sunrise over the flint hills

Now that we are driving in to work as the sun is coming up, we are witnessing some gorgeous KS sunrises.

New 'pet'?!

This little skink has been living many days lately under the straw bale in the garage. She's actually one of the few critters around here who doesn't run for it when they see Dr. Mommy coming! (yep, 'my' cat is totally afraid of me most of the time)

I don't eat lamb

Except for this one. A family tradition when I was growing up was that my grandparents came to visit for Easter and Mom and Grandma always made a lamb cake. I haven't had one in years, but this year my youngest cousin was getting his first so mom was inspired to make me one. He was waiting in the kitchen cabinet when we got home from Wichita.

Lucky Sam

Last weekend we were in Wichita for K's step-nephews' wedding. Friday night K's family and some friends enjoyed a lovely production at Mosley Street Melodrama. One of K's HS classmates was lucky enough to be selected to go onstage and participate...he was quite the good sport, seen here showing how 'low' he could sing!

4 of the 5

Four of our 5 horses anxiously awaiting feeding time. From l-r we have Sparky, As You, Streaker and Twister. Sparky is wearing a fly mask to help keep the light out of his eyes to ease his recurrent uveitis, aka moon blindness.

the hills are burning

It's spring in the Flint Hills, and that means time to burn the pastures. It's a good thing for the environment as it keeps trees and other unwanted things from growing without the use of toxic chemicals, but it does create quite the layer of smog for a few weeks. The other day on our way home a pasture was burning right next to the road. A bit disconcerting to drive through, but I did get some neat pictures.

Catching up

Ok, so I've not been doing a very good job again lately on the blogging thing. For some reason this time I seem to be a bit more motivated, so hopefully that motivation will stick around...maybe it's because several people have emailed wanting to see pictures of different projects, and I'm tired of emailing everyone seperately! I know I have only included 2 crafty things in my pictures, despite the fact that I have actually have been doing many crafty things. We've made several bears in the last few months, but the pictures are on Mom's computer, and I have done some scrapping, but I tend to not take pictures of those things. But now that we have most of the floors replaced and most of the painting done, I'm hoping to have more time to be crafty...and blog about it. So, now that it's April, maybe that can be my New Year's resolution!!

How can you tell when it's time for the ducks to move out of the bathtub?

When you open up the door and see this:



Yep, Maude managed to climb out yesterday. Since it is still fairly cold outside and they are still downy, this meant that we had to create a duck 'playpen' in the garage for them.


They seem to really like their new space though, and despite the cold weather today have spent the morning out and about.

A little snow

It's a bit blurry, but yep, that's right, 9" of snow on the last Saturday of March. And this was 2 hours before it stopped!
And then as soon as it stopped the sun came out and it started melting. By Monday the only snow left was in the shadow of the barn.

Newest family members

The 6 little girls (I hope!). From l-r we have Buffy, Fawn (in back) Elle (in front) Maude, Winnie and Jackie. This picture if from the day they arrived.
This is one week later. I think these little girls are growing faster than any ducks I've had in the past! From l-r Jackie, Fawn (in back), Elle (in front), Maude, Buffy (in back), Winnie (in front)

Peeking ducks

K thinks most people would find it odd to have ducks peering in their back door...I'm not sure what's so odd about it though! laugh

A zoo??

In January we visited family in Missouri. At K's step-moms we got to visit a whole menagerie of critters! It was just like being at a petting zoo! I really wanted to bring one of the bunnies home with me.

Christmas gifts

Thanks to an awesome teacher (Bettina) I learned how to knit and wet felt baskets in August. So they were perfect gifts to make for my friends for Christmas.

Cowboy

Doesn't he just look like he was made for this? In November we headed to Southern KS to help some friends wean their calves. This is their son after he had brought in one part of the herd. He's finishing up a diesel mechanic degree this spring and then will attend KSU in the fall. He isn't sure what he wants to do for a career, but I'm positive it will be something where he can spend a lot of time working on the farm.

Fall centerpiece

Thought I would share the centerpiece I created for a fall party we had to attend for work. Was a bit of a last minute thing, but I was quite pleased with how it came out...and even better someone was willing to buy it in the silent auction!

Taking the parents to FL

My parents on the beach for the first time last August! They were like little kids the entire trip. We had only landed in FL and as we walked out of the airport restroom Mom had to give me a big hug and thank me for a wonderful trip. It was a bit exhausting as we had extra people to keep up with and had to move at their pace not ours, but it was well worth it to see the smiles on their faces! We even got Mom up to the top of the lighthouse (she hates heights) and Dad playing out in the surf (he hates swimming), so all in all a great vacation!

Rodeo time

Had to include this picture. From L-R we have my dad, XR's wife, and Bruce, our CEO/Pres. Bruce is...well, Bruce...sometimes he just doesn't see the point in 'fun'. But here we were at the Kaw Valley Rodeo in July watching Muttin Bustin', and he was laughing and truly enjoying it! Now for those who don't know, Muttin Bustin' is where they put little kids atop a sheep and see how long they can hold on as the sheep run around the arena. Some of the kids fall off immediately, and then some sink their little hands into the fleece with a death grip. It is quite amusing to watch! And even Bruce had 'fun'!