A Beautiful Fall Day in the Canyon

 

Hello my friends,

just down the road and to the East of us is the beautiful American Fork Canyon.

 

We love going up there, but on the weekends it is so busy.

 

Why not go during the week?

One of the benefits of hubby being retired!

 

 

Everything Done Wright!

 

Hello my friends,

on Saturday I attended the "Hidden Garden" tour with three of my friends.

 

It was not one of their best years, but the Wright garden did everything right in my book!  :)

 

Our Tree Cutting Adventure. . .

Hello my friends,

many of you know what a 'theme' gal I am.  Yup, give me a theme and I'll do my best to run with it.

 

A couple of weeks ago I was laying in bed.  Trying to fall asleep, but visions just kept popping into my head.  (wink)

 

I was contemplating on how I wanted to decorate our front porch for Christmas this year.  That's when it came to me, "decorate it like a tree farm"  :) I pictured a porch full of pines with tree stumps and boughs overflowing everywhere.

 

Oh, and why not add a cocoa bar while I'm at it.  A fun place to sip a cup while hanging out in my tree farm.

 

Now, back to the trees.  Being the cheap, I mean frugal gal that I am I was not about to pay big bucks for trees to go on my porch.  My daughter in law came to the rescue.  Seems that if you have a deer license and you don't get a deer you can cut a free tree. (who knew?)  Well, with quite a few hunters in our family she rounded me up 4 permits.

 

Our youngest daughter had the day off, so us three amigos loaded up in hubby's truck and headed to the designated

 'Christmas Tree Cutting' spot.

 

I had shed the coat by now and as you can see I am mad about plaid!  lol!

 

 

I gave the thumbs up on this one and,

 

 

hubby cut it down.

 

He suggested only taking the top half of this one.  Brilliant, because we know how these trees look small out in the wild.  Get them home and they are monsters!

 

 

Cute Kylee dragging both the tree and the chain saw down the hill.  What a woman!!

 

 

The sun shining through the clouds caught my eye.  I have no idea what that tiny blue speck is on the bottom right.

 

 

I look like an idiot in this photo, but just something about holding a power tool. (hee-hee) Yup, I cut this one all by myself.

 

 

Four trees down the hill and tagged for the journey home.

 

 

All loaded up.

 

Saying good-bye to our beautiful Utah mountains

 

 

Kylee had a bit of fun playing with my phone.  Showing off the new boots her boyfriend gave her.

 

One never knows what they might run across when traveling the backroads.

 

 

 

Anyone in need of a new pair of shoes?  Well, maybe not so new!  lol!

 

Trees arrived home safely and have been placed in

 buckets of water.

 

Can't wait to see if my "Christmas tree farm" is everything I imagine it to be!

 

Have you had any visions of sugar plums or such running rampant in your head lately?

 

hugs,

Jann

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiver Me Timbers

Hubby and I headed to Colorado a week ago thinking that we would enjoy some gorgeous fall foliage hiking in the Breckenridge area.  Although we did see a lot of gorgeous shades of gold on our drive there, we found very little color while hiking.

 

In fact, this was the only sign of Autumn we saw on the trail.

 

 

Our second morning  we woke up to snow and chilly temps.  We didn't let that stop us.  We bundled up a little and headed out about 10:30 in the morning to hike Burro Trail.

 

You can see that the sun did come out and shine.  Although the trail ran through a forest and was very shady.

 

 

 

I stayed cozy and warm in my fleece jacket and it actually turned out to be perfect hiking weather.

 

 

No fall color, but we found beauty in other things, like these frozen ice crystals hanging on branches.

 

b

 

 

I always have my eyes out for a little love along the way.  (wink)

 

And I have a thing for moss and lichen.

 

 

 

Yes, I'm kind of likin the lichen on this rock.  :)

 

 

I noticed two little scrawny trees out in the middle all by themselves.

 

 

 

There were also many tall ones that could be displayed in the Rockefeller Center.  Maybe a little too skinny.

 

 

We watched this cute little fella nibble on an acorn for quite some time.  He would look over at us every now and then, but didn't seem to be bothered by us.

 

 

You know how your mind tells you that you can, but your body tells you that you can't?

 

I tried to balance on one foot on this stump.  Gosh, if that wasn't a silly sight.  This girl isn't quite what she use to be!

 

 

The perfect place for taking a breather along the trail!

 

 

We thought this tree was very unusual.

 

 

We walked along water for a good share of the hike.  It was the prettiest part of it.

The resort that we were staying at were going to do a group hike on this trail at 1:00, so I decided to leave a little token of love.

 

I wonder if anyone noticed it?

 

Sometimes things aren't what we expect, but there's beauty to be found, if we just look for it!

 

 

hugs,

Jann

 

 

 

Wildfower Heaven at Albion Basin Trail

Hello my friends,

the other day our youngest daughter texted us and said that the wildflowers at Alta ski resort were at their peak and did we want to come go for a hike.

 

We were more than thrilled!  It turned out that Sunday was the best day.  Normally we would attend church, but we felt like spending time with her and enjoying some of God's creations would be a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning.

 

When we arrived we thought we would hike to Cecret Lake.  The lady at the gate told us that right now Albion Basin trail was the most photogenic.

 



Wildflowers covered the hills as far as the eyes could see.  Really, the pictures do not do it justice!

 



 

This girl is in her element, wildflower heaven!

 

Paintbrush

 

 

wild geranium

 

Cone flowers



 

My new phone has a portrait mode and I love it!  The item in the front stands out while the background is blurred.

 

Don't you just love the dainty look of Queens Ann's Lace?

 

 

Primrose

 

Two people that hold a special place in my heart!!

 

 

Kylee is buried up to her Corda Rope Sandals in wildflowers.  :)

All of these gorgeous blooms and this silly butterfly chose to land on the dirt.  (wink)

 



 

A little reminder that not too long ago this mountain was covered

 in snow.

 

Of course I had to be a bit silly, pretending to be downhill skiing.  After all, I have the perfect pokey out buttocks for this pose.  lol!

 



 

We stopped at this shady spot for a little snack on the way back down the trail.

 

 

 

If you look closely, you'll find little tokens left by others to brighten your day.

 

Someone tucked this rock inside a crevice in a tree.  Isn't it cute how they used wiggly eyes for the flowers?

 

 

 

Oh what a beautiful day!

 

If I die tomorrow, just bury me amongst the wildflowers!!