Great Blue Herons? or Sandhill Cranes?

A couple of weeks ago, we were awakened to the sound of herons calling to each other. "Breakfast is served...Breakfast is served"! :) It was a grey foggy morning, and though we looked and looked, we couldn't see anything. Then as the fog lifted...there they were. Hundreds of them across the road, eating to their hearts content. Watching them fly in to the "restaurant" was quite something. Their wing spans are 6' plus. We have always called them Herons but after looking in my birding field guides, I have come to the conclusion that these were not Herons, but Sandhill Cranes. Herons DO frequent our area, but they are primarily, believe it or not, carnivorous. They feed on fish and small mammals! Sandhill cranes on the other hand are grey, with a very similar look, but feed by "probing and gleaning the ground for insects and waste grain". Well, this was not waste grain! The field had just been planted but a week before!! Either way, Heron or Crane, they were fun to watch and listen to.

Thanksgiving Day

Think I should post for Thanksgiving before I do my posts for Christmas! Now that's a novel idea isn't it??

We picked up Mom from Bethany Home on Thanksgiving Day. She was anxious to go and looking forward to having a good 'ol home cooked meal. I don't think she was disappointed! It was going to be just Les, me and Mom for the meal, so Les suggested I cut back a bit on the whole Thanksgiving FEAST idea. But you know, it's like cooking spaghetti.....when you put it in the pot, it never looks like enough! So, you keep adding.... Well, if we were having a turkey then you HAVE to have dressing, gravy and mashed potatoes..right? Then, it just doesn't taste like the full meal if you don't have cranberry sauce, home made applesauce (by Les), jello salad, green bean casserole and hot buns from the oven. A FEAST it was! Les helped out by BBQing the turkey, so the oven was all mine.

After such a feast, with the sun shiny and bright, it was time for a "walk". Since Grandma was in the wheel chair, it was a "ride" for her :) We started out taking the easy way...down the paved road, but quickly changed out minds and decided we could roll in the orchard just as well. It was a gorgeous fall day....all the leaves were a carpet for the wheelchair and Mom thoroughly enjoyed herself as did Les and I.

Another treasure added

Every now and then I like to peruse Ebay. I go to the section called EAPG, or, early american pressed glass. Since the early 80's I've been collecting a pattern called Minnesota. It was made by the U.S. Glass Company and there are 64 different pieces available (in Minnesota pattern), some more rare than others. They were manufactured in the mid to late 1800's, and were the poor man's version of cut crystal. I happened to be looking around the EAPG section the other day and found this little treasure. I already had one large dresser jar, but this little one was so cute! And cheap! $9 added this beauty to my collection and I couldn't be more thrilled :)

Trip to Reno

Lake at the top of Hwy. 4

Reno in the distance

Wow! We had a wonderful time taking a little trip to Reno. On the way over we had the Tahoe loaded down with the desk and bookcase for Katie, a box full of kitchen items and a turkey for Ri, and a chair headed for Ri's house as well. That, along with our luggage, made for a full Tahoe!! We started out on Sat. morning and just "meandered" up to hwy. 49 to Jackson, making stops along the way at the kitchen store and of course, the Harley dealer. It was a very relaxing trip over the hill. We were able to meet the Bronco fans (Casey, Lisa, Marie, and Ri's friends Meredith and Stacy) for dinner Saturday night. Lots of fun and so nice to just visit again. The guys transferred all the goodies from our car to the other two cars divvying up all the bootie, while us girls enjoyed a leisurely stroll thru the nearby Barnes and Noble. Sunday morning we met for church at the OPC in Reno and then headed home once again. What a nice visit and ride.

Latest Project

One of my latest projects was cleaning up and repainting this desk and bookcase for Katie to go into her new room! The desk has traveled around the family a bit. Les and I purchased it new and unfinished from Al's furniture. It started out in Casey and Jerry's room, then moved to Mark and Philip's room, and now back here again for the last several months while we decided what to do with it. As you can see, paint and some new knobs can make quite a transformation! So nice to see it all "girly" and ready for Katie to make her mark on it too!!