Ez's Last Ball Game

This was Ez's last t-ball game, I'm sad to say. It was such a beautiful evening - clean and crisp and clear blue skies. Ez biffed it on his skateboard earllier today and had a huge bump on his head and a scrape on the side of his mouth.

Ez caught my eye and gave me a "thumbs up."

Three amigos. These kids were on Ez's team. I just liked the cute candid shot.

Cute little Hazel and Shaury.

Who Teaches Birds to Build Nests?

I found a bird's nest today on my early-morning walk with Elaine. It was on the sidewalk below a fence. I brought it home. It's amazing to me that birds can create something so amazing. A nest has to be planned in advance; they are complex. Just think about all the materials used to build a nest. Mud has to be gathered first to make mud for mortar. The mud is mixed with a bird's saliva and then formed into a nest shape. Grass, moss, feathers, etc have to be obtained and added. Birds are like civil engineers.

Mac Fish in a PC Lab

These fish are OLD! We've had this Macintosch computer housing as a home for these goldfish for many years. They're still going strong. We do get chuckles, since we're a PC lab:)

Lunch at my Desk

Lunch today consisted of eating at my desk. I brought a delicious salad from home. I threw in the kitchen sink: spinach, feta cheese, pecans, salmon, dried cranberries, avocado and strawberries, with a raspberry-lime dressing. I was all out of mushrooms and fresh blueberries.

Happy Radishes

My radishes are doing great!

Wildflowers Photography Expedition

I signed up to go on a photography expedition with my friend, Cherrie Travis. It was being taught by a fellow I went to school with, Jon Williams. We had been watching the weather all week and it didn't look good. I woke up to rainy skies, bundled up in layers of warm clothing and put on my new Keen hiking boots, which I had waterproofed last night. Amazing to be digging out my warm clothing in the middle of June! We met at Jon's studio, which is down a beautiful pathway from his house, which is across the street from the Beus Trailhead in South Ogden.

We went up Trappers Loop and found wildflowers here and there. It was pouring rain during most of our trip.

I learned a few good tips and more about using the manual settings on my camera. Most of my photos were taken in manual mode. It's about time I took this next step in photography.

Everything was so green. This was taken somewhere along Trappers Loop, I think. We drove over to Wolf Creek, ate in Eden and then took the North Ogden Divide road to the 23 acre nature preserve on Mountain Road, which Ogden Nature Center manages. I didn't know there it was there. There are lots of trails and opportunities for photographers.

This beautiful pink striped flower was taken just before you enter the nature preserve.

Here's Jon showing Cherrie how to do something on her camera.

The photography students, taken on Jon's property.

Keen Sale

I left work early today to attend a shoe sale at a fellow's house in Sugarhouse. He is a sale rep for Keen shoes, my favorite brand. Twice a year he sells his samples out of his garage. He only carries size 7, so I'm lucky it's the size I wear. I got there just as the sale started. I was on the lookout for a good hiking shoe. I picked up a few different styles to try on, but because I couldn't carry all of them, I just picked up one shoe of each. I decided on the "perfect one" and went to get the other shoe. It was GONE. I tried to find it and asked the rep if he had seen it. He looked around too and we eventually found it on SOMEONE ELSE'S FOOT! And she would NOT take it off.  She kept saying, "Would you consider onsies and twosies?" Not sure what she meant, (JACKS...maybe???) we were probably about the same age. I declined, over and over again. She said," But it's just the right color and fits my arch well and I like the style." Well, DUH! That's why I wanted it! I wandered around and waited and waited, but she would not take off that shoe. I politely told her I was there first and would like the shoe. She responded: "HOW do you KNOW you were here first??"  (I had seen her walk in - she was wearing a very bright jacket) She just kept that shoe on her foot. I wandered around some more and she again asked, "onsies and twosies?"  (WHAT! Are we in Kindergarten??) I politely declined AGAIN, told her I was ready to check out and needed the shoe. She did not answer. I finally got in line and when it was my turn to check out I handed over ONE shoe and said I wanted to pay but I needed the other shoe, and that I had arrived first. He walked over to the woman and said she needed to take off the shoe. I HATE confrontations and was shaking by the time I walked out - WITH THE PAIR.

I picked these up for Joanna for her baby, Jane.