In Which Owl has a Birthday

My Mom, the Wise Old Owl of our family celebrated her 94th birthday with a birthday picnic at Goldwater Lake on Sunday.

When Owl decided on the day for her celebration, she (with my help) picked May 27th because it seemed to be a day when most could attend. Rather late in the game, we became aware that it was the Memorial Day weekend. We had already changed the date once, so we decided to persevere. Now, I know that some guests missed the event because the parking lot was full. I do apologize for our poor planning and thank them for their attempts to attend. There were also some family members who were unable to make it because they are uncomfortable driving in the heavy holiday traffic. We are the same way! What were we thinking? Not thinking, at all, I'm afraid. We missed you all!

Here's the way the day went...........

Kanga, Piglet and I arrived early to decorate and organize the Ramada.

Not an easy task!

But Piglet got the job done.

Mu decorated the decorations......And we were ready to party!

There were old friends...............

And New.....

The young..........

And the more mature.........

Outside, there was volleyball and a game of Horseshoes..........

There was a homemade autograph book...........

Some serious conversation.........

And some silliness.........

There was too much food and a chocolate cake,

but the highlight of the desert table was....

Shoo Fly Pie and...........

Apple Pan Dowdy, homemade by Owl herself!

Piglet found the old Dinah Shore song and downloaded it to a CD.

Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy,

Makes your eyes light up and your tummy say howdy.

Shoo fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy,

I'll never get enough of that wonderful stuff!

It was a fine day, and for those who missed it, not to worry, because it was just a warm up for Owl's 95th Birthday Celebration.

See you there!

Identity Crisis

Although I had been commenting on other blogs using the name linda g, I had been intending to use a different name when I began ruminating about doing this blog. My family and I discussed it, albeit casually while engaged in other pursuits, and each person had an identity in mind. I, of course would be Pooh. I am shaped like Pooh, share a number of other character traits with Pooh, and most importantly, it is MY blog, and as everybody knows, Pooh is the MOST IMPORTANT ONE. Somehow, overcome by confusion as I rather thoughtlessly launched into cyberspace, I forgot that intent

I was forced to give proper consideration to all our identities when, anxious for feedback on the few posts I have done, I approached some family members for their opinions.

"You said I could be Roo", complained my youngest Granddaughter. "You called me Vee."

"She hasn't mentioned me at all, and Piglet is a very important character," said the oldest of this trio of girls, offering a genuinely sweet smile in forgiveness.

"I'm going to be Mu," remarked the third who has an independent nature. "Mu belongs to the One Acre Wood, not the Hundred Acre Wood.

A long pause ensued as the rest of us reflected on this stunning announcement.

Hmmmmmmmm, the sheer creativity and originality of this idea was just so........... so.......well.......creative and original.

"Well," I said a little wistfully as I would have liked to be the original and creative one, I will give you all those names in the blog. Now, I need to call myself something Pooish, but not Pooh.

"I'm glad you're doing that," offered my daughter who, as the kindest, calmest, most nurturing person in our family deserves the title of Kanga. "I have felt that, as a couple, Eeyore and linda g do seem to be lacking something. "What will it be?"

"I was thinking of sheoflittlebrain," I said.

"Perfect," they all cried at once.

"You don't think it too demeaning or self-effacing?" I asked a bit anxiously.

"Not at all," said Kanga staunchly. "It suits you to a T."

'I mean, you'll all still respect me won't you?"

Fondley they pronounced, "Silly old Grandma!"

And so it has come to pass.

A Day in the Real Woods

Last week our son called to say that he was taking his family camping near Flagstaff. They were on their way, but why didn't Eeyore and I drive up for the day on Saturday or Sunday?
So we did. On Sunday we all connected on a shady Forest road.
The kids were excited about a nifty spot they had discovered, and wasted no time mounting their various machines to lead us there.


We jolted along a tiny, washed out, rocky road that ended at a wide meadow dotted with lovely, little, ground hugging flowers. I have no idea what these charmers are. Maybe someone else knows?

That little donut tastes much better than the dust Vee's been eating!

On one side of the meadow, sheltered by a kind of pale, feathery Juniper is the ruin of a log cabin. On the other, there is a cement tank with two vertical pipes in the bottom that look as though they may have brought water into the tank from the ground. Perhaps a spring flowed there at one time.

There is some fancy tile work around the top edges of the tank. Put there in the sixties maybe, when quite a number of folks were moving into old cabins throughout the National Forests.

Sadly, the Forest Service initiated a policy of demolishing all the old deserted buildings and cabins to discourage prospective occupants. Many of the old cabins standing in the Bradshaws were fairly solid and held wood stoves and bits of old furniture. I thought of them as little pieces of history and hated to see them go.

Where did that lizard go?????????

Here's one having a sunbath on the edge of the pool.

There were a number of dirt stock tanks in this area including one on the fringe of this meadow.

All had water in them, and in the mud at the edge of this one were many tracks. Along with elk, deer, rabbit and bird tracks we saw turkey and some BIG cat tracks.

It was a lovely day.............