The Grand Canyon

Andrew went to the Grand Canyon last week. He flew out on Wednesday, hiked the canyon on Thursday and Friday and flew back on Saturday. For as long as I can remember he has wanted to hike the Grand Canyon. He went with a class from the University. They had been hiking in Arizona for two weeks prior to his arrival for a January term elective course. After he got back he said I can see why you like working with the students. They are fun and they keep you young. It's true. 

Andrew on the Kaibab Trail

Excerpt below from student blog:

Standing on the rocks barefoot after a long hike down the Grand Canyon, our hiking class relaxes after finding a beach on the Colorado River. The views of the river were spectacular and although the river was a their feet in the water.  

                The Colorado River is a beautiful water way that stretches from Colorado to the Gulf of California. This river has natural water world pulls and currents that kept the current of the water powerful.  We crossed two main bridges in order to get to the Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

                The Phantom Ranch is now a logging and camp site and what used to be a resort for the wealthy in previous years. The site had many cabins and some tents with great informational signs full of the history of the Grand Canyon. This site also included a ranch where the working mules were kept when they brought down the supplies from the top of the mountain. It is amazing how these great animals could have brought down all of the supplies for this entire logging operation. Phantom Ranch is also a great place to fish and see many animals. While on a night hike I encountered a fox on the trail; it was a thrilling experience to see such a large wild animal in its environment.

                This amazing experience has opened my eyes to many National and State parks. I have a new appreciation for the natural wonders of the world. This experience was a once in a life time experience to be able to see all of the mountain ranges we hiked in such a short time. I will never forget the breath taking views and the physical challenges we encountered on our trip. Thank you Dr. Fischer for all your hard work for planning this amazing class and my parents for giving me this opportunity.

"Cooling Off"

After two trips to Lake Superior in 2011 (summer and fall) Andrew and I had amassed a couple hundred photos taken along the lake shore and in the vicinity. I happened to be reading my copy of Lake Superior Magazine after we got back from our fall trip when, from the depths of my mind, I recalled that they had an annual photo contest.  I went on line and checked for the submission deadline and discovered that by chance I still had four days to make it. That same day I carefully selected the allowable limit of 10 photos for submission and off they went, on a CD,  to the magazine office in Duluth.  I found out yesterday that out of 1300 entries to the 2011 contest I won honorable mention in the nature category for my photo of a doe and her triplet fawns "cooling off" in the Iron River near Silver City, Michigan.  Since obtaining the photo is one of my best ever memories in my 30 + years as a photographer it makes the award all the more special.  Andrew and I were headed back to the Union Bay campground in Silver City one afternoon last August after a day of copper mining in the Caledonia Mine near Greenland, Michigan.  It was blazing hot and we were hell bent to get back to make supper because we were starving.  Andrew spotted the group of deer in the river as they were on the south side of the road and he pointed them out to me as we passed. Instantly the thought of photographing this beautiful scene made me forget my hunger and I asked him to stop.  He pulled over and I grabbed the camera and ran down the road part way and then eased in the rest of the way speaking softly as I approached.  It was then that I realized that the group was a doe and her fawns. I don't know why they didn't bolt; in fact they didn't even seem fazed. There was a guard rail on the road above the river and I was able to lean on it to get my photos.  I continued to talk to them as they drank in the creek. The two little ones on the left side of the photo splashed each other and played in the water. The doe kept her eye on me the entire time, about 10 minutes, that I was there.  I was able to get a couple dozen nicely exposed and sharply focused photos during that encounter. Incidentally during our fall trip I experienced another best ever wildlife memory as I had the opportunity to photograph a barred owl with it's fresh caught dinner-a snake.  We need to move north! Anyway check out the magazine-it should be on your news stand by now!

Cooling Off

Garnet's New Coat

This is the first prime coat that Garnet has had since her eye problems last spring. She just looks gorgeous.  (She's such a good model for photos too).

Parrot Training

Tafari is enjoying his parrot training book as much as I am.

 (-:

A Jackrabbit

My friend Sharon, knowing I love rabbits, sent me these photos of a Jackrabbit, which is really a hare and not a rabbit, that lives in her backyard. What a lovely animal!

Being Busy vs. Being Productive

Every time I see a tactic on a self help site that recommends doing something that I am already doing it makes me feel good.  Today's tip on Marc and Angels Blog:  Stop confusing ‘being busy’ with ‘being productive.’ – Start tracking and measuring your progress. Being busy and being productive are two very different things. Results are more important than the time it takes to achieve them.

Most days I do just this. I wake up with a list of things in my head that I want to accomplish for the day and then I do them and check them off as the are complete.  I do them by setting boundaries and not letting other people or minutea distract me from the tasks I want to accomplish. Most days this means I don't answer the phone at home. Phone interruptions are the biggest time waster in a day (and this goes for at work too but there I have to answer). We all know that some calls we get are welcome but others definately are not. We also keep a social calendar and try not to plan more than one social outing per weekend. We enjoy time just spent at home and not having to be "on" in social situations or running around in the car all weekend long.

This past Friday evening I got my to do list in my head.  I actually checked two of the items I wanted to do on the weekend off my list by doing them Friday night. This included slogging out the rabbit pens and bathing the dog. This left me extra time on Saturday and Sunday for the rest of my list which included leisure activities such seeing We Bought a Zoo and going to the Columbus Paper and Postcard Show.  Some people can be productive without a plan. I'm not one of them.

Below are two inexpensive cards I bought at the paper show:

In the first one the two men are holding a Bichon Frise (maybe a puppy by the likes of unruly crop of hair on it's head). The second one is a momma bunny and her kits. Any guess as to the breed?  I'm thinking Flemish Giant.

G.C. Lilac Haven's Ryan

Isn't Ryan a handsome boy?  His wool is prime and I've never see him looking so good.  He's out of Jailbirds Rupert and G.C. Lilac Haven's Sienna.

Sunet in Winter

Walking out to my car after work is always a treat in the winter. Not because I am off work but because quitting time coincides with the sunset and I walk west to get to my car. It seems like most nights there is some sort of dramatic sky to view. I love looking at the sun coming through the clouds or an approaching or clearing storm and the pinks and purples of the winter sky. Here's a sampling of the splendor.

NYE Rabbit Show

We participated in the Clinton County Fur and Feather Club rabbit show last night. It was a very long day with the showing starting at 10 am and ending at 8 pm. The upside of the length of the show was that it was very well organized, they had loads of food available, and we had two chances of winning.  I took three Satins and two French. In Satin Angoras we won BOB and BOS in both shows with Ryan and Phazana in Show A and Selene and Ryan in Show B which enabled me to also grand both Ryan and Phazana. The French I only brought as fillers for my friend Lisa so she could grand her white doe Oleander but as it turned out each of my bucks, Martin and Evander also ended up with legs as they ended up winning BOS in both shows-LH Martin in Show A and SH Evander in Show B which enabled Evander to obtain his grand champion status too.  Altogether not a bad day and fun visiting with friends. Lisa and I stayed to enter in Best in Show. Lisa's SH Oleander got granded and a mention as being a top contender in BIS for Show A but no wins there. Happy New Year readers. May you have a happy and prosperous new year!

 Me & Hubby with Selene & Ryan; our two Best of Breed winners.

 Grand Champion Somerhill Phazana BOS Satin Angoras

Grand Champion Lilac Haven's Ryan BOB & BOS Satin Angoras

Grand Champion Somerhill Evander Holyfield BOV & BOS French Angoras

Lilac Haven's Selene (BOB ) Satin Angoras

 Lilac Haven's Martin (BOS) French Angoras