Ahhh! relief from the heat

I'm over all my whining about the heat, as it was a more reasonable 82 degrees here at our house today. It has been nice to be able to get outside and get a little gardening done.
Earlier this evening, I spent time pulling out all the peas which were past producing, and tomorrow morning I am going to plant a fall crop of peas, scarlet runner beans, spinach, beets, and lettuce.

I sure had an audience as I worked in the garden. Three rabbits were almost climbing the fence looking for a handout. You should have seen the excitement from them when I threw some of the pea vines over the fence. One rabbit even went so far, as to grab a whole vine and run, I mean hop off with it, and hide under one of our vehicles to eat it.
Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be 75 F so it should be a pleasant day to be out doors.
You all have a wonderful weekend.

Whine, whine whine

It is too "bleeping" hot to do much of anything. I have weeds in the garden needing my attention, a dishwasher which needs emptying, blogging to catch up on and a myriad of other chores calling my name. This Kiwi just can't function when the temperatures are in the 90's I am about as limp as a wilted piece of lettuce. We don't have air conditioning in our home here as it really doesn't stay hot for extended periods, but this week will be hot all week. Sheesh!!!!
Last Friday morning we drove to Idaho for the Eddy Brown Memorial steel challenge match. You can read about our adventures HERE
On the 12th of August we fly down to Piru CA for the World Steel Challenge. I will not be shooting in this match, but MrC will. I guess this heat wave we are experiencing is acclimatizing us to the heat we will have to bear when in Piru.
That is about all for now, I am going to get a nice cold drink and see if there is anywhere cooler than this spot in front of my PC.

Talk to them and

they will be friends.

Any time I went outdoors and saw any of the wild rabbits, I would talk to them. Imagine my surprise, a couple of days ago, when this little guy/girl came right up to me as I was doing some gardening. I slowly made my way inside, and asked Mr C to bring the camera while I found something I thought the rabbit would like to eat. I knelt on the ground and spoke softly to the little rabbit, trying to entice it to come and eat out of my hand. The picture tells the rest of the story.

Since that day, every time I went outside, this little one, would appear at my feet looking up at me, asking with it's eyes, for food from my veggie garden.

A short time ago I was taking some pictures of flowers for a blog story, when I felt a tickle on my sandaled foot. I very nearly kicked out and squealed thinking it was some kind of bug crawling on my foot, but no, it was Wabbit (new name) nuzzling my foot. Of course I had to pick some peas for Wabbit, which seem to be rabbit candy.

I sat on the ground taking pictures, to show you how unafraid Wabbit is of me.

Isn't he/she a cutie?
I find I am now paying more attention at looking before I step, just in case Wabbit has crept up on me.

Salpiglosis

Painted Tongue has become one of my favorite flowers. Next year I intend on growing many more, to see how many more of the stunning jewel-like colors there are.

Progress report on our 'baby'

Our furry little friend we are now calling 'our miracle bunny' Most times baby rabbits will die within hours or just a few days of their rescue, but this little one, has defied the odds and is thriving.

6/30/2009

7/4/2009

7/17/2009
We sure do get a kick out of the rabbit's antics. he/she likes to groom Mr C's hands.
I guess that means Mr C is now 'family'.

The quail family

Daddy quail sitting atop a pile of gravel, well at least I think it should be Daddy, watching out for predators, while his family search for food.

I have noticed two quail families which seek the protection of the blackberry bushes near our house. This family, and one other with much younger chicks. I have attempted to take photos of the smaller chicks, but they are very shy, and move faster than I can get the camera ready to take their picture.

There is alway another side

to seeing things.

As I sat on the porch enjoying a cool drink, I glanced down on to a pot of pansies. Instead of looking at their happy faces, I was looking at the back of some of the flowers, and it was then I realized how interesting flowers look from the back or underside.



If we take the time to really look around us, most times, there is always something we have not noticed before, to interest us.

July 4th Celebration 2009

This evening we enjoyed watching fireworks from our front deck. We are fortunate to look out across Useless bay and down onto the beach, where many bonfires glow in the dark, and fireworks light up the sky and reflect on the still water of the bay. I love the way the fireworks in the photos, have the look of modern pieces of art.

Bunny update

As requested, here is more on our little rabbit. We decided to make a little video so you can see for yourself how cute our little friend is. It was his/her left eye, which had been injured somehow, and was badly infected. Well we are happy to say, and you can see, that all the infection is gone, and it appears he/she can see out of the injured eye.

We are a couple of old softies.

Last night I went out to the RV to get something, and something caught my eye. It was a very small rabbit. I called MrC to come out and take a look at the little bunny.

The poor wee thing was injured, so my honey put on his vet's hat, and went to work.
Read MrC's story HERE.
As of tonight, the little rabbit is doing well, but with wild critters you never know, so we are crossing our fingers he/she will make a full recovery. When I came home from work, I went to check in on the rabbit, and when it heard me say "hi little bunny, how are you doing?" it's little ears went up, listening to my voice. It just makes my heart melt.

Butterfly garden.

While in Holland, in Winterswijk, I enjoyed a stroll down some of the trails surrounding the hotel where we stayed.

Upon returning to the hotel after one of my strolls down this pretty trail, I came across a butterfly garden.

This charming little building was at one side of the garden.

An information board showing the many different species of butterflies which visit the garden.

It was nice to walk the narrow mulched paths around all the plants, looking for butterflies.

There were many plants I could name, and just as many I could not.

Looks a lot like a hardy geranium.

So pretty.

A lovely poppy.

Another of mother natures works of art.

There were not many butterflies, perhaps we were a little too early in the season.

The generations

The Silent Generation , people born before 1946.

The Baby Boomers , people born between 1946 and 1959.

Generation X , people born between 1960 and 1979.

Generation Y , people born between 1980 and 1995

Why do we call the last one generation Y?


I did not know, but a cartoonist explains it eloquently below...

Romancing the road.

You have to admire this wonderful woman, I do.

This is an unusual love story involving an 89-year-old woman and her beloved Chariot. The two have been together for decades and traveled more than 540,000 miles across this nation's highways and side streets.

Click HERE for the video

Thanks to, Growing bolder for the wonderful video.

Dancing in the rain - a love story

It was a busy morning, about 8:30 , when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On examination, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.
The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, But I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'

True love is neither Physical, nor romantic.
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.


The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the best of everything they have.

'Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
But how to dance in the rain.

Market day in Winterswjk Holland

One place we visited during our trip to Holland was Winterswijk, where Saturday is market day. I had the opportunity to walk around the many booths set up for market day in this quaint market square in the center of town.

What a lot to take in, especially for some one who has never been to an outdoor market where they sell practically everything you can think of. There was meat, fish, food, flower, pastry, garden art, cheese, jewelry and many, many other different kind of booths set up, to tempt the shoppers.

The bags of snacks in this booth were many and varied. Nuts of all kinds, both natural and covered in different flavors, trail mixes, crackers of all kinds and other things I did not know what was in the labeled bags as I do not read or speak the local language.

Many of the locals ride their bicycles to market day, and take their purchases home in a little basket attached to the handle bars of the bicycle, as this lady is doing.

The flowers were absolutely gorgeous, and to a gardener such as myself, just so much eye candy.

The choice of flowers was almost over whelming,

Roses, so many different colors.

And if you want, a touch of the tropics for your home.

For the cheese lovers, and I am one of them, the selection of these very tasty cheeses was outstanding.

All kinds of breads, rolls, pastry, and other goodies. I was sorely tempted to buy a loaf of crusty bread and a large slice of cheese to munch on as I wandered the market, but thought that was overkill, and instead went to a booth which sold all kinds of freshly baked pastries, doughnuts and fritters. I chose a very large deep fried apple slice which had the most flaky light batter coating, I have ever tasted.

The fruit and vegetables were so neatly arranged. For the most part, it appeared the vendors took great pride in the way their booths looked.

So there is my tour of Winterswijk market. There was much more to see in the center of the market, but taking pictures in the crush of people was impossible.

Bank's Lake camping and fishing trip

This past weekend was the Fishin" Club's annual trip to Coulee Playground Resort at Bank's Lake WA. Here is a slide show of our journey from Whidbey Island to the resort. You will notice the varied terrain and weather conditions we encountered on our road trip.

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Part Two
Fishin', Eating, and scenery

Washington State steel challenge

This past weekend Mr C. and I loaded up our RV and drove to Ephrata WA where we competed in the Steel Challenge Championship.

This is the squad I was on. A fun bunch of guys.

We were anticipating very hot dry conditions, which would have made for a very long, hot uncomfortable day. Lucky for us, the day was overcast and it did not rain until about half way through the match, and even then the showers were off and on again.
I shot fairly well, much to my surprise as I had not done any practice at all, and I came home with a prize for "Top Lady" Mr C has a short post HERE

The streets of Amsterdam

Join me, as I stroll the streets of Amsterdam.

The side walls of this old building are curved.

It is fun to sit at one of the cafes and people watch.

I was surprised to notice how a building had been built right up against the church. Well at least that is what it looks like.

Here is another view. The architecture of the building does not appear to be the same as the church, this is why I think they are two separate structures.

Look how narrow the buildings are.

The date on the front of the building says 1659

I hope you enjoyed your stroll around a few of the streets of Amsterdam.