"Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least." ~Goethe~

29 May 2009

A Sunday afternoon drive

Here lately no one in the family has been content with just sitting at home and looking at the four walls.  Sunday was one of those days.  Most of the day was spent out in the yard putting in our new flowers in the little buckets, strawberry plants in hanging baskets, piddling around in the flower beds, etc.  I get started in making things look nicer outside and I can't stop.  Finally Glenn came up to me and said we were going on a drive.  How could I refuse.  I've been loving these adventures alot lately.  So off we went to top off the tank, grab some snacks and drinks and up into the hills near our house.  It's secluded up there but I couldn't help but feel jealous of the few lucky folks that have homes in the hills.  The peace and quiet was heaven.  JEALOUS!!
At one point along the road a little creek was to be seen and of course we had to make a stop.  Glenn went to go take pictures of birds and the girls and I stayed in the truck and listened to the creek and birds.  The embankment was a bit steep from the road to the creek so I choose to stay in the truck because I could just envision a 5 yr. old slipping down landing into the creek.  So with that in mind, the truck it was.  The creek sounded quite nice where we were at.  We got lost in the sounds and didn't notice that Glenn had come back up to the truck until he closed the door.  Good thing there were no crazy "Jasons" up there.  We wouldn't have had a chance.  :)

Down the road a piece we started to see where there used to be an old mining town in the foothills.  It didn't last long.  Not much up in the hills.  It was funny to see this old mine shaft with the car above the entry.  Who knows why.  The girls thought it was funny.  A couple of feet into the entry everything is fenced off so no one can get in and get hurt.  The was another shaft near by where the building over it was all collapsed and very shaky looking.  It looked like the entry dropped straight in the ground so we stayed in the truck where it was safest. 

We finally made it out of the seclusion of the hills and into the open prairie where there were lots of cows grazing.  We couldn't help but get out and go exploring.  There is private land up there so the girls were shown where they could go and what to stay away from.  Of course Brenna had to go over and touch the barb wire after being told not to get near it.  After I showed her my scar on my leg from when I was 13 or so, she stayed away.  (We were at a friends of my Dad's and their really mean dog came after me.  I tried jumping a barb wire fence to get away from him but didn't clear it.  The dog left me alone once I was caught in the wire.  Ripped right through my favorite jeans and my leg.  Psychotic dog.  I think he was laughing at me afterwards.  Stupid butthead.)  Anyhoo ...  (darn flashbacks)


The girls found it neat to be in the tall grasses as the wind was blowing them around.  You could hear the grasses blowing around if you just sat quietly and listened.  It took a bit for the girls to settle down and grasp that whole idea.  I think they finally got the message when Glenn and I gave them the "eye" and told them to stop and sit.  They sat there for the longest time just listening to everything.  The birds, grasses, wind, bugs, and a coyote.  It was pretty cool seeing their faces when they heard something new.  Awesome.  :)


There were more wild lupines to be seen.  I've never seen them with this purpley-pinky color.  ( love my color descriptions, don't you. ;) )  There were tons of wildflowers to look at.  I would love to have all that color in my yard.  Not enough room in my little piece of dirt.





We watched the clouds move in around us but nothing happened.  They were just making their way up to the mountains so they could make all the Memorial Day campers miserable.  It happens EVERY year but yet no one learns.  And then everyone gripes about how their trip was wet and cold.  Not too bright.  I love to look at the clouds.  There are always shapes in them.  Glenn got a really cool pic of one that looked liked a dolphin.  So cool!



After I had enough of looking around, I found a spot in the grasses and sat for the longest time just watching and listening to everything around us.  I do get lost in all the quiet serenity.  Glenn to grab my camera out of the truck and snapped this pic while the girls and I were soaking up all the beauty of the hills.  He doesn't stand still for long, always looking at things just like the girls.  I just get to a point where I've seen enough and just want to listen to things.



At one point we realized that it was getting close to dinner time so we headed back down the road to eat fast and come back up to our spot and watch the sunset.  The most wonderful idea from Glenn.  As we were passing the cows, you guessed it, the girls once again tried "speaking" to them.  Why do kids do that?  A few of them ran from the side of the road and Glenn said that they were probably afraid they would catch "mad kid disease".  I darn near pee'd my pants!  And nearly spit my water all over the inside of the truck!  Luckily the window was down.  The girls giggled but I don't think they found it to be as funny as Glenn and I did.  :)

So after woofing done dinner and heading back up the road from the house, we came back up to our spot to enjoy the most wonderful evening light ever.  The hills were beautiful!  On the very far right of the pic is the valley where we live.  So cool to think that just a 20 min. drive up the hills and we have all this wonderment to look at.  We were there for about 2 hrs enjoying everything.  You wouldn't believe how much louder the bugs were at this time of day.  I would love to have a house there so I could listen to all of the chirping lull me off to sleep every night.  I had to get up out of the back of the truck and walk around because I actually found myself getting sleepy from it all.  Glenn thought that was funny but said it would drive him bonkers and he would not get any sleep at all because he would home in on the rhythm of their sound.  Too bad for him.  I would LOVE it!

The girls found two beetles to look at.  One escaped down a hole in the ground and the other wasn't so lucky to get away from the little observers.  Glenn and I were quite surprised to see both of them picking it up and touching the thing.  At some point, both girls used to be afraid of earthworms and wouldn't get 10ft. near one.  Then one of them got to the point of pulling the worms apart because Brendon told them they would grow new "ends".  So every once in awhile one would be "divided" as a little one would watch to see it happen.  After realizing it doesn't happen that fast, that bit of fascination wore off.  Thank goodness!  So back to the beetle... Brenna wouldn't actually hold the beetle but would follow it on the ground so she could at least touch it.  Still shocking being she still freaks about pencil head sized bugs that get on her.  You should see this child running around playing and then suddenly stop in a dime when she realizes there is a wee little bug on her.  Then she stands and squeals until someone comes to save her.  Quite hilarious!  Free entertainment!

It was completely dark when we found ourselves pulling into the driveway back home.  No one wanted to leave the hills but Glenn wasn't sure how easy it would have been seeing all the cows all over the road up there when it got dark.  I do believe that the cows hang out on the road at dark.  You wouldn't believe all of them we had to stop and wait for as we were heading out to the main highway.  Too funny!  It was well after 10pm when we all got to showered and hit the hay.  It didn't take long for anyone to go to sleep, without the bug sounds. ;)  We had a great time that day.  I'm sure we will find our way back up to "our" spot again soon.  It was wonderful!  Too bad one has to work to live because otherwise we would already be living in the hills.  One can dream though.

Well, off for a few lessons today and then some sewing.  I've got fabric cut out to make skorts and tops for the girls.  I get a bit frustrated with patterns at times because I have to add length to things just so the girls don't look like hoochies in the finished outfits.  They aren't adults for crying out loud!  I just don't get it.  And then we wonder why there are so many problems in society today.  :(  Anyhoo, I'm making some potholders that I started crocheting last night.  I'll take pics later and show them off.  (I'm still trying to figure out what to do on my next big project.  Haven't quite wrapped my brain around it yet.) Pretty cool they are.  They are nice and thick and look like they will last a long time.  Off for another warm day here.  Good thing we have A/C.  I feel bad being that we are at home staying comfortable and Glenn is out in the heat all day.  But I have to tell one secret I have about Glenn.  I love smelling him when he gets home.  He always smells so fresh!  Weird I know.  But he doesn't "stink" when he sweats.  He has no BO.  Seriously, no joke.  So I always get a sniff in on the neck when he walks through the door.  You know, hugged and mugged.  That's my ritual at the end of the day when he comes home.  He would kill me if he knew I was "telling" this.  Oh well, could be worse.

Remember, find something that makes you smile for the day.  There is ALWAYS one thing out there, find it.  :P

Toodles!!

4 comments:

  1. gorgeous photos, it looks like a lovely spot xx

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  2. You live in a beautiful area Kar...I love the shot of you and the girls.

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  3. hi kar,
    your country is wonderful.i like also wild lupins,but in my country gives not a only wild lupin.your crochet table runner looks fantastic.
    i love the colors.was you yet one time in germany?
    is your mother back from her yourney? has it your
    mom in germany fallen? miss she sometimes germany?
    thank you so much for all your nice comments on my blogsite.
    my email adress regiwei@t-online.de
    have a nice weekend,
    hugs regina

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  4. Hi Kar!! Love this post!! So much fun stuff in it!! I know just how you feel about these drives. We go exploring all the time. Some spots in our area are so very lush and lovely, and there is so much water...I love gazing at the water whether it's a river, lake or the ocean, although the ocean is my fave! I also like looking at pretty homes. We have a pretty home I love, but I never tire of looking at all different kinds of homes and seeing what people do with their landscaping etc...

    Have a glorious weekend, sweetie!! Glad you had a great drive in the hills!! We'll be in the Smokies for my family reunion soon!! I can't wait!!
    HUGS,
    Becky

    ReplyDelete