Mischievous Max

The other day I just caught myself before I said, "Would you pick those matches up off the floor, so Max doesn't get them and start lighting fires?" I have decided that there is no reason an 80 pound chocolate lab needs to spend all day inside the house during nice weather. I have been demanding he spend the better part of the day outside. The result is that Mischievous Max is often up to no good.

He swiped the neighbor's deer head off his porch. Twice. (Don't ask me why our neighbor still has the head of the deer he got last hunting season. Maybe he wants the antlers. Maybe his wife finally demanded he get it out of the freezer?) He adorns our yard with all kinds of gross stuff. You'll feel better if I don't describe it. Suffice it to say that I had to have him wormed. I really don't want to know where he got the unfamiliar yogurt containers, but I hope none of the neighbors saw him do it. They might welcome his next foray with a shotgun.

When not in search of food, he is digging spots in the lawn to lay in or rototilling my flower beds in search of bones he buried last fall. The only mischief I acquit him of is the peach pit I found buried in the raspberries when we moved them Saturday. Orville probably did that.

The Expert Hike

My hiking buddies and I found a new book with more hikes withing 20 miles of where we live. I chose one near a Lake where we used to take our boat. Most of the hikes are not trailheads, or even trails, so we end up bushwacking a lot. The book stated that even book authors could get lost on this week's hike. The author recommened this hike for experts. So, I set a waypoint on my GPS and off we went

We enjoyed beautiful views.

We found a siphon from the gold mining days. My Greatgrandfather mined near here used a siphon for hydraulic mining. Do think...?
When we were confused about which way to go, we ran into Sacajewa to point out the correct way.

We enjoyed good company. Max is the most interesting conversationalist of our group. He is a very well read dog and can converse on a number of subjects. Max keeps us updated on the best new authors publishing. Additionally, he knows a lot of then history of the area and tells us stories about early-day pioneers as we hike.

We followed the siphon to this canyon. When the book directed us to climb up the canyon to continue the hike, we grasped the full meaning of an "expert" hike. We decided we are not experts.

As we tried to find a way out of the canyon, we ended up down by the river. There's never a boat around when you need one. We ended up having a VERY steep climb back up to the trail. Maybe that was where the six wood ticks Max, Hermione, and Eloise had came from.

We only hiked 3.29 miles, but we were exhausted at the end of the day.

The Ugly Apple Tree

Many moons ago, one of my precious children was eating an apple in the back yard. This child (Orville, I have information that YOU were the culprit) had the bright idea of planting a seed from the apple in my flower bed. Lo and behold, a little apple tree began grow. I let it grow because when something other than a weed starts to grow here, I don't have the heart to kill it. Besides, I was sure it would winter kill. Instead over the next several years it developed into a VERY ugly apple tree that I could not dig out. Wilbur assured me that he and his equipment were more than capable of dealing with a small apple tree. Yesterday, he removed it for me.

This is the punishment reserved for any other unauthorized seed planting in my flower beds. Orville, this means YOU.

Mother's Day Talks

I am so GLAD Mother’s Day has changed since the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. My mother used to detest Mother’s Day with a passion, and I don’t blame her. In those days, our Mother’s Day Sacrament Meeting would include at least one talk about someone’s “angel mother.” This woman slaved away her entire thankless life until she evaporated into a pile of dust that disappeared in a nasty thunderstorm. She never: rested, had one of her needs fulfilled, got anything she wanted, had a decent meal, had a dress that wasn’t a rag, or participated in one activity that was pleasant enough to warrant a smile on her face during her entire life. Oh, and she never complained. She sacrificed all so her kids would have a bag of marbles to play with. And this is what truly worthy mothers should aspire to.

Usually, the second speaker would weave a tale about a mother who: never raised her voice, always wore a dress and make up, kept an immaculate house, even though she had ten boisterous children, was adored as the President of the Community Garden Club, was a fabulous cook, and on, and on…. After one such talk, Gail Blodgett looked at me and said, “Just once I wish a speaker would say, ‘My mother yelled at me, but I loved her anyway.’”

My Mom and I would leave church in a depression so deep the Grand Canyon seemed like a shallow little furrow. Whew! Truth is always better than a lie. To have your kids know you have faults but love you anyway is so much better than to have someone cast you as a paragon.

She Mastered It

While waiting for the graduation ceremony to begin, Wilbur contemplates becoming a vegetarian.

Hooding Ceremony.

Hermione waiting in line to get her degree.

Grandma and Hermione.

The rest of the family.

Proof of mastery.



Ready to take the bull by the horns.