#364 Yardwork

Technically, this is lawn maintenance, not yardwork. However, although I enjoy a cut lawn, I do not look forward to the chore. One of these days, we will downsize to a home that does not require yardwork OR lawn maintenance.

Do-over #2

Another fulfillment of theme #173 Lots & Lots & Lots.

#290 Summer Fun

Lava Hot Springs, Idaho (population 561) - the place to go for water fun. River tubing, hot springs (with no sulphur smell), and water slides. Lots of people from Utah (and Idaho, too) make the trip and spend the day in the pool. The hot pools are open all year. It's a beautiful area. Google Portneuf River for youtube videos and more photos (not mine).

#77 Door

Entrance to the Camp Dempsey Trading Center, Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.

Camp Dempsey was the first name of this town before it was changed to Lava Hot Springs.

#281 Sports

Karate in the park.

#24 Bloom

The columbine is my favorite flower. This is an unusual yellow and pink variety. Pretty!

#317 The Letter P

Weary sidewalk art lovers taking a "Paws for Thought" break on one of the Art You Can Sit On benches along the Snake River.

"Paws for Thought" by Carrie Wildman and Colleen Dustin.

#266 Sizzling Hot

On a sizzling hot day, I'm looking for the shade. This bench is usually shaded except in late summer afternoon. Although there is no back to the bench, it is located under a gorgeous spruce tree with a beautiful view of flowers and the Snake River in the background.

"The Great Satchmo" by Sherri Faye Fullmer. Another bench in the Art You Can Sit On series in Idaho Falls. Words to the song "It's A Wonderful World" are carved into the Idaho Travertine marble.

#178 Metals

The metallic back of this bench goes nicely with the metallic, rusty art pieces standing in the grass. It was a lovely day for a sidewalk art show.

"I Love Life" by Sherri Faye Fullmer and Dirk Forbush.

One of the Art You Can Sit On series in Idaho Falls on the Snake River

Do Overs

A few shots that fulfill themes I've already fulfilled but I like these photos!

#330 Three

#72 Depth of Field ("Stars and Stripes" by Chris Layton and Kory Waford from the Art You Can Sit On series.)

#66 Curves - Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Wyoming.

#190 Multiples

I love pottery and ceramics and these artists make such pretty stuff. "Stuff," because, while I enjoy it, I don't want to own it. My cupboards and walls are full.

#301 The Arts

The Eagle Rock Art Guild supports the annual Sidewalk Art Show on the Snake River Green Belt, Idaho Falls. All art is welcome - two dimensional, sculpture, music. I didn't see any dance. Suffice it to say, there was a lot of talent represented in the park.

It's been awhile since I posted a scrapbook page. Maybe I'll get back into it.

#6 Animal

This weekend we are "baby sitting" Nicholas' chickens. The girls are quite pampered but all we have to do is open the roost door in the morning and close them in at night. They are too young to lay yet but maybe in a couple of months. Nicholas has named them but we aren't very well acquainted yet.

#122 Furniture

Pickles, home of the Atomic Burger, is in Arco, Idaho, about seventy-five miles north of Idaho Falls. Nicholas posed for me in their very large rocker out in front, just a few feet from the highway.

#152 In Shadow

I like sunrise, especially with pretty colors, but in the middle of the day, I'm looking for the shade if I'm outside for any length of time. Kind of ironic, huh! Another "Art You Can Sit On" bench in Idaho Falls.

"Sunrise" by Chris Layton and Kory Waford.

#244 Restful

Simon is resting next to his favorite human, my DH.

#348 Vegetable

This is an another example of how my husband and I are weird. We like squash. Except for zucchini bread, I don't have recipes for zucchini. The yellow squash is sliced and sauteed with onion. Yummm. They present a colorful arrangement at the local Farmer's Market.

#275 Snack or Treat

After yesterday's rant against gourmet cupcakes I have to confess to preferring a Hostess cup cake. Not Little Debbie, not Tastee Cakes. Hostess. Not Twinkies, not Ding Dongs, not Ho-Ho's. Just this chocolate cupcake. I admit it doesn't taste as good as I remember from fifty years ago, but still better to me than the gourmets. And you don't have to tell me about all the fake "food", preservatives, corn solids, etc. that are in this snack. I know. We all have our dirty secrets. This is the snack I look for at the convenience stores on road trips, so I don't eat a package very often. That's all the justification I'm doing today. Sigh.

#65 Cupcakes

Idaho Falls has at least three establishments where you can get gourmet cupcakes. I wanted to check them out and see what the hub-bub was all about. Glad that's over with.

The first store had lots of things besides pastries. Pretty, but I didn't purchase one.

At the second store, this is affectionally known as the "BTS" cupcake (Better Than Sex), I wasn't impressed and would argue the point, even though I like chocolate and, sometimes, caramel.
At the third store I bought this lemon/blueberry with cream cheese frosting. Also not impressed. After googling "butter cream frosting" I know why. The REAL butter cream frosting is too expensive for most people. The cupcakes cost $2+ as it is. I can't imagine the cost if the frosting was REAL butter cream. Maybe my taste buds are jaded or my age is showing but I can do better with a box of Betty Crocker cake mix and homemade frosting (butter, powdered sugar, a T or two of milk and cocoa - I only make cocoa frosting - never buy frosting in a tub at the store). Even my husband, "The Sweet Tooth Pastor," said I didn't have to buy any more on his account.

I know, I know. Gourmet cupcakes are way cool. You can have mine (and pay for it, too). The calories aren't worth it.

Sorry for the rant but I was very disappointed!

#57 Compact

My DH just returned from his first airline trip with bicycle. It took him two and a half hours to pack it the first time but cut it down to forty-five minutes for the return trip. He said it was worth it for the effect - dropped jaws, wide-eyed expressions of disbelief. Although it cost $50 round trip for the checked bag, he used the bike in lieu of a rental car and didn't have to pay parking.The suitcase is twenty-nine inches and came in just barely under the fifty pound limit. All the basics are compactly packed. He traveled without all the niceties he has collected for local commute - fenders, rack, extra lights.
It's an attention-getter and a fun way to meet strangers. What could be stranger than an old guy from Idaho commuting to the Nashville Convention Center (from his hotel, of course) in historic heat index conditions!
It took him a long time to put it all back together again. He still says it was worth it.

#309 The Letter H

King Mountain near Moore, Idaho (population 196) is one of HANG GLIDERS' favorite launch sites in the nation.

The scenery is gorgeous and you couldn't ask for a more beautiful day!

From the back side, most of the gliders are silver. From the front side it's a colorful array indeed. They are lined up, facing uphill, waiting for their turn and for the wind to cooperate. There was plenty of wind but they needed to fly into the wind. On this day they had to fight a cross wind.

This pilot takes off a-running, hoping the lift will keep him up and headed in the right direction. The pilots had gathered to participate in the annual King Mountain competition. The distance is calculated with GPS coordinates - as the crow flies, not time aloft. Winning has as much to do with good wind as it does with gliding skill.

Like I said, the scenery was beautiful and the day was gorgeous.

This guy had quite the video setup to record the flights. He had almost as much equipment as the glider pilots.

Little known facts: The glider weighs 100 pounds, give or take. You buy a cap for $8,000 and they give you a free glider. You need a roof rack on your four-wheel drive vehicle (required for access to some launch sites). It takes about twenty to thirty minutes to unpack and put the glider together. A few of the pilots were women. There is a lot of hurry-up-and-wait in hang gliding. I understand the best winds come up in late afternoon. Hang gliding pilots are the nicest people and don't mind answering questions from ignorant spectators.

#283 Square

Last year I built two SQUARE-foot garden boxes and had some success with the vegetables.This is what it looked like this spring before I attacked the grass, which was not supposed to be a problem. My neighbor informed me that the "quack" grass will grow through cement. My little effort at ground cloth is laughable to this formidable plant.
This is today. Tomatoes, broccoli, peas, cucumbers, squash, and GRASS are doing well. Must devote some quality time to weeding, my least favorite activity. Weeding aside, I like the square-foot garden concept. The book is by Mel Bartholomew.

#261 Sharp

A very tall, unusually SHARP mountain peak in northeast Yellowstone Park.

#19 Best Friend

Bert and his best friend, Ernie, watch the river go by on "Art You Can Sit On" bench, "Oh, The Places We Will Go" by snakeriverrustic.com. Although Bert looks a bit apprehensive, Ernie is there to provide the needed optimism and support. So cute.

#311 The Letter J

"J" stands for "Joseph,' as in Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe, which figures prominently in the history of Idaho and Wyoming. This scenic highway is a treasure and one that is easy to miss unless you like traveling the back highways in the middle of nowhere. It is officially Wyoming highway 296, which winds northward from Cody into Montana a bit before dipping down into Yellowstone. Can you say "worth it?"
Even with (or because of?) overcast skies, the scenery invited us to soak it up.
At the top of Coulter Pass (8,000+ ft) is a pullout with these two-dimensional sculptures and placards describing how Chief Joseph led his people over this pass, pursued by the 19th century version of Homeland Security, the Cavalry. He outwitted them for a time. More domestic policy run amuck.
I think this bridge crosses the Soda Butte Creek (more like a river) - way down there. It was a spectacular view. Photos never do this kind of scenery justice because you have to feel it.

#76 Domestic

"Domestic" as in domestic policy. In this case, domestic policy run amuck. Heart Mountain is about ten miles north of Cody, Wyoming and served as backdrop to the Heart Mountain Japanese Internment Camp, 1942 - 1945.
You can almost read some of the history of this camp. I think the boredom would have killed me. The organizations dedicated to the memory of this historical site are opening a visitor center in August.

The Honor Roll board was a part of each of the ten camps. It lists all the residents who had joined the military to help America in WWII. I think it ironic that the Japanese would be allowed to enlist but not allowed to live in their own homes. The internment stole millions of dollars of property and businesses from the internees. This was never replaced.
These two buildings remain to remind us of this domestic policy injustice. May it never happen again!

#39 Celebration

Bonita Gibson celebrated her 100th birthday on July 4th by releasing 100 balloons (and letting us eat some of her birthday cake). That's my DH, the pastor, in the blue shirt. I tease her because she doesn't act or look her age. :-) She quit driving last year and sold her car. It's the envy talking.

Photo-op with son and grandsons.

There they go!

#206 One

Glowing in the setting sun, this beautiful woman's headdress was a gift to me. We sat behind her, watching the dancing, and were delighted with this serendipitous vision. Although it looks like two feathers, it has been designed into a single plume. I had to be stealthy and quick to catch the sun shining through it. This is one of my favorite pictures from the Pow Wow.

30th Annual Plains Indian Museum Pow Wow, Cody, Wyoming, June 18, 2011.

#198 Night Shot

Fourth of July, Idaho Falls, Idaho

We chose our viewing location while it was still light and didn't notice until sundown that the street light and telephone pole were going to be in the photos. Note to self for next year: watch for these things.

I like the red ones.

This is a little different.

I like the gold ones.

Another submission for "Three." It was a great show, as usual. I hope your fireworks were memorable also.