The End of Summer

School is back in and it's the very end of August. Summer is about over around here! Not that you can tell, as it is still getting into the 90's most days... I thought I'd post some pictures of a few things we've done this summer...

We went for a couple of hikes up Green Canyon this summer. On our first hike, in June, I saw my first Sego Lily, Utah's state flower. Sego Lilly

A couple of weeks later, the boys and I climbed a rock slide, where we found fossils. We brought home a big pile of rocks with horn corral fossils in them to add to our collection. The pile by the carport is getting pretty substantial LOLhorn coral fossil

We also found this great plant, which is called Spider Milkweed. It took me a while to figure out what it was; it wasn't in any of my wildflower guides. And did you know that there are over 100 species of milkweed in North America?Spider Milkweed

No trip to Green Canyon is complete without a stop at the Boy Scout Cave.S, A and E at the Boy Scout Cave, Green Canyon

Joe and I went on a little picnic up South Canyon.South Canyon road, looking north towards Paradise

While taking pics of the wildflowers, I noticed this little beastie crawling up my leg... I have to admit I shrieked LOL Then I took a deep breath and a picture.Giant Ichneumon wasp, female

E received his Arrow of Light award (the highest award you can earn in cub scouts). I would show you pics of this proud moment, but I had S, my 12 yr old, taking them, and the only pics he got were of the back of E's head LOL He also earned his Webelos and graduated into 11 yr old scouts (we do cub scouts a little differently in the LDS church). Good job E!

We spent several days camping up Logan Canyon at Preston Valley campground. We used our new tent for the first time! Valori, my sil, stayed with us for a couple of days too. Grandma and Grandpa Ames joined us for a few meals. Joe is a FANTASTIC cook... so I let him do most of it. Aren't I nice? LOL We had a little excitement when I sent Aisy (my 6 yr old daughter) to the restroom to wash her hands, and she found this friendly little fellow...Racer snake

He's a Racer snake, completely harmless. They're long and skinny, move very fast, and climb trees when they're disturbed. This one was almost a yard long!

While we were there we saw plenty of wildlife. Lots of caterpillars and other bugs (Tiger Swallowtail butterly, Cabbage White butterfly, plenty of different beetles, cicadas, caddisfly larva), some small fish, an American Beaver (this is A, me and C waiting by the river, hoping to see the beaver again)...

A, me and C, Logan River, Preston Valley campground

a Red-naped Sapsucker...Red-naped Sapsucker on river birch, Logan Canyon

an American Dipper (he's perched on the end of the stick, kind of blends into the river)...American Dipper, Logan River

and lots of other birds (American Robin, Pine Siskin, lots of Yellow Warblers feeding their babies, Lazuli Bunting, Western Wood-peewee, Song Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Black-chinned and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Hermit Thrush, MacGillivray's Warber, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Barn Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Chipping Sparrow, Red-tailed Hawk, Dusky Flycatcher and a Black-throated Gray Warbler).

We went on a hike with Grandpa...Me, C and Grandpa Ames, Preston Valley, Logan Canyon

And saw some beautiful wildflowers (although I'm going to spare you in this post, and only show you one). This is pink alumroot, or coral bells. It was growing all over the cliff on the other side of the river.Pink Alumroot, Logan Canyon

We went to our first Buzz baseball game. I'm pretty sure that out of my little family, I was the ONLY one watching the game LOL S was reading his book, the other kids were playing with their cousins or bugging Grandma and Grandpa Yeates. Not sure what Joe was doing LOL

Jeanette's family, my family and Grandma and Grandpa Yeates

After the game there was a wonderful fireworks show to celebrate Utah's statehood!

We went to the Cache County Fair. This year all the kids entered something in the Home Arts contest. E, A, Az and C entered lego creations...lego entries by A, C and Az

S entered a wood carving. Unfortunately, it was displayed upside down! The carving is on the other side of the stick (it's a carving of a man). He was pretty upset about that.We also wandered around, ate lots of fair food (my cousins have a Frozen Lemonade stand every year, mmmm...) and checked out all of the 4H animals. We love petting the sheepies.Az and E

S played his first game of golf with Joe (dad) and Grandpa Yeates. He also got stung on the cheek by a yellow jacket this summer, but I don't think he'd appreciate me showing pics of his face all swollen up :)

Joe and I celebrated our 14th year anniversary by leaving the kids at grandma's house (thanks grandma!) and heading up to Tony Grove for some camping. There were wildflowers all around our camp!fireweed, aster spp and Indian paintbrush, Tony Grove campground, Logan Canyon

We borrowed some kayaks and spent most of Friday on Tony Grove lake. No pics, since I didn't want to take my camera out on the water. Here's a pic of the kayaks on the van though...It was SO MUCH FUN! We have a canoe, but these are way more fun. While we were on the lake, we kept noticing helicopters flying over. Since the lake is WAY up the canyon, this was pretty unusual. Apparently the thunderstorm the night before started a fire a couple of ridges over. We got out of the water just as the helicopters started using a big bucket to dip water out of the lake. That evening we headed down to Garden City, by Bear Lake, for dinner and a fresh raspberry cheesecake shake. Bear Lake raspberries are famous (at least around here LOL).It POURED most of the night, so we decided to pack up and head for home on Saturday. Tony Grove road, Logan Canyon

So we enjoyed a movie (the Proposal, love Sandra Bullock) and dinner at the Olive Garden. And when I got home, guess what was waiting for me on my doorstep?By some miracle, I won this amazing little house on the Oh Merci blog! It is truly divine :)

We still had all day Sunday before we had to pick up the kids, so we decided on a road trip. We went north to Idaho to see the Niter Ice Cave. It was really neat. We forgot a flashlight though, so we didn't go in very far. It's really too bad that some people think graffiti is a good way to express themselves :(

This is the lava vent that made the lava tube that became the ice cave. The vent and the cave are literally in the middle of wheat fields.We continued further north to the Black Canyon of the Bear River, where we had a really yummy picnic lunch (cooked by dh, of course, on his backpack stove).The river was beautiful.There was this wonderful old homestead nearby. I am fascinated by homesteaders. Don't you just wonder about the lives that were lived here?view of the homestead from the old apple orchard

view out the window of the old homestead

We finished off Sunday at grandma's house, having dinner with her, Valori and the kiddos. And picking more of these...I spent several days this summer bottling beans. Linda, my mil, plants a couple of rows of beans for me every year. The kids and I pick them, Linda helps me snap them, I bottle them, and Joe mans the pressure cooker for me. It makes me nervous LOL Yet another kindness by my sweet dh :)

Joe and I spent a Saturday hiking with the 11 yr old scouts on the Temple Fork sawmill trail. We cooled off in the REALLY COLD water of the spring...E and J, building a rock dam in the Temple Fork stream at the spring

and found a baby water snake (yes, this is me holding it. Snakes are awesome!)...
I did get some sewing done this summer, but this is the only thing I have a picture of right now... a new pillow for my living room.Linda taught S and E to sew while they were staying with her. They made pillows too. Linda has a LOT more patience than I do :)

We made a last minute trip to Salt Lake to buy a cello for E. He has outgrown the one we were renting. This one is a 3/4 size, so it should last him for a least 2 to 3 years. While we were there we enjoyed homemade chicken noodles at my mom's house. These are not like chicken noodle soup. They are thick flour/egg noodles in a chicken broth gravy that you eat over potatoes. I've never met anyone else who knows what they are, so they must be a family specialty. Only A and I appreciate them out of my little family LOL On the way home we ran into a cloudburst, which left us with this beautiful rainbow, captured by my son, S. If you look really closely, you'll notice it's a double rainbow.We finish off the summer every year with a trip to our secret monarch caterpillar hunting spot, a.k.a. Airport Road. This year we found 5 large caterpillars and 1 very small caterpillar. We also picked up a Virginian Tiger Moth caterpillar, which C (who is almost 4) calls the "feather bug". It looks like a yellow woolly bear caterpillar. This is one of our favorite end of summer traditions.Az, S, C and A caterpillar hunting, Airport Road

C and I found a little piece of heaven the other day...

Garff Wayside Gardens park, Logan

I drive past this park all the time and have never stopped here! I'll have lots of rose pictures to show you soon...

I hope your summer was a wonderful as mine!

A turtle in a hurry

E had a picnic at the park with his friends the other day, which of course inspired Az and C, my two youngest children, to have a picnic of their own on the back porch. They came running in after a little bit, begging me to hurry outside and see the cloud turtle. I was in the middle of a project, and was about to tell them no, when I decided that sometimes cloud turtles are more important than doing whatever I was doing. So off we went to see the big fluffy cloud turtle, that was originally a frog, then mountains, and finally a turtle. And boy was that turtle in a hurry! The clouds were at the perfect altitude for a fast wind. While other clouds were hanging almost motionless in the sky, that turtle was racing by. Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead, or I would be posting a picture of the speeding turtle. And I was right, spending a few precious moments watching clouds with my children was far more important than whatever forgotten project I was busy with.

Have you taken the time to look for cloud turtles lately?

Updates

It's been a while since I've been here, which leaves me feeling horribly guilty :) I thought I'd update you all...

I spent every Friday in May at Hogle Zoo, in Salt Lake City, Utah, taking a Utah Master Naturalist class. It was a really wonderful experience! I was able to learn more about aquatic systems/wetlands in Utah, and visit some fun places. We went on field trips to the G. K. Gilbert Geologic View Park at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon (it's a very tiny park, but the info signs are fantastic!), a short hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon, Farmington Bay, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, USU Botanical Garden at Kaysville Ponds, and around Hogle Zoo itself, of course. My absolute favorite field trip was our last class, where we did a Boreal Toad survey at Strawberry Reservoir. Sadly, I forgot my camera, and have yet to see pics from anyone else's camera LOL We were able to find approximately 50 Boreal Toads, as well as several Chorus Frogs (we also heard some Northern Leopard Frogs, but didn't actually catch any). I would LOVE to participate in the survey again next spring! I am also hoping that I will be able to take the mountain module for UMN next spring as well. If any of you have a chance to take a Master Naturalist class (they are taught in most states), I highly recommend it. No experience is necessary :)

June was supposed to be very busy, but it ended up being busy in a different way than I expected. We always do our cub scout day camp in June, and that went as planned, with only a little bit of rain. It was still a lot of fun! Our theme this year was space camp, and they had an inflatable planetarium in the main cabin, which was awesome! The next week of June was supposed to be the annual Quilt Shop Hop with my mom and sister, but sadly Boy Scout camp and 11-year old camp were the same weekend. I decided it was more important to me to have dh go to camp, first a night with S at Camp Hunt at Bear Lake, then a day with E at Hull Valley, than it was for me to spend way too much money buying more fabric LOL I did get to spend one afternoon visiting Village Dry Goods in Brigham City and Red Rooster in Logan with my mom, sister, Peggy and Amy. We had lunch at Maddox first; that chicken salad was HUGE! While in Brigham we paid a little side visit to the thrift store there, where I got a couple of goodies to add to the towering pile of things I need to do something with LOL
July started off with a bang with a camping trip to Preston Valley, up Logan Canyon. We had a fantastic camping site, with flush toilets right across the street, yet totally screened by a layer of trees. It was a large site with plenty of room for our tent, a tent for S and A, and Valori's tent (we even had room for MORE tents, if anyone else had decided to stay). We were there from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, plenty of time for some serious nature observing. Joe was very patient with my constant taking off :) Nature list (since I can't just post bird lists anymore LOL): pink alumroot, lance-leaved stonecrop, Rocky Mountain maple, river birch, box elder, western meadowrue, yellow columbine, red osier dogwood, alfalfa, yellow sweet clover, wild roses, star-flowered false solomon's seal, sagebrush, tarragon, tiger swallowtail, cabbage white butterfly, several different unknown caterpillars, caddisfly larva, American beaver, song sparrow, yellow warblers (lots of them, feeding their babies), lazuli bunting, American robin, yellow-rumped warbler, black-throated gray warbler (a life bird for me!), barn swallow, violet-green swallow, black-chinned hummingbird (the camp hosts, right next to us, had several feeders that were always covered in hummers), MacGillivray's warbler, American dipper, chipping sparrow, red-tailed hawk, black-headed grosbeak female, red-naped sapsucker, pine siskin, dusky flycatcher, western wood-peewee, hermit thrush, racer snake (you should have heard the piercing screams from Az when she discovered this snake in the restroom! LOL), and some little fish in a pool of water that connected to the river (I think they are immature trout, since I can't find any pics of minnows that look like them). I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's quite the list isn't it? It was a really fun trip, and most of those things were found right around our campsite! Friday night we came down from the canyon and watched the fireworks from Valori's yard. Can't miss the 4th of July fireworks, even if you're camping!

Last night we took a short drive up Green Canyon. The boys and I hiked up a rock slide, where we found some horn corral fossils and a BIG yellow crab spider (I grabbed a stalk of tarragon to take a pic, and almost grabbed the spider instead!). Valori came with us, and had to be back to do a massage (how lucky am I to have a sister-in-law who is a massage therapist? LOL), so Joe left me at the rock slide and took Valori back to the mouth of the canyon. I walked half-way down, taking wildflower pics along the way, to the "boy scout cave", where I caught up with my family. Nature list: tarragon, rabbitbrush, sagebrush, Rocky Mountain maple, juniper, spider milkweed (this is a really cool looking milkweed), Virgin's Bower clematis, aster spp., red clover, yellow sweet clover, alfalfa, common mullein, thistle, sego lily (Utah's state flower), wild roses, some yellow flowers that I haven't identified yet, spotted towhee, chipping sparrow, broad-tailed hummers, and assorted dragonflies. The canyon was pretty dry, and a lot of things were done blooming, so this trip wasn't as great as last months, but still a nice evening in the canyon.

I am hoping to post a BUNCH of pictures later today or tomorrow, so be on the lookout!

time to relax

Our Christmas Tree

The holidays are finally over, I have taught at Cub Scout Basic Training, and done the Round Table Blue and Gold presentation. Now, hopefully, it's time to relax!

Christmas was wonderful (probably would have been better if I hadn't woken up with the stomach flu Christmas morning LOL). The kids got WAY too many presents, as usual. I got some really fantastic presents, my favorite being a NEW scout shirt! I even got all my patches sewn on before basic training, although I'll have to fix the two I sewed in the wrong spot LOL. I also got the Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle book, which is filled with beautiful projects. My mom got me two larger quilting rulers, so I might even be able to get some of them made! Dh gave me a $25 Borders gift card, which I promptly used to buy North American Wildlife: an Illustrated Guide to 2,000 Plants and Animals, and Sharing Nature with Children. Both of these books will help me pursue my dream of becoming a naturalist.

Which brings me to some news: Utah has a Master Naturalist program! I was so excited to find out about this program. I've had a dream to become a naturalist for several years now, but was unsure how to go about it. I still don't have a lot of information, but I'm on the list to be notified when this year's class schedule is released. I am beyond thrilled about this! I love the natural world (even if I do dislike being dirty or windblown LOL), and I love sharing it with others even more! This program will give me the ability to improve my skills and earn certification. It is literally a dream come true for me.

I have some fun projects that I'm about to start, so come back for pictures later this week!

October

the pumpkin patch

our maple tree

I LOVE October. The leaves dropping like golden rain, the clear blue endless sky, the crisp clean air, pumpkins and soup and sweaters... there are so many things to love about October. I really think it's my favorite month. On Saturday we drove to Paradise to get pumpkins. The patch we went to last year was out of pumpkins! Luckily there was a field across the street that was selling pumpkins too, so we got some there. It's so much more fun getting the pumpkins directly from the patch, out in the beautiful fall weather. Especially when you follow pumpkin picking with fresh apple cider and pumpkin spice doughnuts.

It's also the beginning of the Holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. I love the parties (as long as they are close family parties, large groups are just too much for me LOL), shopping, the cold air and snow, seeing the lights, singing, orchestra concerts... I'm so excited for it all! My youngest son, C, just turned 3 last week and my oldest son, S, will be 12 in December, so we have some birthdays to celebrate too. Most days I don't feel old enough to have a 12 year old son! Saturday they were all out playing in the leaves. They raked up a big pile at the base of the tree, then climbed the tree and jumped into the pile. Sounds like a broken neck waiting to happen, doesn't it? But it sure looked like fun. I admit that I ventured out to kick the leaves around a bit myself :) And I've been sewing table runners for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I even started a Christmas one, and need to finish the snowflake one I started last year. So many fun holiday projects!

This upcoming Saturday I get to go hiking with the 11 year old Scouts (including S). I cannot wait! I hope the weather stays as lovely as it has been the last few days!

What do you love about Fall?

Tagged

I've been tagged by my sister at Keep Me In Stitches to share 6 quirks about me. I either have too many quirks, or not enough, because I can't think of 6 specific ones LOL But I'll give it a try...

1. I'm a LISTER. I make a list of literally everything. Birds I've seen, wildflowers I've identified, books I've read, DMC floss, all kinds of things. I don't feel like I've accomplished or it isn't real until I've made a list of it LOL And apparently I keep all those lists. I'm in the process of decluttering, and I'm finding lists all over the place!

2.I'm a READER. I read everything I can get my hands on (except most cheesy romances LOL). Right now I'm paying $163 a year so I can have access to a bigger library. Keep your fingers crossed that the new county library bill will pass, and I won't have to buy a library card anymore! (of course, we will pay through our taxes, but I'm okay with that :) The great thing is, I can read, watch TV and listen to dh and the kids all at the same time. Since I am the only person in this family who doesn't talk non-stop, this is an important skill to have LOL

3. It's easier for me to deal with a GROUP of people than an individual. I can get up and give a talk in sacrament meeting or even sing a solo a capella (which I did this past Sunday), but stick me in a one-on-one conversation with another person and I just about pass out. I have to force myself to attend things that might require me to interact with people LOL, unless I am the one giving a lesson, then I'm just fine!

4. I love to LEARN. This kind of goes along with reading. If I decide I'm interested in something, I'll read and research until my curiosity is sated. And I have a HUGE variety of interests, although most of them have to do with the natural world. This makes me a know-it-all on Jeopardy nights :) One of my goals in life is to be an eternal student. I'm hoping to go back to university as soon as all my kids are in school all day. I love it when my kids have homework, because I love doing it with them! And now that my oldest ds is in middle school, the homework is finally getting interesting LOL

5. I'm a COLLECTOR, but I don't collect the "usual" things. For instance, if you visit my house, you'll notice rocks everywhere. That's because I have never outgrown the childhood habit of putting rocks in my pockets. I find interesting rocks all over the place, and if it's movable (and it doesn't obviously belong to someone LOL) I put it in my pocket, or the back of the van, which drives dh nuts. I also love elephant shaped beads. Guess what? There aren't a whole lot of elephant shaped beads out there LOL And milk glass... who couldn't LOVE milk glass? But I only buy it at my local thrift store, and I refuse to pay more than $2, so my collection is pretty small at this point. My biggest collection is field guides. When you love books, are obsessed with learning new things... well, field guides are my best friend :)

6. I want to be a NATURALIST when I grow up. More than anything I want to take young kids out in nature and show them how AMAZING it is! This is one reason why I love working with cub scouts so much. We have a nature center just up the canyon, and I hope to volunteer there some day. To that end, I'm trying to learn all about everything up the canyon, and here in the valley, since it's an incredible place too. I'd love to go around to schools and do presentations. It's so much fun to open eyes to the beautiful world God has given us! And I enjoy teaching kids how important it is to take care of our world too.

So there you have it. 6 things about me. I'm supposed to tag 6 other people, but that would bring out my fear of talking to individuals LOL, so.... if you post 6 things about yourself on your blog, let me know, and I'll come read it!

Back Again!

Clodius butterfly on fox mint

Wow, I can't believe it's been basically a MONTH since I've posted! August has just flown by. But the kids are back in school again, so hopefully I will have more time! My oldest, S, just started 6th grade at the middle school. When did I get old enough to have a 6th grader?! E is back in school this year, in 5th grade, after learning at home for a couple of years, and seems to be doing really well. A is in 3rd grade and Az is in afternoon kindergarten. That means I will only have C in the afternoons. It's going to be SOOOO quiet! I might actually start scrapbooking again! I have been trying to clean up my craft area in anticipation of being able to use it. So far I think I have just created a bigger mess, sigh.
Some of the fun things I did this month include: going sailing for the first time (there is NOTHING like sailing under the stars. It was AMAZING), camping in the Uintah Mountains with dh for our 13 year anniversary, and an Audubon fieldtrip to Tony Grove up Logan Canyon (where I got 3 new birds for my list, including a life bird Rock Wren, and saw an amazing variety of wildflowers). Oh, and how could I forget the FROG!!! The kids have been begging me to take them to a local park with a stream so they could catch a frog. Never thought we'd actually catch one! He's a Northern Leopard Frog and we have named him Clyde (after my grandfather who passed away in Feb. Somehow I can't see him being overjoyed to have a frog named after him. He was an accountant, not an outdoor type of guy LOL). Anyway, we have really enjoyed the antics of the frog, who has already escaped once. I also picked up a couple more pieces of milk glass for my small collection. I have it all lined up on top of the piano for now, but I am out of space, so I'd better stay away from the thrift store for a while :)
So that's my month in a nutshell, and I leave you with some pictures...

Clyde, the Northern Leopard Frog

fireweed

buckwheat
near Smooth Rock Falls on the Provo River, Uintah Mountains, Utah
Indian Paintbrush, Uintah Mountains, Utah
Elephant's Head Lousewort, Uintah Mountains, Utah
water hitting a rock, Smooth Rock Falls, Uintah Mountains, Utah
Provo River Falls, Uintah Mountains, Utah

Shopping...

Saturday morning started nicely with a garage sale down the street. I actually DREAMED about this garage sale all night, because I had been told there would be some milk glass LOL So I headed over there, found the milk glass and decided it wasn't really what I was looking for. Of course, after spending the day online looking at milk glass prices, I wish I had bought it LOL But I came home with things I loved even more. The reason I spent the day looking at vintage glassware was to see if I could find more information on the pink glass compote. I couldn't find anything, so if anyone has any ideas about it, let me know! I also picked up the little vase (I suspect it might really be a toothbrush holder LOL) and the bowl. And a black metal shelf, just like the one I had hung up the night before in my bathroom! Except the bathroom shelf is cream, but the black one will look really nice downstairs. And then, I discovered the sweet little case, buried in a pile of things that hadn't been priced yet. I asked about it, and my nice neighbor lady let me have it for $3, including all the Fisher Price Little People stuff it was full of. I told her I didn't need the little people, but I ended up with them anyway. I'm glad though, as my mother-in-law has the matching house and circus train, so I'll be sending them to her.

After the garage sale, we took the kids to a get-together up the canyon at the Stokes Nature Center. It was a lot of fun, and the temperature and weather were perfect. We learned about different trees and plants, saw some fun birds, held snakes (yes, I really do like to hold snakes LOL), and had a nice picnic.

On the way home, dh turned to me and said, "How about a visit to the DI?" (the name of our local thrift store). Are you kidding me?!!! Of course I was more than happy to go! I managed to find a few things I had to have, including yet another black metal shelf! Now I'll have a matching pair downstairs. I was REALLY happy to find the little vintage bird pictures. I just about jumped up and down LOL I'm going to paint the rough wooden edges white. I was happy about the hobnail milk glass bowl too. I also picked up some craft books and a pair of, believe it or not, PURPLE Sketchers hiking boots. I'll be hiking in style now! LOL


Ahhh... I love thrifting.