Konecne visit

This weekend, Lisa, Cody and the kids came down to see Grandpa and spend the weekend here. We had breakfast with them both Sat. and Sun. morning at the diner. We usually join Dad on the weekends for breakfast. After breakfast on Saturday, we wandered over so I could get some family pics. It started out a little tough. Trying to get a nice background, Tuff, the neighbor's horse decided he wanted to help out. After moving so we didn't get the horse in the picture, we did get an awesome family photo, except I forgot about the background. (smile) nobody's perfect.

From Lisa Family in Kansas

The kids both wanted to see him so I managed to get some awesome shots of them without their knowing.

From Lisa Family in Kansas

Then of course, they wanted to "ham it up some" as all kids do, but I waited for just the right moment.

From Lisa Family in Kansas

From Lisa Family in Kansas

You can't tell these two are a handful can you....LOL.

Iowa Adventures

As I am sure everyone knows by now, I am use to doing things at the spur of the moment. So when the offer came to ride up with Bert to Iowa, Steve, Gizmo and I jumped at the chance. And what an amazing adventure it was. We left Saturday (thanks Betty for taking care of Kiah)

From Kiah and friends

. With that statement, I realize how far out of date my blog is. Kiah is our granddog. Justin and Kat adopted her, but unfortunately, they could not keep her at their place because of size restriction. So until they move we have her.
Back to the adventure. We got to Bert's Saturday afternoon, ate lunch then off to Iowa to surprize John for his birthday. Even though it was a week ago, everyone was just a little busy then. All the kids came and all the grandkids as well, so we got a good family shot. It had to be a quick one though, as Nate had to get back to work.

From

We all laughed long into the night. And of course everyone got to hold Trenton (the newest of the Michael Clan). Karla looked really good, even with having the baby just a week ago. The following day, after lunch, we packed up and went out to Brandon and Karla's to see their new place and get some family photos.

From john family labor day 2009

. You can't tell they are proud. What a beautiful family and what a nice place for them to grow. With plenty of help to watch Trenton, we all went out to see the rest of the place. Karla was able to get in with her horses for a little bit, and the guys fixed a problem with the fence. During this, Steve got slapped in the eye with a horse weed. Ouch! We left there and headed for home, at least as far as KC for the night. We had gone about 1/2 hour from Corning when John called to say Michele had forgotten her favorite blanket. No problem. With Lisa coming down next weekend she could bring it with her. Then John said he tried Bert's phone first. BIG PROBLEM. We didn't hear it ring. It wasn't in her pocket or her purse. Did we leave it at Brandon's? Turn around and head back. We were just about to turn off to Lenox when the phone was found. We are now only 10 minutes from Corning so we went on back, got the blanket, some bread for sandwiches and some eye drops.
Back on the road and home again. Thanks Bert for driving, and a place to stay for the night. Thanks John and Jane for another great visit, as well as the whole Iowa Michael clan. It was good fun. Also, thanks to my cousin Monica and Pepe her papillon. I got to spend time with her as well.

From Monica and Pepe

. Also a special thanks to Brandon and Karla for the new addition to my frog collection. It looks awesome. :) I hope that Bert and Jane share their adventures as well. As I finish this up, I make no promises but will try to update everyone on all the amazing adventures since my last blog in June. With all that happened, I have lots of photos and fun to share.

Storm of June 9

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let them do the talking for me. Steve and I are both alright, as is Gizmo. We have done some repair on the roof, and hopefully have taken care of any leaks at this point. We have some work ahead of us, but with vacation coming up, we wanted to secure everything, and take care of it when we get back.

Dad's back yard

I wandered over today to see how our little robin family was doing. Of course I brought my camera along. The iris in the yard are beautiful this year, and it won't be long before the peonies start blooming. Also, the "seven sisters" rose bush that Dad has by the shed is budding. Dad says it is one of Mom's favorites. As I got closer to the house, Mama robin started squacking. It wasn't too long before I realized why. The little squashed babies from not even a week ago were all wide awake. As I got closer, Mama sounded the alarm, and all four of them exploded out of the nest. I was shocked. I couldn't believe they had grown so fast. Hope you enjoy the show.

Rockin' Robin

Well, the birds are busy at Grandpa's house. When Mom Robin first spotted me, she got pretty flustered. I guess the babies hollered enough though, she left to get food, and we shot some quick shots, before she divebombed us again. Hope you enjoy.

How does your garden grow???

I have missed being able to garden. There is nothing like the taste of fresh vegetables right out of the garden, but with my arthritis it makes it tough to work the ground like it should be done. But thanks to some thought, and the help of Dad and our neighbor Ruth, I am gardening again.

From garden and birds

Ruth had an old water troughs with some leaks, and Dad had an old tub out back. Voila....a garden at an easy to reach level. The tomato plants are in Dad's, and I have already promised him so fresh red juicy tomatoes when we get some. In Ruth's I planted both pepper plants and cucumbers. She also donated the cracked lattice. So I am hoping for a really "green" garden.

From garden and birds

Then we have one big tub with two Zucchini plants. I will keep you posted on our progress.

From garden and birds

Bird fun in the backyard

Hello all. No I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I wanted to share our "bird sanctuary" with everyone. We got some fallen branches and created a "thicket" for our feathered friends.

From birds and flowers

Even with all the rain, we finally know that spring is on the way. We have tried many different things, and at first, we mostly had Starlings and Grackles. We decided to try just safflower seeds for a while, and most of them lost interest and went to other feeders elsewhere. We then brought out the oranges and lowered some of the feeders into the "thicket" so the little ones can feed more securely. Now, we have all kinds of smaller colorful birds that keep us entertained. Of course, we still have our squirrel family that is always up to no good, but they are fun to watch as well.

From garden and birds

From birds and flowers

He comes in to eat the peanuts that we put out for him as well as the blue jays. We are lucky enough to have cardinals,

From Steve Birds May 08

gold finches,

From birds and flowers

indigo buntings,

From birds and flowers

and orioles, both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles. The orchard Orioles are the darker color orange. It says they will bring their fledglings to feeders and fruit, so we will keep an eye out for the little ones as we have seen both male and females.

From birds and flowers

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From garden and birds

Of course, our friendly woodpecker makes an appearance every day as well. He certainly doesn't want to miss out on the fun. I promise to update more often as I am sure with spring in the air, there will be lots to keep everyone up on.