Sacramento Valley National Cemetery

I spent some time at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery this week. It is one of the newer national cemeteries maintained by the Dept of Veterans Affairs. (It is listed at the 124th cemetery out of a total of 131 cemeteries.)

I found the cemetery to be a peaceful spot to be when there was not a memorial service in process.

The VA provides an online grave site locator if you would like to visit a burial site of a veteran.

 You can find that service at this link.  

I want to thank all of the Veterans who may already be at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery along with those who have the option to be placed there.  Your service to the country means a lot to me.

Mom's Garden

My Mom loved to garden and she enjoyed the birds that came to visit her in her garden.
Here are a few pictures that I took today while in Mom's Garden.

Some Sights You Will Find...

all at one location...


"Wall o' Wheels"

Hummingbirds...

Funnel Clouds forming..

Pretty weeds...


..and here is a slideshow of many other things you can see when you visit Folsom Chevrolet!

Experimenting....

Yep..I am experimenting...with my camera!  
Here is a few photos I took today. I hope you enjoy!

Now You See It....

I was doing a bit of "backyard bird-watching" today when I happen to catch this starling.
He will grab one of the berries...

...and fly to the rooftop...






..and then it is gone with one quick toss of his head!

A Day of Joy & a Day of Sorrow...

Last Wednesday was one of my "Best ever" and "worst ever" days that I have had.
Best Ever... Spending the day with both boys and all the grandchildren playing together! 

...and you ask what in the world could make you sad on a day like that??
My Canon EOS 300D camera died after almost a decade of loyal service.

A Tribute To Mom

My Mom left us just a few short weeks ago and joined my Dad in Heaven...so I thought I would dedicate this Mother's Day Blog  in her memory...

You can see that our Mom had determination and style - even at a young age.  (I have that same walk...people I work with call it my "power walk".  )

Mom always had a sense of adventure. I can remember one time when she went deer-hunting with Dad.

Mom always  had a sense of humor and loved to make people smile and laugh.  She passed that on to me. (I feel my day is not complete unless I make someone else smile.)

Mom lived for her ever-growing family. She always seemed to be in her element when there was family around her.

Mom loved her siblings. She called and talked to each of them all the time. The physical distance did not keep them apart.

 ...But there is one thing she loved more than anything  else - Our Dad.  I am at peace knowing she is now with Dad.

  

I love and miss you Mom.  You have taught me so much during "your dash" ... you will be with me forever in my heart.

Mary Lou: September 13, 1927 - April 16, 2011

Another Mother Has Been Found...

I thought I would share another "Mother Story"...but this one is a bit more cheerful!
Folsom Chevrolet has some mother geese around who are raising their goslings in the neighborhood so I did grab the camera so I could share.

From Work Geese

There was a few times when one "Mom" chased another goose away so that the 2 sets of "kids' could eat. You can see her "carrying on" as she chased the other goose away from the grass near the tree...


Here is a slide-show that you can enjoy also!

Another Mother Has Been Lost...

..but this is a mother of a different kind...

I have been following the Eagle Nest at Norfolk Botanical Garden for a few seasons now.  This nest has brought me much joy and many friendships along the way - so I am saddened to inform some of you that the "Norfolk Mom" has joined my own Mom in the heavens exactly 10 days after my Mom's death.   You can read the news story here.  


This pair of Bald Eagle Parents have successfully had multiple seasons with 3 eaglets...
 
    ..and this year started out in similar fashion.  The eaglets were removed on Wednesday with some controversy.  Ed Clark of WCV conducted an online discussion today providing information that should help calm many. You can read a transcript here.  Please read it if you have any doubts about the eaglets being removed.


I would now like to recommend that many of us should donate to WCV to help raise and support the "2011 Garden of Eagle Nest Kids"  This is definitely a "family" in need.


Both photos are copyrighted and are the property of JRDeal. You may not copy or otherwise reproduce either without written permission from JR Deal

In Loving Memory...

Mom -You were right - You do have a hummingbird nest in your front tree...





 I have named the Hummingbird who is building the nest after you.
I miss you so much...but I know you are enjoying Daddy's kisses...
.

Lil' Miss Princess

There is a Princess amongst us - and I don't have to go to the United Kingdom to see her!
Princess Grace enjoyed showing off her "Princess Room" when I took her home after our day together last week.  You can see how much she enjoys it when you look at the photos below.

I Must Have a Twin....

...because there could be no other reason that I could get a close-up like this...

This fella followed me around the lake today.  I met up with him three different times...and it would have been more if the dog that I went past had not been along the lake edge which kept my new beau away.

One of my "Eagle Chat Friends" thinks that someone who looks like me feeds him -so I must have a twin!

The only other explanation is that he has a crush on me...

Amazing Grace

I have named used this title for my blog because I am still amazed at how many smiles she gives me each hour we spend together! 
 I have  a short slide show of our time last week - (Please notice the lettering just above the first picture!)

New Blog Postponed

I am having issues with my keyboard and mouse - so it is too much work to attempt my post ...stay tuned...

Things I Have Learned This Last Week...

I recently started another new project -scanning all my old photograph negatives.  This picture represents what I have left to do. (I have already scanned in over 2,500 negatives.)

 Here are a  few things I have realized this past week...



I actually did document my first bald eagle sighting in September of 1994.



You need to keep your negatives clean - otherwise you will get white specks showing.


Puppies are cute-even when they catch moths...


Trains will always draw a crowd....


 You would never actually believe just how blue Paul Newman's eyes were- unless you met him in person.

The above photos were taken with a 35MM film camera.  I have always enjoyed photography and I have decent equipment for being just a "run of the mill" home photographer.  I have been using a DSLR camera for about 8 years now but Canon makes their cameras last way too long - how can I justify a new camera when my old one still works as well as it does!  GRRRRRRRRR

Those "Darling Cobras"

We have seen a few different things in our travels -but this is one of the more unique...

This is the Darlingtonia californica - also known as the Cobra lily.  It is a carnivorous plant that is considered rare so you really should stop by the Darlingtonia Wayside Park if you are ever near Florence, Oregon.
  (It is also just across the street from the Elks Campground  on Mercer Lake Road.)

The Sock o' Seeds

The other day I happened to find one of the "Socks" on sale in the grocery store. I am all about "sale items" so I decided to buy it since the seed date was good until December and once I saw that I could re-use the sock if the birds used it.


Well - the birds like it... as you can see from the slideshow below!


This slideshow is over a three day period - one of the days photos you can see the rain drops. All photos have been taken through windows at the house.

One Of Life's Little Annoyances....

Chain Letters...you know them -we used to spend time on them when we were younger...you know...back when you had to hand-write 5 of them so you could get $5.00 sent back to you after you reached the top of the list. They were fun because you would run to the mail box each day looking for a piece of mail with your name on it...

never mind that it never came - you had something to look forward to each day for weeks on end!

There is now a new form of Chain Letter..the Electronic chain letter - you know.. the one that warns you of immanent bad luck if you do not send it out immediately to everyone  in your address book.

These letters come from supposed friends.  Why would a friend send something that is going to give another friend bad luck?  I have decided that I will stop any emails that will possibly give another person bad luck- or for that matter any luck or anything else from here on out.  

I think I will go one step further - I will send out a polite email telling the sender that I will remove them from my email list the next time I get any type of  "You must forward this..." email from them... you may think "a bit harsh"? ... well I don't need any more of  bad luck...