Quail in our Yard!

Suzanne and I have been wishing for a long time that we had a covey of quail in our back yard. I've searched on-line for places that would sell us some chicks, and have been seriously considering buying some later this spring. I've also been scheming on how to catch a few from Shauna's and Spencer's yard to transplant into our yard. Imagine our surprize and excitement this morning when I saw this pair checking out our yard - hopefully for a new home? We hope they liked what they saw, and will stay.

Tinker to Evers to Chance - A Wild Dream!

Here's a dream I had the other night: We were playing baseball for the Dodgers. It was the last game of the World Series against the Cubs. The Dodgers were leading in the Cubs' half of the ninth inning, with one out. Darin ("Little D") was at bat for the Cubs, with a runner on first. For the Dodgers, we had Suzanne pitching, myself playing second base, and Aaron playing first. Darin grounded to second, I shoveled it to the shortstop, who fired the relay to Aaron at first, and the game was over. Darin was upset, so I tried to console him by pointing out that we would all be remembered forever in baseball lore as the only World Series ending double play to have involved four members of the same family! He was not impressed!

Suzanne tells me there is something wrong with this dream. (What's new?!) Is it because the Cubs (home of the famous double-play combo of "Tinker to Evers to Chance") and the Dodgers are both in the National League, and would never play against each other in the World Series? Or is it that I would never have been able to bend down and field that grounder? She says it is the impossibility that she would ever have even been on the field, much less as "Fireball Suzi" the pitcher! Oh well! That's the nature of dreams, isn't it?

Thanks for indulging my looniness. (Sorry, no pictures.) Papa "Sure-Hands" Duck

Bonsai - Miniature Trees

Here are pictures of my bonsai trees. Each winter, I bury them under leaves when they go dormant. Then I bring them out in the spring, trim their roots and prune their branches and re-pot them for the next season. In each pair of pictures, the first is from April, 2007; and the second is from April, 2009. (showing two years of progress.)






These two sets of photos are of Russian Olive trees. These were volunteers (planted by birds) which I dug up from my flower beds, and first potted in the spring of 2006. So, the summer of 2009 will be their 4th season.

The lava rock you see in all of these pots comes from Idaho. I picked it up in the lava fields north of Twin Falls on various trips to Sun Valley.

All of these other trees are Ash trees. Again, volunteers which I dug up from my flower beds, and first potted in the spring of 2006. These were not planted by birds, but grew from the many seeds which fall each year from an ash tree I moved from our Pony Express home to our Joey Park home in 1999. It was about 4 or 5 years old when I moved it, so it is now in about its 15th year. As with the Russian Olives, these Ash bonsai are beginning their 4th summer.