Thermopolis, Wyoming

Off-season gives us an opportunity to travel a bit.  Grant really wanted to go to Thermopolis for his birthday.  It is about a 4 hour drive east over Togwotee Pass.  We left Thursday night and packed it all in on Friday.  Petroglyphs, the dinosaur museum, and hot spring swimming made for a really fun day.

Amazing Summer

Annabel, Tomi, Zach and Grant

We had such amazing people choose to stay with us this summer! I'd like to thank the powers that be for directing Gaylia our way. She has so much love and energy. She attended soccer games, did my laundry while I recovered from my knee surgery and shared her family with us on their visit! Annabel, Tomi, Zach and Grant became fast friends in about two minutes!

Jackson

And then there is Jackson!  The sweetest, most loveable dog you'd ever meet.  Thankfully, he brought his mom Michele and his dad Bob to visit.  We really enjoyed their company.  Jackson would find the open door, run directly into Annabel's room and grab a sock or a stuffed animal.  On the way out, he would take a quick bit of food.

Ski Lake

Ski lake is a family-friendly hike.  Located about halfway up Teton Pass, this hike is accessible to just about anybody from the dog, to the baby in the backpack, to the visiting friend from Los Angeles.   Sarah was in town visiting for about a month.  We all decided to get out and enjoy the wildflowers and the scenery.   The beautiful wildflowers seemed to take our mind off of the persistent hum of just about every kind of biting bug imaginable. (and boy were they bad!)

more yellow wildflowers!

Nan on a beautiful trail, Teton Pass in background

Columbine and Paintbrush

Glad we remembered the bug spray

Family Visits

Camille and Sonja in the garden

We love sharing our little slice of heaven with our family and friends.  Sister Camille and niece Sonja came for a visit and helped plant the garden!

Annabel, Rody, Grant and cousin Neeli

Neeli stopped by on her way back to Maryland.  She helped me create some storage bins for our over-sized bedding, thanks!

color of the week: yellow

Yellow birds, yellow flowers... yellow everywhere!  The arrowleaf balsamroot is blooming all over the valley. From  Grand Teton National Park to South Park, the hills are alive with color. 

view of hillside south of town

arrowleaf balsamroot (balsamorhiza sagittata)

male western tanager

female western tanager

We have had some especially beautiful visitors to our feeder!  The male western tanager is simply amazing! The female is more subtle in color, it is interesting seeing the two of them together, you may not think it is the same bird!

birds, birds and more birds

I can't get enough of the birds visiting our feeder this spring.  I need to stop watching the birds and get the garden planted and more flowers in the ground! We have actually cut the lawn once, things are greening up and growing fast.

black-headed grosbeak (male)

This bird watched the feeder for quite a while before jumping down for some seeds.

see the sunflower seed?!

full mouth

I love that this bird sat long enough for me to catch a shot of her with a sunflower seed in her mouth.

spring is in the air!

It is about time to cut the grass!  This is exciting news around town.  We have had plenty of rain and snow this spring.

Valley residents have been following the news about the slide in the Snake River Canyon.  I like the photo on Bradley Boner's website:  http://bradlyjboner.photoshelter.com/image/I0000Cgz00SfZ.cs  The road is open to traffic, thanks to the hard work of the Wyoming Department of Transportation

white-crowned sparrow

The white crowned sparrow is one of my favorite feeder birds.  They are small, fast and delicate.  I love the distinct cap on the top of his head.  All About Birds is a great website for detailed information about any of the birds on this page.

evening grosbeak

We have had some great birds visit the feeder the past few weeks: grosbeaks have been very busy and seem to control the feeder.

clark's nutcracker

The clark's nutcracker loved the suet and finished it up in about 2 days. Visit the All About Birds website to learn more about this bird.

finch

The finch and the siskin seem to share the feeder with relatively few altercations.  When they hang together in the box elder, I feel like I'm looking at a decorated Christmas tree!

finch

These birds have been regular visitors to our feeder for the last month.  Sadly (for the bird), happily (for the raptor), three of these birds were chased into the window and stunned before the "sharpy" could have his breakfast.

sharp-shinned hawk

When my son Grant was 4 or 5 we were talking about the "great circle of life" and he wisely said "no mom, it is the great triangle of death".  I was so excited to see this amazing raptor.  I know that the pine siskins (yes 3) were not...

We are finishing up some projects around the property.  We will be adding flowers and trees to the yard as well as some additional finish work on the decks.  We are also busy deciding on a color to paint the exterior of the apartment....

as winter turns to spring

We are watching the snow slowly melt in the backyard as the hawks and other seasonal birds begin to return to the valley.

We still have plenty of snow in the mountains with many more weeks of Spring skiing to come!

We rented our 2 bedroom unit to the nicest family this winter.  They spent their days skiing, exploring the valley and playing with our kids.  Oh, they spent quite a bit of time "going to school" too!

One of our favorite long-term tenants was back for the winter.  He and his dog Peanut spent some time in our 1 bedroom unit, waiting to move into his new house.

It has been so much fun sharing our favorite little slice of heaven