Garden Art at Dawn

After my morning walk I noticed, with the overcast skies, that the light was perfect for some picture taking in the back yard. Of course, this made me late for work, but it was worth it. I came to work relaxed and ready to meet the day.

The fragrant honeysuckle vine is so heavy it's tipping the arbor. These two shots were taken from the deck.

Clematis on the shed.

Leaves at dawn.

Catnip blossoms.

Hollyhocks have taken over an area in the yard - which is fine with me. It's keeping the morning glory (which only grows in that one spot) at bay.

I believe these are called Red Hot Pokers - don't remember for sure. I like them against the wood fence.

I don't remember the name of the front plant, but it drops seeds and I find new growth in unexpected places, which is always delightful. The purple flower is a geranium.

These may be called Veronica. It's a perennial that was planted years ago.

Orange blossoms in the grass. The blossoms that are still on the trees are already starting to turn brown. I love this fragrant bush, but it certainly doesn't last very long.

Dwarf Pink Spirea bushes. These are so beautiful and grew fast this year with all of the early spring rain.

Mystery plant. This comes back every year, and grows in new places. It may be considered a weed, as it has a very strong and determined vine and is fast growing. However, the flower is tiny, pretty and delicate.

Shooting in the Rain

This picture was posted on facebook tonight by Jon, and taken during the wildflower expedition I went on June 12. It rained all day, and was cold - as is obvious by what I was wearing:) Jon Williams was the photographer-teacher. We both went to Ben Lomond High, so we go way back.

Billiard Balls and Croquet Balls

Two games I like to play: pool and croquet. These old balls sit in an ancient wooden bowl on my kitchen table.

Adam's Homecoming

We went to Adam Stettler's homecoming this morning. Then came home, picked up the salad and hopped in the MG to eat at the Stettler's. Afterwards we went for a long ride.

Bountiful Baskets

I heard about a co-op called Bountiful Baskets and decided to give it a try. I signed up for the Saturday pick-up and the closest one still open was at the West Haven Elementary school. I was surprised to realize I was a bit excited to see what would be in my baskets.

Here's what I took home: Swiss chard (what to I do with Swiss chard??), celery, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, red onions, strawberries, avocados, bananas, plums, apples, cantaloupe, red grapes.

Lagoon

Dave and Shaury invited us to go to Lagoon with them. It's been pretty much a yearly tradition. It's always fun to see the grandkids excitement each year.

The first ride we went on was the Merry-Go-Round. As well as the horses, it has a twirly ride where you can sit and turn the wheel to spin. Jonah and Ez wanted me to go on it with them. I was amazed at how fast they could make it go round and round and round... They loved spinning it fast and laughing at their Grandma. I've never been sick on a ride in my life, but I sure came close. I really thought I was going to throw up. And I fought a headache the rest of the day, but some of Dave's Tylenol and a couple of 64 oz Diet Cokes helped!

I took my little Panasonic camera with me and left the setting on "action." It caught some fun water pics.

Stopping water. My little camera did a pretty good job of stopping action. It was so fun to watch the kids enjoy the water fountains with complete abandon. The adults went on some "adult" rides and I volunteered to take the kids on some rides. We got sidetracked by the fountains. The kids stayed here for a long time.

Hazel and I went on a little "stroller" walk while everyone else went down the Rattlesnake Rapids. We had fun watching the geese and their fuzzy little goslings. When Hazel got too close, mother goose would hiss at her and she would come running.

A young man gave this Jazz bear to Hazel. I think he was embarrassed to carry it around Lagoon.

Ez took Hazel on the bumper cars. It was so cute - he had his arm around her the entire ride and drove with one hand. It looked like he was on a date!

Jonah and I took off together for a few minutes while everyone else went on the ferris wheel. We were going to ride this one together, but they wouldn't let me on because of my open-toed shoes.

WinCo

I decided to check out the WinCo store on 12th street in Ogden this afternoon. I heard you could make your own peanut butter. I like my peanut butter with nothing added but peanuts and was almost out of my Adams. It was pretty cool and slick to use.  I also got some blackberry honey. Someone told me not to lift up the lid and let the bees out:)

Adam at the Airport

Maureen Stettler asked if I would come to the airport and take photos of Adam coming home from his mission (New Jersey). I was happy to do so, but worried about getting good shots in the airport light. I was given some advice on what manual settings to set my camera to in order to achieve sharp photos in mixed light. Adam was supposed to fly in at 3:40 in the afternoon. The missionaries missed their flight and he arrived about 10 p.m. I had a great time watching everyone and taking pictures, but was very disappointed at the many blurry shots.

Waiting...waiting...waiting....

Rule #1: Never stand in the way of a missionary's mom...

Adam was so funny- would not hug any female except his mom and sisters. Maureen said this picture looks like an "Adam cutout" instead of the real thing!

Fragrant Honeysuckle

The honeysuckle vines are in full bloom. Such a beautiful, fragrant flower. I have been trying to use my manual camera settings. At times it is frustrating as the photo in my view finder looks crisp, but once I get them on my computer, at lot of them are blurry.

Gram's Rules & Observations When Taking Grandkids on a Bike Ride for Two Hours

1. It's harder on Gram's knees to go slow on her bike.

2. Always take your camera.
3  Allow plenty of time for getting off your bike and exploring. (Like every five minutes...)
4. Don't have an agenda (I didn't) - just go with the flow.

5. Be sure to have a basket on your bike...for snail shells and other found treasures.

6. Be ready to teach the rules of the trail. Such as when people are coming toward you, be sure you are in your own lane.

7. Just because you're on a bike doesn't mean a five-year-old is not going to talk your head off.

8. Wear your helmet.

9. Make it magical.

10. Bring band-aids (or a first aid kit:) for when little boys fall off their bikes...and are wearing flip flops.

11. Bring water.

12. Little boys pee often.
13. Look at adventures through your grandchildren's eyes - not yours. That way it's MUCH more fun!
14. It's harder on Gram's knees to go slow on her bike.

We ran into a police officer on the trail - very unusual. He asked Jonah if he would like to turn on the siren. Then he asked if they wanted to sit on his bike. Pretty cool!

Daylight got away from us - we were having too much fun.