You Are My Sunshine...*

Perhaps today's subject should actually be "you are MY sunshine". There are some plants that look lovely as ground cover, but they are never satisfied to just stay on the ground.

Up up up they climb, extending their greedy tendrils and wrapping themselves around anything that will help them get closer to the sun. Meanwhile they cover everything along the way, depriving their hosts of the same life-giving sunlight that they so desperately seek.

We had a similar vine in California where I grew up, but the California vine had little porcupine shaped "fruits", thus it was nicknamed the porcupine vine. This one has no such fruits, just shiny green berries and the little coiled springs by which it raises itself up.

I have a love hate relationship with this vine. I love to photograph it...I hate that it tries to take over everything it can.



*my nod to Saturday Centus for this week.

Can't Get No Satisfaction

Remember how crazy all the rivers were around here a few weeks ago? People in the canyons were living on the brink of flooding for weeks. And then one day it all seemed to subside, just like that.

I'd been noticing lately whenever I had to drive over the hill that the Ogden River looked pretty serene. So I decided it was time for some water studies...at least that was my intent. Here's the best of what I shot. I'm not really very satisfied with what I shot.

And, by the way, the river wasn't as calm or calming as it appeared from the car. The traffic noise in the canyon was anything but serene and the river was still flowing faster than it appeared, so wading out into the middle of the stream was a bit treacherous. Oh well, at least I tried... and there will be other days.

Just Because It's Cloudy Doesn't Mean It's Grey

Ahhh. The day after. Luke is onto his new life and it's time to regroup and get on with our lives too. It's a typical summer day in the mountains. Blue sky, huge white puffy clouds. It's all good. We're happy.

And have I mentioned lately that I love this man? Yup, I really do. So glad he's mine, funny faces and all!

Time Has Come Today

After packing and a few other last minute odds and ends, breakfast with friends...

and then the long drive to the Missionary Training Center in Provo...

a split second for last hugs and good-byes. And then it was time to go, and for Elder Terry to officially begin his two years of service. He's a remarkable young man and we're going to miss him. Look out Canada, here he comes!

Follow the Bunny

Thump is the coolest rabbit in town. We let him out on the deck to play this afternoon, which he happily did. After a few laps back and forth along the length of the deck,

he decided to stretch out and relax, much to the dogs' chagrin. Knowing from experience that he is safe when separated from them by a gate or fence, he didn't seem to even notice that they were watching him intently from a few feet away.

Seeing that he was chill and happy, we went inside the house and busied ourselves with other things. After a while, I heard the dogs running back and forth, playing as they normally do. When I looked out the window to see what they were up to, I discovered that Thump had ventured into their area and was being nudged and licked by them. They know that he is part of the family and that they are to treat him gently...thankfully. He seemed undaunted by the whole encounter, albeit a little wet and slobbery.

One Last Day...

Totally unrelated to the subject or the photo above, but I couldn't pass this up. It's hot today. We took the dogs for a little walk and by the end their tongues were almost literally dragging on the ground. So they each got a little cooling dunk...

 ...and then proceeded to crash on the deck. They have quite the life.

Monsoon Monday

It rained today. Hard. Really hard.

It rained so hard that our new studio now is an indoor wading pool. Well, I guess technically it's not indoor, since there is no roof.... maybe that's why it's a wading pool, no?

The dogs enjoyed splashing around in  it....

...and Jake, who easily gets fixated on things like bugs and butterflies, enjoyed trying to bite the water as it hit the ground on the hillside about 18 feet below when we used a pump to syphon it off the floor.