Utah

There are many reasons to visit Utah, one of the most important is to visit kids and grandkids!
The scenery is fantastic, animals abound, and the weather is warm. Well, hot, when we travel out there in summer. We spend much time in Craig and Gretchen's pool and outside anyway. Who dares to let the weather rule their life?

These pictures reflect some of the best reasons though to visit that state.
It seems there are always helpers no matter what chore you are attempting and they work relatively cheap.
A quick trip to Baskin Robbins for ice cream usually is a great motivator.


Custer State Park has so many animals.

Ben always gets hyper when he actually sees them roaming all over the place.

Come to think of it, so do I! Bison, goats, donkeys, bears, you name it, Custer State Park or Yellowstone has it!

Flowers and More Flowers

This is a rhododendron bush, it only blooms in the spring. Early spring, but it is beautiful while it lasts. The crab apple tree is in full bloom, glorious pink right now so very awesome and fragrant in the back yard.
Wow, unexpected bouquets from Blake and Tea, accent the e to pronounce. I don't know how to do that! Thanks again for your thoughtfulness, it is nice to be remembered.

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday, Mother's Day, cold and and rainy, a typical spring day for May in Wisconsin, 57 degrees will be the high if we are fortunate. That's OK, I need a break from gardening! I have been planting my planters and splitting perennials all week. I will hold off on the tomatoes and green peppers until May 20th.(Bob's advice)
This is the plant from Barry, Margaret, and CJ. What a beauty! I think I will leave it on the screen porch so it doesn't freeze. Thank you very much! I had a beautiful card from Penny and a phone call from Brian. Thanks for thinking of me, all are appreciated. Doug and Melissa are coming for dinner with their children, it will be fun. Tony is grilling, it is not a day to go out for breakfast or dinner, far too busy.

Bubbles Galore

Friday was 83 degrees, we went golfing! Saturday was a rude awakening-Tony had a scratchy throat, sore muscles, he was fatigued! It was rainy and cold, winter was threatening to return, a mere 40 degrees and rain, wind, rain, wind, rain.....
Time for a bubble bath in a Koehler Whirlpool tub to dissolve those aches and pains, no, this is not Tony!
Did you think I would put him on the blog covered with bubbles?
The grandkids love the six foot Koehler whirlpool, it makes bubbles long after you don't want any bubbles and you can stretch out and really get comfortable. Just ask Ben, he fell asleep once and there were bubbles everywhere! It's a great way to relax and fix those achy muscles. Not as pricy as the spa and just as soothing.

Privacy Fence and Pergola

What a day to begin, the sun was shining and the temperature was in the seventies. An awesome day granted by God.
We have a train, a garden train. We live by a park and we needed to keep our backyard private. This is just another designed by "Tony" project.

The posts were the first to be set and then the fence appeared piece by piece and sections.
This was quite a project!
Benjamin assisted with the staining of the lattice which proved to be a time consuming and back breaking job. He worked hard, very hard and I wish I could put some pictures of him on this post but alas, we did not take any. We grilled steaks, sweet white corn, and mashed potatoes as a reward for his labor. The entire project took six weeks to complete but was well worth it. Much of the staining and cutting of the boards was done prior to the actual construction stage.
One month for the staining alone. Three gallons of stain and lots of sweat by Ben and me. We took a vacation break halfway through construction. This is the finished project! Success, it provides privacy and is absolutely beautiful.

Sunny Saturday

Finally, a day that was warm, warm, warm! I think I actually got a bit of sunburn.
We made a second trip to the train store. It seems that someone lives near a bunch of hooligans and their train lay-out was destroyed for the second time; thus they are selling all their cars, switches, you name it on consignment. Tony went on Friday and we returned today for some additional switches and a new car.
Everything was half price and since the cars were kept indoors, they were not damaged. I can't imagine the fun that someone would have smashing someone else's hobby. They must have a warped sense of humor. We hope to get the track cleaned and the train running on Sunday, time will tell.

The Ponds

The weather proved to be delightful and the wallpaper removal chore has been put on hold. I had to be outside. The ponds get emptied in the spring and it is a most distasteful, revolting chore. They are smelly, full of leaves, water, lord knows how many bacteria. Unbeknown to me, it is easier to remove the leaves and pump out the water, oh well, lesson learned. I began cleaning the screen porch and took my time filling buckets from the ponds along with this cleaning endeavor. Ten buckets at a time, 225 gallons in all. The gardens are extremely dry so they enjoyed a bucket of water randomly. The river gets trashed by the critters, they push all the rocks into the channel so that has to be cleaned as well. The bird feeder has been moved, never to be close to the river again. The finches drop more seed than they consume! What a mess, and then, the warning about salmonella, so rubber gloves were a necessity. DONE! It is currently filling with water from the sump pump, ever so slowly. The waterfall provides a soothing noise barrier and the birds love it, not to mention the squirrels. It looks much better when the plants reappear.