No, we don't live in Texas where everything is supposedly bigger than normal, but we did our part this year and Texas might have something to envy.

This is one of our blackberries. I put it next to a "C" battery so you can see the size comparison. Our 3-berry jam is much the better because of them.

These are my hibiscus flowers and you wouldn't be able to judge their size if I had just taken a photo, but when placed next to beautiful faces, you can tell that they are bigger than dinner plates. My granddaughter Isabelle and daughter Amy are my models.

Hogle Zoo 2009

click here to see :Utah's Hogle Zoo Home

Once again this may be a post that you will want to click on to enlarge the pictures for better viewing.

Matt and Colett started a tradition about 4 years ago. They take their kids to the zoo the week before school starts. Anyone else who wants to tag along is invited, so Amy, Wes, Emerson and

did the tagging. Some years at the zoo have have been very hot because we go in August and a bottle of water was a must, but this year it was overcast, in the 80's and very nice. It was a good day for a hike up and down the zoo paths. The zoo has a new baby elephant but it's not on view yet as they give the mom and baby time to adjust but there was a new baby giraffe. I am awed by the grace and beauty of the giraffes and their markings are beautiful.

Here is the mama getting a little snack. We were up on the 2nd floor so we could be up close and see her face.


Look at at that eye....beautiful. You can't really see how long the lashes are from this picture, but they are loooong.


Here is the baby born in July. He was outside sunbathing and as we starting taking pictures, he started literally posing as he went from sitting to standing to yoga poses, then to looking forward and then sideways. He was doing his public relations job very well. What a doll. I love him.

He was only about 15 feet from the fence.

This isn't a face that only a mother could love. It's face that anyone can love.

I don't remember all the names of the monkeys so here is just a monkey.

Another new baby at the zoo is a snow leopard who was playing with his Mom's tail and biting it.

I snapped the picture as he looked up.

The orangutan was too social today.

This was a tiny owl that was brought to the zoo because it had lost an eye and couldn't fend for itself any more. It was darling, and only about 12" tall.

This is the common prairie dog but I love them. My brother Jon named them gonky-doos

while we were on a family trip to South Dakota when we were kids so I still call them that. I know they are pests to ranchers, but since I am not one, I will enjoy them as God's little

commune creatures. When I was looking at them, one of them jumped up in the air and barked. After reading the sign, that is normal. One of the little guys is the guardian and when someone gets too close he does that as a warning to the rest of the commune to hide.

Who doesn't love a penguin? These are a warm weather variety, but this ones loves standing in the water by the faucet.

The black bear came out to give us a shot too. They were walking around and finally decided to take a nap. Yes, I would like to hug him, but I know better. During the millenium I will take a shot at it.

Who designed these creatures? Beautiful.

I don't remember what this is but I was looking for the merecat and this was not one.

This camel is a crazy looking animal, especially the ones with the 2 humps. I would have liked to have been around during the design meeting when God was deciding how to build this guy.

I don't get it...just saying.

Heavenly mother must have designed this one with the beauty of the color, the pattern of the feathers, the crown, the strut...all but the voice. We have one that lives next to us and you can hear it for blocks around.

The elephant is another crazy looking animal, but after seeing shows about their intelligence, their sense of family and their work ethic, I think they are one of the most fabulous animals ever born.

Another monkey. His hair reminds me of the styles of the 60's. Groovy man!

Lovely little face. Crazy back.

Not a lovely face, and one of the strangest animals ever. I'm not sure of their purpose or place in the universe, but they are fun to look at.

The other animals at the zoo. Nick picks the nose of the great ape. Normal behavior for a 12 year old.

Here Nick wears his new fedora. He says it's his signature look for the year. Cool dude nick.

Millie is showing me the entrance to her make believe home.

Emerson and Isabelle

Millie, Nick and E

Amy, Wes and E check out the rhino.

Nick and Wes take a break.

The Yarro group

Belle rides on the carousel

I asked Nick to take our picture. We stood together but he waited until we had

started to walk to click the picture. I think his talents lie in another venue.

The Holmes family

Colett is the same height as a full grown female ape but her arms need to grow a little as does her girth.

Emerson really wasn't all that thrilled with the animals. Other little kids around us were screaming with delight as they spotted them, but he LOVED the carousel and the little mini train that chugged around part of the zoo. To each his own.

Millie picked the kangaroo for her carousel ride. I loved the carousel because all the rides were zoo animals or bugs. I wish I had taken more pics of them.

The turtle exhibit. Maybe this will teach Nick how to slow down a little.....nah, it ain't gonna happen.

Isabelle, my pretty girl and buddy.

We had a great day. We missed Wayne, once again as he had to work. What? Doesn't his boss know that family day at the zoo is more important than price negotiations and building specs?

Looking forward to 2010.

A Thief Among Us

Oh hi Fozzie, good boy for going potty. Do you want a treat?

Yes, he gets a treat every time he goes. I used to give him cheese for training purposes and he trained very quickly. Forget the dog treats, I used what worked....what he loved. He never had accidents in the house.

Wait one minute, what have you got in your mouth? If the truth be known, Fozzie "LOVES" tomatoes even as much as cheese. I planted him his own cherry tomato bush so that when he goes out he can just pick a tomato off the plant while he is outside and that is his summer potty treat. When he came running in today, he had gotten in the garden while I was picking tomatoes and plucked a big one out of my pan and ran into the house. I didn't want him burying a tomato in the guest bed or putting it in a shoe for later, so I grabbed him and put him outside on the deck. He just stood there with the tomato hanging out his mouth. This is at 11:51.


This is at 11:53. He hasn't moved a muscle. He is waiting for his chance to run back inside. Now two minutes is not really a long time unless you are standing still, trying not to drop your prize and trying to get by your owner. It seemed like forever to me too.

He turns and runs down the steps and onto the lawn.

He drops his prize

and looks to see if I am going to take it away. No, I go get a knife and cut it up for him. I know he is spoiled.

He had taken a few small nibbles so it wasn't salvageable anyway.

The next time I harvest, I will shut the gate to the garden behind me because I know, given the chance, he would be a thief once again.

"The" Concert

Wayne and I were lucky enough to join Matt, Colett, and Amy and Wes at the "Chicago" concert on the 4th. Now this will date us (and yes, I know we are as old as dirt) but in the early 70's we listened to the group "Chicago" all the time. I still have one of the old 33 albums in my possession but unfortunately I have no place to play it now. They were the group that actually started rock groups with horn sections. Back then, the lead singer was Peter Cetera but for 25 years the lead singer has been Jason Scheff. If you listen to the records, you can't really even tell the difference between their voices. He also just happens to be Colett's brother-in-law so when Chicago comes to town, we get free tickets and back stage passes. Jason has become our friend too, and we get to visit him when he comes to town for holidays. I was able to sit at the piano last Christmas and sing carols with him which was really fun. He is a sweet guy and gives us all hugs when we meet or part. Famous rock singers are still pretty normal in most respects. Jason is a very talented musician and singer. He writes, composes, plays several instruments along with his singing. He comes from a musical family. His father was a guitar player for Elvis Presley. At the concert, we rocked out, crowded the stage, and visited with all the band members backstage when the concert was over. Looking forward to the next time.

This is Jason which some call Scheffy and here is his web site on MySpace.

Jason Scheff on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

A photo Op

Do you remember these songs ?

Baby What a Big Surprise

Colour My World

Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?

Hard Habit to Break

Hard to Say I'm Sorry

If You Leave Me Now

You're the Inspiration

Well if you do, you are probably older than dirt too.

Chicago - The Official Band Website

The Real Vacation

Home again. It has been too long since I was home. I miss my parents greatly and have a plot of land behind their house that we hope to put a house on some day. They say you can never go home, but as long as this house is here, I can. We went to Cowley for Pioneer Day and to just visit. Amy and I were here for over a week but Colett's family and Wayne and Wes left a few days later. These are the things I love about coming home. Most of the pictures will need to be enlarged to see.

Aunt Roma is the matriarch of the Marchant family, is in her 90's and is an example to us all. She has been like a mother to all her siblings and has been like a hen with her wings out to all the family including her nieces and nephews. She was here to visit for Pioneer Day too.


Mom, Dad, Amy, E and I went for a walk.
"E" is walking the dog. I'm not sure who is more confused about what to do next.

My Mommy and Daddy with Amy and Emerson. We walked the town and looked at all the new houses being built. My little population 500 town has grown by about 60 new homes.

The Pioneer Day Parade
This is one staple of every parade in northern Wyoming. The girls change from year to year but the costumes are the same. They are the can-can girls called the Mustang Dollies.

Emerson is crazy for bulldozers and diggers. My home town street was being completely redone and this nice gentlemen let Emerson hop in and pretend like he was operating this mini backhoe. It was a bright moment in his day for sure.

My Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Gaye were the Grand Marshals of the day for Pioneer Day.

What a handsome couple especially for being in their 80's.

What parade would be complete without candy? This one had more than any child could even eat..... bags and bags full and enough to share.

No parade is complete without horses..... with their muscular lines, the teamwork and the smell of horse manure.

My grandkids are watching these horsemen who are dressed as Custer's soldiers. They participated in the reenactment of Custer's Last Stand in Montana.

There is always a talent showcase in the evening and this was my high school music teacher. He was newly graduated when he came to teach at my high school. I learned more from him than from any other teacher I can remember. I love you George Welch. My love of music was always there but you enhanced it a million times over.

This is my old high school. It was built by Mormon pioneers and the rock was quarried locally.
It was called the Big Horn Academy and was built in 1916. It became Cowley High School and we were known as the Jaguars. We were fierce, proud, smart and talented and our colors were maroon and white. The school is set to be remodeled and turned into school offices soon so I took a tour. I hadn't been in there for 40 years. Oh, the memories!

The next day we went to the Big Horn Mountains and were greeted by this fellow. He was close to our trailers so we had to keep an eye out.

This was the view from the water spring. It is looking into the valley where the little towns of our youth are located.

These are the Big Horn Mountains. I love them so much!! They are unusual mountains in that they are tall, but once you get on top you can drive all over them, and you can pull over and camp without being in a campground. The fishing is great, the hunting great and you may not encounter another person for a long time. There is nothing like looking at the stars while you camp because there are no lights interfering with the view and and you can make a campfire every night unless the fire danger rating is up. This year it was not.

Millie had never been to these mountains and she made sure Fozzie was safe.

The moose disappeared for a while and when he came back, he had his wife with him. I didn't get her picture however.

The man in the know. Wayne has been coming to the mountains for 50 some years and has a lot of knowledge of the area. He knows the best fishing holes and hunting spots, the historic areas and the places to go and not to go. He has spent weeks up here with the cattle drives, the friends, and family activities and just camping out. We also had many dates up here before we were married. These mountains are a part of both of us. My kids have some of the same feelings for them too, as we camped a lot with them as they were growing up.

Wes driving the ATV's and little E was just lulled into sleep. AH!!

Jill, Colett, Amy, Wes and E watch as Millie gets reacquainted with her distant cousin Marissa.

I say reacquainted but they just went swimming together yesterday.

Everyone getting a drink of pure, cold spring water. The pipe comes right out of the mountain.

Isabelle is filling her water bottle.

Some of the flora at the spring. I almost picked it the blew the seeds around but I resisted.

These flowers were right in our camp site. I felt like I was filming Brigadoon.

We decided to hike the Bucking Mule trail. I was hesitant since my knee and ankle really don't work well together since my accident a few years ago, but everyone, even the little kids and dog were going so I willed myself to go along as far as I could manage. The trail was in good shape
most of the way and except for a few places, not a bad hike. It was supposed to be 2 miles long as the crow flies so I figured maybe I could do the 4 miles. It ended up being a lot longer but instead of turning back....I DID IT!!!! Wayne fashioned me a walking stick which helped a lot. When we got to the scenic look out, I didn't think I could do it. It was quite a little climb on rough rocks. Wayne kept encouraging me and saying, I can do it, so I kept trying. This picture is the result. It was beautiful and worth the effort. The next day I had a cankle the size of my thigh but the pain was minimal. Yahoo! I was so proud of all the little kids that made it too.

This is looking into Devil's Canyon. The sky was overcast so I didn't get the photo of choice but you can see how majestic the mountains are.

This is a flat section of the trail and we stopped to look at the tree tops and could see how some of the trees have gotten old and are falling down.

Ditto

Millie poses on the perfect model rock.

This photo shows how some of the trees have fallen and formed a canopy

above our heads. We tried not to get too close.

E actually walked a long part of the way by himself, but Amy and Wes had to take turns giving him rides.

After we came down the mountain, we stopped in Wolf and Sheridan, Wyoming. This is Wayne's sister's home. It is darling and she has remodeled it to be as charming as it can be. Colett and family stayed the night here.

This is Ronnie, Wayne's brother, and his woman Peggy. Wayne and I and Amy and Wes stayed here for the night. Ron works and lives on this ranch. It has a bunk house that Amy, E and Wes stayed in and we stayed in the house.

This is the bunk house behind Ron's house.

This is an amazing barn that was built in the early 1900's. It has the old stanchion parlor for cows in it and the hitching post in front. I hesitate to go in it as it smells like a 1900's structure.

We got up the next day and drove home with lots of memories and tender feelings for this part of the country. Oh yes, we will be back!!