Picture Me This

Snake River Dam

2012-02-08T08:49:00.002-07:00

This hike was not what we were expecting, but it was still a beautiful day. We had to walk across the dam to get to the hike and that was pretty cool.

What's a super bowl?

2012-02-08T08:45:00.001-07:00

Why be stuck inside when nature is so beautiful.

Bird's Eye View

2012-01-18T12:05:00.002-07:00

We have been seeing an Eagle along the lake where we walk everyday and this past weekend we saw three of them flying around together. I managed to take some photos of them, and even though they are from far away, you can still appreciate their awesomeness.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T08:40:00.002-07:00

Here's to a happy and healthy 2012!

Cheers!

Red Tail Hawk

2012-01-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

Here We Go A Tree Hunting...

2011-11-27T14:06:00.004-07:00

We went into the Boise National Forest and with a $10.00 permit we found our Christmas tree. We hiked up a large mountain and while looking for "our" tree we came across some fairly recent bear tracks. It's been a very long time since we have had a live tree. It smells so wonderful and it definitely feels like Christmas.

Wilson Creek Hike 1

2011-11-14T09:08:00.002-07:00

This weekend we went on a new hike and Wilson Creek Trail was just as it was advertised...beautiful. We ended up going about 10 miles round trip, longer than we had expected, but totally doable. When we first started it was pretty typical desert landscape, but then we got into the canyon and it was awesome. We were very high above Reynolds Creek and then we dropped down further in the canyon where we were right next to the creek. It wasn't ideal for fishing and the water was pretty low, so the Fish Monster didn't get to play, but it was still very pretty. During our hike we came across a man who said that he was the one that put the hike we were doing online. He was very informative and we came across him several times, each time we met him, he gave us another gem of wisdom, the last time we saw him, he told us about a herd of wild horses just up the road. So, when we were finished with our hike, we got into the car and drove up the road about 2 miles and sure enough, in an open area we saw the horses. We didn't want to get too close, which is why my photo is from so far away, but it was pretty cool to see horses in the wild. There were several trails out there and we will definitely be hiking more of them. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Wilson Creek Hike 2

2011-11-14T09:04:00.001-07:00

Wilson Creek Hike 3

2011-11-14T08:59:00.001-07:00

Wreath Switch

2011-11-02T09:20:00.002-06:00

With Halloween come and gone, it was time to change the front door wreath. I made one for Fall/Thanksgiving a few years ago, but it was past it's prime and I was bored with it. So, I made this one yesterday. It's simple, but still says Fall to me. Enjoy the cool weather, I know we are.

Moose...Moose

2011-11-02T09:16:00.002-06:00

This past weekend we took a trip up north to my folks' house. They have a beautiful house and acreage in the woods. Just outside their deck was this mama moose and her baby. They didn't mind much that they were being photographed, but I was sure to keep my distance.

Crooked River Trail Pt. 3

2011-10-18T07:42:00.003-06:00

Crooked River Trail Pt. 2

2011-10-18T07:39:00.002-06:00

Crooked River Trail Pt. 1

2011-10-18T07:34:00.002-06:00

Puting out the Trash

2011-10-05T12:41:00.004-06:00

I'm diving right into the start of this wonderful holiday season. Since it was raining yesterday and I couldn't get outside to work, I decided to make this Halloween wreath. It's made from yard waste garbage bags and a wire hanger. My Mom made one of these with clear sandwich bags back in the day which inspired me.

Fishing For Fun

2011-09-06T07:30:00.005-06:00

This past holiday weekend was chalk-a-balk full of activities, we finished a building project, we went for a bike ride, we hiked, and we went fishing. The following 3 posts are all from this wonderful weekend. I caught my first fish, at least since I was 10 years old. He's a pretty big Smallmouth Bass and he put up quite a fight. I am super proud! I also got some pretty good pictures with the little Sony camera, when the sun was setting.

Boise Greenbelt - Bagger Park - Start Point

2011-09-06T07:24:00.001-06:00

Lizard Butte

2011-09-06T07:21:00.000-06:00

Dusting the Night Away

2011-08-17T10:14:00.004-06:00

This guy was flying really low right over our house. It was pretty cool looking, especially with the stormy skies as the backdrop.

Goose Creek Falls 1st Half

2011-07-25T14:28:00.003-06:00

Just got back from a long weekend in McCall, ID. We stuck to the forest most of the time. The temperature was cool, the quietness of the woods was calming, and the wonderful company made the whole weekend awesome. The next three posts are from our three hikes. I think my favorite is the one in this post. It was our first day there and it couldn't have been more perfect.

Goose Creek Falls 2nd Half

2011-07-25T14:24:00.004-06:00

Payette National Forest

2011-07-25T14:18:00.002-06:00

Flock by Day

2011-07-13T07:15:00.002-06:00

These Pelicans were seen flying over our house. They kept changing formation and must have stayed above our house for 15-30 minutes. It was really a cool site.

Ranger Rick

2011-07-13T07:02:00.002-06:00

We saw these little guys in our backyard. We think that one of our cats scared the mother and her babies and they scattered into multiple trees. We saw 4 babies in total and the mother. They were super cute, but really scared.

Welcome Summer!

2011-06-27T07:31:00.000-06:00

It's cold, but it feels oh so good.

Tea For Tulips

2011-04-26T13:37:00.004-06:00

Spring is Here!!!!

2011-03-31T13:55:00.002-06:00

It's 66 degrees and sunny!

Ducks on the Pool?...

2011-03-31T13:51:00.002-06:00

This lovely feathered couple landed in our pool this weekend.

Snow...snow...snow...

2011-03-14T15:15:00.003-06:00

Birds of Prey...Sans Birds

2011-02-23T13:36:00.001-07:00

Cd'A

2011-01-04T14:24:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas To All!

2010-12-21T07:11:00.002-07:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Guest Photog

2010-11-29T13:44:00.003-07:00

My husband got ahold of my camera and this is the result. The first one is of our first snow and the second is of our frozen pool. I think he has a great eye of his own.

Frozen Morning

2010-11-11T09:46:00.001-07:00

Our first good freeze of the season. Brrrr...

Miss Mantis

2010-10-15T17:17:00.002-06:00

Found enjoying the afternoon sun in the driveway.

My Blue Heron..

2010-10-06T10:43:00.002-06:00

Another wonder of nature. I just happened to look out to the backyard and saw this Blue Heron standing in one of our trees. Pretty cool.

Sunrise, Sunset...well, just Sunrise

2010-10-06T10:35:00.001-06:00

This was our sunrise a few days ago...beautiful.

Toadaly Awesome!

2010-10-06T10:29:00.002-06:00

I found another toad in the pool yesterday. I scooped him out and let him go in the creek out back and he swam away.

Sorry about the photo quality, these were taken with the Sony DSC-W50, it was right by the door and really convenient since I had already trapped the toad and he was trying to escape. I had to act quickly.

Bee Alert!

2010-09-06T16:23:00.001-06:00

Even the bees enjoy the wild sunflowers in the wildlife preserve.

Big Birds!

2010-09-06T16:17:00.004-06:00

While on our walk on the dam, we saw that the Pelicans are back. They are really large birds...so cool.

Resting...

2010-08-17T11:17:00.000-06:00

Like a fish out of water...or umm frog...

2010-08-16T08:56:00.003-06:00

I found this little guy in the pool this morning. I fished him out and took him back to the canal that runs behind our house.

Sunsets into Night

2010-07-08T07:41:00.006-06:00

Shadow Dancers

2010-07-08T07:35:00.002-06:00

Peek-A-Coon

2010-06-01T10:50:00.003-06:00

We have noticed a raccoon living around our house for a couple of weeks now. Today I saw this one up a tree in our backyard. It looks much smaller than the one we've seen walking around...could this one be a youngster?

Birdies

2010-06-01T10:45:00.003-06:00

Stormy Weather

2010-05-04T08:42:00.002-06:00

Spring Has Sprung!

2010-04-02T08:37:00.003-06:00

These are some of the blooms arriving at our home. We are in anticipation at what we might find next.

A Dam Walk

2010-04-02T08:33:00.001-06:00

These were taken on a walk near our house. It was a beautiful and calm Saturday morning.

Firsts

2010-03-24T13:55:00.003-06:00

This is the first fire we built in our new house. It sure feels good to be "home".

Goodbye Arizona!

2010-02-22T13:04:00.003-07:00

We're Outta Here!

*I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago, but my time ran out before the big move, so here it is now.

So Sleepy

2010-02-17T06:39:00.002-07:00

Maggie...what else is there to say...

"It's a bug! It's a bug!"

2010-02-07T16:23:00.004-07:00

This lizard was hanging out in my closet the other night. It took me an hour to figure out how I was going to catch it to put it outside.

Movin' On

2010-02-07T16:18:00.004-07:00

The house is becoming more and more empty everyday.

Puffy Pumpkin...

2010-01-04T08:11:00.003-07:00

This is one of the outside kitties at my in-laws' house. His name is Pumpkin. He is usually not so puffy, but with the cold and winter set in, his fur expanded...a lot. This is his spot to sit most of the time, that is when he isn't occupying the heated cat house.

The Heart of Elkdom...

2010-01-04T08:05:00.004-07:00

I spent New Year's Eve at the Nampa Elks, watching the band Freestyle, I was "with the band". It was sure fun watching the elders get down and boogie and it was good to see Brant play again. I even got asked to dance a few times and had fun trying to waltz. This picture isn't the greatest (I didn't have my Nikon with me), but I had to post it anyway. They have an Elk head mounted behind this Christmas tree, but from where I sat it looked like the tree had antlers. It was pretty amusing.

Crazy Kitty

2009-12-28T15:57:00.003-07:00

Maggie got a new rope for Christmas, but Taylor was more interested in it than Maggie was. Taylor was rubbing on it for over an hour, must have smelled pretty good.

Crazy Christmas

2009-12-28T15:35:00.004-07:00

On Christmas Eve we drove around our neighborhood looking at Christmas lights. This house had so many lights we just had to take a picture. The roof killed us! It also came with music.

Sunrise

2009-12-09T09:26:00.003-07:00

This was the sky this morning about 7:15 AM. Beautiful.

Winter Lime

2009-12-09T09:24:00.001-07:00

Every year we get one orange on our lime tree, here it is.

A Day At The Zoo

2009-12-03T09:46:00.003-07:00

Orangutans

Giraffe

Some Prairie Dogs being closely watched by a Vulchar on the other side of the chain link fence.

We went to the Phoenix Zoo over the weekend. I captured some wonderful animals, here are a few. My favorite are the primates.

Noelle

2009-11-23T09:41:00.004-07:00

I just finished my first sewing project with my new sewing machine. Since I haven't ever used a machine before,(only hand sewing), a neighbor/friend came over to show me how to use it. She gave me this project to start with to teach me some basics. It was a challenge, but I learned so much and finished her and her dress in 2 days. I am pretty proud of myself and am now anxious to create more things with my sewing machine.

Wood

2009-11-03T10:53:00.002-07:00

What a Pestle...

2009-10-09T10:17:00.001-06:00

This pestle was found on the Houston farm in Caldwell, Idaho.

Lines in the Sawdust

2009-10-09T10:11:00.003-06:00

Everything in the garage is covered in sawdust due to all of Brant's woodworking...these are images of his truck, the first is where we accidentally brushed up against it and the second is where we think a little gecko has run across.

Idaho Moon

2009-09-09T16:43:00.004-06:00

We were recently in Caldwell, Idaho. On a cooler evening we witnessed this beautiful moon while sitting on the patio.

Dried Leaves

2009-08-31T16:10:00.002-06:00

More Felt Monsters

2009-08-31T16:08:00.001-06:00

Felt Menagerie

2009-08-19T13:23:00.001-06:00

These are some creatures that I made out of felt.

Into the Back Woods

2009-08-10T08:26:00.002-06:00

My brother will probably kill me for posting these photos, but they are so great, I just had too. These are moss mustaches. We used to play with these all the time when we were kids, and the fun continues.

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

2009-08-04T09:55:00.003-06:00

Well, I didn't win at Art on the Green, but we did have a great time with my family in Coeur d'Alene. It was packed full of bikes and hikes, plays and fun days! This is a photo of our hike to the top of Mineral Ridge. It was such a beautiful day, what a majestic place. It was hard to leave.

Art on the Green

2009-06-20T13:15:00.004-06:00

"Dornum"

"By Any Other Name"
I entered these two photographs into the Art on the Green juried show in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and they were both accepted. They are both 11x14, matted and framed, they are going to be judged and are going to be for sale at the festival. The Art on the Green goes from July 31st to August 2nd.

Water Colored Memories

2009-05-29T10:41:00.002-06:00

We also recently lost my Opa and we had a celebration in his honor the weekend of his birthday, April 27th. The weekend was filled with family and friends and happy feelings of remembrance and love.

A White Wedding

2009-05-29T10:35:00.003-06:00

I recently witnessed one of my dearest friend's, Josh, get married in northern Idaho. It was pretty dark, but I think that I captured some sweet moments.

Unlikely Nest

2009-05-19T13:40:00.005-06:00

A hummingbird decided to build her nest on our string of outside lights, on the bulb closest to the house. I'm not quite sure what the nest is made out of, but it looks like spun sugar. She sits in it every night and isn't even scared away when we walk past her. I wonder if we'll get to see baby hummers...

DBG - Glass Art Installation

2009-03-10T12:08:00.002-06:00

The last weekend in February we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens to see the Dale Chihuly glass installation. The day couldn't have been any more beautiful if we had painted it ourselves. There were a lot of different types of glass art, but here are three of my favorite.

Desert Plants

2009-03-10T11:59:00.002-06:00

Love Treats

2009-02-16T10:07:00.003-07:00

I made these treats for the love weekend. They are red velvet cake with pink (homemade) cream cheese frosting and if that wasn't sweet enough, I added a brownie heart on top. They were pretty delicious, but very rich.

The Friendliest Flowers

2009-01-28T07:43:00.003-07:00

Aren't Daisies just the friendliest flowers.

A Winter Rose

2009-01-27T07:48:00.008-07:00

These were all taken in the morning, when it was light, but the sun had not quite hit the flower yet.

For Opa

2009-01-13T13:14:00.002-07:00

Amsterdam - 2008 xoxoxoxo

Damn Your Eyes...

2008-12-29T07:58:00.003-07:00

Glendale Glitters is where these gems were taken. They put up over 1.5 million lights each year. We go every year, the lights are pretty impressive. They kept the street lights on this year, which made for somewhat difficult viewing of the lights, but I still got some good photos.

Ornamental, my dear Watson...

2008-12-22T08:15:00.002-07:00

In honor of the holidays, I decided to post some decorations. These are just a few of the ornaments that decorate our tree each year. I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season.

C is for Cookie

2008-12-15T12:09:00.007-07:00

This past weekend we spent making loads and loads of Christmas cookies. We made sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cream wafers, rice crispy squares and peppermint bark. You can see the sea of peppermint bark at the top. We also made a special cookie covered in peanut butter for Miss Maggie...I think she enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday!

2008-12-02T08:25:00.007-07:00

I haven't yet posted any pictures of myself, but I thought since it was a pretty big day for me, I thought I should. This is me turning 30! I don't feel any different, not that I thought I would. It was a great birthday! My brother, Noah, came down to help me celebrate and it was great having him here. Also, Brant got me a new vacuum, (a Dyson DC 14 - the purple one), the first picture is my reaction to the big surprise...did you think anyone would get so excited to get a vacuum?! I was actually a little surprised to see myself so excited...:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-02T08:22:00.001-07:00

Mmmm....Weber BBQ Turkey...

Silly Pets

2008-11-24T09:07:00.007-07:00

It has been some time since I have posted any photos of the pets, so here are some to help you through this short week before Thanksgiving. Enjoy.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-30T09:40:00.008-06:00

In the spirit of the holiday, I decided to post our carvings from this year. I did the Jack Skellington and Brant carved the scary red-eyed pirate. These photos were taken with our little Sony Cyber-shot 6.0.

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

2008-10-16T14:50:00.004-06:00

Not ever having been to Oktoberfest before, I wasn't sure what I was going to find. I had been told that it was kind of like a big county fair. When we were walking through all of the rides and the fried food booths, it was just like a fair. However, I did notice some things that were a little bit different, such as, the beer tents along the outsides, the people dressed up in their lederhosen, and little kids wearing necklaces with plastic beer mugs hanging from them. The most interesting thing I saw was that you could see the ancient buildings of Munich poking out above the modern day carnival rides, like this church seemingly out of place.

Munich, Germany

2008-10-16T14:35:00.004-06:00

We found this church while walking around trying to find some coffee for the upcoming Oktoberfest parade.

We walked inside the church and looked up and saw this amazing ceiling. There was a painting at the very center, but it was so high we couldn't make out the figures.

This is the giant, working Glockenspiel at Marienplatz. The figurines only move at the hours of 11am and 12pm from May until October. We were lucky enough to see it move. It's a pretty touristy thing to see, but it was also pretty cool.

Munich, Germany

2008-10-16T14:18:00.005-06:00

This is inside the Schottenhamel Spatten Brau tent. We went during lunch time because we didn't really want to deal with too much craziness. However, we still drank liters of beer and ate half chickens and large pretzels and listened and sang along with the oompah band.

Our friend took us on a walk along this river. I'm not sure the name, but it was away from the business of the city, it was so beautiful and peaceful and the light was perfect.

This is a view of Munich from the top of Alte Peter. We climbed the 300+ steps to get to the top. It was well worth it when we opened the door to see the entire city, it was literally breath-taking.

Munich, Germany

2008-10-16T14:14:00.003-06:00

We were walking around Munich with our friend and we went to have some espresso and we came upon this sculpture. It was so cool. With the close-up picture, I wanted to find an interesting bottle opener. I think I found the best one.

The Eiffel Tower

2008-10-16T14:06:00.005-06:00

We were lucky to see the Eiffel Tower at night, but it was even more special when we saw it lit up and it was this brilliant blue. Our friends told us that this was because the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is the current head of the European Union. So for the six months that he is the head of the EU the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in blue and the twelve stars of the EU are lit up as well in honor of his post.

Paris, France

2008-10-16T13:57:00.004-06:00

This is a view from the Champs-Elysees. We were trying to manuver around all of the people from all over the world who were also struggling to walk.

I saw this gate as we were walking down the other side of the Champs-Elysees.

This statue was on one of the sides of the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris, France

2008-10-16T13:23:00.005-06:00

This is just one of the photos that I took of the Eiffel Tower. It was a bit smoggy, but it made for a different look at a this impressive monument.

We went to Versailles not really to see the castle, but to see the Jeff Koons exhibit. Every piece is privately owned, so every piece had to be borrowed and placed in each room. This one was called, "Moon (Light Blue)". It looked like a giant blue balloon, it was made from Acier chrome inoxydable.

We walked to The Louvre on our last day in Paris. It was such a long walk, but when we finally arrived and saw the very recognizable triangle structures we got really excited. We then went inside the Louvre and were overwhelmed by all that is housed there. We didn't even put a dent into that place.

Northern Germany

2008-10-16T13:00:00.007-06:00

I love this photo! We were really close to the North Sea, so it was pretty cold and foggy and also pretty damp. We found this tree growing next to a small church in Dornum and they had just set a bunch of old crosses next to it and the moss just covered everything.

These two photos are from a schloss (castle) ruin outside Kirchhain Germany. We were the only two people up there and it was pretty spooky with the mist.

Northern Germany

2008-10-16T12:41:00.010-06:00

This is in a very small church located in a small town in Germany called Dornum.

When we arrived in Bacharach, we had some time to walk around and see the little town. We saw this schloss (castle) at the top of the hill and decided to climb up to it. It was straight up and kind of slippery. The whole place was built on top of and out of slate rock. This castle is now a youth hostel. They definitely make you work for your cheap room.

This is a view of the Rhein River from the top of Bacharach. It was so beautiful. The hills were littered with vineyards and the trees were all in the middle of changing for the Fall. What a beautiful place.

Open Spaces

2008-09-02T13:13:00.003-06:00

We drove up to Caldwell, Idaho over Labor Day weekend. This is the back view at the Koenig's (Brant's parents). Maggie loved running with her Dad and we enjoyed the cooler weather and the open land.

Bogle Old Vine Zin

2008-08-25T20:10:00.002-06:00

Tastes as good as it looks.

Bugs!

2008-08-12T08:37:00.003-06:00

These are a few bugs that I happened upon in the yard. I found the green one in the pool. The last one is actually a shell leftover from a Cicada. They latch onto the sides of walls, posts, trees, etc. and molt into their final adult stage, leaving their skins behind.