Busy busy busy

I’m not one who likes a full schedule.  I need time in my days/weeks/months for just doing nothing.  I haven’t had a lot of that lately.  Between work and school, I’m running all over the place.  I am learning to drive a big truck, and finally feel comfortable doing so.  I understand where my trailer is now – something I was having trouble with.  Now that I”m getting it, I can back up that sucker!  Next week is finals of quarter one of two of truck school.  So far, so very good.

And now for pictures!  I’m going more or less in time order, since it’s been awhile since I unloaded my camera.

These poppies are from my trip to California at the end of March.  My grandmother passed away and I went to be with my mom.  We took a drive and I was determined to find some poppies to take a picture of.  I did, and the color of them makes me happy.

 

This rose is from my grandmother’s garden.  I love how it just seems to glow from within.

 

 

The central California foothills are the landscape that is burned into my soul.  I have loved everywhere I’ve ever lived, but this landscape of rocks, oaks and green hills soothes me like no other can, except anything with water.

 

April 3 was the first day of truck school.  I’m learning a lot, enjoying knowing the instructors and other students and eager to be done so I don’t have to stay home alone any more.  It does mean big changes with critters, but they’re ones I’m willing to make for the sake of me and my marriage.

 

Our sixth anniversary was April 28.  We went to Grand Rapids to visit the Grand Rapids museum, have a good dinner (we went to The Twisted Rooster and I wholeheartedly recommend it – great food!), and see a movie (Oblivion, with Tom Cruise – we both enjoyed it).

 

This display was at the museum, up high.  All the colorful birds just really caught my eye.  The exhibit was old Victorian case collections and described how they preferred to look at collections, rather than things in their natural habitats.  It was very interesting to see things like these birds grouped together.  I think I like seeing both.

 

 

While he was home for our anniversary, David left a few days before my birthday.  He sent me flowers at work, though, and a balloon.  I was grinning all day.

 

I celebrated my 50th birthday by getting out on the water, for spring had finally come.  I almost talked myself out of it, worrying about going alone, blah blah, but then just went, and I was soooo glad I did!

 

Pretty painted turtle – it had climbed up a tree branch to sit out over the water.  I was careful not to scare it, as it had obviously worked hard to get there.

 

Afterwards.  I was so peaceful and relaxed…

 

The dogs have been getting walked in the woods a lot.  Tucker is a little taller than Sadie now, but lighter.  He’s getting to be a better dog all the time.

 

And he’s very photogenic.

 

When we’re walking is when his herd dog breeding shows.  Sadie was meandering up behind us when he went into his crouch.

 

Then he leaps into motion.

There is a quick altercation – lots of teeth (though less teeth now as he’s growing up mentally).

And calm.  When we walk, he spends probably the last 25% of any walk pestering Sadie, trying to get her to chase him.  He loves to be chased.

And no blog post would be complete without a chicken.  🙂  This is not Jack!  This is one of his kids – I thought I had 4 pullets hatch last summer.  What I forget about the BBS Orpingtons is that the cockerels are slow to show themselves.  I even thought Jack was a pullet for the longest time.  I call this guy Samuel, because he’s Jack’s son.  Heh.  That’s how my mind works when naming chickens…We lost Romeo in March (while I was in California, so I’m not sure what happened to him) so Samuel gets to stay, as I prefer to have 2 roosters with a large flock of hens – this way they get watched out for.