2012: Chapter 28 - Mayan Calendar End

OK, the world didn't end on December 21, 2012 but I had fun in Sedona anyway. I drove up after work on Thursday to be there for our nephew, James. His first visit ever to Arizona included a trip to the Grand Canyon with a buddy, Kevin. After a grand (canyon) sunset, they traveled to Sedona for a cabin overnighter. The electric blankets kept then warm all night. I filled them with coffee and cinnamon Pop Tarts in the morning and bid them adieu as they left for Flagstaff to enjoy breakfast with a friend.

I headed into town to find a vortex to await any possible 12-21 happenings. The Airport Vortex seemed to call me so I hiked up and sat for a while. I chatted with a couple of women then kept hiking till I found a quiet place to sit and meditate. The active winds whispered quietly in my ears and also shouted loudly in the canyon.

I took the opportunity to visit and join the Sedona Heritage Museum. That is a place I will definitely spend more time exploring. While lying in bed awaiting sleep I realized that slumber on the longest night of the year was a good thing; the next day would bring longer days. Yay - more light!

See you all next time...
M

Nephew James and his buddy, Kevin in front of the cabin

Airport vortex cairn to commemorate 12-21-12

Airport vortex cairn and sign

Beautiful morning color on Sedona mountains

2012: Chapter 27 - It's All Relatives

Cathy & Wayne. That is, Aunt Cathy & Uncle Wayne. Yep. They came for a visit, yay! Their Monday visit prompted me to take the day off work. I came up the day before and tidied up for them. It was nice not have any projects to tackle, but I really missed having Bill around. Most of the leaves are on the ground and I just love walking through them - crunch, crunch crunch! That sound beneath my feet carries me back to my Michigan childhood.

My childhood included being the flower girl in Cathy & Wayne's wedding. There is a funny story to that. Apparently at the reception there was no place for me to sit at the wedding party table. So everyone scooted down a bit and I sat between Cathy & Wayne! For years I thought I married Uncle Wayne. He got stationed in Arizona and I missed them for many years. Later when they finally moved back, I thought they were so cool (I even had a crush on Uncle Wayne). Their Arizona stories mesmerized me. In fact, those stories were the reason I moved here.

After a nice Indian Gardens lunch we shopped in town. It was fun having them all to myself. Aunt Cathy is one of my mom's younger sisters. Having lost Mom & Dad several years ago, I now realize that Cathy & Wayne are parents to me. They've known me since before I was born and everything about me. They've traveled with me on my lifelong journey. And just like my Sedona electric blanket, their unconditional love wraps me with love and warmth.

I love growing wiser with each passing moment.


Cathy & Wayne's wedding August 27, 1960. That's me at 4 years old!





Cathy, Me, and Wayne shoppin' Yay!



2012: Chapter 26 - Yummy Breakfasts

Two yummy breakfasts this weekend. The first one was thanks to us. The second one was thanks to the Hanson's.

As you know, more than several months ago we turned off the gas (and smelly pilot lights) of the very old gas range that came with the cottage. The place smelled a lot better but it came at a big price - no cooking except for the microwave. Fortunately, Dean, from Yavapai Bottle Gas hooked up our new stove during the week and VOILA breakfast got cooked on Saturday morning. It was delightful.

Also, the final hookup of the dishwasher was very exciting, thanks to my wonderful husband.  We've been hand washing and drying dishes for the past 15 months in the cottage.

Friday evening we had a little fun and went to downtown Sedona and eagerly awaited the arrival of Santa Claus on a firetruck. The holiday singers were very cheerful while the hot chocolate brought welcome warmth.

Saturday afternoon we quickly checked friend Joy's place then were off to visit our good friends, the Hanson's. Our travels took us through Jerome, a certified ghost town. We lunched there at 15 Quince, a very delicious Mexican restaurant. The rest of scenic journey over Mingus Mountain to Prescott was full of windy turns. That is the twisting and turning type of windy (long I), not the wind (short I) type. It was great to see the Hanson's and also other friends, the Lueders.

Delightful conversation was followed by a wonderful Italian dinner in town. A short walk found us at the city square and starting up of the holiday lights. Such fun!

We slept at Hotel del Hanson and in the morning were treated to another wonderful breakfast. Homemade waffles, blueberries, butter, syrup, coffee and of course, bacon - YUM! Thanks Dave and Sara.

Oh yeah, Dean from the gas company lit our furnace pilot light. But in our attempt to start the furnace, we accidentally extinguished the pilot. Aargh! Got to figure out that stuff - You Tube, here we come!

Until next time...

Michelle (AKA The Pioneer Woman)

The new stove in it's rightful place...

Holiday singers in downtown Sedona

2012: Chapter 25.1 - Jawbone And Weekenders

I've been told that the jawbone Takota chews on is probably from a cow but it could be a horse. As an aside, the 4 year old neighbor boy, Jackson, turns it upside down and uses it for a pretend gun. It is nice to see kids use their imagination these days!

Oh yeah - we were jawing with our neighbor, Rob, and he told us something funny. The full-time neighborhood residents have a term for those of us who only come up on weekends - Citidiots! (City + Idiots) I think that is hilarious; guess we are citidiots.

2012: Chapter 25 - Early Holiday At The Cottage

Yay! We got what we wanted, at least for the last 15 months; a new refrigerator and stove. The Home Depot sleigh and two reindeer delivery men dropped them off on Friday.  Installation of the fridge was a breeze. Can you say, "plug it in?" LOL. The gas stove needs conversion to propane, so we elected to have our gas company do it in a few days. We'll have them light the furnace pilot too. As the sleigh flew (ahem I mean drove) away it carried the old and I do mean OLD stove, fridge and dishwasher.

The next day we finished installing the dishwasher we started last visit. Prepping the new stove area included cutting away some of the counter top backsplash and repairing an area under the cupboards. It had obviously been home to that mouse we trapped when we first moved in. While Bill was busy with that project, I removed that scuzzy wallpaper behind the refrigerator and painted the wall.

The weekend wasn't all work (even though work in Sedona is play).  The weather was perfect - 70's in the day and 40's at night. An electric blanket helped us make it through the 40's. A lunch at Indian Gardens was fun. A customer thought I worked there and asked me, "Do you carry Red Rock passes?" Maybe someday I will work there.

On our way back to the cottage, we saw a woman walking her dog on the bridge over Oak Creek. Suddenly the dog jumped off the bridge footpath and landed with its legs dangling through the bridge's railroad rails (see photo below). We helped the dog get to safety. Poor thing was shaking like a leaf, but wasn't hurt :-)

Autumn leaves still adorn most trees, but at least half have fallen to the ground. Takota, our neighbor's dog, was having fun chewing on some type of animal jawbone (again, see photo below).

Can't wait to cook something next time!

The old appliances (and that wallpaper behind the fridge) - ick!

Bill and the new appliances, (except that microwave)

Bridge over Oak Creek where the dog got stuck in

Jawbone that Takota chews on

Autumn leaves near Indian Gardens (our favorite place)

Our street sign that Bill fixed last year after a tree branch snapped it

2012: Chapter 24 - No Job Is Finished Until The Wallpaper Work Is Done

Happy Veteran's Day to all Vets, especially the ones in our families!!!

Thank you for your service

Aargh! More wallpaper to remove. I'll get back to that shortly. Sedona was COLD this weekend. The snow flurries that blanketed us on Saturday afternoon turned into a 20 degree night. How to stay warm? We are experimenting with different ways to do that. We haven't yet turned on our propane powered furnace. Last year we weren't sure that it worked very well. For now, we have a few small electric room heaters and electric blankets. We'll see.

The hard freeze also caused a water pipe on our neighbor's roof to burst. She wasn't there (her place is also a weekend get-away) so we turned off her water and called to let her know. She was so thankful and proceeded to call her handyman to fix the problem. As neighbors, we all watch out for each other.

The cold weather has some good points: WAY LESS BUGS, eagles return (hope to see some again this year), crisp air to breathe, pretty clouds from winter storms, etc.

On Saturday we returned "Watch For Me On The Mountain" (a book about Geronimo) to the library then headed to Home Depot in Cottonwood. We have finally reached the point in the renovation to put in a new refrigerator and stove. Yay! We haven't had a stove in several months. The gas stove that came with the house was very old. Each burner had a pilot light that was continually lit. Needless to say, it used a lot of propane plus had a faint smelly odor permeating the place. The old fridge worked ok but its harvest gold color simply does not match a black stove and dishwasher. So in two weeks it's "bye bye" to the old and "hello" to the new. We also went to good friend, Joy's new place in Sedona to check it out for her. She also uses it as a get-away. It is GORGEOUS and only about 13 miles from our place.

Oh yeah, back to the wallpaper. As it turned out, the height of new fridge required removal of the kitchen cabinet over the fridge. It came off easy enough, but much to my chagrin, there was more wallpaper behind the cabinet! Darn! Well now that I'm quite expert at removal, the job should go pretty well (I hope). I'm glad to get rid of that cabinet anyway. I never use a cabinet over a fridge because it is too awkward.

We also took out the gross old dishwasher and are in the process of putting in our 2 year old one from home that came up north after we got a new one. Thankfully no plumbing broke during the process.

OK, I could go on and on but need to get caught up on some Glendale home stuff. So until next time...Namaste my friend, Namaste.

~M~

Winter storm heading to Sedona

Winter storm clouds over Bell Rock

A few snow flurries landed on a table at Indian Gardens

2012: Chapter 23 - Bye Bye Wallpaper

Whoever invented wallpaper should be put away somewhere! Something resembling wallpaper covered a large area in the kitchen. I'm sure the person who hung it thought it looked "aahhh" and "oohhh". But after years and years of kitchen gunkiness, it was old-fashioned, dirty, grease spattered, generally yucky and in need of removal!

Having never done that that before, I consulted my trusty know-it-all source - YouTube. So, armed with a spray bottle of half water and half fabric softener, a wide putty knife and a wallpaper scorer I attempted the chore. Surprisingly, it went well and by weekend's end, the walls were sporting a new covering of Kilz and Linen White paint.

Bill's "fun" included using a new gas powered trimmer to blast away dead weeds and such. Then he used our new power washer to clean the deck. Next on his radar was prepping and covering the evaporative cooler  for the cold weather soon to come. He really loves the outdoor tasks.

The weekend included an unexpected visit to our favorite Sedona Vortex, Ace Hardware. Our Ace Guru, Charles, gave us advice on scorpion control. This wouldn't have been needed if I hadn't been stung twice by one of those ugly critters! Now we have some work to do to keep them at bay. If it isn't one thing, it's definitely another!

We spent the evenings playing cards. Rummy seems to be our favorite game so far. We talked of the many card games we played while growing up. My Grandma Godette loved cards! Both of our families loved playing cards. Perhaps we will get a cribbage board for the cottage.

A leaf bug

Latte Happy Hour at Indian Gardens

2012: Chapter 22 - Things That Go Bump In The Night

Autumn is making itself known the canyon. Warm clothes, blankets, cooler temps, changing leaves yada, yada, yada. I love this time of year. Come to think of it, I love any time of year in the canyon :-)

Why are starting projects so much more fun than finishing them? I really want to get rid of that ugly kitchen wallpaper. But I resisted. Instead I installed and caulked the last two window frames/screens. Then I caulked the guest bedroom and closets in both bedrooms. Yay! Next I'll tackle the wallpaper. While I was busy with those projects, Bill worked hard on grooming the yard and winterizing the evaporative cooler.

Our good friends, Dave and Sara, and their son, Jeff, visited for a whole day. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Indian Gardens then hiked to Munds Creek. Our post-hike reward were frozen treats we brought back from lunch.

The stellar Milky Way dominates the clear, black nights. We looked at many stars in the Cassiopeia constellation. I tried unsuccessfully to find the Andromeda Galaxy. Maybe next time. That would be awesome to see!

One night I kept hearing noises that sounded like kids using skateboards. But it was definitely too dark for that. I got up and went outside and discovered our gate was undone. I figured it was banging from the wind. So I fixed that and went back to bed but kept hearing the noise. The next day I heard the noise again several times. Then I figured out what it was - acorns falling on our neighbor's house! I laughed out loud right there on the spot.

I finally got a Sedona library card. The book I'm reading from the library is, "Watch For Me On The Mountain." It's about Geronimo and the Apache Nation. I'm always on the lookout for Native American arrowheads as I walk around here. You never know. One neighbor in the area, Lois, reportedly has hundreds of them!

We also had the chance to look at Joy's new place. It is stunning! It will be great having her as a Sedona neighbor.

Until next time,

Sedona Michelle

Happy Hour on the deck! These cool mugs are courtesy of our Glendale neighbors, Jim & Sandy

Old wagon found near Munds Creek

Bill, Michelle, Sara, Dave at Munds Creek

Bill & Michelle at Munds Creek

2012: Chapter 21 - An Apple A Day Has Gone Away

About a month has passed since I last enjoyed the cottage. Many things kept me away; birthdays, trips, taxes (yes-still procrastinating), etc. But finally the day came to travel northward to our Sedona Vida.

We were met by a nearly full mailbox, freeloading spiders enjoying an undisturbed life on our deck, and most of all-our wonderful neighbors. Troy, Melissa, Mason and Jack (and their animal menagerie), Suzanne, Rob, Chris and Susan (and their sweet dog, George), Liz (mother of a new Navy Seal), Bear Cloud, and Val to name a few. Our small, intimate neighborhood is great. Everyone waves as they drive by, even if we don't know them. I love that old fashioned friendliness. 

We finished many projects. All the baseboards are now installed (just need to do some caulking), bathroom towel bars are in, all smoke detectors and fire extinguishers are up. We removed the apple tree and two lilac bushes from the front. The apple tree was much too close to the house. We discovered that the apples just fall off and feed critters. Including human critters. Believe it or not, people pull the apples off, take a bite and throw them in the street. That is so rude. Speaking of rude, someone put a dead rat in our trash can. What a stench! On the good side, at least I didn't have to see a live rat! Living in the wild is wild.

The cucumber plant produced two more cucumbers. The tomato plant grew very large and had blossoms but never made any tomatoes. Not enough hours of sunlight in the canyon. Fall is approaching; a few leaves are looking for their fall coats. The sun slips behind Wilson Mountain around 4:10 pm now leaving us wanting to crawl into bed around 6:30 LOL!

Now that most of the renovation projects are done,  almost all of the tools that have turned the cottage into a "mini Home Depot". were loaded up and brought back home.  I have been so tired of wearing  a virtual hard hat for a year! The cottage is actually liveable now. It still needs window treatments, furniture, new appliances and a few other things, but that is small potatoes compared to what the place was a year ago.

Speaking of home, I drove the Blazer while pulling the trailer (loaded with the apple tree, lilac bushes, other trimmings, and general junk). Since it was my first time pulling a trailer, I earned my "trailer badge". Bill rode home behind me on his motorcycle that has been up north since June when he lived there while working as a park ranger.

We did manage to have some "play" time. We attended a prayer service at Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is such a spiritual place. And one morning we walked to Indian Gardens for breakfast (an excellent burrito) and loved watching the early sun play with Mother Earth.

Now to go shopping for fun stuff!

Wilson Mountain, bathed in early morning sunlight,  reflected in Oak Creek

Our nearly full mailbox

Early morning sunlight playing with the trees

Bill posing on our roof, after fixing the evaporative cooler, Wilson Mountain the the background

2012: Chapter 20.1 - Joy

Joy - noun \ˈjȯi\ : 1. A state of happiness 2. A dear friend!

YAY! Joy, a dear friend of ours, bought a house in Sedona!! Yippee - we have someone to hang out with. Her place is move-in ready and so beautiful. We met in April, 1995 a few days before the Oklahoma City bombing. A new job found us sitting next to each other. Though our paths have twisted and turned over the years, we've stayed connected. You can learn more about her at her blog www.joycollins.com. 

I've come to realize that people don't move to Sedona. They are called there. It is a place that we remember and return to when the time is right...

Until next time, remember and listen. Are you being called too?

~M~

2012: Chapter 20 - Perseids

The annual Perseid Meteor Shower entertained me for two nights. Approximately 30 "shooting stars" crossed the night sky over the cottage. Staring at the Milky Way run diagonally cross our street while a warm, fresh, sweet-smelling summer breeze bathed my body was unbelievable! Every sound, though, freaked me out a little. You see, a bobcat has apparently been spotted in the area feasting on the duck, geese and swan population up the road by the apple orchard.

When the sun kept me from star-gazing, I could be found caulking, countersinking nails and painting. Most of those tasks were done on the window frames and screens we installed last time. Now I can decide on window treatments (yippee).

The weather was pretty hot this past weekend, right around 100. But the nighttime 70 degrees was very pleasant. Our cucumber plant presented us with one big enough to eat and a baby one is growing fast. The tomato plant is tall and blooming, but nothing edible has appeared. On the other hand, a peach tree across the street provided a nice treat. Oh yeah, our apple tree grew a lot of fruit, but most of it was enjoyed by the ants on the ground when the apples ended up there.

I was informed that the tarantulas are out because it is mating season. Can't they just get a room or something? Luckily I haven't been fortunate enough to witness THAT!

Oak Creek. The recent shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin got me to thinking about other places named Oak Creek. So I checked and found: Oak Creek, Nebraska; Oak Creek, Colorado; Oak Creek, Irvine, California. Interesting, there are probably others. 

Until next time...   ~m~

The cucumber plant actually attaches itself to the fence with a vine-like growth.

The first cucumber. It was about 6 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter.

The new baby cucumber, about 3 inches long.

One of our windows. Note the hand crank to open it!

2012: Chapter 19 - Rain, Rain, (Don't) Go Away!

Rain, rain and more rain. Mother Nature is trying to put an end to the drought. Long time residents here say they haven't seen it this dry in 20 years or more. The rain that started Saturday evening lasted through the night; then started up again Sunday morning. I love falling asleep to the sound of rain. Raindrops on the roof, ground, tree leaves, car; drip drop, drip drop. Each drop of rain has a different sound. Loud close thunder, distant rolling thunder. I could feel the trees and plants taking a loooong cool drink and saying, "Aaahhh."

We were able to put up the rest of the window screens and frames except two. They need extra repair attention. We may need to reconstruct the frames from new materials.

The place across the street that once belonged to Brian & Tutti and their two cute boys went up for auction after they moved out. Suzanne, the new owner, will move in after some work is done on it. She is very nice and has a beautiful German Shepherd dog named Hawk.

It is hard to believe that in a month our one year anniversary with the cottage will be upon us. So much has been accomplished. Hopefully soon we will be able to just visit the cottage and have fun!

Why are the winds angry?

Bridge over Oak Creek into our neighborhood

Bill contemplating Oak Creek

2012: Chapter 18 - Long Time No See

After nearly a month, I finally made it back to the cottage. Many things kept me from going up north. I really missed Bill and canyon life. He adjusted well to his new job but realized that it just wasn't a good fit for him. He did enjoy staying at the cottage and fixing it up while living there.

Our neighbor, Troy, has been a real help to us. He worked on our bathroom, put an entrance into the area behind the cottage, and installed baseboards. We have earned our scorpion, mouse, and tarantula badges. I guess humans and nice critters aren't the only life in Oak Creek Canyon.

The telescope our kids gave us has provided some amazing sights - star clusters, nebulae, and a satellite even traveled across the viewfinder. We are getting very knowledgeable about constellations thanks to an astronomy book they gave us.

Momma bird took two whole days teaching her three babies how to fend for themselves. It has been fun watching two broods of baby birds get raised. But we took down the nest. It is so noisy and messy. Still it was fun.

I feel like a pioneer woman gathering wild blackberries and spring water for the tomato and cucumber plants growing in our side yard.

Meals are still enjoyed at Indian Gardens Oak Creek Market. A photo I took was changed into a wonderful canvas print and presented to me from the kids as a birthday gift. Upon showing it to Daniel Garland (the market owner), he basically bought it on the spot and hung it up. I feel so proud and will get another one to hang in the cottage.

Ranger Bill

Wild berries for the picking

Blackberries delicious with breakfast

Baby birds #1 and #2

Baby bird #3

My photo hanging in Indian Gardens Oak Creek Market

2012: Chapter 17 - Family Fun!

Fathers Day and Bill's birthday were happily spent at the cottage with Cindy, Jeff, Erin and Kyler. Unfortunately, Bill had to spend most of the weekend working as a Park Ranger at Slide Rock State Park (he looks good in his uniform). He is going to live at the cottage this summer while working there. It is a good "gig" as he can get some projects done on his days off. One day he even rode his Harley over to Prescott to visit our good friends, Dave & Sara.

One of the baby birds fell out of the nest and didn't make it. We're not sure how many are still "living at home". The tomato and cucumber plants are thriving, but part of the tomato plant snapped off one day during a big wind gust.

We are all set to become amateur astronomers. The kids gave us a wonderful telescope and star book to view the night sky :-) We can't wait to start some serious stargazing!

Moonrise over Wilson Mountain

Grandson Kyler enjoying Indian Gardens Market

2012: Chapter 16 - Two Weekend Mornings

Traveling up north on Friday evening was surprisingly easy due to less traffic following the Memorial Day Weekend. The fun side to arriving then is getting to wake up two mornings to coffee, Wilson Mountain and Oak Creek’s soothing waters in the distance.

Our new neighbors have turned out to be a very nice family. We couldn’t have asked for nicer people. They are just really interesting, fun, funny and helpful. I have a friend for life in their dog, Takotah after giving him some dog treats.

Bill spent most of Saturday installing a gate at one of our deck entrances. Troy, our neighbor, came over to offer assistance and just at that moment we discovered his evaporative cooler needed some attention. So he and Bill got on the roof to fix it. Coming from Colorado and the Midwest before that, Troy had never even heard of a “swamp cooler”. While the guys did their thing, I painted the sliding glass door frame among other things.

The tomato and cucumber I planted last weekend lasted through the week. However, some type of critter is enjoying the tomato plant leaves. One of our neighbors gave me some advice so we'll see how it is next week.

The bird nest has definitely been leased by another expectant family. They basically moved right in after a few remodeling projects LOL. 

Sunday’s projects included installing molding around the sliding glass door and putting up three window frames/screens.

We left for home sometime around 6 pm and enjoyed the light traffic. It was nice to get back to the HOT (103 degrees) city when the sun had gone to bed!

Sorry no photos this week but I promise some next post. See you then!

2012: Chapter 15 - Back To Base-ics

Memorial Day. The "official"start of summer found the usual throngs of traffic and people in Sedona.  That didn't bother us though. We spent nearly the entire time installing baseboards in the living room, kitchen and half of the hallway.

Finishing touch projects that add a finishing touch are so much more fun than the required projects leading up to that point, such as: vacuuming spiders, tearing down a wall, ripping out carpeting, installing sub flooring, painting two coats of primer and two coats of paint,  and installing laminate floor. Some window frames/screens were also installed giving us a nice cross breeze in the living room.

New neighbors (Troy and Melissa) moved in during the week into the rental home next door. They are very friendly and have two sons, ages 9 and 3 (Mason and Jack), two dogs (Takotah and Marley) and a cat. The family lived in Colorado before coming to Sedona.

The four baby birds "flew the coop", but it appears a new family might be moving in, will know more next time. The Audubon Birds & Butterflies app on my iPhone is helping me identify birds and butterflies (duh) that fly (duh again) all over the place. A goldfinch was spotted near the cottage another eagle was seen on our way home (don't need an app to identify the eagle LOL!).

My good friend, Joy, will be visiting in July - yeah!

See you next time...

~M~

Hallway baseboard

2012: Chapter 14.1 - Ash Throated Flycatcher

I've learned that our baby birds are Ash Throated Flycatchers. You can learn more about them on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash-throated_Flycatcher

2012: Chapter 14 - Quadruplets!

The baby birds have hatched and there are four of them. They are really cute and the parents furiously try to keep them fed. Once a parent bird brought what looked like a 2 inch dragonfly. I could see it's antennae still moving. But it seemed like the dragonfly might have escaped during the hand off. The nest is really crowded and beginning to fall apart. I'm sure they won't be there next week.

We got a lot done this weekend. I painted the door frames around two bedrooms, back door and bathroom. Bill did a lot of yard work and trimming. Things are really coming along.

Spring is just beautiful. More blossoms than ever.  Wild berry plants, trees, and bushes. You name it and I bet it's blooming. Two eagles, two shooting stars, one satellite and, of course, the Milky Way crossed our path this weekend. Next weekend Bill is going to start working for the summer as a park ranger at Slide Rock State Park. He's looking forward to that.

I just simply cannot believe the amount of insects, birds and other wildlife that live in the canyon. I'm beginning to feel so connected to Mother Earth and all her beauty.

Have a good week everyone and see you next time.

~M~

The baby birds (I especially love the one at the far right)

A serene setting with wild berry plants in the foreground

This tree looks like it has a cut with stitches

Beautiful blossoms on a tree

2012: Chapter 13 - Two Beds Are Better Than One

We did it! We managed to get a queen sized bed into the guest bedroom! The very narrow hallway kept the rigid box springs from being put into the room. We could have put a smaller bed in there but wanted the queen size for everyone's comfort. So, believe it or not, we cut 3 boards inside the box spring allowing us to slightly bend it while pushing it into the room. Then 3 metal plates repaired the cuts. We didn't even have to cut the dust cover or side padding. We learned how to do this on You Tube. In fact, You Tube taught us how to install the laminate flooring too. What a cool website. I had no idea of its educational value.

More irises said "bye bye" to their wild untamed growth in the front yard. During that task, we discovered apples growing on a tree. I sure hope they are edible. Unfortunately, we will remove the tree because it located itself much too close to the cottage.

The mother (to be) bird has been joined by another bird (the father?) to assist with the nest. We want to know how many eggs are there but dare not disturb the activities. Between the two adult birds, the nest is almost never unattended. Being a parent myself, I know that parents of any species need no additional stress in their lives.

Watching the birds accomplish their task with just their beaks is miraculous. Humans have evolved and made life's daily tasks easier for themselves, but animals still do their daily tasks the same way they have always done. Otherwise, that little nest would have an incubator around it while the birds watched March of the Penguins on a little TV and hired some eagles to watch the eggs. Speaking of eagles, two of them crossed our path this weekend.

The "Super Moon" was so bright it turned the dark of night into a dusk-like color.  We even saw our shadows cast on the ground. It was amazing!

The guest bed

A beautiful resting place

Bill enjoying the resting place

Our apples

Rise of the Super Moon