The Delicate and the Dead

I was pleasantly surprised to meet this little visage in my desert garden this evening.

He let me get my face inches close to him and I couldn't resist, I actually held him in my hands... then he fluttered away. What a magical moment to hold and inch and a half of hummingbird in my hands.

I am pleased to introduce the Dead part of our exhibit today....

This beauty was thankfully found, although not yet dead, outside my home :)

Kurt's Concert

So Kurt's acappella group opened a concert for T-Minus 5 on saturday.

He started this group on the phone about 4 weeks ago.

They haven't been practicing together for very long

But the concert was pretty good :)

It was near Zion's National Park... georgeous! You will be seeing photos of this place soon.

Jaxon's Trophy

I have discovered some exciting new house guests. The first one I found in my room and I politely allowed him to live and escorted him outdoors where I hope he stays. The second did not meet such fortune, as Jaxon found him too interesting to leave alone. Thus he became Jaxon's Trophy... a little marred by the playful capture, as he lost a claw, but whole none the less.

That's my mighty hunter....

Scenic Views

Ahhhh, beautiful St. George....


This is my back yard

One of my friendly neighbors

local shrubbery

The sunset is this beautiful every night :)

Sleepin'

I caught the girls in the middle of another hard day at the office...

have a great day!
Jen

We Made It!!

We finally made it to Utah!! We moved into our Split Rock rental on the evening of April 30th and we love it! We plan on building a custom home with Split Rock within a year. Even though this home isn't exactly what we want it is still great and we love it as our temporary rental.

The views of the mountains are awesome out of every window and they are only better when one looks out the back to add the custom water feature to the picture.

Guest bedroom :) complete with a full bath that I forgot to get a picture of.

Kitchen - I love it - granite countertops, slate floor, and the very first time I have ever had a dishwasher!!

Springtime at the Zoo

Kurt and I went to the Natural Bridge Zoo this morning for no other reason than to enjoy the beautiful day. I hope you enjoy the pics :)

Upon entering this furry establishment one is greeted by the welcoming commitee of Potbelly pigs :)
I affectionately called this one Girtha...

As it is springtime, there were many baby animals about. The most of which we found were the Pigmy Goats. Cute little rambunxious critters. They even had a couple in a small kiddie pool and let the visitors play and hold them. They are more fun in person than in pictures, I assure you.

Baby bunnies!! no explanation needed, these are the cutest beings on the planet.
Lamas were all around this facility - some roamed free and some were in pens. All were very friendly. The Zoo provided food to feed most of the animals so they were quite tame and friendly.

Nearly all of the animals so far have been of a farm-animal type. Now on to the real Zoo animals...
Monkeys! They had many species of monkeys but this is the only one I took a picture of before my battery died. This one is playing with his toes... never a dull moment :)

Flamingos! A colorful addition to the landscape.... otherwise not very exciting to spend time with.

This beautiful girl was my favorite to see. I would come back to her often to say hello...
I would get her attention from afar and stalk up to her playfully and she would respond by jumping and pacing in her cage excietedly hoping I would come in and play. *sigh* oh how I wish I could have done this.... I am determined to get my own white tiger some day.


This gentleman is 11 years old and is quite possibly the largest Tiger I have ever seen. Again, my pictures do not do my subjects justice but he is pretty all the same.

Yet another great cat to add the collection - can ya tell I am partial to big kitties?

A Zoo is not really a Zoo without the Girraff... This one is a baby - I think they had five total.

There were, of course many other animals that I wasn't able to get because my battery died. There were exotic birds, allegators, snakes, turtles, etc, Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the few pics I had to offer! Girtha says BYE!

Just because you were nice enough to stay to the end... here's the bunnies again.

Haunted

While on our many travels we pass this abandoned home from the 1700s in Maryland to get to Delaware. I finally took some time to capture this haunting figure as it has caught my attention on many occasions. The presence is not described so well in these photos, one must be there in order to appreciate the looming feeling that surrounds this place. With that said, here are a few photos to draw you in....

While this front door doesn't exactly scream "welcome!" I couldn't help but feel like I wanted to go inside. Maybe it was my curiosity getting the better of me or just the desire to be thrilled through my fears. I could have sworn I saw out the corner of my eye, a shadow walk past the window or some glowing eyes peering at me through the basement windows where there was no glass... It was hard to tell because it always seemed that they would disappear when I looked at them.

With the sun beating its warmth on the back porch the haunting feeling seemed to dissipate.... until I saw something scurry underneath. The feeling suddenly returned when I peered into the well-lit foot high gap between the ground and porch and saw nothing. This open doorway within the porch (you can't see it here) was welcoming me in through its dark archway... weird how the openings to the house itself seemed so dark on such a sunny day.

I know I can't see anything but I could have sworn I felt someone watching me...

Can you spot the bunny? Neither did I, which would explain why I almost peed my pants when it went running! stupid rabbit.... Ironically, this was the most peaceful spot on the whole property. The graves are of a mother and father with the little one in the middle of a baby. Dates on the stone read early 1800s.

Just your average macro shot with a haunted house looming in the background...


I hate to disappoint but I didn't go into the house. I was alone as Kurt stayed behind to "guard the car" and I wasn't sure how safe the floors were (since they are 300 years old).

Utarded

Kurt in his natural state....

So Kurt got this brilliant idea to take a "vacation" to Utah during the same time he needed to get some business things done while we were there. The only time we really got to spend together that didn't involve business was during the Parade of Homes in St George and the occasional massage to make up for the false impression of what we were really going to be doing in Utah (Please see illustration above). I speak harshly and maybe I am a little bitter. It wasn't a total waste of my time - I really did enjoy meeting the new partners and their wives. But sadly I have no pictures but the ones taken in the Parade of Homes so I hope you enjoy the few I have to share.

This is the back yard of my favorite home that we saw. I affectionately called it the "Lion House" as that seemed to be the theme. I simply adored the towering pillars that engolfed the back patio and opened into the sunny Pool and BBQ area (vaguely seen on the left). This is, simply put, the perfect home for entertaining even the pickiest of guests as it seemed to include everything one could ask for in leisure activities. The theatre room was one of the best in the whole parade of homes, although it certainly wasn't the largest.

It was common among the homes we saw to see the jacuzzi overflowing into the pool but, as if to keep things ruggedly interesting, the firepit in the middle was a unique trait to this home alone. This is a feature I am so fond of I intend to use it in my custom home. That waterfall was also a nice touch that most wouldn't bother to add that I found aesthetically pleasing.

With so many guest rooms one might think that this house would have no privacy but the floorplans more than made up for the possible plight in design. Here is a view from one of the common areas on the second flor that separated the guest areas from one another. This balcony was beautifully placed as it give one a view of the back patio and outstretched view of the vally. The home itself was placed on a hill overlooking the city and mountains in the distance.

Detail did not escape the designer's attention while creating this masterpiece of a home. The "aged" plaster and wall painting perfectly frames the view through the arched windows giving one a sense that they are in an ancient home in Tuscany. Simple class and elegance saturate this home from original design to accesories.

I don't have many other pitcures of other houses. Sorry. Most of them aren't worth putting on my blog anyway.