NDR---and you said you enjoyed self inflicted pain?---

[Al Hansen]

Well, this is the only time that I can think of that I would say, "Yes, I do."

How many different ways are there to say YUM?

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You will notice a band-aid on the thumb. Poked a wire on the garden fence. Since I am on coumadin the bandage was necessary.

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Took this shot to show Bev that I put up 4 pints so that she, too, can enjoy them at a later date. She is with her daughter in OKC for a few days. I have to admit it sure was fun to pick them. I listened to young male Gambel quail still looking for a mate. On top of the electric pole sat a curved bill thrasher singing his heart out.

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Took the time to take a picture of a Granny Smith apple that is starting to look good.

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Not too far from the apple tree is one of our two peach trees. These are early Elberta peaches. They should be ready to eat at the end of the month. I can tell you that this is another thing that makes my salivary glands work overtime. Have you ever in your life had the chance to pick a fresh, peach and bite into it---then to have its juices running down both sides of your mouth? If not, put it on your bucket list.

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I had to go over to the pond next to Bev's art studio. She wanted me to water her plants. With our temps running into the high 90sF I can't forget that.

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I looked up from what I was doing and happened to notice this toad. What is so amazing is how in the world it got to us and this very spot in the middle of the high desert where we live. The closest water is about a quarter mile away from us and about 70 feet down a pretty steep hill. Well it is a regular in the pond now with the fish that we have.

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While attempting to take pictures of the toad eating ants and failing, I did see this (skimmer) that came by. The shadow was interesting to me.

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At the present time we are baby sitting Shadow. Her owners are on a trip to Mexico for a couple of weeks. While they are gone I am now crate training her and in the process of potty training this girl. So far she is winning in the latter of the two things mentioned.

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She spent this morning after breakfast snuggling with Maya under my desk. Good foot warmer if it is cold but today it is supposed to get up to 93F. I just walked out onto the patio and noticed that it is 95F and only 12:30PM. The heat of the day is about 3 1/2 hours away.

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Well, first I looked at the tummy on the teddy bear then my eye caught Shadow's stomach. HHMMM

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No doubt about it, life is wonderful along with being not only exciting but darn interesting. Every day is different. We have much to be thankful for.
Al

 

[Rick L]

The berries won't be ready here for a couple weeks. But when they are my hands will be full of scratches and pokes. And I don't even like them

My wife however loves them fresh picked for her morning cereal

 

[Al Hansen]

I would be welling to bet that she really appreciates your help, Rick. I was initiated to this craze back in Wisconsin. I had a lot of wild bushes growing on the 40 acres we owned. Found out that it was easier to drive my four wheeler into the thickets.
Al

 

[Gary Tanner]

Great photos! I sure miss the days when I could walk out the door and get blackberries and highbush blueberries for my cereal.
Gary

 

[Al Hansen]

Thanks, Gary. I made up my mind when I was living in Anchorage, AK and was not allowed to raise pigeons because of zoning restrictions. I always thought it was rather ironic that I had to listen to my neighbors dogs bark all night and that was all right. So from 1969 on I promised myself that where ever I would live in this great country of ours, I would be out in the country where I could raise my pigeons. In fact, this morning while I was out in the kennel feeding my dogs, I watched my rollers doing backward somersaults in the air. I loved it. I also love country living.
Al

We had some weird weather last evening just at sunset. Lots of wind and threatening clouds but no rain. It rained like the dickens on the east side of the Rio Grande.

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[greg setter]

That are some nice looking berries and fruit Al. I have a lot of raspberries that will be ripening in over the next few weeks and I really enjoy them. I have never done well with blackberries though, I tried a couple plants a few years ago but never got much, and they tried to take over the raspberries, so they eventually got a roundup bath. They are tenacious though, it took me a couple of rounds. I have found a lot of wild ones near my hunting shack, but to get to them you have face a marauding horde of green heads, horse flies, mosquito's, and gnats, with some ticks thrown in for good measure, so I haven't gone out there to pick.

 

[Doug Bowman]

Some great pics Al
Those Berries look yummy!

 

[Al Hansen]

I think you are pretty fortunate, Greg. I like raspberries, also. When I lived in Wisconsin out in the country, we had a lot of them.

It also made me think of Alaska. I had quite a few places marked on my mental map when heading out of Anchorage towards the Kenai peninsula. I noticed that some of the patches were being picked by others so in the summer time I would start my picking early like around 3:30AM. Found out that aren't many who would do that.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Thanks, Doug. They are. Just before driving to go get Bev at the Sunport in ABQ, I picked some more. This time I was thrilled to not only pick blackberries but also found out that the strawberries are ready. This is our second crop of them.

Bev and I had them on our Cherrios yesterday morning.
Al