Archive for the ‘Images Captured’ Category
How To
This is how you take advantage of the day after workday on the opening weekend of the summer vacation season up at the lake.
Rain started slowly and gently mid-to-late afternoon and turned the rest of the day wet, but in the hours prior, there was some basketball played, a group of very motivated and brave young adventurers went tubing behind the speedboat (that lake is still very cold), and some people took a nap.
I went for a stroll, did some observing, and visited with a few people I don’t get to see as often as I’d like anymore. I had to try several different times to stop thinking about the projects I should be working on at home, in order to pay proper attention to the here and now.
It was good to be up at my favorite getaway with Cyndie’s family again. We received messages that all is well at home. Horses, dog, and cat are getting along well with our guest caretakers. That goes a long way toward helping me relax and enjoy our time here.
Today is Memorial Day holiday in the US, when we pause to remember and honor those who have died in active military service. It appears as though I may be spending a few hours of the day in a line of cars returning to their homes, since the soaking rain continues to fall and will likely inspire folks to hit the road earlier than they otherwise might on the last day of a 3-day weekend.
If I could, I’d prefer to be spending that time curled up under a comforter in a hammock on a hill above the lake.
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Greener Side
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It is quite possible that sometimes the reason it seems greener on the other side of the fence is because, it is.
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Creatively Repurposed
We lost 8 long-needle pines in the last couple of years due to a combination of dry summers that sandwiched one long and very harsh winter. It was pretty obvious last fall that they were beyond recovery, but I just didn’t have the heart to take them down until this spring.
When the time came to finally face that chore, I decided to see if I couldn’t find some creative way to honor the memory of the pines. It just didn’t feel right to cut them all off at the ground. Of course, I have some history with this ploy of not cutting a tree to the ground and then using the remaining stump for something new.
At our home in Eden Prairie, I saved the 2-3 inch diameter trunks of a cluster of 3 choke cherry trees that had sprouted in an unwelcome spot of our yard, and then balanced rocks on them to create an interesting visual display. I liked the results enough to resurrect the concept again. In this instance, however, I have one item that will be more functional than a rock. It’s a birdhouse (Thank you, Mel & Greg!).
We have some really nice rocks here, so putting a few up on tree stumps is irresistible to me. While I was cutting down this tree which was leaning significantly, I discovered a twiggy young oak tree growing beside it. If that oak survives the abuse that some critter has enacted on the bark of its skinny little trunk, someday it may tower over the end of our house beside our bedroom in the spot where this pine was unable to survive.
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Green Grass
Our grass is growing in leaps and bounds now, which is the time when we need to limit the hours of access for our horses. That accelerated growing is a too-high-sugar fuel for our Arabians, per the doctor’s orders. I had asked how I would know when we needed to pull the horses off the pasture, and our vet said that she uses how quickly the lawn needs mowing as a reference.
I mowed on Sunday, and there are places where it already looks like I didn’t even cut it. I don’t like to mow more than one time in a week, but when it is growing this fast, it needs mowing in 4 or 5 days. I think that using this as a reference for when to limit the horse’s pasture time will work pretty well.
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Pool Shots
I’ve been wrestling with a couple of images I captured of the swimming pool at the beach house in Guatemala, in search of a crop that pleases me most. There is no right answer, and I labor over the multitude of possibilities. I had in mind that I might use them for a “Words on Images” creation, but there is not much solid background available in the first one, and the pattern is too wonderful to interrupt in the second one. I have settled on presenting them as images only, for your viewing pleasure.
Do you prefer one more than the other?
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Little Lambs
While outside making good progress on a few clean up tasks in the warm April sun yesterday, I received a text from our neighbor, George Walker. He wrote, “We have lambs!” If Cyndie had been home, I would have dropped my rake so we could dash right over to see them. She was running errands after having perused the farm and garden ad supplements —always a dangerous financial situation— and I didn’t dare go see them without her.
She came home with the always successful tactic of diversion from how-many-things-she-purchased, in the form of Dairy Queen treats. We sat on two new tractor-seat folding stools she picked up, and enjoyed our ice cream in the company of the horses. I was so distracted I forgot to mention the lambs!
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I did eventually remember to tell her in time for us to pay a visit before the end of our day. We stood watching the lambs in their outdoor pen for some time. At first, the lambs were scattered among the ewes, frequently suckling. George brought over some supplemental feed and tossed scoops into the pen. This caused the mammas to make a mad dash for the spots where it landed, and they ravenously rooted around in the hay bedding to feed.
That fracas instantly split the young and old into two separate groups, with the lambs congregating just on the edge of the circle of feeding ewes at first, but then moving off to explore the pen together.
George described that the day before, the lambs had taken to sprinting together from one end of the pen to the other. He said that he stood there watching them for about a half an hour because it was so entertaining.
There were still some ewe/lamb pairs inside the barn that George walked us in to see.
He picked up one and handed it to Cyndie. It called and called for its momma with the loudest cry, stopping once to look up at Cyndie in a gesture that almost looked like it was going to be a kiss. It was too fast for my camera skills, so you’ll just have to settle for the image of the wailing baby.
It is such fun to have friends so close with a farm full of all the classic animals. It feels a bit like living in the country!
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Beach Again
I now return you to my tales of our Guatemalan adventure, reliving our third day at their beach house. It was now Friday and we awoke from another sound night’s sleep in which neither my wife nor I heard even a hint of rain. From the looks of things, it must not have been much of a storm, after all.
I’m not usually one to crave a hot beverage, but when I walked out of our room that morning, I instantly had the thought of wanting some hot chocolate. While we were seated at the table visiting with Marco, Dunia’s dad, and Jose, Dunia brought a cup of hot chocolate and set it in front of me. Neither of us had discussed it, and without a word, she acted on a sensation she felt to look for their chocolate and then brought me a cup. It is not the first time she has demonstrated her acute sense of intuition. Priceless.
I elected to join Dunia and Cyndie for a walk on the beach that morning, picking up stones and shells along the way. Walking a beach has the potential of being an endless activity, and at one point I offered an invitation to Dunia to consider not walking too far. She graciously listened to my idea, and then continued on in conversation with Cyndie. I found myself choosing to slow down behind them a bit and soon after, she and Cyndie turned around and were walking toward me. Moments later, Marco showed up on the 4-wheeler to check on us. I think he and I were thinking along the same lines. Plus, it was soon time for a big breakfast!
When we got back, I made a small tower of stones and left it on a ledge for them.
Marco’s brother arrived for the day, and Bill and Karin and their niece joined us for breakfast. Guatemalan breakfast was served, plus pancakes and amazing fresh fruit. It was all spectacularly delicious, especially Marco’s salsa again.
The rest of the day was filled with lounging around the pool and people enjoying a variety of arts and crafts, with Dunia and Marco working mostly on their paintings on the wall.
The boys took a few turns playing a game where they try to kick the soccer ball the full length of their field and strike the cross-bar of the goal. I played the role of photographer.
It was idyllic.
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