Do You See What I See?

With the great weather we've been having here, it was time for another drive to the mountains...to our cabin.  I haven't been up there for six months; last time I went was before I started this journal, in mid-October.  That's a first...I've never stayed away from the cabin for more than two months.

So, we arrive at the cabin, built a fire inside and while I'm doing a little cleaning, Sam heads outside.  After a bit he comes back in and says, "Bernie, come here."  Bernie is his nickname for me, short for Berniture...like furniture...I guess....don't ask...I have no explaination to offer.   Anyway, he's always doing that, calling me to come here, go there, usually because he wants to show me something stupid, or something he knows will annoy me.  I finishing sweeping the floor and go outside to where he's standing.  He points up and says, "Look."  I'm looking up.  I see the sky.  Okay.  I see lots and lots of trees.  Yeah.  It's another one of his stupid games, I just know it.  He steps closer to the cabin, still pointing up.  "Look," he says again.  "At what?" I ask.  "Up there," he tells me, pointing to the cabin roof.  It's mid-day and the sun is shining right in my eyes, so I shade my eyes with my hand and step closer to the cabin.  Then I see it.  "Hol....CRAP!"

It's a big hornet's nest!  Ewwww!   A GIANT hornet's nest.  Now, two years ago these little guys tried like crazy to make two nests in the front of the cabin, but the nests are tiny and one can't even be called a nest.  I thought they quit and went away.  Well, apparently they didn't quit, they just found another place, a less obvious place.  This nest is massive.  So, that's what they've been doing the past two years!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love nature, and I really don't like to criticize Mother Nature...or The Big Guy.  I mean, it is a beautiful nest, interesting symmetry, and the craftmanship is truly remarkable.  It reminds me of a cornicopia.  I do appreciate stuff like that.  However, I have issues with this as well.  Does it have to be so big?  We have a gazillion trees here...it's a forest...couldn't they have picked a nice sturdy tree on which to built this masterpiece?  Why, oh why, did they have to pick our cabin?  And let's not over look the fact that I am allergic to insect stings...bees, mesquitoes, hornets..and they always find me.  Even if I'm just sitting by the fire, minding my own business, with four other people, I'll be the one to get stung.  Everytime!  I don't even want to guess how many hornets go with that nest.  I'm getting the willy's just thinking about it.  And then there's Amy and the baby, due next month. Can't have that many hornets on the loose with a newborn baby so close by.  So, does anyone out there collect these things?  Want to add another to your collection?  It's a beauty.

So, after the excitement of that discovery, we went for a little ride on the four wheelers.  Saw a few deer who disappeared before I could get my camera focused on them.  It started getting cold, so we headed back and saw a couple more.  We put the wheeler's away in the shop, locked everything up, and started for home.  At the bottom of our driveway, we spotted deer again.  This time, I got two pics before the deer ran off.  They look healthy this year, but we had a very short and mild winter.  A couple of years ago they were scrawny looking, so skinny and their coat was a horrible ruddy color, not the warm tan it should be.

It's always a good sign to see this many deer on the first trip of the year to the cabin.  It puts me in a good way.   The doe on the right looks like she may be pregnant.  Which is another good thing.  Very, very soon the fawns will come!!!  Ah yes, spring is my favorite time of year to be at the cabin.  There are wild mushrooms to hunt, prepare and eat, and spotted fawns to spot.  Two of my favorite cabin activities.  I can't wait. 

 

 

But first, something has to be done with that hornet's nest.  I'm sorry, but it's got to go!

 

~~A light heart lives long. -William Shakespeare~~

Let your light shine.

Time

Time may pass

My memories
May fade
With years, yet

I still remember
That first day
That first moment
When I saw…him
My love.

At first
No
I didn’t know
Yet, in time
Was it minutes
Or even moments
I knew.

And I remember
Every smile
Every question
Every breath
Almost every moment
But most of all
I remember
That moment
When I knew.

On a rock
Next to a river
For him
I recited poetry
My poems
My words
Feelings I knew
For him
Years before
Our eyes
Ever met.

Time may pass
But never will
It erase
The love
The tenderness
The understanding
Our hearts shared
Our souls knew
Our love.

That day lives
In my heart
In my soul
In my mind
In the sound
Of laughter
Of music.

With every beat
Every sweep
Of the second hand
The memory
Lives on.

Holding me
Holding him
Keeping us.

Together in time.

(c) 2005 Dona L. Cox

Spring It On Me!

Spring me owes something

so far, she's pulled off a few splendid sparklers
a plump, rosy angel, who stayed for awhile
a make believe tree house
and once, a shiny gold ring

but not a real Sky-Rocket-Block-Buster Miracle
like she always promised me . .

maybe this year, unexpectedly

from The Song of the Ram
Linda Goodman's Love Poems

 

 

I've always loved Linda Goodman's writings, especially the above poem...it's a long-time favorite. This year, I got a little unexpected surprise. Yesterday morning as I left for work, I noticed I had one daffodil ready to bloom. :) For me, that's exciting. But then, while strolling through the tree farm across the street, a flash of yellow...very low to the ground, caught my eye. I moved in for a closer look, navigating my way through the evergreens.

 

"Earth laughs in flowers." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

Surprise! What a find! Are they miniture daffodils? Hmmm. Don't know. But, today I took out my yard stick (I'm curious by nature, can't be helped). See for yourself.

I've never seen such tiny daffodils before! They are so cute! :)

 

 

 

Sometimes I wonder, if happy could be a color, would it be the color of daffodils?

 

 

~~Everyone has a story worth telling and a dream worth pursuing.~~

My Monday Photo Shoot

Monday Photo Shoot entry, March 7, 2005.

Lately the sunsets intensify...it seems.  Not so much with the deep reds and oranges I expect to see each evening.  No, these lack that kind of energy.  But they are no less impressive.  These possess a different quality...a quality of light.

I think I'll call this one 'Closest Thing to Heaven' 

 

~~Live in the possibility of every dream you've ever dreamed.~~

Obsession

Kari, March 1992.  Think she was just a little obsessed with her blanket?  She still has it...little bitty scraps of it, but she has it.  :)

This is one of my favorite photos of her.  The peacefulness of her face, the softness of the light on her skin, the innocence and sweetness of the moment...I'll never forget it. 

 

~Enjoy the quiet moments.~~ 

Rocky Mountain Way

AOL Music: Otis Redding: 'The Dock of the...

Here in Idaho, spring is in the air.  Each morning on my drive to work I see daffodils already in bloom, their bright happy faces a reminder of what's to come.  Friday the sun shined all day; when I left work at 4 in the afternoon, the temp was a balmy 65 degrees.  Beautiful.

Yesterday we spent some time outdoors, getting the flower beds ready for spring.  And none too soon; the daffodils, tulips and hyacinths have all awakened from their winter slumber.  The daffy's will bloom soon  :)  but the tulips and hyacinths will be a while.  I love daffy's, they are the perfect spring flower with their warm sunny colors.  But tulips are one of my favorite's, they remind me of dancers when I see them swaying in a gentle breeze.  I have one tulip that is the most beautiful I've ever seen, it's called Shirley (which I purchased in memory of my Mom's best friend).  It blooms white, with just a slight tinge of dark purple on the petals edge.  Over time, the purple slowly 'bleeds' into the petals, while the shade of purple fades just a little.  It is marvelous; a favorite of Amy, Kari, and myself.  You'll see, don't worry.  I won't keep it all to myself.  :-]

Last night was the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation benefit/auction.  We've been attending this event for about ten years.  It's one of the last winter events here in the valley, and a chance for me to catch up with friends I haven't seen for awhile.

Betty, me, Sherry, Vicki

The event is well attended each year and with all the games there are many freebies to be had. You can try your luck at the raffle tables with about 100 prizes ranging from cast iron dutch ovens to log furniture. Or, roam around the silent auction tables, again with about 100 different items for sale...art, books, hunting accessories, etc. And finally, the live auction for about 40 more items.

Me and Trish (who is responsible for my affinity for both chocolate and apple martini's).

The past few years, Sam has made several purchases during the live auction. I like the raffle because you can acquire some very cool things...for free (well, kinda free). Last year I won a beautifully framed winter elk print titled 'Leading Them Down.' It was the first time I ever won anything in a raffle. This year, we didn't buy anything, or win anything. 

Jolene must be in a kissing mood.----------->

There is a large group of us who attend this event together. I guess there are probably 30 people in our group, all of them work with Sam. It all started as something as something to do to beat the winter blahs.

 

 

 

<---Me and June, whose husband had a mild heart attack in January. He now has two stints in his artery.

I'm not into hunting, that's Sam's thing.  In the beginning of our relationship I tagged along with him a few times, especially if our friends Bill and Bona were going.  During hunting season several years ago, the four of us were standing in a huge open meadow on a ridge.  It was a beautiful sunny day, warm and calm.  I was standing on a stump, looking down into the draw and I heard something whiz by my ear.  Then I saw Sam, Bill, and Bona all running toward me.  As I wondered what had just zoomed past me, one of the guys shouted "Let's get out of here!"  Before I could open my mouth, Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me off the stump.  We all ran back to our four-wheelers parked around a corner and we high tailed it out of there back to the cabins.  The sound I heard whiz past my ear, was a bullet.  Moments earlier, I was standing in that very same spot and had just stepped up on the stump.  I never heard the report of the gun.  And we were all wearing bright hunter orange jackets and caps.  When we arrived back at thecabin, I got off the four wheeler, and told Sam if he wanted to hunt that was fine with me.  But I will stay home.  I'm just not into the dodging bullets thing, you know. 

BTW, my friend Bona is no longer in a coma, and is now home.  Doing fine.  :) 

Time Flies...

AOL Music: Wings: 'Live and Let Die' feat. Wi...  (now this video reminds me of high school...and what some people will do when bored)

I knew it was coming...it was just a matter of time. Sure enough it showed up in my mailbox last week. The high school class reunion.

Until ten years ago my thinking was simple, I'd rather have a root canal than attend my high school reunion. But then, I actually attended my twenty year reunion.

It was fun.

I missed out on the ten year reunion in 1985. Living in Sacramento at the time, people lost track of me...you know, I was one of those "Where are they now?" people. But when I attended the 20 year gathering in 1995, I heard all about what I missed.  The 10 year was held at the local country club, and by the end of the night, three privately owned golf carts were missing. Club personnel found them the next morning, in the bottom of the swimming pool. Yeah, my class always did know how to throw an outrageous party...we were the original party animals.  Needless to say we weren't invited back to the country club.

Sam and I attended different high schools. He went to Lewiston High School, and I went to Clarkston High School. And we both attended his 20 year reunion in 1993. It was quiet, calm, boring. We sat in chairs, against the wall, all night.  Just two wall flowers.  So when my 20 year rolled around two years later, he refused to go. Claimed he wouldn't know anyone and I'd leave him sitting by himself while I visited with friends. But fair is fair. I had to go to his and didn't know anyone...we were going. And we went. Long story short, guess who knew MORE people at my reunion than he knew athis own. Hmmm. Gee, he actually had fun. I practically had to drag him out to the car. :::rolling my eyes:::

So now, the question is on the table...will we go again? Don't know. We didn't make it to his 30 year (can't imagine why). Guess we'll just wait and see.

Update:  Okay, okay.  Robin, ya gotta love her, but she is such a nag!  Actually I was hoping she'd forget that she asked, but alas, no such luck.  In response to your comment, our mascot was a rooster.  Yep, we are called the Clarkston Bantams.  Strikes the deepest sense of fear into your heart, doesn't it?  Don't bother with the chicken jokes cuz I've already heard them all!  Can you guess what our school colors were?

And since I mentioned Sam's high school, they are the Lewiston Golden Bengals.  The rivalry between the two schools goes way back, and continues today.  Lewiston always beat Clarkston in football.  ALWAYS!  But I remember one year seeing a banner in the school hallway that read "The Lewiston Golden Bengals are nothing but a bunch of yellow pussies!"  Naturally, some people had issues with it, so it was removed from the school grounds, and placed on the bridge across to Lewiston. ;)

 

~~Kindness served with love, sincerity, and hope brings comfort to a broken heart.~~