Praying Mantis

Another critter visiting the CDR this past weekend...can't say I like them much, but I still had to take a picture.

Praying Mantis

Daisy

My sister's Golden Retriever, Daisy. She's a sweetie (even if she did kick little Buddy's butt). They visited the CDR this past weekend.

 Quit taking my picture!

 Happy Dog

Is My Dinner Ready Yet?

Where the heck have I been?

Work, travel and illness has caused me to neglect my blog the past few weeks. It is time to get back in the saddle and start sharing again.

A few weeks ago, I did spend some time at the CDR. I awoke early that Sunday morning and looked out of my window to a wonderous sight! Two beautiful deer less than fifty feet from my house. I quietly crept into the kitchen to retrieve my camera and then had to shoot through the partially opened blinds. Since the window was open, I had to be very silent and not scare them off. They heard me (or at least the camera shutter) any way and moved on. But not before I managed to fire off a few frames.

Deer @ the CDR

Purple Posies

If you know what kind of flower/weed this is, please let me know. I just like the purple colors. :)

Moon Lake, Part Deux

Not too long ago, I posted a shot of "Moon Lake" (aka Penley Lake). When we went flying the other day, we flew over the lake and got to see it from a different perspective.

There isn't much information available on-line about Penley Lake. I found that it is a saline lake, similar to Mono Lake in California and the Great Salt Lake in Utah. There is some kind of brine shrimp that apparently lives or lived in Penley. Only four lakes in Washington state have this kind of shrimp.

There also used to be a sodium sulfate mining operation at Penley in the mid-70's. The deposits were  crystalline cylinders, ten to thirty feet in diameter extending straight down. Those mining areas are probably what we are seeing when we drive by it and also from the aerial view. Apparently mud was trapped inside the crystals and made it too costly to mine so the business went belly up. The mining building and hopper are still there along with remnants of the mining operation.

A New View of the Chicken Dance Ranch

On the morning of July 4th, my brother-in-law, Jim, called me. He wondered if we were at the CDR. We sure were so he wanted to know if we wanted to go for a short airplane ride. What?! An airplane ride?! You betcha! So Jim flew over from the coast and we met him at the Okanogan Airport. What takes us four hours to go by land, he did in just over an hour.

The weather was perfect for a flight around the Okanogan area. Jim took us over the CDR and various other spots around the valley. We made a quick landing at the Omak airport, just because we could. Then it was time to head back to Okanogan. I had a blast! Best of all, I got to see our house from the air! Thanks, Jim!!

CDR from the Air

Target Practice

The guys found an old metal bucket on our property last year and it became target practice. No marmots or chipmunks were harmed in this exercise.

Target Practice

Pied-Billed Grebes

We saw this momma Pied-billed Grebe and her youngster on a lake not too far from the CDR. They are small in size and dive when threatened. I also learned that they are rarely seen in flight and prefer to migrate at night. Although they swim like a duck, they do not have webbed feet. Instead of having a webbing connecting all the toes, each toe has lobes extending out on the sides that provide extra surface area for paddling.

Pied-Billed Grebes

Moon Lake

There is a lake not far from the CDR that reminds me of the moon. The unique coloration of the crater-like holes certainly catches my attention. I think it would be fascinating to see it from the air. For now, I'll have to settle on seeing it from the road.

Moon Lake?

I'm Watching You, Lady!

One of our younger marmots at the CDR. They are growing quickly.

Marmot Youngun'

Skywatch Friday - Before the Rainbow

While watching the storms one day, we spotted this rainbow. Meh, no biggie. But what was unique was the downpour between us and the rainbow.  Yes, the rainbow was behind the curtain of water moving our way. Now that was kinda cool and unique!

Rainbow

Click on the banner above to go see other skies being shared from around the world in this week's edition of Skywatch Friday. 

Blue Butterfly

Blue Butterfly

1 - 2 - 3

It was a busy couple of days at the feeder. At one point, we had 4 hummingbirds sittin' & sippin'. We went through quite a bit of juice.

One!

Two!

Three!

I did a terrible job last week of visiting the other participants in World Bird Wednesday so I'm not linking up. I know it will be a busy week again. But I do encourage you to click on the logo above and see what others have seen lately.

A Bee in a Blossom

I think this is a perfect Monday picture because...

a) back to being a worker bee today;
b) I'll be busy as a bee this week;
c) I'll need to remember to stop and smell the flowers when it gets hectic.

Have a great week!

A Bee in Blossoms

Wild Geraniums

The wild geraniums are in bloom at the Chicken Dance Ranch.

World Bird Wednesday - Mama Bluebird

Looks like Mama Bluebird was doing a little nest building.

Female Mountain Bluebird

Springman at the Pine River Review is the host of World Bird Wednesday. Click on the logo above to start your virtual birding tour.

Today mark's the third anniversary of my blog. My how time has flown!

Update from the CDR

We've been working putting the final touches on the what seems to be the never ending construction project at the Chicken Dance Ranch, namely door trim and baseboard moulding. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems and every task is a new skill to acquire. Luckily the style of trim we are doing is rustic. It doesn't require the precise measurements and fit of other trim styles. We are taking our time and trying to get as close to perfect as we can.

Today we completed the trim (both sides) of three doors. Three more full ones to go plus three entry doors. Then we can do the baseboards. Hopefully we can finish it all by the end of this weekend.

PS - this is my first attempt at mobile blogging with the Droid phone. I hope it works, including the picture!

Flower Child

Jelly @ The Chicken Dance Ranch

Changes

How quickly the sky can change.

Happy

After many months of gray and dreary colors, a bright spot in the landscape makes me happy.

Cheerful Blooms