No Easy Way to say this....

My sister, Gloria died yesterday.
Today, in the choir room, Dr. Savage said, " There is no easy way to say this, but a choir member emeritus Gloria, sister of Martha. died yesterday. The sound of shock and sadness permeated the room. Many  choir members  came to me with words of comfort and kindness. I wish I could transfer all the hugs to her Daughters.
 Many  said they would miss her spirit, sense of humor, and courage.
Gloria will be missed.
Our chaplain wrote his prayer for Gloria which included a portion of" In Paradisum"
"May the angels lead her into paradise......

I truly believe that she is enjoying peace and contentment.

Bird's Eye View

I guess I should really say...view of the birds eye. Thanks to the closeup on my camera, I feel  I'm invading the privacy of the birdie world. They are such fun to watch and for some reason seem to be more
plentiful in variety and number.

We have our regulars....Chickadee..Nuthatch..Wren...Robin...Crow...Steller's Jay.
This week we have seen Goldfinch...Rufous-sided Towhee..Song Sparrow...White Crowned Sparrow..
Dark-Eyed Junco..Pine Siskin...House Finch..Varied Thrush...Pileated Woodpecker and Northern Flicker.

Hope to see some Evening Grosbeak soon.

A Dresden Doll

I sang for a funeral this morning in Auburn. A lovely woman of 93 passed on.
Her son asked me to look at his mom. It was amazing. She was without a wrinkle. A doll like texture.

I've decided that the way to look younger is to die!

I think I'll keep my wrinkles.

Every Spring our yard sings,"I feel Pretty"

Spring has more than one meaning. The spring on our garage door opener went flying across the cavern.(translation..our garage is a mess). Luckily no one was present at the time or it could have been disastrous.
The spring is about two ft. long and landed in the back of the garage so must've been some power there.

Thanks to Joe, the garage doors are both repaired. The new springs have a safety device so can't go flying.

Enough of that story.

Enjoy the Spring Flowers.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Heading Home

                                         We took photo of the owners treasure.

                                           Steve..our guide, did all the driving.

It's fun to take photos in a moving vehicle. Some actually are pretty good.

ARE WE THERE YET?

Our trip to see Steve's property is a 5 hour drive .The first thing I said as we left his driveway is the typical remark every child makes, " Are we there yet?"
It is actually a lovely drive. Of course there are a few miles of sagebrush and tumbleweed but then it turns into   patchwork artistry. Some land different shades of brown, then  shades of green. I am always amazed at the changes made by water and the plow.
The road to the property is rough but it got us there, and the scenery is lovely.
We walked through pine trees, amid many wild flowers,  to the spot where we set chairs and enjoyed the view.  There was no clear path as the only trails are made by the white-tailed deer and wild turkey.

Steve set up targets and we all tried hitting the mark.  Joe seemed to enjoy the shooting and he and Steve are good at it.
Svetlana was very competitive. When the hits were counted, she  insisted that Steve count every hole. Actually some were made by the staples used to put up the signs. It was funny. Go Svetlana!
Joe and I had fun. The room we stayed in was fine. All the food we brought worked out, and the beds were comfortable.
Steve and Svetlana went on an additional drive. We opted out on that one as we felt they needed some time without  parents.We missed seeing over 50 deer, many wild turkey, elk and their young. Oh well, we walked over to the city park and listened to owls.

                                            Steve....Svetlana...............Joe

                                          Bonneville Shooting Star  One of the many wild flowers on
                                           the property.

                                                 Yellow  Balsam Roots

                                                  Steve......target practice

All you have to do if you want a turkey is climb into this extremely clean turkey blind.

There are two or three  on the property.