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.

Determined Onions

I have an old pot in my yard. I totally neglect it. It never gets watered. I don't take it to the shed in the fall. I don't fertilize or add new soil. And yet, every year these lovely purple onions (chives) come blooming back.

Spring Fever...Finally

I took off work this afternoon - something called spring fever caught me by surprise and I just couldn't stand to be indoors any longer. I came home; Mike and I ran some errands and then we went for a 2-hour drive in the MG. First time this year. It was such a perfect day to go for a drive in a convertible. We drove the back roads clear to Pleasant View - no destination in mind. But I did discover a couple of places I want to take my camera back to. We ended up at Farr's Ice Cream in Clinton for a frozen yogurt. That was my dinner. I then hopped on my bike and took a long ride up on the trail. They have part of the Clearfield trail open so I rode to just after 200 N and came upon the train tracks, turned around and did two laps around Holt Elementary. Probably about a 5 mile round trip ride.

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:)