An Autumnal Explore

Our sweet Kevin (Camille's-kind-of-Kevin) told us he would be working up at the Timber Wolf today and asked if we'd like to come up for lunch. YES! We always love it when Kevin cooks! We dined out on the deck with this beautiful view and the warm September sun adding to our enjoyment.

As we were leaving Gordon asked if I was up for a drive up the canyon. This time we decided to take Right Fork instead of Left Fork. Right Fork almost immediately turns into National Forest land. It was a perfect fall day for a drive!

The aspens have started changing... this isn't the best specimen but beautiful nonetheless.

One of the things that I like best about this drive is all the free-range cattle. The *alpine air* must agree with them because many of them are enormous! Not fat... just BIG! I convinced Gordon to stop and let me take a photo of this cute mama and baby.

However about fifteen minutes later we came upon the KING OF THE MOUNTAIN! Holy-freakin'-cow-BULL! This dude started giving us the stink-eye as soon a we rounded the curve in the road and we didn't even think once about stopping to ask HIM if we could capture his likeness! He will have to remain in my mental photo album.

I had no idea that bovines could give the stink-eye!

Pumpkins!

I'm not sure that fall was always my favorite season but for much of my adult life it has been. I love the cooler daytime temperatures and the crisp nights. I love snuggling in my sweaters. And I love all of the rich fall colors.

The other joy of fall is pumpkins! Each year, as soon as they appear in the markets, I buy some and decorate my front porch. This year I decided to try my hand at growing pumpkins. I wanted some warty pumpkins that I'd seen several years ago but I couldn't find any warty pumpkin seeds. *sigh* What I did find was a package of bright orange pumpkin seeds AND a package of mixed decorative gourd seeds.

I planted them in the back half of my raised garden plot that normally goes unplanted. OMSH do pumpkins/gourds/squash want to take up a lot of room! The pumpkin vines seemed to grow all right but they only set two pumpkins (that I could find), right along the garden fence. The gourds, on the other hand... I had a fair time of it trying to keep them from climbing up my tomato cages and in some cases failed.

So a couple of weeks ago I decided that I'd had enough of losing the War of the Gourds. I'd just mowed and was headed to the green waste dump anyway so I pulled up all of the pumpkin and gourd vines,harvesting as I went, and put them into Fernando's bed. That was when I found a third and fourth pumpkin stowaway!

I have a wire fence that encloses my raised garden area to keep the dog out! Buddi used to EAT MY GREEN TOMATOES! (Tomato-snatchin' dog!) Harley, who isn't interested in eating anything, just loves to charge through on his way to bark at something and knocks off the tomatoes.

I discovered that the pumpkin vine had climbed said wire fence and grown a pumpkin right there... in the fence! I had to get out my wire cutters and snip this little cutie free!

The fourth pumpkin was hiding in the corner, under the grape vines. So the smallest and orangest pumpkins grew in my garden, the two larger ones and the warty guy I bought. But all of these happy little gourds grew right here on my productive 1/4 acre of heaven. (And that is a locally grown and produced grapevine wreath... that means I made it from my grapevines a few years ago.)

Usually I put out my pumpkin display as soon as pumpkins/gourds become available and they stay there until it is time to put up Christmas decorations (read- AFTER Thanksgiving!). By then they are usually a frozen and somewhat squishy mess and all go to the trash. BUT this year I may try bringing in some of my favorites gourds to *dry* and keep them from year to year!

Happy fall!

For This Child I Prayed

I can't think of a better sentiment or, in this case, scripture to describe the arrival of a healthy baby.

(Do I see Grampy fingers here?)

We did a mini photo shoot yesterday but Miss Fiona couldn't like it! Before I knew I needed to stop torturing the baby I got some wonderful baby-parts photos.

And the rest of this darling baby...

We love you so much baby Fiona. Indeed, we did pray for you!

Fiona

Our little Fiona, Camille and Kevin's first baby girl, arrived on 10 September 2013 at 1:46pm. She weighed 8 lb 1 oz, was 20.5" tall AND she was eight days late! (The good news is that they don't let mamas go three weeks over-due anymore!) We are so grateful to have her here!

Camille checked into Orem Community Hospital Monday evening to be induced, since baby-cakes didn't want to get things started on her own. Not every thing went as planned, because of complications it was decided that Fiona needed to be born by C-section. Kevin, the family and I all discussed how even 100 years ago he would very likely have lost one or both of them... yes, we are so grateful to have baby Fiona here save and sound.

We were allowed to watch through the window while they did the C-section (and, yes, I got LOTS of photos, but I won't be showing them around any time soon!) It was the most interesting thing to watch... a couple of times I had to look away (look out of the way!). But the whole process helped me understand why women with C-sections take a while to heal.

They cleaned little Fiona up quickly and sent Daddy out to show the rest of the family! Here she is... only 11 minutes old!

As my mother-in-law used to say, being born is "no joke"! Poor little Fi was pretty swollen for a couple of days.

Here she is 1-day old.

I love watching Camille with her new baby... you'd never know she was a first-time mom!

Fiona at 2 days.

After four days it was time for the new little family to head home. Fiona's first time in "for-real" baby-girl clothes.

Fiona's first impression of being in her car seat was not a happy one! But here she is having her first car ride.

Bye-bye Baby Fi! You are headed to a wonderful, loving home.

We are so glad to have you in our family!