Colors Of Fall

May the colors of Fall fill you with wonder and contentment.

Have a peaceful Sunday.......

Zucchini Pox

Do you see the beautiful flower below..........it was the hope, the promise, the joy of my garden way back in June when this photo was taken. I was so excited to go out that morning and find this beautiful blossom awaiting me.........it seemed to scream at me, "take my photo." Now I know why..........because flowers on my zucchini plants were all I would see for the next three months.........beautiful yellow flowers, waving at me from their hidden spots underneath all of the big, green zucchini leaves. I planted three zucchini plants this year, only three. In years past, I have over planted and had zucchini coming out of my ears, nose, eyes, etc.........I didn't want to over do it this year. I'm one of those rare people that LOVE zucchini. I can never have enough or get tired of it. So on that sunny morning, way back in June, I was thrilled with my first blossom....I could hardly wait for the zucchini to set on. I waited, waited, waited and waited some more.......lots of flowers, no zucchini. I talked to my plants, loved them, watered them religiously..........waited, waited and waited some more.............nothing but flowers appeared on my lovely plants.........nothing........then finally one day, I spotted a teeny weenie zucchini growing under the leaves.........I was so excited.........my very first teeny weenie zucchini was growing. I could hardly wait until it was big enough to pick...........wait, wait, wait, wait and wait some more........what the heck was wrong with the thing.............it wasn't growing very fast like zucchini normally do..........any other time, you would spot a zucchini one day and have six or seven the next.........well it wasn't happening this time..........I watched that teeny weenie zucchini daily, talked to it, urged it to grow............well guess what..............it shriveled up and died!! Just flat out died! When the next one appeared, I ignored it.........it grew and three weeks later mind you, I picked it. It was the only zucchini that grew on my three plants all summer long.............so much for sauteed zucchini with garlic, Italian style zucchini, marinated zucchini with red onions and sour cream, zucchini bread and way, way way to much zucchini in the freezer to enjoy over the winter months. I was heart broken, crushed in a way I have never been before........my zucchini plants betrayed me, they failed to flourish and grow under my care...........they were afflicted with the dreaded Zucchini Pox.......they failed to flourish, thrive and produce. I picked one little teeny weenie zucchini the entire summer...............what a sad, sad state of affairs. So be warned...........Zucchini Pox is on the loose.........it just might be coming to a garden near you! Excuse me now while I go call the CDC to inform them of my dreaded Zucchini Pox laden plants. Then I must go have a ritual pulling and killing of the plants.............they failed to produce, so they must be gone, gone, gone from my sight................then I really must go ponder more complex matters in my life.........like why, oh why did the cat decide to pee on the dogs bed!!!!

Haying.....The 4th & Final Cutting

I missed my chance to post yesterday. It was a busy day for us. Countrychick and I were gone in the morning, busy with schoolwork and chores in the afternoon, someone hogged the computer when he came home from work......and by the time dinner was done, kitchen cleaned up, critters cared for, etc......I was to tired to post.........but not to tired to stay up and watch Grey's Anatomy............So today I will start my series of posts on the haying process that takes place here on the farm.
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This week marked the beginning of the end of summer for us..........with the start of the 4th and final cutting for hay. Haying usually starts here around the end of May, but this year, haying started the second week of June. We had a very cool spring, so the growth on the alfalfa was slow to start. So we had 1st cutting in June, 2nd cutting in July, 3rd cutting in August and now 4th cutting in September. There are 6 pivots of hay on the farm...........one section ( 640 acres ) has four pivots on it ( each pivot is 125 acres or thereabouts ), then there are two other pivots........one at the opposite end of the valley and the hill pivot. The pivot circle being shown in the photos below is located behind my house. The photo below shows a fresh swath of hay..................

That is hayman in the seat of the John Deere swather..............it is a rotary swather, which allows for fast cutting under the right conditions. We have two rotary swathers on the farm. Hayman and Mr. B. can drop one pivot a day..................between 4 to 6 hours of cutting depending on the field and conditions.
Each pass of the swather leaves a swath of hay...........the pivot is cut in a circular pattern.
Gee, he's coming right at me............should I move...............these swathers really move compared to the swathers of "old". When I first met Hayman all those years ago.........the ranch he worked on had New Holland swathers and they just seemed to creep along in the fields.......it would take a day or more to drop a field of hay in those days...........things have changed in the last 20 years. ( when we first met, Hayman worked on a ranch.............ranch meaning they ran cows and put up hay............it was a huge ranch that encompassed two states. He had been working there since he was 13 yrs. old...............we left there in 1994 shortly after the ranch sold. ) Today, we farm.........no cows to run or care for...........just the putting up of hay.
Both swathers working in the field below..................4th cutting started on Tuesday with the cutting of the hill pivot..............one swather broke down, so Hayman cut most of the pivot by himself that day.........Mr. B. got in the field late.........by the way, as I mentioned in an earlier post, our anniversary was on Tuesday.........I also forgot to mention that Mr. B and K. also celebrate their anniversary on the same day as ours.........just a different year................how cool is that! Today Hayman and Mr. B. are cutting pivot number four.........tomorrow they will cut the final pivot of alfalfa........I know I said there are six pivots on the farm and if you are counting, I have only talked about cutting five of them..........one pivot is new seeding, planted after the triticale was taken out...........so that pivot won't get a cutting until next year.
I just love flowers and even alfalfa has pretty ones.....................you don't want to see a lot of flower in your dairy hay. A few here and there is fine.................you just don't want an entire field to turn purple on you! All of our hay is sold to a dairy in Idaho.
In the coming days, I will continue to post about the haying process...........we have raking, baling and hauling to cover.................stay tuned.

A Walk Down Memory Lane..........

Yesterday, Hayman and I celebrated 19 years of marriage. I'm still trying to figure out where all of the years have gone............they have gone by so fast. Nineteen years ago, I said, "I do," to my cowboy/farmer in a chapel in the mountains overlooking a pristine blue lake. It was a beautiful fall day. Our ceremony took place in the evening.........around 5 p.m. The sun was low in the sky and very, very pretty reflecting off the water. The ceremony was a blur.....I do remember it, but what sticks out most in my memory was the fact that when it came time to put the ring on Hayman's finger, well the darn ring wouldn't go on........it got stuck half way down and would not budge. I started to giggle and everyone else started to laugh. Hayman took charge, removed my hands ( which were shaking ) and jammed that ring on his own finger. He has been taking charge ever since...........he, he. As the ceremony came to a close, we looked over at Hayman's best man only to notice that he was still praying. We had an opening prayer at the start of the ceremony and the best man prayed through the entire thing. ( I must add that the boys had imbibed a bit of drink throughout the day, thanks to my father........he wanted to keep the black hat cowboys hydrated ) We did video our wedding............and on that video you can see the best man praying the entire time. It really was a funny sight to witness. The rest of the evening went by so fast...........during the photos after the ceremony, my sister was stung by a bee and a bee flew up my dress...............The reception was a hoot.........lots of food, drink and dancing. I think it was the best party ever or at least that was what all of our family members were saying at the time. Some of those that attended our wedding are no longer with us and our memories of them are fond and dear to our hearts, others, we have not seen in years, but think of often and with fond memories.
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Yesterday was spent like most of our anniversaries have been spent since that day nineteen years ago...........with Hayman working. ( we didn't have a honeymoon because the day after we were married, Hayman had to get back to the ranch to start 4th cutting of hay........that has been the story of my life. ) I spent yesterday in town with Countrychick......she had an orthodontist apt., then we had lunch with my mom, did some shopping and came home. Hayman was on the swather cutting hay......because of the cool, damp morning, they got a late start in the field, then one of the swathers broke down, so they were in the field cutting until 8 PM. I fixed a nice dinner for us all ( even if it was at 8:30 p.m. ). We had rib-eye steaks grilled in the dark by the headlights of my car, twice baked potatoes, a big green salad, and cheesecake for dessert. Oh, and wine with dinner.........can't forget the wine. The wine was from our son Cowboy M. ( I still can't believe he is old enough to buy wine!! ) It was a beautiful fall day, just like that day nineteen years ago.............we have traveled many roads in the last nineteen years, seen many places and done many things..............but I wouldn't trade this adventure for anything. I'm blessed, I love my husband and my family.............and I'm looking forward to the next nineteen years..............Next year is the big 20 year anniversary.......I wonder if I can get Hayman to take me to Italy...............I'm sure he'll plan something, but I bet there will be fly fishing involved.......................................

Scouting Trip

Hayman was gone this past weekend. He and Boss went on a scouting trip. Bosses' wife K. has an elk tag that starts in early November. This past weekend was the only time Boss and Hayman could sneak off to get a little scouting done..............Hayman took a lot of really good photos, so I thought I would share them with everyone.............in honor of our 19th wedding anniversary today, Hayman gets his very own post........................The area that Hayman and Boss were in was beautiful......full of fall color. There has recently been a fire there.........thousands of acres were burned.........it was not man made, but started by lightening.
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I have seen some "steep grade ahead" signs in my day, but this one takes the cake..........Hayman assures me that it really was very, very steep......................................

This photos was taken at the top of a ridge line..........looking down into the canyon below.
I believe this is the same stream you can see in the photo above...........Hayman didn't even have his fly rod with him....................and yes, there are trout in that stream.
After the morning fog lifted, this is the view that awaited Hayman and Boss. What a beautiful sight.....................................There are elk in those thickets of trees.
A sad sight to behold................you can still see smoke in the distance from the spot fires that remain burning...................................This area once looked like the photo above.
Can you spot the elk.....................Hayman said this thicket of trees was so dense that you couldn't really see anything..............but he did manage to get a shot of this bull as it was moving through the trees. The bull elk are in rut right now which means its mating season..............there was lots of bugling and fighting going on among the bulls. Hayman and Boss spent three days scouring the high country for elk.............I wonder if the elk will still be around come November or if they will move to different grounds???? Guess we will find out then........................

A Misty Morning...............

Late yesterday evening, a thunderstorm rolled through our valley. It was more wind and drizzle than anything else...........This morning when I awoke there was a stillness..........a quiet calm to the world outside..........no birds singing, nothing..........not a sound. When I opened the back door, I realized why the world was so quiet.......everything was damp, misty, moist..........the clouds were hanging very low in the sky.............the sun was just starting to peak through the clouds. In our area, I know what this means..........we are going to have morning fog roll in. I ran for the camera and out the door I went. I snapped a few shots..........then got chilled and went in for a cup of tea............................. This was the last shot I took before heading back indoors to warmer temps..........it was 40 degrees when I was outside..........chilly! Just after I made my tea and sat down at the computer, I looked out the window and the fog had rolled in and settled across the hay fields.................I missed that shot...............I was nice and warm indoors and I didn't want to go back outside..........lazy me..................................
The sun is out and shinning upon our world now.........there are big, puffy cotton clouds in the sky all around..............we are supposed to start our fourth and final cutting of hay today............lets hope it doesn't decide to rain!

I Feel The Need To Explain..........

For some time now, I have felt this urge to explain the title of my blog. When I was thinking about starting a blog way back in June, I sure has heck didn't think about naming it.....I knew of course it would need a name, but I'm not good with that kind of stuff........coming up with a name for a child or pet is about all I can handle at times...........sometime I will have to blog about how our daughter got her name..........but I won't get sidetracked...........I won't, I won't. Okay, where was I???? Oh my blog name.........I will try to explain this without putting everyone into a very deep sleep................( no snoring now.................)
Do you see the cute little patio set in the photo below........yes, cute isn't it........don't you just love those colors........( click on the photo to see more detail ) Well Hayman's boss and his wife gave that set to me back in July.......the story goes like this...............K. ( that is bosses' wife ) and I went to town shopping one day.......we were at Wally World ( aka.......Walmart ) and she told me to go back to the Garden Section and pick out something that I liked........they had originally wanted to purchase an outdoor table and chair set for us..........So she and I are walking around the Garden Section looking at outdoor table and chair sets..........neither of us were finding anything that we liked or that was in stock..........then I spotted this set, sat down and said.........." I love this!" That was it............the purchase was made and home we went with a very large box in the back of my SUV. When we got home, K. and I put the set together all by ourselves..........it was hard work........we had to take the arms off the couch twice because we had them going the wrong way.........we did have the help of one teenager ( Countrychick ) and two little girls......( K.'s daughter's who are 3 and 6......3 and 6 year olds can be very, very helpful. ) It took us about an hour to get it all put together.........Boss came over and sat down in one of the put-together chairs and watched us put the rest together.....I think he got a big kick out of watching us tackle the project. Hayman was hauling hay at the time and didn't even know we had a new patio set...........which brings me to this..............we don't even have a patio! No patio, no deck, no nothing out in front of our house at this point but gravel...........lots and lots of gravel. So after the set was put together, K. said she was going home to start dinner..........I told her she had to come back after dinner so we could celebrate our accomplishment of putting the set together.............we would have a strawberry margarita as our celebratory drink! ( it was July after all and very, very hot!! ) When Hayman finally got home that evening......he pulls up and is gawking at the patio set from his truck. ( I was watching out the kitchen window ) I wish you could have seen the look on his face............it was priceless! So he comes in the house, looks at me, and asks....."where did THAT set outside come from?" So I told him the story of how we became the owners of the patio set.....blah, blah, blah.............we then head outside to sit in the new patio set..........it is so very comfortable..........we sat out there for an hour just watching the world go by..............Hayman found the set funny because we don't have a patio, deck, etc............we don't even have landscaping to look at, but we do have a very nice view from the front of our house...........He finally got up, chuckled to himself and went in the house. After dinner was over, he noticed I had the blender out and asked what I was doing........I told him I was going to make drinks for K. and I to enjoy while sitting outside in the new "patio set." I blended up those drinks just as K. pulled up on the 4-wheeler with the girls..........as I was going out the door............Hayman says the following....." going outside to have daiquiris in the dirt, now I have seen it all." He was laughing pretty good at this point...........what he didn't know was that they were not daiquiris at all, but margaritas in those glasses.........strawberry margaritas. Where was I going with this........oh yes...........we enjoyed our drinks outdoors, watched the moon and stars come out, chatted and chatted, then the evening ended. That very night I decided to really think about this blogging thing..........I woke up the next morning and knew that my blog title would have something to do with gravel roads since I have been living on a gravel road pretty much since the time that Hayman and I met............almost 23 years ago. So as I was cleaning house that day I kept saying to myself........"gravel roads and what??????" I tried several different possibilities..............and then I said...........gravel roads and daiquiris in the dirt." I liked that a lot. What Hayman had said the night before when I was headed out the door stuck in my brain...........and became the name of my blog. So in a way..........he sorta gets a little bit of credit for the blog name......but not much............just a tiny, tiny bit................Whew, I feel better now that I have explained that to everyone.....like anyone really gives a hoot............are you in a deep, deep sleep yet..........????? Would you like me to explain the "gravel roads " part???? Okay, maybe another day....................... Just a note of interest.......I guess sometime next spring Boss is going to see to it that I have a patio to go with my patio set. By the way.........we have enjoyed this set so much this summer.......most evenings find us outside for a bit with a glass of wine, chatting about our day...........with summer coming to an end, I'm thinking of moving the set into the computer room so I can enjoy it all winter long.........Hayman doesn't know this yet........if I move it into the house and don't put it in storage for the winter........well, his fly-tying bench is going to have to go out...........think he'll go for that...........????? ( probably not........=)

I Had Big Plans............

I had big plans for my day today...........I was going to get a series of posts for my blog started this morning.....didn't happen. A neighbor called to see if I could watch their little girl for a little while this morning while daddy baled hay. He brought her over to me this morning.........little M is such a sweetie........and she smelled so good........I could have held her all day and just smelled her to pieces..........as it was, we sat on the floor and rolled or tossed the balls in the toy basket back and forth to each other most of the morning.........she has the sweetest giggle........I just wanted to make her giggle all morning...........after she went home, I was going to get on the computer, but Countrychick was still doing her daily schoolwork. ( we homeschool and her program for tenth grade is computer based, so she hogs the computer most of the day....=) So I went off and did other things. Later in the afternoon, my 4-H cooking club girls came over to help chop up veggies that are going into a pasta salad that we are making for a wedding tomorrow. A friends son is getting hitched and our 4-H cooking group is in charge of making pasta salad for 100 people! All the veggies were chopped, put into baggies and tucked safely away in the fridge. After the girls went home it was time to think about dinner.......the phone rang.......it was K. Hayman's bosses' wife...........Hayman and Boss are gone for the weekend...........scouting for elk..........K. wanted to know if Countrychick and I would like to have pizza for dinner........yummie.......I won't have to cook..........she brought pizza from town, I made a salad and we had a little glass of wine. She also brought sinful breadsticks for us to eat..............they needed to be removed from my sight..........I ate way to many of them, but they were soooooooooooo goooooooooood!! Countrychick, K and I started boiling up all of the pasta for the pasta salad......Let me tell ya, we boiled a lot of pasta! Then we got a few other ingredients ready for the salad...........tomorrow morning, I just have to toss everything into the big rubbermaid tote that we are mixing it all in, snap on the lid and head off to the wedding. K. will be doing hair for the bride, her attendants, mother-in-law.......etc.......did I mention that K. is a stylist........she is my stylist, ( my other stylist lives in Oregon ) my friend and Hayman's bosses' wife............So K., her girls, Countrychick and I will be off to the wedding early tomorrow morning with pasta salad and hair supplies in tow..................Maybe I will get to those series of posts on Sunday...........maybe I will have wedding photos to post........maybe it's really, really late and I need to go to bed.............but wait........what am I going to wear to the wedding????? It is 11:45 P.M...........not the time to be thinking about wedding attire...........Its a ranch wedding........maybe I can get off easy and wear a nice pair of jeans...........I will think about this all night and not sleep.................There is thunder rolling in the distance......are we going to have a midnight thunder storm............guess we'll find out...........I will leave you with this parting shot..........sweet dreams. Desert Sunset.........taken sometime in late summer of 2006.

Wordfull Wednesday.....This Is Me

" This Is Me"

Do I really know who I am?

I am so many things to so many people.

I'm a daughter, a sister, a mother, a wife.

I'm the keeper of secrets, a friend for life.

I'm a thinker, a doer, a listener too......

I'm a soother, caregiver, lover of pets.

I'm a buffer, a calmer, a beacon of light,

a voice of wisdom, at times a complete mess.

I'm a washer of dishes, a changer of beds,

a doer of laundry and a soother of dreads.

I'm an oracle of wisdom to some in my life,

I'm easy going and love to live life.........

I'm a traveler..........a traveler in life......

I find that I'm constantly changing and growing in life,

So when asked the question........"who am I,".......Well

I'm simply a traveler.........a traveler in Life.

May you all enjoy your journey as you are Travelin' Through life.

If you get a chance, please go down to my audio player and listen to the song, Travelin' Thru. It is one of my very favorite songs.......Dolly Parton sings the original song.....But I really like the version Jason Castro sings.

A Boat, Lots of Fishing and Photography.............

The weekend camping/fishing trip was a lot of fun. I would have posted yesterday, but was swamped with to many chores and didn't have time to go through all of the photos I had taken. I got a bit carried away to say the least.........I might bore you to tears with all of these photos. Most of the photos were taken while I was riding around in the boat ( aka....the little dingy!) with Hayman.......I now know why he wanted me along on this trip..........he needed a personal fish photographer. I had more fun taking photos of anything and everything as you will see in the following post. Enjoy............and I will try not to put you all to sleep..............................

The photo below was taken from our camp site. This outcropping of rock was just above our site. The area that we were in has all sorts of rock formations and they dot the landscape all around the place...............

Morning shot of desert flowers...........they were on some sort of sage brush. I took this shot very early in the morning before spending the day on the water in the "little dingy.Early morning on the water............day one of fishing was pretty slow........Hayman said, " he couldn't even catch a cold if he had wanted to". The fish were pretty picky about what they wanted to eat.......there were lots of nudges and bumps as we like to say, but they were not biting.While I was waiting for Hayman to catch the "Big One", I got bored and started taking photos of everything that caught my eye..........like this little green faced damsel fly...........looks like a dragonfly only it is much smaller. It had a very funky green face. ( click on any of the photos to see more detail )We were still out on the water around 7:30 PM of the first day, the sun had set and it was getting chilly..............I took this shot just before we got off the water. Back out on the water again very early the next morning..............Still waiting on the "Big One."These lovely ladies watched us for the longest time.........I'm sure they were wondering what the crazy humans in the boat were doing??????
The water birds were very interesting..................have you ever tried taking photos in a little boat that is rocking and moving all the time.............it was tricky!
I could have spent hours just taking photos of the ducks. I must have about twenty or so shots of a cute little duck family.............we startled these two and they took flight. Have you ever seen a Fly Fishing Cowboy....................................Just after I snapped this shot things picked up in the fishing department...............Hayman landed a nice fish.Smile for the camera................Hayman is a catch and release fisherman, so after the shot was taken, this fella went back into the water.Another nice fish..............these fish were fighters. Which made it all the more fun to watch!Back to fishing we go............Hayman felt a nice tug on the line and told me to get the camera ready.............he had a fighter on the line. This was a very nice fish indeed.................................... A nice, big, fat, pretty rainbow........................good thing Hayman had his personal fish photographer along for the ride.......or this fish would just be another one of those "Big Fish" stories.The trip was a lot of fun...............it was a bit chilly at night, but that is to be expected this time of year. I think we will make one more trip back in early October.........it should be darn cold by then, but the fishing should be pretty darn good! Maybe next time I will remember to put a line in the water and attempt to catch my own "Big Fish."

Gone Fishing......

I'm hanging out the "Gone Fish'in" sign this weekend. Hayman has talked me into a little over night fishing trip..........he gave me the puppy dog eyes and everything. So the truck is packed and ready to go........I just need to get all of the food stuff together, so we can roll out of here at 4am..........why 4am, can't I sleep-in a bit?????? I doubt I will do much fishing as I seem to get sidetracked easily these days by my camera......it just keep telling me to take lots and lots of pictures with it. I know I should be able to get some great fall shots where we are going.....this little fishing spot sits at about 7000 feet, so the fall colors on the aspen and cottonwood trees should be setting on about now. It's going to be darn cold too........it was 36 degrees here at the farm this morning, so I know we will be in the low 20's while up at 7000 feet. Good thing I got out the long-handles..........now I really must go get that food stuff together. Did someone say 4am for hitting the road? Something about fishermen and early hours........?

Early Morning Out My Front Door.......

Nothing better then to be greeted by a beautiful morning on a Friday.....................there was a bit of tweaking involved with this photo........just playing around with photoshop for the first time.

Fresh Corn Salsa............

I have lots of corn to use up this week.......lots and lots of corn! Hayman has eaten corn every night this week for dinner......he loves the stuff! I froze some of it for later use........then I had a few remaining ears left, so I dug out a corn salsa recipe that I really like. It is important that you grill the corn and tomatoes......this is what gives the salsa that special something. The original recipe came from foodnetwork.com, but I have tweaked it a bit. I seriously could sit down with this bowl, a bag of tortilla chips and eat every last lovin bit of it!!
Recipe for Fresh Corn Salsa

5 large ears of corn, husked

olive oil for brushing corn with ( about 1/4 cup )

salt and fresh ground pepper

2 large ripe tomatoes or a handful of cherry tomatoes if you don't have any large tomatoes on hand.

1/2 cup diced red onion

4 Tblsp. red wine vinegar, or more if you like

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, shredded

Brush the corn with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning every few minutes, until light golden and cooked, about 15 minutes or so. Let cool and cut kernels off the cobs. Discard cobs or feed to the chickens if you have them.

If using large tomatoes, core them and cut a small x on the bottom of each. If using cherry tomatoes, brush with olive oil and place on foil on heated grill. Cover grill and cook until tomatoes begin to soften but are not cooked all the way through. Remove from grill, cool for a bit, then remove skins. If using large tomatoes, you will need to cut them in half and remove the seeds and most of the juice ( after cooking them ) by giving them a little squeeze. If using small cherry tomatoes, just dice up and put in a bowl. Chop up large tomatoes and put in bowl, reserving juice.

Put the diced red onion in a bowl and add about 2 Tblsps. of red wine vinegar. Let stand about 10 minutes or so.

Add the chopped tomatoes, reserved juice if you have it, onions, cilantro and a dash of olive oil to the corn in a large bowl. Toss well, taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper along with the remaining vinegar. The salsa is good when eaten on the same day you make it, but it will keep in the fridge for a day or so.

Serve with fresh homemade tortilla chips or use as a topping for chicken, fish, or beef. I served it over flat-iron steaks the other night........Yummy!!!

Seize the Day.......

And that is just what we did on Sunday. Hayman, Countrychick and I packed a picnic and hit the road to go fishing..............Hayman fished, Countrychick fished for a bit until her wrist started hurting, ( she has been in a wrist brace since the weekend of fair ) and I attempted to fly-fish, but became tangled in the line and finally gave up..............Countrychick and I grabbed the camera and became lost in a world of photo opportunities..............What a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

The area where we were fishing was just loaded with dragonflies. They were so pretty in their many color forms, but very hard to capture as they did not land often..........
This is a Mayfly nymph.........He was swimming around Countrychicks feet, so she took it out of the water for this shot.........
This lizard was basking in the sun.......................

On the way home, we stopped at a friends place. They were just getting ready to go pick some corn and invited us along. I was in flip-flops, so I didn't venture into the cornfield..........I took photos instead..........I am easily distracted. Hayman picked a large rubbermaid tote full of sweet corn........... At least I didn't have to get all itchy picking that corn..............I like this shot.
I have a tote of sweet corn sitting in the kitchen.......guess I had better go do something with it. Maybe I'll make some fresh corn salsa........then I can freeze the rest................Countrychick needs the computer for schoolwork........guess I better get off the computer and go tend to that corn.......I'm going, I'm going..................

Saying Her Prayers..................

I wonder what a Praying Mantis prays for? Maybe on this day, she was simply giving thanks that I rescued her from inside of our car and placed her back out in the wonderful world of the outdoors. This rather large Praying Mantis hitched a ride on a car seat that I was using for one of Hayman's bosses daughters. I went to remove the seat from the car because there was a spider on it and Countrychick was threatening to jump from the moving car if I didn't get the seat and the spider out ASAP............I removed the seat and found her hanging onto the back of it. ( I think she was after the spider. ) I put her on the outside of our house and we then went about our day. A trip to town and several hours later, I found Mrs. Mantis outside the front door hanging onto one of the decorative birdhouses on the front steps. I grabbed the camera and took the following shots.
She was a rather large Praying Mantis............and I do believe she enjoyed having her photo taken.
I do think Mrs. Mantis is getting ready to do some Yoga..............what a fascinating creature! To learn more about the Praying Mantis go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantodea It is very interesting and informative.

****My brother pointed out that the above praying mantis was probably a she because she has a very large abdomen. He then went on to point out what the she's do to the males of this species.........read the comment section to learn more. Ouch!