OK - OK - I know it's been a while......

It snowed! We woke up Tuesday morning with a light dusting, but I didn't take a photo. Yesterday was "town day" and the weather ranged from sunny and cool to a blizzard. We got our chores finished and headed home and WE had a blizzard! The wind was blowing very hard and the snow really came down for a while. This photo doesn't capture it very well, but you get the idea. Most of it is gone now, of course.Easter weekend was spent with Jim, Janet, Denise, Greg, and Jim's brother, Mike. Had a fantastic dinner and great company. After the big meal, the guys did the guy thing and watched TV while us girls did the girl thing and talked and laughed. I will post the group photo later, but here is some of the decor.

Denise and I chatted online for a bit this morning - she introduced me to a new networking site all about books. goodreads.com A great site for us bibliophiles. Now, if I could only catch up on my pile of books!

So, lets talk about Idol - what is the matter with people? I'm not about to spend a buck to vote, so I guess I can't complain, but Simon sure had it right when he referred to it as a popularity contest, didn't he? I'm tired of Paula liking EVERYBODY no matter how bad they sound. As far as talent goes, David C and Carly have my vote (ahem...) and I was sorry to see Chikezie go based on a bad night and not on his overall performance. Kristy, even though you're from Oregon, you have outlived your time on the show. Let's say bye bye next week.

Back to Routine - Walks

Yup, it's back to the morning walks and this mornings was an adventure! Took a different trail today, up river (Deschutes) toward Steelhead Falls, then up a game trail to the top. In the photo below, the falls are around the bend at the left.
This is looking back towards the way we came along the river. Pretty, even though the sky is a bit gray.
We took both dogs and they were acting kinda strange - especially Bentley. We decided that she missed having Bill on her walk. She kept running off and being a Beagle, that means nose to the ground ignoring everything else. She would run off, then Joyce would put her on the leash for a while and she would be fine again for a little bit, then run off again. After we got up on top of the ridge and headed down the other side (in the area of "Earl") Bentley took off again and next thing we knew, she was on the other side of the draw - a long long ways away. Joyce called her, but she was headed down a path with her nose down and running like crazy and letting out little yelps as she went. We kept calling and she kept on running. We went down the hill and up the other side calling for her and when we got on top of the next ridge, we split up to look for her. After probably 20 - 30 minutes, Joyce found her. She (Bentley) didn't seem to be too concerned except she knew it was time to be leashed again. Off we headed towards home - a 2 hour "walk" in for the day. Got my exercise!

In honour of St Patrick's Day,

"Those who drink to forget, please pay in advance."
- Sign at the Hibernian Bar, Cork City.
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"Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat."
Alex Levine
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"When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious."
Edna O'Brien
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And a Blessing for your day:
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May God grant you always...
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.
Laughter to cheer you,
Faithful friends near you.
And whenever you pray,
Heaven to hear you.

Getting back to "normal"

Things are gradually getting back to normal around here. The weather has been off and on - not much rain, but some cloudy days and a "breeze". Activities are picking up on the ranch - they have been chipping up at the limb dump to make room for more. The Lions operate the limb dump now because when it was free, people dumped just anything. The Lions charge a small amount and monitor it so that only vegetation is brought in. We burn most of our limbs, but when we were clearing the property, we would take loads to the dump. One day, I remember taking 9 trailer loads in one day. I posted this photo before, but this is when we were getting ready for house building and the fire dept was sending around a chipper/mulcher to encourage people to clear their property. This is our pile, which was reduced to a small pile of mulch........

So, we were out for a walk the other day and the phone rang. Why is this surprising? #1 - Dean actually had his phone with him, #2 - we had reception, #3 - Dean was out walking with Abby and I, and #4 - it was Trish! He stood admiring the view while he talked. I was taking photos of the little yellow flowers in the foreground. To prove that spring is just around the corner..... Jim and Janet stopped for a few days on their way back from snowbirding in the SW, We went on a couple of hikes - this is a "shortcut" that Bill told us about. He forgot to mention that there was one kinda tricky place. Janet and I slid down. I'm taking photos of Jim taking photos of Janet's big adventure.


We had a nice hike - Dean and Janet took Abby and the shorter route and Jim and I stretched it out by another mile or so. It was a perfect day for a hike.
Another day, we went over to the pinnacles and took a side trip to see "Earl". Joyce and I found this marker one day while doing a cross country - it's in the middle of nowhere, not on a trail or anything. Earl was only 24 years old when he died. Makes me curious. Google doesn't help.
It was nice having them here for a while. Janet and I did a shopping day in Bend and stopped at Deschutes for lunch and BEER. We shared a taster and also got a snifter of Coffee Double Black - amazing porter - almost 11% alcohol, so I let Janet have most of it, but we did get the growler filled with it. YUM!
They arrived the day after we got back from cleaning out Carol's apartment, so we just had time to move the bed into the guest room and set up the dining room table. I'm enjoying setting out Carol's things and cherishing memories. The house needs a good straightening, though, so I'm off to that project.

Dedicated to Carol

My 90 year old aunt, Carol, passed away Sunday morning in her sleep. I regret that I had to spend the last week of her life at home fighting a really bad case of the flu. With my sister going through radiation and chemo and Carol susceptible to pneumonia, I couldn't put them in danger of catching my bug. Thank you all for your prayers and you, fellow blogger Paul for your kind words. Carol was a class act to the end. She will be missed by many.