Home Sweet Home

I love waking up in the morning to the sound of birds singing. I love the smell of fresh mountain air, of pines that have been warmed by the sun, of alfalfa that has been nurtured by a neighboring farmer, of soil.

I love the cheery summer flowers and the bees that collect pollen from them.

I love my home.

And I'm fascinated by the homes of my neighbors.

Life is good. Happy Friday to one and all.

Change of Scenery

It might not be Patagonia anymore, but we live in a pretty sweet place too. I love the clouds here.

This was a pretty common sight in Chile, not quite so common at home, so I couldn't resist grabbing the shot since they were posing perfectly for me this morning.

Funny thing about it...a woman was wanting to get into her car which was parked next to the truck. We watched her stop, think about it, walk all the way around the front of her car, only to decide that she might need to wait for the owner of the truck and dogs to return before attempting to unlock her door. He came back just as she was getting on the phone to call someone for help, only to announce that the dogs were super friendly and were probably just wanting to say hi.

Speaking of dogs, our boys were happily reunited with the hubs for some good nap time on the couch.  

Settling In...

Little by little I'm settling back into life at home. I'm still in a bit of a daze. It's not jet lag, not the time zone change...it's the seasonal change.

It was fall in Patagonia. The sun came up between 8 and 9 am, and we were on the edge of darkness by 5:15 pm. We were surrounded by fall colors and cool crisp air. And now, the sun comes up early, sets late. Everything is green and getting greener. I'm definitely not complaining...it's just an adjustment that my brain seems slow to want to make.

There were lots of wonderful things to see and do in Patagonia. But home is home. We have family here. We have our dogs and rabbit here. One grandchild is here. And we hope to see the other kids and grandkids soon.

Life is good. 

The Craziness of Coming Home

Vacation is wonderful. But I often feel like I need a vacation to recover from vacation upon returning home. First, it takes a full day of travel just to get home. Then there's unpacking. Laundry. Mail to sort through. Laundry. Mail to read. Mail to respond to. Bills to pay. Did I mention laundry? Grocery shopping. More laundry. Blogging to catch up on (can't leave that out). Responsibilities that got left by the wayside while away....haha...no, they don't just disappear. And all this while being sleep deprived.

No wonder I make faces like this!

Hangin' Out in the Old Hood

My daughter lives in the house in which I grew up. It's always a trip down memory lane when we come to visit. It was a great place to grow up so I'm glad that my grandkids can have that experience now.

It's a bit of a wild and woody place. In January 1982 a severe rain storm caused landslides that took trees and homes tumbling down the hillside, and caused what was once a circle to become a horseshoe drive with two dead ends. 

It might be winter moving into spring in some places, but here there is always green in the landscape. 

Friday Follies

It's Friday. Totally random sightings today. No particular rhyme or reason, but just things I saw and liked as I went about my day.

More of the aspen grove at the bottom of our driveway. They change daily...they are quickly shedding their leaves. In a few days they will be nothing more than silver skeletons. 

Late afternoon sun. 

Watchful but not fearful. 

Love like crazy. Sound advice.

A hornets' nest high in a tree at the bottom of our driveway..the size of a watermelon.  

The view from the rooftop of our garage/studio. 

Luke's rock work.

Ah, those mountains. 

 Home sweet home. L.O.V.E. this place!

And last, but not least, Camden, our cute little neighbor. Terrible twos? What's terrible about a two-year old? This little man is pure delight....and today was his 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Dude!

Crazy Beautiful

Have I told you? I live in a crazy beautiful place. There aren't enough hours in the day for me to see all the beauty that surrounds me. Sometimes I get stuck before ever leaving my own property. This is the bottom of my driveway. See what I mean? 

And this is the view from about a block down the road.

I went walking with my friend, Erin, today. This is what we saw on our walk. We didn't go very far...and we were only 10 minutes from the house. Am I spoiled? Yes!

Moose tracks...NO, not an ice cream flavor!

A really gnarly old tree....

The moon...in the middle of the day... 

Later in the day, I drove to Huntsville, about 20 minutes away on the other side of the valley. Was it any less pretty there? No, just different! Am I spoiled? Yes!

And on the way home...as the sun was setting...

An afterthought: my friend, Sue, suggested that I link this to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday page, with its fall colors theme this week....so, linking I am. I normally follow Miss Jenny's Saturday Centus, but why not on Thursday, too, occasionally? Right? Oh, and if you're not a frequent visitor and want to see some more fall colors from my corner of the planet...be sure to look here...or here...or just feel free to snoop around the past couple weeks of postings. Have fun!