My Bountiful Diary

Weekend Cat Blogging #43

Saturday, April 1, 2006

Now that spring is arriving very slowly in Utah, Rufus is spending more time out at night catting and sleeping all day.

 

Weekend Cat Blogging #40

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Here's our pet bobcat, Rufus, relaxing on the barbecue last summer!

Here's a picture of Rufus playing with our dog, Mattie - yes, he's really a pet, taken from his mother before his eyes opened, bottle fed - we got him when he was 8 months old - he's declawed so he couldn't be put in the wild - he was raised in a pet store with puppies before we got him so he loves dogs.  We have a scientific research permit for him - he gets rabies shots just like a regular cat and they test the efficacy of those and they've tested his DNA, etc.  He's a lively but fun pet!

Snow Last Night, Sun Today

Saturday, March 4, 2006

The girls and I went for a walk up Mueller this morning.  We had about 4-5" of fresh powder last night and we went all the way to the pond - we broke snow from the building on up and did a fair amount of postholing.  It was gorgeous with a lot of snow still on the trees and pixie dust (snow) falling from the trees and being lit from behind by the sun.  We walked part of the way down w/ a papillon and another dog and its owner.  The stream is moving along pretty good - up until today it's been warm and melting.  I kept my eyes open for a water ouzel but didn't see one.

The sun was peeking through this tree as we were walking up.

Last Sunday, February 26, we took the girls for a walk at Farmington Bay.  We got there about 10:30 a.m. and there were about 60 bald eagles roosting in 3 trees and we think we saw at least 15 more out in the bay.  By the time we were driving back around noon - 12:30 most of them had taken off.  My camera doesn't have a telephoto, but I think you can get the idea.

The dogs had a great time - here's a good shot of Lilly - they both went in the water and had to have baths when they got home!

      

My Oaxaca Diary

Monday, February 20, 2006 (President's Day)

Well, Jay and I have been back a week from Oaxaca and Huatulco.  I'll write about Oaxaca today and about Huatulco a little later.

There's finally a direct flight from Houston to Oaxaca - before we would have had to go through Mexico City and it would have taken 2 days each way.  We got to Oaxaca about 9:30 Sat. night and were picked up by Roberto and taken to our hotel, the Camino Real.  It's in an old convent and there were beautiful inner courtyards, a swimming pool, luscious flowers, etc.  Sunday we wandered around town to get a feel for the town.  We started off by going to mass at Santo Domingo Church.  The mass was in Spanish and glorious singing by nuns and an enthusiastic congregation.  We stayed about 1/2 hour.  The church is very ornate and since I couldn't understand much of the Spanish I spent my time gazing at the ceiling and surrounding walls.

We spent the afternoon at the square, the zocalo.  It's a big square and was full of people all day and into the night.  In the afternoon, the state band put on a concert and that night 3 guitarists put on another concert.  The square was filled with people and a ton of poinsettias were planted.     

My favorite part was the colorful balloons and watching the children have fun with them.

We discovered an excellent bookstore, Amate Books, where they had a ton of books in Engl. about Mexico.  I bought Oliver Sacks Oaxaca Journal about his trip to Oaxaca w/ the American Fern Society - it looks as if he talks about a lot of the attractions around Oaxaca so I'm anxious to read it.  We also went to a modern art museum where I bought a little blank journal of hand made paper which they make in Oaxaca.  I love it and wish I'd bought more. 

That night we ate at a restaurant overlooking the square which is one of the ones Rick Bayless recommended on his website.  I had an almond mole that was good.

More later!! 

A Quiet Cloudy Winter Day

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Two months until the first day of spring!!!!!

Woke up to a few new inches of light powder - Jay shoveled, fed the birds who needed both sunflower seeds and suet and then we took the dogs up Mueller.

Lilly and Mattie have been sleeping this afternoon as has Rufus!

 

Snowy Day

Sunday, January 15, 2006

What a snowy day - biggest snowstorm in some time.  I knew it was coming so I stocked the larder!  I'm cooking a pork chop, cabbage, potato, tomato melange for dinner in the crockpot, just started to make split pea soup, and will soon cook a chicken and giblets for Rufus.  We have magpies, downy woodpeckers, purple finches, pine siskins and chickadees at the feeder and I saw the flicker this morning.

Here's a picture of Lilly enjoying her Xmas toys.

For New Years, Jay and I saw the Neville Brothers in Park City and spent the night at the Homestead just up past Midway.  The Neville Bros. had been scheduled to play for New Years at one of the Biloxi casinos that was wiped out in the hurricane so they were able to get them in Park City.  They are all fantastic musicians and we got to hear "the blessed voice of our brother Aaron" sing a few of his songs as well.  We drove back to the Homestead in a snowstorm.  That place is fantastic.  It's a beautiful setting and looked beautiful the next morning with new snow.  What I loved were the pools.  They have hot springs and so had a pool w/ really hot water and a regular pool that we swam in one day.  The next day we went in "the crater" which is this most bizarre 60 foot deep crater into which hot water burbles continually.  There's a hole it the top so you can look out and also get some cool air in.  We had great fun.

 

Whew!!!

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2005

Well, Xmas is over and I'm back to work.  Had temps in the high 40s and low 50s over the holiday and our snow melted fast - we still had a little and then got another 3-4" of wet muck last night.

I'm pretty sure you can tell from these photos who had a good Xmas - Rufus drooled over the turkey and was rewarded with the turkey neck and he and Mattie had fun playing.

 

Cold Winter's Day

Sunday, December 4, 2005

It's been a cold day - cloudy w/ snow squalls this morning and clearing this afternoon - it was 26 degrees when the dogs and I walked up Mueller this morning - we walked w/ Gracie, an 11 year old bassett hound and her owner.

Salt Lake Valley scene

I tried to take some pics of birds at the feeder - here's one of a magpie (they love the suet).  It's 4 p.m. and the birds will be going to find a warm spot for the night soon.  The chickadees and downy woodpecker will be the last to go.

I've started to put out Xmas decorations today and these are my most precious decorations - a set of Xmas candles given to me by my great aunts Lillian and Florence when I was born almost 53 years ago.  They're fading but they are such a treasure to me.  I remember my great aunts because here in the Wasatch Mountains up past Lake Blanche are two lakes named for them - Lake Lillian and Lake Florence! 

May Venus and the new moon shine down upon you wherever you are tonight.

Winter's Here

Sunday, November 27, 2005

First snow fell on Saturday - we've been so lucky not to have had any yet this year.  Jay and I took the dogs up Mueller both Sat. and Sun.  It was a winter wonderland.

I've had sunflower seeds out for the birds for a few weeks and put suet out this weekend.  Friday before it snowed I saw two brown creepers out back - I think I've only seen them one other time here.  We have both black-capped and mountain chickadees, about a zillion pine siskins, purple finches, magpies at the suet and California quail ground feeding - the other day 10 of them flew in.  Oh, also downy woodpeckers.

I spent awhile this afternoon learning how to make my own cards w/ some software - took me awhile to get them to print but it's fun once I figured it out.  Will send the above pic. to some friends.

I've had a busy weekend, mainly because I've been a little lazy at work, and brought a report home to work on.  Consequently, haven't read much so am going to fade away now and read for two hours before bed - it's Ann Patchett's memoir about her friend Lucy, Truth and Beauty.  Saw a wonderful French film last night, The Butterfly.

Real light snow falling softly now.  Good night.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Love ya, Jay!