dig through all of that as it comes off the roof. Thankfully the door opens IN!

Guess it's a good thing that we don't have anywhere to go (even if our road was plowed). The Jeep is under there! It will eventually get dug out......................

This is our woodshed. We dug out the path to it first thing so I could bring some firewood in. We do NOT need to do our exercises today!

We will sleep well tonight..........................but it is absolutely gorgeous and we sure do need the moisture! :)+

No bears lately but .....

lots of snow! It started yesterday afternoon around 2 and kept up all through the night. We have, so far, over 3 feet of the white stuff! Will post more pics later. Seems as though since I took them in a bigger format they are NOT liking to upload!

Santa STOPPED!!

We put our Christmas tree up early this year so that our Thanksgiving guests could admire it. We get our trees for free---out of the ditches and not off of anyone's property. It is always in our sleeping loft right next to the bannister---too many dog tails around here that would keep knocking ornaments off should we have it in the living area.

Well, Santa brought the LCD TV early but also a laptop. All we can say about HD TV is WOW, WHO KNEW?? I have read a friend's blog and seems as though Santa is bringing lots of folks TV's and laptops for Christmas. What a guy! Maybe it is just for the "seniors"!!! I'm not transferring everything from this PC to the laptop so I can keep the laptop free of "stuff" (like my recipe file, my Forbes Park file, etc.) and it will be faster.

No snow here and sometimes that is the most exciting thing that happens around here in the wintertime. Still having lots of deer visitors though which is always fun for both of us and for the dogs as well.

Thursday

Well, I have one friend who does a blog and he and his wife sure do have a lot more to report than we do. We have only had about a foot of snow so far. You can see from the snow around our deer that it isn't much yet. As I write this we are waiting for the DishTV guy to come. We got ourselves a 32" SONY LCD TV which is mounted on the wall and the guy will bring an HD receiver. We are excited!!!! It sure will make watching the Christmas programs only that much more beautiful!!

I promise that when something exciting happens around here I will post it. For now, having these gorgeous animals visit us a few times a day is all that is happening in the quiet mountains of southern Colorado. :)+

Niagara Falls???

We have two springs on our lots, one of which flows alongside the road and then under it through a culvert. In the summer time, rather than use our well water to water the garden, Bruce drives the tractor and trailer down the road with a bunch of 5 gallon buckets on it plus two larger tubs. We fill the buckets and tubs and drive them back up to the house, then transfer the water into two 50 gallon barrels under the house. When the water freezes, the culvert looks like this! I think it is sure pretty!

Saturday

Probably 9 years ago a doe came around our house along with her two fawns. Bruce was spending lots of time around outside getting the "yard" cleaned up and spent a lot of time talking to the three of them. He named the two Eddie and Junior. It was always easy to determine which of the many deer that came around was Junior as he has a black line between his eyes. He came around for a few years and he grew a LOT. Then he disappeared for many years and we figured that he had become an adornment on someone's wall. However, here he is! He turned up again a couple of weeks ago and although he is a wild and B-I-G buck, he surely does know his name. He is OUTSIDE our fence. Around here it is sort of like living in a zoo---but we are the ones that are fenced in!!!

The other "big deal" around here is that we finally bought a flat screen TV. We are doing our best to help the economy grow. I picked it up in Alamosa yesterday and with only a little trouble we got it up and running. Boy, watching college football on it sure is fun!!! Now here is hoping that FSU can beat Maryland tonight!!! :)+

Sunday

Sad to say that there isn't much to report this week. No snow, didn't go anywhere but the post office in Ft. Garland, just hanging around doing our thing. This next week will find Bruce heading for Sam's Club in Pueblo to do some shopping......and maybe our new flat screen will show up at Walmart in Alamosa!!! That will be something to report next weekend!!!!

Saturday, November 8

Today is my birthday, #62. An exciting one for us as I have elected to start collecting Social Security. The first check will come mid-January, 2009 and I see it as a nice pay raise!!! :)+
Even though the temp was only 30, Bruce cooked me a birthday breakfast. YUMMY! Same fare as always but as always it was excellent---spam, his special recipe potatoes and eggs. Then we looked up and saw that we had a special birthday visitation.

This guy is "Eddie", the brother of Junior. We know that it isn't Junior as Eddie's rack is lots wider than Junior's is. Junior did come back one day a few weeks ago but neither of us was fast enough to grab the camera. We are hoping that he comes again!

Eddie and Junior were young twins years ago when their Mom brought them around and Bruce, while working outside, would talk to all of them. Over the years they have come back to make sure all is well here. And so it is! It is a beautiful day! :)+

You never know..........

what you might see when you look out our windows! The dogs were looking out back very intently so I finally got up to see what they were looking at. There ended up being 7 elk out back, just outside our fence. They sure are big!!! It is hunting season again for a few days and they know to stay inside Forbes Park where no hunting is allowed. They are feasting on some timothy that we bought for our hayrides.

It is just another beautiful day in Southern Colorado. We are so blessed to live in this area and also to live in the USA!!!

Sand Dunes

Today was another beautiful day in Southern Colorado so we took advantage of it and went over to the Great Sand Dunes. We hiked and picnicked. It was very bright so the pics didn't come out as good as I hoped!After we got back to the Jeep, we drove up to Mosca Pass Trail and hiked it a bit. The leaves were in the stream and it smelled so good---and sounded nice.Just another gorgeous day!!!!!!!!!
God is good!

Sunday

It's a nice day here so Bruce cooked out again on the old woodstove---just the two of us as many of our friends have hit the road for less snowy climates. This morning it was his famous taters and hash with eggs. YUM!!!! The picture was taken a month ago and it is one of my favorites. Love the beautiful golden aspen leaves on the ground.

Another cowboy breakfast....

We are having a beautiful day here (snow is gone!) so Bruce cooked out for another couple of friends today. Same fare but Sharon and Dale brought the yummy biscuits this time! Then off we went for a 4 mile walk with the 3 dogs. It's a great day!

Cowboy breakfast

One of Bruce's favorite things to do is to cook a "cowboy breakfast" outside on the old woodstove. He usually makes yummy potatoes, spam (or bacon or sausage) and eggs---I make the biscuits. This morning we had our friends Vicky and Steve over to share with us. It was a little nippy but then the cowboys ate outside all the time!!!!

One of our fav fishing spots

Our mountain retreat