Saturday, June 27, 2009

Contrast

The following two pictures caused me a moment of reflection this week. Let me explain briefly. By the end of the week, I was going crazy trying to keep up with all of my responsibilities. Take a look at this picture. I didn't even finish making the bed that morning before it was covered with notebooks!

I got up and started on my Relief Society things (the big white notebook), when the phone rang and I had to work with my Homeowners' things (the maroon notebook), which is when Don called because he had business calls and I needed to catch up on the paperwork for the business (the green notebook), and my personal calender (the skinny white notebook) had a "things to do" list on it a mile long that I had been trying to finish since Monday!



Contrast the above to the picture below.

Don doesn't feel the same pressure that I feel. It's not that he doesn't have a lot of pressure; he does. He just doesn't let it get to him like I do. No matter how crazy things get, he always finds joy in the little things and something to laugh about.

This is the fattest Colorado River toad we have ever seen, and Don found it on the back patio by the pool. My first thought was to get it off of our property so that the dogs wouldn't get poisoned by trying to pick it up with their mouths. Don's first thought was how amazing it was that he was so big and what a great job it would do eating bugs if we let it live in the garden (which, of course, is where it now resides).

Thank you, Don, for making me laugh everyday, and for helping me to see that there are amazing things everywhere that are worth stopping to look at and to think about, no matter how many responsibilities are on my shoulders (or on my unmade bed)! You are the best, and I love you with all my heart!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Working with the Animals

We spent a lot of time last week working with the animals.

Yesterday we finally finished a large job on the roof of a two story commercial building on the east side of Tucson. The Gila Woodpeckers were pecking holes (in the decorative portion which goes around the top of the entire building) and nesting inside of the wall. First we had to attach boards to the top of the parapet wall. Next we attached wire mesh to the boards, and then put weights on the bottom of bird netting and draped the netting over the wire so that it would hang away from the building and go down a few feet. It was A LOT of work! We finished yesterday night at about 8:00 P.M.

This is a picture of the girls and I attaching lead weights to the bottom of the net. By the time the job was done, we had attached over 2000 individual weights by hand, one at a time...UGH!


From the ground, the net was barely visible. Don zoomed in with the camera to the top part of the second floor, and you still can't hardly see it (which is a good thing).


At one point Don had to go out on a wall where there was no parapet, so he put on his repelling equipment. The wind was blowing, and we didn't want him to fall off!



In this picture you can see the boards and the wire on the top of the parapet wall, and the net that we were working on. After we draped the net over the front of the parapet wall, we attached it to the boards and to the front edge of the wire.

It was a big job, and we're glad the girls could spend a couple of days helping us. We would not have been able to finish so quickly without them.

Last week Don took a night to go with a few other wildlife biologists to net bats over the lake at Agua Caliente Park. They needed to determine the species, gender, weight, and wingspan of the bats before releasing them. Don was so busy that he only took a couple of pictures. This first one is a yellow bat (they have black wings) that is being measured.


This is a Mexican Freetail bat.

They netted several species that night and were very pleased with the results of their work.
Bats are really fragile little mammals. They have fur, but their wings (hands) are like a very thin leather. They are amazing little creatures.

This is one of many pack rats that we have trapped and relocated over the last couple of weeks. He's just in a cage waiting for us to take him to his new home.




All in all, we have been very busy. But that is to be expected as the summer is the time that we get the majority of our calls. It's hard to keep up with blogging, but I'm still trying!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Company

It was another busy week that was highlighted by a visit from my Aunt Carrie and Uncle Bill. They live in Eugene, Oregon, and have been on the road visiting family members for nearly three weeks. Last week they were in Oklahoma, and this week they are in Arizona. Carrie is my father's youngest sister, and she and Aunt Miriam are the only two left from the family (the older brothers--Uncle Dale, Uncle Ellis, and my dad-- are all gone now). We haven't seen Bill and Carrie since my father's funeral five years ago, so it was good to see them again and to have some time to visit. My cousin Roger and his wife Jean came out for dinner last night also. I enjoyed listening to Carrie talk about her memories of my dad and to hear her reminisce about her parents (my grandparents). This morning after they left I found myself considering how quickly life is going by. My grandparents are all gone, and the generation before mine (my parents, aunts, and uncles) are in the process of disappearing. In the not too distant future, we will be the oldest generation and our children and their children will watch us leave. My heart feels connected to the generations that have gone before me, and to the generations that come after me. I am grateful for the warmth and love of family, even if we don't see each other often enough.

Below standing are Carrie and Bill, and seated are Roger, Jean, Don, and me.


Sunday, June 7, 2009

A Week of Service

There are no pictures this week...sorry. Most of my time was spent helping with a funeral for a friend at church. She lived a beautiful life and was a very talented woman. For example, she played with her first symphony at age 14, and was first chair violin in two other large symphonies for much of her life. Her family will miss her most for the fun they had with her; she was a vivacious woman. The funeral was yesterday, and, following her burial, we fed her extended family dinner (about 70 people). It was a joy to be able to serve them.

We also did a couple of critter jobs this week (pack rats and woodpeckers again). Jennifer got her new apartment, so we returned her 2 dogs yesterday...it's a quiet morning around here today. They are good dogs, and we enjoyed having them (in spite of the fact that the puppy was teething).

My calling at church has kept me running almost everyday. I am glad to be of service to others...it is a privilege.

Our love to all of you, friends and family.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Friends, Fun, and Family

It was another fun week. Here are the highlights.

Last Sunday we spent time at the Thies home visiting with Maggie Salmond, Abby Salmond, Lydia (Salmond) Pickard, her husband Tim, and their two boys. It was a delightful afternoon! We haven't seen Maggie and Abby since they were little girls, and now they are beautiful young adults. Below are Abby, Maggie, Jenna, Nicole, and Kaytie.
This is a picture Lydia and Tim and their boys.


Don spent 5 days back packing with his Boy Scouts in the Gila Wilderness. They hiked, fished, camped, and had a really good time. I'm glad that they had so much fun and that everyone came home safely. Below is a picture of Don and Casey before they left. Don's pack weighed about 60 lbs.

When he got back, we took a day trip down to Tubac, AZ which is a very small town consisting mostly of artists. The galleries and shops are so unique. We met the couple that own a large art gallery which includes a wonderful sculpture garden, and they had invited us to see their gallery. We especially enjoyed the life-size sculptures. This first one is of an artist painting and the second is of children playing (done in bronze).







The next two are life-size animal sculptures.






There were nearly 100 sculptures in the garden, and we very much enjoyed it. Inside there were paintings, jewelry, and other sculptures.
We went to some of the shops. I especially enjoyed the metal shops and the pottery.



Yesterday we had a chance to hear Mar-Kell speak and to welcome him home from his Chinese-speaking mission in San Francisco. It was wonderful to see him again and to hear of his experiences over the last two years!
This week will be another busy one, but I am grateful for the opportunities that are mine to serve others.

Jennifer moved out of her apartment, so we are currently taking care of her two dogs (puppies). They are full of energy. That makes four dogs around our house who all want my attention, but it's not a problem as they spend a lot of time playing with each other.
I've only had my new calling in the Relief Society presidency for the one week, and we are already planning a funeral for this week (an older sister passed away Saturday) and our quarterly enrichment meeting is on Thursday. Another busy week for me!