Happy Easter!

The dino-bunny has arrived, but where are the Easter eggs?

I think the baby dino-bunny ate them!

Does your world have an Easter dino-bunny?  Mine does!  Visit other strange lands at MyWorld Tuesday.

On the bridge

Pa: I dropped my damn cell phone.

Ma: Do you see it there?

Pa: No, it's gone.

Ma:  I warned you, one more time and that was the end of it.

Another Microfiction Monday at Susan's!  See what else is happening
on or over that bridge......

Two days late and a bunch of dollars short

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.  ~Irish Proverb


Sometimes life is just too busy.  I had intended to post this for Wednesday but now it's Friday. I don't have a Skywatch post done either.  Plus, we got a whopper of a tax bill.  I guess that's the downside of not having little deductions running around the house, getting a lot of the house paid off and working hard to earn some money.


Off to find a laugh or two with a plan to get a long sleep in over the weekend.

Steinaker Dam and Reservoir

"Steinaker Lake itself is an unusual water storage facility. It is supplied by a canal from a diversion dam on Ashley Creek several miles to the west. One of the first units to be constructed in the vast Central Utah Project, Steinaker Lake stores runoff water from Ashley Creek to provide irrigation water to the Ashley Valley. The area is named for General William H. Ashley, famous for his leadership in the fur trade in the West in the 1820s and 1830s."--from stateparks.com

The ice is beginning to melt but it has a long way to go before it's time for fishing and boating.

"In addition to its obvious attractions for water recreation, Steinaker State Park is located in a region well known to geologists, historians and collectors of artifacts. Fossilized relics once found in ancient seas such as oysters, clams, and other shellfish are found here. Steinaker's convenient location makes it a popular base for exploring the many attractions of Dinorsaurland in northeast Utah or the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area to the north."

The groundbreaking ceremony for Steinaker Dam was held in 1961. The man for whom the lake and park are named, John Steinaker, attended that ceremony. He was a member of the pioneer ranching family of the region and was 81 at the time of the ceremony. The park was opened to the public in 1964.

This section was really muddy but it sure smelled good.  I came out here for lunch when I was overloaded with too much to do at work.  It was a wonderful reprieve just a short drive north of Vernal.  See what's happening on the rest of the planet at My World Tuesday.

But I don't want to be a man

True story:  my grandfather was an Admiral in the Navy.  My mother wanted me to join and by then they allowed women but I get seasick.

I suppose this isn't fiction if it's true but it was either this or a rant against sexism!  The other submissions for Microfiction Monday were more lighthearted than mine this week.

Sunset in Lapoint

Coming home from Salt Lake I captured the sunset in Lapoint, a small community on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation to west of where I live.

SkyWatch Friday is full of beautiful skies from all over the world. Go visit!

Missed Opportunities

Is this a cool car or what?  I took this shot in Salt Lake last week where there was NO snow!  It was a wonderful spring day.

The missed opportunity was catching the four young men cruising in the car with their sunglasses on.  I couldn't get my camera out quickly enough. When  I went in to the lobby to check out from the hotel I hoped to capture them later, but upon my return the car was gone.  I know they would have willing posed for me and it would have made an entertaining shot, but alas--I missed the opportunity.

But, it makes me think, how often do we miss opportunities in life?  Sometimes it's a small one, sometimes it alters our entire life's direction.  I'm getting old enough to be able to look back at certain crossroads and wonder, what would have happened if I had taken another path?  Of course I'm who I am today because of my choices, wise or foolish.  At least I've learned from most of mistakes, picked myself up and kept going.  It's important to pay attention to the signs along the way.

With the change in weather I found inspiration to get out my camera for the first time in awhile.  I hate to miss those golden opportunities.  The next shots were caught this morning as I headed out the driveway to go to work.

This tom turkey has been seeking opportunities with the hens in our yard, displaying his feathers and strutting his stuff.  I haven't seen him get lucky...yet!  

Scrapbook Moments

Right after I took this shot, my daughter turned to me with a tear-stained face and asked, 

"Why is my sister so mean to me?"

OK, listen up!  This is my FICTIONAL submission to Microfiction Monday, but only a step removed from when my two daughters were little.  Who never had a sibling who made you cry?

Split Mountain

I just haven't been able to get a good sky shot this week, too much work and too many cloudy skies.  A friend of mine and excellent photographer took this shot of the Green River and Split Mountain in the Dinosaurland Monument.  I asked her if I could "steal" it for my blog and she graciously consented, stating that theft is a sincere form of flattery.

I'm off in the early morning hours to Provo for work, then Salt Lake to visit my daughter and spend the night and then home again Friday.  I'll be a busy little bee for the next two days.

SkyWatch Friday will have many more beautiful pictures posted starting Thursday afternoon.  The world is a beautiful place.

Big boys and their big toys

Friday morning, March 5, 2010,  has been officially declared Tractor Day for the last few months.  My husband, bless his weary bones, has complained that our little Kubota was not quite strong enough to keep up with our snow removal needs.  With no power steering, it was hard on Gary's neck and shoulders.  It became time to upgrade the tractor as soon as my Honda Accord was paid off, March 4, 2010.  We wasted no time making the exchange.  Obviously from the picture above, it was another snowy morning.  Come hell or snowstorm, though, we were going to get a new tractor.

My husband didn't think I was showing enough enthusiasm about our new purchase.  In a valiant effort to show my astonishing level of enthusiasm, I bought balloons and a model truck pulling a model tractor to celebrate Tractor Day.  One would think this was more than enough proof-- alas, to no avail, he questioned my attitude!  Men.





To continue this fascinating tale, we drove to Heber, Utah to Valley Kubota, where the nearest dealer is located.  135 miles one way to trade in our little old tractor for a big new shiny tractor.

Happy face!

The old tractor was unloaded and the new tractor was loaded,
barely fitting on the flatbed trailer.

Fortunately the storm broke and the roads were clear for the ride home.

As soon as we got home the big boy was on his big toy checking out the power steering and all the bells and whistles.  Did you know that you can buy a tractor with cruise control?  We didn't get it but really, who knew?  Tractor envy anyone?

That's the latest from my little corner of the world.  See what happening the world over at My World Tuesday.

Poolside

Yes, she was beautiful.  

No, she was not smart or interesting.

What a narcissist.

He seriously considered shoving her into the pool.

 See what everyone else wrote here.

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday

"You're not just a drop in the ocean, you're also the mighty ocean in the drop."

Rumi

It ain't spring yet in this neck of the woods

Last week I hired a strong young man to come shovel our porch roof.  The north side of the house doesn't get much sun.  After months of accumulation it was time to clear off the roof before the weight of all the snow brought it down.  This big chunk of snow makes an interesting sculpture in the yard.

Just a few feet away is this monstrous icicle!  We have heating tape in the corner of the roof so the snow slowly drips off to the ground.  The first year we lived in the house a huge slab of ice slid off and peeled back the steel roof!

The only sign of spring around here is the longer days!

Fortunately in other parts of the world there are signs of spring.  Go visit My World Tuesday to see them because they ain't here.