Tis The Season

Of perpetually dirty feet, fingernails and buds and blossoms all around


In my garden (gardens) the rhubarb is looking good


My 'Wentland' Iris's are poking through

The goose and raspberries are preparing to make fruit

And the menopausal maiden is patiently awaiting (who in the heck that is menopausal is ever patient....ah well) anyway she is waiting for the mums to give her some protection
We have already eaten two batches of asparagus (gotta get it before the deer do)
And as my gardening mentor Mary laughingly says, "If you don't like it in one place dig it up and move it" Alrighty then move it I am.
The raspberry bushes seem to be encroaching on my flowers so they are being moved to their very own spot, another new garden plot.


And I am in the process of redesigning the hillside flower bed. Digging up what is there and planting things that I hope I will like better :)

Yup tis the season.

And of course since we were at the Leonard Hotel last weekend I have to share one picture of Julia. These shoes of Daddy's are hard to fill but she certainly does try. She loves shoes not only her own but whoever else's are laying around.

A New Shoulder

David went in for surgery at 12:15 and at 4:30 he was in his bed good and looped up. Contraptions, the ole boy has contraptions. Not only does he have the sling that immobilizes his arm but he has a catheter in his neck that is dosing out a Novocain type med. The medication is in the ball type bag hanging around his neck. Because shoulder replacement is so very painful they do this for pain management. He still has to take his pain pills as the Novocain only numbs the area, it does not get rid of the pain and swelling. So, we are currently at the Leonard Hotel and today David had to have his shoulder rap removed. I started to do it but became woozy at which time Lenny took over to complete the unveiling. The wound looks good it does. What in the heck am I going to do though on Tuesday when the catheter comes out. He does not go to the doc for this.....we do it. Apparently it is not such a much...for most people...but this is me that we are talking about. I will do it and not pass out, I will do it and not pass out, I will do it and not pass out, OR we will just stay here until Tuesday :)

Because he had not eaten (or had coffee) in about 24 hours the nurse ordered up supper. I brought the coffee.
What more can you ask than a good fart, food and shitty coffee after major surgery.



Later that day David was expected to get up and walk a bit. Walk we did from the 8th floor (via the elevator) outside and over to McDonalds
For an after dinner ice cream cone. Does he look like a happy camper? He is.
Day two was release day (yesterday). If you have ever been hospitalized you probably know that it takes FOREVER to get released. Here he is pacing the halls waiting for his pain meds to arrive so that we can head home.
He did finally get sprung. The ride to Lenny and Kel's about did him in. He was feeling pretty good up until then. Every bump in the road jarred that shoulder but it will get better with time.
Thanks to Len and Kel for cooking for us and letting us (David) recuperate. I got some gamma time in as well

What A 'Spot'

Any eagle sighting is a good 'spot' as far as I am concerned and seeing two or three in one place is even a better 'spot'......

On our way to Grand Rapids yesterday, as I had my nose in my Blackberry checking email, I heard David say, "Look at that". " What" I say. "Ten eagles feeding on something back there" he says. So we turned around, I put my blackberry down and picked up my camera :)Nope there were not 10 eagles but at least 20 of them on a back road feasting on something. As we approached of course they flew away from their feast but I was still able to get a great shot of the bunch of them. This is only about half of the bunch however. There were young eagles whose heads and tails had not yet turned white as well as mature eagles and of course a few ravens...very few as they usually do not come in until the eagles are pretty much done. There are only two ravens in this picture and they are on the ground.


On our way back the bunch was still there however they were more easily spooked. This fella flew away from the table as I approached

And this one was in the tree not happy about my intrusion

As I said....what a spot. When I wasn't shooting I just stood there looking, saying 'Wow' and shaking my head at the beauty.

The pond behind our house has taken on many forms.
It started out as this small pond that Tack (and Pixie too) spent much of her day in. This pond was quite small and full of clay.
Each year David would get on his bobcat and 'futz' with the pond. This is the latest development. It is maybe 30 feet across, 15 feet wide, maybe 4 feet deep at the deepest spot, has an island and a sand bottom as well as sandy shores!

The pictures do not show it well but the water is clear as a bell and you can actually see the bottom of the pond now with the sand layer. Peeko loves it but Tack not so much these days. She has gotten to the age where swimming just is no longer the thing to do. I just may take her place, get myself a floaty and spend warm days relaxing in the water of the newest pond. David also has an extra pile of sand for the grand kids to play in...what a good grampa he is.


The plan is to circulate the water with a couple of pumps. We will pump the water up to the top of the creek bed, it will then run down the creek back into the pond and circulate back up again. This should keep it nice and clear throughout the summer.

Becky's Good News

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/beckyhewitt

A few weeks ago I actually met Becky Hewitt. She is the young gal from Nicollet that is struggling through her second battle with cancer. I introduced myself to her and as she did with everyone else there, she gave me a huge hug. I cannot explain what I felt from that hug. I felt strength, love support.....it really is hard to explain but what amazed me is that Becky was conveying this to me...she is the one who needs strength, love and support but she is the person giving this to others. Becky is a true warrior and I am so happy that finally she has had some good news in her fight with this cancer.

There is so much more that I would love to say about Becky her courage and what her fight does for those of us who have walked that path and those who unfortunately are still to walk it. But fitting words do not come to me......

Hang in there Becky. You are loved by many.

As always, keep Becky in your thoughts.

Back In Minnesota

And our first stop was a week at the Leonard campground where I got some much needed Julia time. And while we were gone.....

Julia got a new bedroom which she was more than happy to show meShe has graduated from a crib to a toddler bed and loves it

And she loves to brush her teeth under Daddy's watchful eye. Although I am not sure which is more fun, brushing the teeth or climbing up on the stool to see in the mirror....
This little lady does not walk, she runs and runs
In fact she does everything at full speed
She not only knows the names of her friends at school: Macy, Beth, Bo, Lala (there are more I am sure) and her teacher Miss Gusy (spelling Len and Kel????)
But she knows her colors: red, purple, lellow (yep lellow) red and orange
And she can pick one item
And two items and sometimes free (yep free) and four
While we were there Gampa, Daddy and Julia worked on building skills
And cribbage skills.....Gampa is explaining the game to her and Julia is paying very close attention
Her and Gamma took a walk with Tackla and Peeko and she chatted the entire time: 'Tackla running' 'Peeko bark loud' were only a few of the phrases during the walk
Daddy teaching her the art of golf. Ry, they are practicing up to take you and Abs on this coming May.
It was a great week and I miss her and our other two gals terribly already! I do have to add that after we left Sedona Rachel sent me a text to tell me that Dezbah wanted to know when Gramma Bobbi was coming over and on another day Dezbah saw a bald guy and wondered if it was Poppa Dave :) Oh the joys of grand children.

Our northern home was just fine when we arrived, visited only by a mouse or two while we were gone. It is good to be home and know begins the planting season.

On The Road Again

After the hustle and bustle of the San Diego area our first stop was back in the desert at Quartzsite dry docking. It was a free night's stay and very restful.
Tack was happy to be off leash for the first time in quite a while.
The sunrise and sunsets are beautiful here.


There we are all by our lonesome in the big vast desert of Quartzsite. Well us and the rattle snakes that are now out. We didn't see any thank goodness.
Before we left San Diego we took one last trip to Balboa Park to the new cactus garden. A great place with lots of trails that wind in and around many varieties of cacti/cactus...which is correct?
Anyway there are signs posted all over saying that it is against the law to pick or damage the plants in any way and doing so can result in a $500 fine.
As we were walking Mikey spied this old babe yanking, pulling and actually cutting (with her little red handled scissors) every plant species that she could find. Mikey did tell her that it was illegal to do this but she pretended to not understand and continued to collect specimens.
Mikey got on the phone to security and I followed her around snapping pictures for proof. OMG we felt like private detectives making the world right! Too funny. The security person came as well as a local police lady. As they talked with the offender she went from English to some other non understandable dialect. They found her bag full of plants but told us that having found out that she was 87 they could not 'throw an old lady in the clink'. We did see her going off in the police car though to who knows where. What an afternoon!
On our way through the Palm Springs area. These always make a great photo op with the mountains in the background.
Why yes here we are in Arizona finally. We traveled up a mountain to the very top at 7223 feet elevation. The snow had melted quite a bit but there was still lots left. That would be me playing in it in sandals, shorts and a sleeveless shirt.
Snow capped mountains do make lovely pictures.
Another view of our mountain drive.
While in the Sedona area David and I spent two entire days driving around looking at the sights. It really is beautiful here. One of our day trips was to Jerome and the mining town right next to Jerome. This town now has a population of one. The one is the character below and a character he is. He runs a sawmill that he mills wood to make things out of in his old old woodworking shop. The town is an old mining town and everything it seems has been left just as it was when the people moved out one by one. Junk....oh my it is a junkers dream. However nothing is for sale!
Mike (I think his name was) is a tinkerer. This is a 1928 Studebaker in line engine on a 1924
Essex frame (getting this info from David). The rest of the car is hand built. It is an Indy car that he is building purely for pleasure and not for real racing...can you imagine. David was oh so impressed with not only the car but Mike himself. Oh by the way, he cranks the car to start it, the crank is in the front.
Now I became impressed when I spied this nice old Harley. Mike says it is a 1942 and he uses it to got the mail. He tried to kick it over for us but it had been raining and the magneto got wet. He even tried to get it dried out for us but it just wasn't working...oh well.
One man's junk
Is Bob Geldner's dream (hi Bob:) Mike does have a shit load of junk. It was a fun day.
We also got to spend the evenings with Rachel, Melvin and Dezbah either at our camper or at their apartment. Rachel whipped up a great meal of salmon and Melvin threw together soup another night...yum. And once again, it is great to have adult children especially those that can cook:)
Here are Dezbah, Poppa Dave and Teeko (she just cant quite get the P )
She even warmed up to Grandma Bobbi as she told her dad one day, 'I want to go to Grandma Bobbi's house and give her a hug'. Here she is reaching out for a Grandma hug.
Doing a ballerina pose and yes those are Poppa Dave's hands ready to catch her if she falls.
It was hard to leave yet another grandbaby dang it!
On our way to our next overnight stop on the way to MN this is what we ran into through most of New Mexico. Snow then rain then horrible gusts of wind. Not such a much unless you are pulling a camper......
Pretty ominous looking skies.
But we made it to Albuquerque and are parked for the night in a casino lot. We filled our tummy's at the buffet and I promptly lost $20.
Tomorrow is supposed to be another interesting travel day weather wise. We plan on spending the night in a truck stop somewhere...seriously...it's free and just a place to sleep. We do stay cozy with the generator running and can even watch TV and blog.