Lush

After yesterday' desert looking pictures. I wanted to show you that there is also a lot of green here .

Just east of us is this lush valley.

We enjoy driving up there to see the pretty flowers

and of course...we are always looking for moose

and we got lucky. This is as close as I have ever gotten to the big bull moose.

I was brave because he was beside the road..and I was in the car!

The Morning After

 click on photo to enlarge

We ate too much at the dinner party the night before. So, around here you  hit the trails the next day instead of the gym!

With this behind us

and this ahead of us, Tom and I headed out (early)



 to The Dillon Pinnacles

Even though it looks like dry desert....

There were a few trees, and even a bench along an old creek bed.

I was having trouble balancing the camera on a rock...which is why I am falling back on the bench just as the timer went off! Ha!

The Pink Bird

We were invited to a friend's cabin for dinner who has a thing for Pink Flamingos

This one was even neon

This one has a whole changeable wardrobe

but this guy was my favorite!

Quack Quack

Saturday was the annual Ducky Derby Race

 It's quite obvious that it is a big deal around here!

You donate $5.00 and you are given a chance on a duck...or you can purchase 5 chances for $20.00.

At 2pm on Saturday a front loader was lifted high over the Henson Creek Bridge

and into the creek went all of the little duckies

and off they go! The first duckie to cross under the Ocean Wave Bridge (sic) about a mile away wins a $1,000.!

Volunteers with nets stretch across the river at the finish line, catching all of the ducks, as not to pollute the river.

An Oldie

This little coin operated kiddie carousel is out in front of one of the businesses in our little mountain town.
. I am not sure if the owner knows how "vintage" it actually is. He might just make more money  by selling it, than collecting the quarter he gets for a ride. I saw a very similar one on Ebay for $2,000!

Baking for the Tea

click on photo to enlarge

Committee members  busy baking delicacies for the upcoming Victorian Tea

(setting up a pose for a newspaper ad)

Yep, that's me with the rolling pin

Come to Our Town..Where You Too Can Be a Kid Again!

Our little movie theater shows first run movies....and on occasion vintage movies like The Searchers with John Wayne

The owner of our movie thought it would be the perfect time to plug the up coming Stick Horse Rodeo. (an actual rodeo for young and old alike) Members of the Lake City Gang...rode down the aisles. Yep, that is my Tom on the far right.. Where am I you ask? Well, I may be a fourth generation Texan...but I am no cowgirl!

Where Are We Going?

I asked a friend from Houston, who had just bought a cabin here, to go to the Women's club meeting with me in our little mountain town. I parked the car, and we started walking down this alley. I noticed a rather  strange look on her face.

So I said "I never said it was the Junior League".

Fancy, no. ...but these gals raise a lot of money for the needs of this little town...and have an awful lot of fun doing it!

Bath Time

Annie, my neighbor, bathing Grizzly on a sunny morning

Our Trails

We have several miles of walking trails around our town

Most of them along the water (kind of a glare, but Henson Creek is flowing by.)

If you ask me, there is not a more peaceful place to walk than by scenes like this.

Saturday morning, when we walked, the trail volunteers were out doing maintenance on the trails.
Meet Steve

Joanne

and Laura....all friends and dedicated volunteers

as an added bonus, saw this sweet couple on the way home.

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Use What is Available

We have some beautiful hillsides around here. Well, I don't consider this one of them. In some places it looks like the hillsides were blasted. Maybe back in the mining days? Anyway, a young couple is building  their house on one of these such hills. And by building it, I mean physically building the house themselves.

I like that they are using what is avaiable for free, to build this retaining wall. Tom says it looks like a fort complete with gun ports.

I will show you what it looks like when they finish!

The Price is Right

I get tickled when I see this. We do not have any sort of resale or charity shop in town. So, when someone wants to get rid of something (that possibly needs throwing away) they try to give it away for FREE! I am not saying that someone might not like this, or have a use for it......but the owner would have to pay a fee to throw it away at the dump, so giving it away for free is the best solution.
Me, I am just wondering if the office chair is part of the deal?

But is it Fair Trade?

Meet one of our most dreaded critters. Bet you were expecting a bear or a mountain lion...not this sweet looking innocent little fellow. What is it you say?

Well it is a Pack Rat, Wood Rat or some call it a Trade Rat. Call it what you may, but you do not want these in your home. ....or your car. They are famous for building their nests....called  a midden under the hood of your car...usually chewing through hoses and wiring to add a bit more comfort to their bed....or worse yet in the walls of your house

So, why are they called Trade Rats? Well, they not only take things from you....they are famous for leaving something in trade. But, the trade is not worth the destruction they do in your house and or car.They are especially fond of shiny objects and are likely to leave you a rock or stick in exchange for your jewelry!

So far, we have not been graced with their presence.....many of our neighbors have.

The Pack Rat-Local #5

(a borrowed photo)