Busy Bees!

Spring flowers always mean it is time for the bumble/honey bees to show up. In February, they hang out in my crocus bed. 

 March is when they start meandering around in the plumy branches of blooms in the yard.

 This year April was super busy. The pear trees bloomed, the Asiatic plum tree bloomed, pretty much EVERYTHING bloomed!!!!

 The lilacs started a bit early this year and also in April. The bees visiting the lilacs appear to be enforcer bees. They are HUGE. I placed the dime in the flowers so you could kind of get an idea on size of the bees Jon took pictures of.

 They were a great deal of fun to watch. Jeremy helped Jon find some who were kind of sitting still with their pollen packs full. Bees don't like reflections. The closer the camera lens is, the more agitated they get. Jon did a good job in snapping shots while the bees were busy with the flowers.

It appears these bees in the lilacs are Western Bumblebees. Amazing gentle giants.

Grandpa's Furrows

 Steve grew up watching his dad (and sometimes helping) farm. The boys watched Grandpa and Jon has helped Larry with farming. This weekend, Steve and Jon tentatively walked in Rod's footsteps as they seeded a piece of ground in beardless barley. (yes, the bearded ones planted something beardless--there is a whole section on beardless barley by OSU, so I understand why it exists. It still makes the mom laugh) Jon took a few stills and one of Susie, who was after a rodent. 

 Susie looking for snacks in the weeds.

The best part was taken by Jeremy, with his cell phone. I wanted to add the super cute adorable tractor Jeremy picked up Easter weekend, but it is on his youtube page. This story, today, is about Grandpa's old red Farmall getting back to work on a beautiful day with a blue sky and good soil. 

Rod is up there smiling down on his son and grandson, probably grumbling a bit because it wasn't done quite right, and laughing over hearing his tractor again.

Last Weekend of March

 Tun of Ironcat.
Kila seems to be an easy mark to laugh at!

Steve made me a trellis for one of my rose bushes. It isn't quite done yet, but I was excited! It will be nice to have the roses on a real trellis instead of one of the many make shift ones I've created over the years. 

 

 Jon was annoyed. He had an idea for a trellis made from metal. However, the cardboard cat below is also a project he is working on. He's been toying with that since around Christmas (or earlier!). I was glad Steve got his mostly done, my rosebush really needs staked. It is tearing up the tulips planted under it!

 

Saturday was full of emotions and activities. In the morning, Jon was down at the park for the AVFD Easter egg hunt. (Athena Volunteer Fire Dept--see link) In the afternoon Jon was a part of an honor guard in a memorial service. The service was for the young man at the end of the second row of boys from the bottom (below Jon's left shoulder). Kyle Teater. Approximately 30 Scouts, former Scouts, and leaders attended. I wished Kyle could have seen how many people his life changed. It made me remember how important it is to love those around you now and not regret you didn't make time for them. When I start to regret, I love those near me more. 

April 2009

 We watched 'Big Hero Six' as a family and then watched the end of 'Real Genius'. Jon decided 'Real Genius' was more plausible. I enjoyed the former movie, it was cute. The latter movie? I'll watch it over and over!

 It appears there was a spot of turmoil in the doll world last night. Mrs. Klein and Amethyst were NOT sitting neatly next to the giant pillow this morning. I can only imagine what might have taken place.

 Easter Sunday has always been a fun day. When we were kids, Janet and I would hide dyed eggs over and over and over. They were played with til their shells were in bits! I remember looking for Easter baskets and finding one of mine one year safely lodged in the dishwasher. That was the year mum got us Trixie Belden. We used to dye and hide eggs and baskets for the boys. With Jon doing eggs by the dozen, we now do things a bit smaller. And place treats in chairs or on place mats. Steve ordered me the watch I wanted and I had him give it to me today. It was on my dresser. I was glad he had an old Ford watch container for it, I might not have found it with all my necklaces and earrings scattered everywhere!  I had picked up a Tshirt for Steve and a camo seat cover for Jon's Bronco (not sure it will work....). While I was out and about, I found these lovely cats. I was NOT going to get them, they were a pair and we didn't need anymore nick nacks. BUT, after dithering for quite a while, I brought them home.

 Moses doesn't seem too bothered by them! As long as he can have his 'paper' to sit on!

 I've been enjoying the rest of this Sunday making dinner. I created a couple of salads--which are tangy. I used my own recipe and NOT Pearl Burras' (Greater Tuna, TX). Jon thinks it is pretty funny. I've also made cookies (I was such a vegetable the last couple of weeks!). I was startled to find a baby alien in the last batch I pulled from the oven. I'm sure he'll taste just fine accompanied by a glass of milk.

Spring!

I love the purples in spring. Violets and vinca crowded together in a corner of my yard.  

This is one of many narcissus I was given from the Coppock yard. 

 Steve did most of the lawn, Jon said he'd do the rest. I picked violets before the guys trimmed them off. Many of my volunteer flowers were about 2 and half inches tall!!!

 I smiled when I found hearts in my yard. The cement rhubarb leaf lost the 'tip', but next to the mass of rose geranium, it doesn't look too bad!

Steve also decided to take the warm dry days this weekend to work on the fence. 

 He had help. (Jeremy came over first, then a young man showed up, after a bit the boy's grandpa stopped by.)

Day Off.

Steve took the day off today to take the Mercury in and get right with the Oregon DMV. The heart of this Alaskan was sad. However, I can put the Alaskan plates up on the wall in the little house with some of the other ones I have! 

As we drove thru Pendleton, I became aware of something startling. It shouldn't have been, but it was. People don't look. One car almost backed out in front of us, another lady, animatedly  using her cell phone, flew past as we waited to merge into traffic, and different folks walking by proceeded to not see anything other than the papers or technology in hand. Many people DO notice this bright blue and white with chrome car and it is fun to respond to their joy in glimpsing something different. Yet, those who don't, I felt sorry for. People who are so wrapped up in their own lives they can't see anything else, those people exist in an isolated world. I understand they may have been in a hurry, they may have been distracted by good news, or they might have been learning about something bad. It doesn't excuse them. Flowers bloom, raindrops make rainbows on dirty earth, and wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings deserve to be discovered and marked as special things. 

 Things as simple and gentle as warm fleecy blankets and whiskers on well.... everyone! Afternoon naps on rainy grey days and books-More favorite things!

I'm glad we can count up all these good things and I'm glad for the lesson learned on Steve's day off. Now, am going to make pizza dough and hope it turns out as well as it did the other day when I made cheesy bread sticks!

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!!!

 Jonathan Scott was born Feb 4 early in the morning. He's not gotten up that early since, except to go deer  hunting. His brother, Tony, gave Jon his middle name. Tony also gave Jon the cat in the photo taken last April (2015).

 We celebrated Jon's birthday this year with a moderate turkey dinner. Complete with grey mashed potatoes. (I had a spice mix from something else that I accidentally spilled into the lovely white taters, the spice mix appeared to be heavy on the pepper side!). There is not a photo of the mashed veggies--

When I made Jon's cake, I discovered I had not purchased enough Kit Kats. It took one break more than 10 full size bars to complete the circle. I also used 6 bags of assorted flavors of M&Ms on top. When we added the 21 twirly candles, it was a rather festive topping! We put in one straight candle for the 22nd birthday.

 Steve's hand was getting a bit warm, so he had to pull back to cool off before finishing the rest of the lighting.

 I also took one of Jon blowing OUT the candles, but alas--I was standing in the way of the smoke and well, it ended up being a VERY dark picture.

We decided if the citizens in Ceaser 3 had a chocolate coliseum to live near, they'd not have complained! (Jon's been playing this and his citizens got very annoyed at living next to their coliseum!)

 Cutting a cake is always  interesting. The edges would have been more secure if I had been able to get it all decorated when the frosting was 'sticky'. Putting more decor on at a later time made things tumble easier. Jon didn't mind.

 Kila tried to get a stray m&m. He was mad we took it away.

 OK, forgot to turn this around! Jon had a choice between cookies and cream and chocolate chip mint ice cream. He chose wisely.

 We let the birthday boy cut the cake (talk about a blurry photos!! Jon also didn't take many of these pictures). On the cake he didn't use a protractor or consult our neighbors (one is his HS geometry teacher and the other is a uber smart science professor type) for assistance.

 We rounded out the evening with a couple shakes of Yahtzee. Which dad won both times. We are pretty sure he added up his columns more than once...

 Jon had poppy seed muffins at work yesterday and then today, on Friday, one of Jon's coworkers made a cake for him! I think he had a pretty good birthday. Wonder what next year will bring??

Ice Cream Run

It started out stormy, but the sun poked thru the clouds by late afternoon. The kid suggested we make an DQ run and use the coupon I had. Sounded like a good idea. There was a lovely display of rays, but we stopped in the wrong part of the highway and the photos had too much of man in them. Jon wanted to get some of the hills and so we stopped. The winter wheat is lovely~ 

 I laughed when I read on a website about 'birthday freebies'. If you join the Blizzard Club, you get a coupon like this every month (good for a couple of weeks) and it is buy a medium and then you get one free. We did!

 On the way back to town, Jon took a different road. He also stopped to pick up a floor mat that was lying akimbo on the asphalt. It was in really good shape, too! I took a photo of the setting sun.

 Along Dry Creek, there are several farms. We were entertained by the lambs who have been born recently. They are such hilarious creatures at this age (before they turn into stubborn annoyances). They were bleating and frolicking and seemed to be having a great time celebrating being alive. The ewes weren't as impressed.

 I've always like this old grain elevator and Jon took several photos of it for me. This isn't my favorite one, but it shows the whole building. The ghosts of previous harvests were blowing in the weeds before it-I'd like to go inside, but am pretty sure it wouldn't be very safe.

 Yesterday, a favorite FB friend (one I got to meet in real life) died of cancer. This ice cream run was in honor of him, really. He loved ice cream, we met at DQ before one of his chemo treatments. Alaska Bob was a larger than life man who wielded a keen wit and had a great eye for photography. He'll be missed by so many of us. Toni wrote about him on her blog, I hope you visit it as we celebrate Alaska Bob.