glacier

The Mendenhall Glacier on a sunny and clear day. I never cease to be in awe of its beauty on a clear day. It looks like someone painted a mural in the background. That's Canada behind it.


When I came to Juneau in 1971, the glacier stretched to the barren part of the mountain on the right. It's constantly calving large chunks of ice that float in the lake. You can walk up to the face of the glacier.... if you're one of the braver souls. Me, not so much....

Hiking on both sides of the glacier is a favorite past time of locals and tourists, where you have some great views of the ice field and lake.

Later! Nancy

front porch

I can't help it. I love love love the golden colors of Fall.


My idea of a perfect Fall would be adding the adventure of visiting a pumpkin patch. It's on my list of things to do.

Later. Nancy

leaves and beads

We try to do crafts at least once a week. Both the grandkids seem to love doing them, and it keeps them busy for a few minutes.

Last week we collected Fall colored leaves and made these little hanging decorations. They strung the colored beads and I added the leaf for them.

They get great enjoyment out of sharing their creations with their moms and dads. I hope the parents enjoy them as much.

Later! Nancy

out of the mouths of babes

We're having The. Most. Incredible. Fall. A typical Fall season starts in August when the weather changes from "okay" to cold, wet, rainy, windy, dark, and dreary. It's the beginning of our winter. For whatever reason, this year we're not seeing it. We've had 10 days, maybe 2 weeks of this incredible sunny weather. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right.

According to the weather service, Juneau is 10 degrees warmer than normal. Instead of temps in the 50's, we're still in the high 60's. We're not having the wind or the rain. We're just enjoying the sunshine.

The grandkids were outside today playing in the sun. Butt naked, of course. Keeping clothes on these two is next to impossible. They don't care what the weather is doing. I fixed a picnic lunch for them. As I got ready to set the plates down on the tablecloth, I noticed one corner was all wet. I asked, "where did this water come from"? And Ellis patted her behind and goes, "my butt." Out of the mouths of babes....

Later! Nancy

hydrangea

Isn't this Limelight Hydrangea gorgeous? I have several of them in my gardens, but this one is outshining all of them. I wonder why....

I think most people are familiar with the classic blue Hydrangea, but I almost prefer this one. The flower is so dainty, almost lace-like.

Later! Nancy

hop to it

I love this picture. So simple. Hops. I wonder how many it takes to make beer.... :)





Nancy

harvest day

Harvest day on the farm!

We have a couple apple trees, that are mostly ornamental. Our summers are not long enough or warm enough to actually grow full-term apples. But this year our trees were loaded with the little guys. Mike counted well over 150 apples on two trees!

They're not the oh-so-sweet-and-yummy kind where juice runs down your chin when you take a bite. They're more a cross between sour and not-so-sour.

But the little kids love eating them anyway.

We harvested them today. Decided to get them before the bears did....

I'll probably make applesauce out of them.

bench

My son-in-law is so very talented.

He can take scrap wood, and make something like this:


It's a child-size bench, but big enough for us larger people to sit on comfortably. It's built so sturdy, that there's no worry that we'll sit down on it and go crashing to the ground.


e

Great job, Adam! And, thanks!

posies

Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies....

Isn't she just adorable? This is one of the few family heirlooms my husband has in his possession. His is a difficult situation--a blended family after they were adults. His dad re-married a wonderful lady (Gracie) after their mom died, but she has two kids. When his dad died, Gracie's family quickly moved her out of state. This first move, they tossed or gave away everything they didn't think she needed.... Or maybe it was just those items that belonged to Mike's side of the family that wasn't needed.... After Gracie moved, she still had a few items that belonged to Mike's side of the family.

Recently, Gracie's family moved her into an assisted living home, and has since had a garage sale and pretty much given away all her other belongings. With no regard to Mike or his brother or what belonged to their side of the family. It was just given away, tossed aside as if it had no history, no family value.

It's heartbreaking when blended families can't acknowledge the other side. There was no regard for Mike or David or their family heirlooms. All Mike wanted was a vintage Red Riding Hood cookie jar that he cherished. It was his grandmothers. It had memories. But his step-sister decided she wanted, or needed, it more....

So Mike got this posy girl. Sadly, it means nothing to him. It's nothing he wanted. Nothing he remembers. Nothing that brings back fond memories. But it's all he got.

Personally, I think she's adorable and love it. I tried researching her on-line, but couldn't find anything about her. All we know is Mike's uncle purchased her in Italy. There's one word engraved on the underside--Delfino. She's about 15" high. Maybe one day I'll find some history about her.

yard art

To me, a garden is just plain boring if you don't have yard art.

New to my garden this year is the Pink Flamingo. Yea, they are a little cheesy, but my neighbor gave it to me so I had to find a prominent place to display it. Then I got to like it.

You've all heard rumors about how big the mosquitoes are in Alaska.... Well, it's no exaggeration!

This is a scuzzy bird bath. But it works for me.

What type of yard art do you have?

Later.... Nancy