Sewing Studio

I'm finally getting pictures up of my sewing studio.  Big thanks to Jorge for working so hard to finish it.  This is when you first walk in, to your left is this wall with my fabric and my quilt wall.  You can see the third guest room that we also finished, then as you pan around the room to the right, you see the couch, my cutting and ironing board are behind it, then you see my sewing table, and finally my quilter with a flat screen tv above it!  The  picture below is the view I see from my sewing table.

OUR VEGIE GARDEN + BOTANY CANYON = GREAT SUNDAY

Our vegie garden is small (6 x 10) but we are hoping to harvest tomatoes, onions, zuchini, corn and butternut squash. We have already enjoyed basil, parsley and thyme.

Zuchini flower, not bad looking

By late afternoon we had built our deer, rabbit and other critters protective fence

                          Sunday morning about 8 we started our hike up and down Botany Canyon and Little Elk Creek, a beautiful easy hike

Jake loves the hike. He moves constantly for the 2 1/2 hours it takes us and often goes in the creek, drinking and refreshing himself in the cold clear water

OK, we did not bring the tripod, so this is next best

We brought souvenir pretty rocks back home. Mom shows how strong she must be to bring the rocks down with us

BONUS PICTURE: the orchid appendage is growing!

Looking back

I know sometimes there is an amazement that Dad and I 'adopted' such a large dog.  But I see this picture I took at the pound the day I first saw him, and maybe it was knowing he was in dire need of love and care in a home.  This is our 96 lb. Jake (whose ribs still show) at 68 lbs.  We are always thankful we adopted this pup who makes our days just a little extra special. 

PERSISTENCE AND NATURE'S LESSONS

Sometime in the summer of 2005 during our temporary adventure back in Florida, we went to an orchid festival. Gorgeous orchids of every type and color were displayed in the numerous booths. We know nothing about orchids but bought a couple including a small plant that was obviously very young. The "adult" plant flowered, but succumbed to our ignorance of orchid culture. I continued to nurture the small plant even though at times it looked absolutely worthless to keep up such efforts. The plant has looked ragged and near death many times, including now. A few days ago an intersting appendage appeared, not at the top, but on the side under a leaf that I had to cut one of those times when plant death seemed imminent. I think we are about to be inspired by the beauty this distressed awful looking orchid will produce. Damaging hurricanes, devastating oil spills, and flowering orchids are just a few reminders of the power of nature and our obligation to care for and nurture it. JIR    

BIRDS, WILDFLOWERS AND THE VIEW

So, life has been hectic and I have not had a chance to blog. But here it is, our Memorial Day weekend visit to Montana. As soon as I put bird seed out, our friendly chickadees, finches and nuthatches came over and reassured us they are still around. This particular chickadee kept coming over to the door and looking in as if he wanted to befriend Jake. I'm sure he was looking at his reflection on the glass hoping it may be a nice looking mate, but it was fun to see him (or her) insist on being social. As far as the other shots, you may have seen similar ones before, but we never cease to find new inspiration every time we experience them. JIR 

Traveling to Montana

Some pictures don't need words.  The views are always spectacular, and the signs are always funny!This last one is of people honoring our deceased military on the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.