MOUNTAIN HOME MOUNTAIN CANARY.

Boy am I good at my job! Apparently too good! One of my windows got this poor Mountain Canary out in Mountain Home. He thumped himself pretty good! :( I found him lying on the ground and scooped him right up! By now you know my theory on adventure -- you never know when or where you are going to find it -- or when it is going to smash into a nearby window! I think Mountain Canaries are just about the prettiest birds! What a treat to be able to study one up close! This little guy was completely content to perch on my finger until he stopped seeing stars! Daimon was pretty thrilled to see Mr. Canary although he wasn't so sure he wanted to HOLD him! Jessie was convinced we needed to take him home and Danielle just thought he had cooties! In the end, Daimon braved up and held Mr. Canary just before he flew off -- hopefully in the opposite direction of my nice clean windows! Sorry, guy, but thanks for the teeny tiny slice of adventure on a rainy spring day!

STANLEY--SPRING 2010.

This spring Dad put together bids for several different Forest Service projects. One of the projects he decided to bid on was in Stanley. He and Mom drove up to the bid meeting -- and guess who decided to tag along! We spent the day in Stanley and drove on into Challis as well (just for the heck of it). We went home and prayed for weeks that he would be awarded the bid for the project! Stanley and the surrounding area is just SO pretty! We all thought spending a portion of our summer in Stanley sounded like a pretty good idea! Ultimately, Dad WAS awarded the bid! I am so excited to bask in the glorious SAWTOOTHS!!!

REDFISH LAKE.

HISTORIC BATH HOUSE AT SUNBEAM HOT SPRINGS

SUNBEAM HOT SPRINGS

I CANNOT WAIT TO SPEND FOUR OR FIVE DAYS HERE!

B-E-A-U-TIFUL!

LOLA, LARRY, LUCY AND LEROY.

I won't say when, where, why or how but this spring Aunt Dee came into possession of some GOOSE EGGS! I will say I had absolutely NOTHING to do with acquiring the eggs! That was one adventure I did NOT go on! Anyway, she put her eggs in the incubator and we waited . . . and waited. Just when it was looking as if the eggs weren't going to hatch, I got an early morning phone call, "We have a BABY!" I, as I am known to do, rushed out to the ranch immediately! When all was said and done, FOUR geese hatched -- Lola, Larry, Lucy and Leroy!

YOU COULD FEEL THE BABIES MOVING INSIDE THE EGGS

AND EVEN HEAR THEM PEEP!

NUMBER TWO, LARRY, WAS ON HIS WAY OUT WHEN I LEFT FOR WORK!

ALTHOUGH I DID HAVE TO WORK THAT DAY, I WAS BACK TO THE RANCH THAT NIGHT!

JESSIE AND JOSH WITH LOLA AND LARRY

UNCLE JIM AND I TAKING OUR TURN AT BABYSITTING

BEFORE I LEFT, NUMBER THREE WAS WORKING ON HER ARRIVAL!

LEROY

LUCY

BECAUSE I HAD TO WORK AGAIN THE NEXT DAY, JESSIE SENT ME PICTURE UPDATES!

AND AS THE GEESE GREW SHE WOULD ALSO SEND ME CUTE LITTLE REMINDERS THAT IT WAS TIME TO COME SEE THE KIDS AGAIN!

WE SPENT ALOT OF TIME SITTING IN THE YARD WITH THE BABIES!

THEY LOVE CLOVER (and they love it even more when YOU pick it for them)!

THE GEESE GREW VERY QUICKLY!

EACH TIME I VISITED THEM THEY HAD CHANGED DRASTICALLY!

LAURA AND I TOOK CLAIRE AND GABE OUT TO FEED THE BABIES.

AUNT DEE SHOWED CLAIRE HOW TO FEED THE GEESE CLOVER BOUQUETS!

CLAIRE AND I

GABE AND I

GABE AND UNCLE JIM PLAYING WITH TRUCKS

AS I MENTIONED, THE GEESE GREW QUICKLY AND CHANGED DRASTICALLY -- BUT NOT ALWAYS FOR THE PRETTIER! THEIR "TEENAGE" PHASE WAS QUITE HIDEOUS!

THE POND

:)

THERE ARE ONLY TWO THAT WILL ACTUALLY SWIM IN THE POND!

NOW LOLA, LARRY, LUCY AND LEROY ARE MOSTLY FULL GROWN!

THEY STILL VERY MUCH BELIEVE JIM AND DEE ARE MOMMY AND DADDY!

DON'T TELL THE OTHER GEESE BUT LEROY IS MY FAVORITE!

HE IS THE RUNT OF THE LITTER AND A BIT MORE INDEPENDENT THAN THE OTHERS.

I FLUFFED AND BABIED HIM SO MUCH WHEN HE WAS FIRST HATCHED!

MY LEROY.