She's growing up so fast

We went over to visit Ichabod's parents last night. I hadn't seen Annie for almost four weeks. I couldn't believe how big she's getting.





But she is still a puppy and loves to play. In fact, I'm lucky I got any shots at all because she doesn't stay still for long.



And she's still drinking.



She just loves to play outside. Her favorite outside toys are to go to the woodpile and choose a stick or hunk of bark.



This is what I meant about it being hard to get a good shot of her. You might not want to look at this in the large size. It's kinda scary.



Of course, I had to get a couple of flower shots. This first one is forget-me-nots. It's clear enough that you can look at it in the large size and see decent detail.



I got a picture of a redbud tree that I posted from the Sedona trip. Up here, in Michigan by the lakeshore, the buds aren't open yet. I'll try to get back and get a shot of them once they open, too.

The klutz strikes again!

I went out today to lunch to meet a friend of mine. We used to work together but now she's retired. She drives the 20+ miles to come to the city where I work and we meet at Pizza Hut. We try to this about once a month. It's fun to eat pizza and catch up with each other.

Well, today I was too busy looking in the window to see if she was there, sitting in our usual booth. Just as I did that my body must've moved with my head. I stepped half on the sidewalk and half on the wood chips that were lower by an inch or so.

The difference in height was just enough. My right ankle twisted to the right but I ended up down on my left knee before I ended up completely on my left side. I've been babying that knee for the last couple of weeks, too.

So, not only did it hurt, I was seen. Still thinking I had my dignity as I walked to the booth my friend asked if I was okay. Yup, she saw me go down. Dignity was now bruised, too.

Of course, I've been a klutz all of my life so my dignity will probably be the first to heal. And if I can make anyone laugh with me over this then I'm sure it will heal all the faster.

Normal old Sunday night

Vacation's over, back to work tomorrow. Well, it was a fun two weeks, but I have to do something to pay off my credit card now. :)

Hiking in Sedona

We went for a few hikes while in Sedona. Here's a bunch of pictures most of them with comments. There are a lot of pictures so I apologize to anyone with dial-up. :)


This is Cathedral Rock. This is supposed to be one of the vortex sites.


This is one of the pictures I have of One-seed Junipers. They grow very slowly and I love the gnarly appearance.


I really like this one in the large size.


I still forgot to check for snakes most of the time.


This is an Arizona Cypress.





Can you spot the lizard in this picture?


Water was gushing out of the side of this little hill here. I took this picture just before the next one happened.


Yup, these are my feet after walking through the red mud from the little gusher above.


I tell ya, it's hard to keep Ichabod out of trees. Here he's standing in a sycamore.


This is a gall on one of the sycamores.


The bright green part in this tree is actually mistletoe. It's a parasitic plant, it puts its roots right into another plant and sucks out the sap. Think about that the next time you try to catch someone under the mistletoe.


Here's a picture of mistletoe in an Arizona Cypress.


Here's another lizard.



Here are some flowers, probably in the aster family.


This was from a hike where I actually had to go uphill.


But the climb was worth it. This is chimney rock, which is closer to where we were staying.


Not quite sure what this is, but I really liked it. This is one of many pictures that looks much better in the large size.


I believe the plant in the foreground is beargrass.


Here's Ichabod, blazing a trail for me.





It's hard to see the layered look of the rock in this small size. Much easier if you click on it and check out the large size.


Same with the size of this one.


Looking down on residential West Sedona.




As always, if you have time to click on them and choose All Sizes, they look better in the large size.

I have internet again!

I was really bummed that we didn't have internet at our hotel yesterday. We took a bunch of backroads through Utah and the scenery was breathtaking. It wasn't picture-taking for me, though. Never even felt like pulling it out.

Then today we were on major highways and have now made it to Lincoln, NE. I'm tired, but I wanted to put something out here. I also might do a little more surfing. I was without internet since around 9 am yesterday. Just. Too. Long.

Moon over Sedona

Our trip happened to coincide with the full moon. I've been disappointed with my full moon pictures in the past. But I really like these. Something for the coyotes to howl at. :)

And, as always, these will show better if you click on them and choose All Sizes.

In Sedona

We are here and enjoying ourselves. Been able to catch up on reading, do a little hiking, a little blogging, and even watching General Hospital. Well, I've been watching GH, not Ichabod.

This is a pretty nice little house. It's so nice to have a whole house with a yard to ourselves. I'm really liking it. Here are some pictures.

A couple of shots of the living room



This is the kitchen. The wall you can't see is all cabinets except for the refrigerator. And, of course, it took us no time at all to get out the laptops and hook up to the wireless internet.


Here's Ichabod relaxing in what they call the Arizona room.


Here's the main patio. Just beyond the cement is where the hot tub is supposed to be. The agency just acquired this house and hadn't had time to put that in yet. They were going to do it tomorrow, two days before we leave, but I said no. I don't want workers crawling all over the place when we'll barely have time to use it.


This is the master bedroom.

With the master bath. It's unfocused and crooked because I was trying not to be reflected in the mirror.

And this is the little patio that's right off the master bedroom.


There were two other bedrooms.



Front shot of the house.

And a closeup of the front door. The coyote motif is relevant as there are coyotes in the area.


Here are some views from the front of the house.


And one from the backyard.

And this is Chimney Rock that we can see from the house.


This picture isn't the best but it gives an idea of the wild areas behind the houses. It's from the back of the house. Plenty of room for coyotes. Our first night here we heard their yips and howls. Then, a couple of times, we've seen them out around this brushy area. One morning I saw one run right next to the house. So cool.


Oh, and a few more shots that I got in the backyard.




Any of these look better if you click on them and choose All Sizes.