Another Assignment

This weeks assignment over at DPS is Cemeteries.  The kids and I took a walk over to the graveyard (is there a difference between a cemetery and a graveyard?) so I could snap a few pics… well more like 150 before I finally settled on one I liked. :)

I made this cross for our graveyard back when we first moved to the Ranch in 2001.  It’s got I don’t know how many coats of stain and varathane on it and it’s stood up to the weather quite well.  I think for lying halfway down the bank on dried horse and cow manure with the sun blinding me the picture came out just the way I wanted it to (good Lord the things I’ll do for a picture!).

 

Jevan was invited to a birthday party last weekend and he really had a blast flying a kite in the school yard.

 

The string was out as far as it would go and with the windy weather the kite would go UP for a short time and then plunge to the ground.  It’s too bad we didn’t have more string but Jevan didn’t care, he was having lots of fun!

I’ve also had a couple of new birds show up at my feeder this past week, Mourning Doves.  Such a pretty bird and they sure have quite the shine to their necks.

Friday was Sydney’s 12th birthday and Jevan turns 7 on Monday so we are having a weeny roast with all the unhealthly snack foods tomorrow, including A&W root beer pop (My goodness Sydney can talk me into anything!).  It’s getting late and I have a cake I have to bake first thing in the morning, have a great night all! :)

For more pics of the kite flying, Mourning Doves, and life on the Ranch visit my flickr site!

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Random photos

This past weekend was mostly spent in Lytton.  Sydney attended three different functions as one of the May Day Princesses so guess who gets to do all the driving?  Yup that would be me! :)

My little Princess all dressed up.

The first event was on Friday night and it was a street dance.  Sydney introduced herself and then said who her parents were.  I was about two seconds too late to get a photo of her doing it but I did get a shot of all the girls, and the Prince, later on.

The band was great with a mixture of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s and a bit of country mixed in.  People were dancing in the streets and it was a lot of fun.  We had burnt hamburgers and ice cream for supper but all was good and we headed for home around 9:00 PM.

Saturday was the choosing of the Queen.  The Princesses sell tickets and they have their name on each ticket as the seller, the ticket is drawn and whoever the seller is becomes Queen.  Back when I was a May Day Princess (gosh was it really 33 years ago?!) things were a bit different but I guess times change lol!

Deirdre was the lucky winner and here’s a pic of Sydney and her together after the crowning.

While we were waiting for the Princesses to show up the Lytton drummers were performing.  I put together a short video and if you can’t see it on my blog you can see it at YouTube.

 

Sunday was a day off. :)

Monday was the May Day Parade.  Up at 6:00 AM my intentions were to drop Sydney off at Mrs. Adams at 8:30 and take Jevan for breakfast.  Things didn’t quite work out that way… we ended up decorating my truck so I could drive the girls in the parade!  Having never decorated a “float” or driven in a May Day Parade (or any parade for that matter) I didn’t have a clue what to do.  Brenda and Caroline (two Moms who showed up to help) had never done it either… but things turned out pretty good!

Jevan had a blast as my sidekick!

It was a busy weekend but a lot of fun!

I’ve been taking night shots of hummingbirds and I’ll leave you with a pic I took tonight.  The rain has been coming down here most of the day and the spots you see are raindrops.

For more pictures of the parade, drummers, and hummingbirds visit my flickr site:

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Exploring our own neighbourhood

Yesterday Hubby and I went for a drive looking for the Mama bear and her three cubs.  We didn’t get more than two minutes down the road and a cub ran out in front of us.  It wasn’t one of the cubs I’d seen from Izman Creek and, even though I had my camera in hand, he was pretty quick to hustle up the hill and was outta sight in a flash.

We travelled down to Buck Thomas’ old homestead, about 11 miles out of Lytton, near where I’d seen the Mama and her cubs.  It didn’t take long before I spotted the Mama bear.

She didn’t see us right away and I quickly leaped out of the truck.

When she stood up I was shocked at how big she was!

I was a bit nervous at how far the door of the truck was away from me but didn’t have to fear anything… she came down quickly and her and her cubs swiftly ran off.  We searched the area and didn’t see them again.

Coming up from the bottom field we stopped at Buck Thomas’ old homestead and poked around.

Inside the place is knee deep in hay and it looks as if animals have been sleeping in the corner.

The wood cookstove is almost buried in hay.

Looking out the living room window you see a massive lilac bush.

We did a bit more touring of the area and then headed for home.  Along the highway you see tons of yellow flowers and I think everyone has their own name for them. :)

Speaking of flowers I did a Still Life assignment over at DPS this week.  I had a hard time choosing what colour background I wanted to go with and ended up going against what most people said and submitted the white.

And this was the black one.  I titled them “Still life… and death.”  Hence the reason for the dead flower in the arrangement.

If you’d like to have the black background for your Windows Desktop Wallpaper click here and grab yourself a high res copy. :)

For more pics of Buck’s old homestead visit the Old Homestead set at my flickr site.

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Lytton Walking Bridge

Until yesterday both Hubby and I had never seen this bridge… and until just a short time ago we didn’t even know it existed.

The bridge is about 3.5 miles out of Lytton on Highway 12 and carries water in a large pipe beneath it.

I got about a quarter way out and when one looks down at the Mighty Fraser… well there was no way I could get any further.  The height doesn’t scare me… it’s the river that had me on edge. :)

Hubby walked out halfway and tried to convince me to come further but I was content snapping pics where I was. :)

Before finding the bridge we did a tour of the area.  There’s quite a few abandoned buildings all over the place including a yurt and old cabins.

We then came across a Quiggly hole.

Inside it was a bit dark and scary and I wasn’t sure if it was going to cave in any second!

The doorway leading out was very low and even I had to duck my head (and I’m short!)

After coming up from the Quiggly hole we still hadn’t found the bridge so Hubby stopped and we decided to walk across a large draw.  He was supposed to be following me but when I turned around I see him still standing at the truck!  I hollered at him to drive around and meet me on the other side because I could see there was a road on my side.  He some how turned right and I went left (or he went left and I went right… not sure) and it took a bit before we found each other again.  Mind you I was packing my camera, gear, and tripod… and he was in the truck, so I was a bit “heated” when we finally did hook up!

One of the places I ended up.

After walking a bit more I found this quiet spot…

And when I got here I couldn’t even hear the truck anymore!

It was a great day for exploring but I think next time we should pack the two-way radios. :)

For more pictures of the bridge and Quiggly hole visit the “Lytton Exploring” collection at my flickr site:

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Babies on the Highway

We often have sheep at the ranch and lately they are grazing on the front lawn of my BIL’s place as well as the fields.  But Tuesday they were up on the highway, and in few different spots too.  There’s so many babies, and hardly any full grown sheep, I often wonder if they have twins or triplets??

These sheep were wandering all over the road at an area known as 7 Mile.  Excuse the picture, it was taken through the windshield of my truck with one hand.

I always slow the truck down and let them meander across the road but this time they sort of scattered.  Some went away from me…

… and then some headed right at me!

The blur you see on the left side of the picture is the passenger side mirror.  I was driving trying to hold the camera up over the passenger’s side door and snap pictures with one hand!

All the sheep did get safely past me and then headed up the hill.  Once these babies grow up they’ll become a bit more road wise… I hope. :)

The reason I was heading to Lytton on Tuesday was because Sydney was at her play rehearsal and I decided to pick up Jevan from school.  We headed up to Jade Springs Restaurant for an early supper.  It worked out well because he can do his homework at the table and we get to chat, although we did have to borrow a pen and some glue from the waitress.  When we were done we had enough time to head over next door to the grocery store and finish up just in time to pick up Sydney at 5 o’clock.

Here’s a map posted on the wall of the grocery store.  The road we take home (Highway 12) is on the top between the two rivers.

 

Bake Sale

You all know how I take Mondays off, and the reason why, right?  Oh, maybe some of you don’t… so let me explain.  My Hubby is a dinosaur.  He doesn’t cook, doesn’t clean, and only does “man” things (chop wood, mow the lawn, stand to pee, etc., etc.)… and he’s usually gone all week for work.

During the week the kids and I often have “soup & sandwich” night, or Kraft Dinner, or “anything that takes about 10 minutes to make with the least amount of dishes and is somewhat nutritious.”  So on the weekends, when Hubby is home, it’s roast beef with all the trimming’s including yorkshires for dinner, as well as bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfasts… sometimes he’ll come up from the shop at noon and say “I’m hungry” and look at me like I’m supposed to drop everything and whip up a Martha Stewart full course luncheon with petit fours.  Okay granted sometimes he’s been known to throw his own laundry into the washer but he only does one load… socks, underwear, jeans, and work shirts all in one load, no sorting for him.

So if there’s extra things happening on the weekends then I take Mondays and do what I want with them, and that usually means not doing a whole lot.  “My” Monday is everyone else's Sunday; no kids, no hubby, peace and quiet.

Monday morning at 8:58 AM I see “Lytton School” come up on the call display, my first thought; “what has Jevan done now??”  But it’s actually Sydney, and no she hasn’t done anything wrong, she says "I forgot to tell you we have a bake sale right after school. Can you bake something, maybe peanut butter cups, and drive in?"  So much for my Monday off!

Here’s a few pics of the bake sale:

Savannah's parents let the girls set up in the Hotel lobby.
Kayla, Savannah, Robin, Mrs Adams, Sydney, and (sitting middle) Deidre.

Sydney and Savannah hit the streets to advertise their bake sale.

Everything looks delish, and the girls quickly sold out, including the 51 peanut butter cups I made. :)

Jevan taste tested, look close and you can see chocolate on his lips.

I then took him outside and he met up with a very friendly dog.

The bake sale is to raise money for the May Day Princesses.  They use the money to buy their own dresses, take out of town trips, and this Friday they are putting on a Valentine’s dinner and dance in town.  It ends at midnight so I don’t think we’ll be going!

LES “Cuts Like a Knife”

A week ago last Thursday, I attended a meeting at the school.  As we were walking up to the doors Sydney casually says “We’re playing our guitars and singing Mama.”

“When?”  I ask.

“Tonight for all of you.”  Sydney replies.

“What??  You’re kidding, how come you didn’t tell me?”  I rush back to the truck and grab my camera, remembering the quote from my blog “I would rather pack my camera with me and take no shots, than leave it at home and miss the shot of a lifetime.”

I thought the meeting was for information to parents if their kids want to be in the upcoming play “Romeo & Juliet” and had no idea they were going to be performing.

Every lunch hour Mr. White (we are soooo lucky to have him at LES!) has been teaching the kids instruments and singing.  For about two years Sydney has been learning to play the guitar and I can’t believe how her fingers fly!  They are also using foot pedals to distort the guitars so coordination is a big thing when playing.  She’s doing an excellent job and simply loves to play. :)  My Dad, her Grandpa, would be so proud of her and I so wish he were here to see her.

This is the first time the kids have performed the song in front of an audience.  While it doesn’t sound so loud in the video, I have to say, if you were in the room you would have had your ears covered!

If you can’t view the video at my blog click here to go to YouTube.

For more pictures please visit my Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasa/

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Lytton Elementary School Concert

Yesterday was the annual LES school concert and the students did not disappoint!  Grade 4/5 teacher Mr. White, worked tirelessly on props, music, makeup, and gathering the students for one rehearsal after another.

Sydney played the starring role of Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.”  I had a hard time recognizing her when I ran into them waiting in the hallway.

CJ (Demon), Sydney (Ebenezer Scrooge), and Jasmine (Jacob Marley).

A few shots of the play.

Ebenezer with the Ghost of Christmas Past (Amber).

“The Crachit Family.”  They did a wonderful performance of “Silent Night” that you can see in the video at the end of this post.

Kayla (Belle), Jasmine (Jacob Marley), Sydney (Ebenezer Scrooge), and Robyn (Martha) after the play.

Martina (Tiny Tim), Keauna (Mrs. Crachit), and Sydney (Scrooge).  Mr. White did an excellent job of putting on Sydney’s nose. :)

Jevan’s class sang “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” but setting up one’s camera in the pitch black took me longer than I thought, so unfortunately no video of that.  In this picture he’s holding the letter “S.”

Here’s a few scenes from the play compiled into a video.  If you are unable to view it at my blog please click here to view it at YouTube.

For more pictures please visit my Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasa/

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