THE ROCKS OF PERRY PARK!!!

I will always have many, many favorites things, favorites places....and rocks are one of my favorites!! Not far from our home is a wonderful area, Perry Park, with some amazing rock formations...and of course then there is Red Rocks, which is even closer to us!! I love the scenery and nature of country drives, and one of my favorites is the drive down toward Perry Park, which runs through a valley with fabulous farms and fields, cows and horses, old barns, newer barns, and lots of great rocks!! I will never tire of taking this little jaunt!! These shots were taken on a very stormy weekend a few weeks ago..so the sky is NOT the beautiful blue that we most often have here in Colorado. Although I like to visit the area, I'm not sure I would be content to live there...since bears and mountain lions are an issue!! Enjoy the rocks!! This should bring many memories to life for you, Cookie!!

REMEMBERING TASHA ON HER BIRTHDAY......

Today, August 28th, would have been Tasha Tudor's 93rd birthday, but as we know, this remarkable lady passed away in June of this year. I understand that her family will be spending the day remembering her with a beautiful cake and hand cranked honey lavender ice cream! YUM!! Here is a suggestion for others, taken from the email I received from the Tasha mail list......"As we celebrate her birthday and consider the gifts she offered everyone, we encourage others to do the same: take a moment for tea, plant a special flower or read through a favorite Tasha book." I have spent time this morning working with my own flowers, not quite as lavish as the gardens that Tasha loved and cared for, but still a touch of color and beauty in their own way. May we all take a moment to remember Tasha once again, and celebrate her and her contributions to the world of art and nature. The flowers that I am sharing here are wildflowers from a recent trip up to the Mt. Evans area and Guanella Pass. We miss you, Tasha!!!

FIRE IN THE SKY!!!!

As evening falls on the Front Range, and the sun begins to set behind the tallest of the mountains, I most often grab the camera...and take the same shots, night after night after night.....never tiring of the beauty of these magical moments. Tonight was another of the grand performances...and I am sorry that the Democrats are gathered down in Denver at the Nuggets playground and missed it!! But, if all goes well, there will be a replay tomorrow night as they gather at the Broncos playground for the final night of the convention......where they will be gathered OUTDOORS, under the sunset and the stars, partaking in a moment of great American history. Enjoy the fire in the sky from this evening!!

I AM HONORED!!! I GOT AN AWARD!!!!

Isn't this special!!!!???!!?!?! I have been honored with this wonderful award, by TWO, yes two of my visitors!! I received this award from Andrea of Bracken Ridge Primitives and from Debbie of Country Gatherings!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!

The rules for this award are that I am to choose 7 bloggers whose blogs I love to visit, let them know that I have chosen them, and post the links here!!

What a hard decision!! I have a giant list of blogs that I love to visit, full of creativity, photos, and all kinds of info that is a joy!! So.....I will randomly choose 7 blogs, in no special order, and will choose those that have not yet received this honor of the I Love Your Blog award!!

I would like to honor these 7 fine bloggers, randomly listed:

Martha of MJ Ornaments

Cookie of Curds and Whey

Deena of Nestled in the Singing Woods

Johanna of Johanna Parker Design

Jean of In the Garden with Miss Jean

Cathy of Hazelruthe's

Heidi of Crabby Gabby Dolls

The award rules, ladies, are pretty easy!! Have fun!! I know.....the choosing is the hard part!! We are blessed with soooo many cool blogs out there in blogland!!

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

CONGRATULATIONS USA OLYMPIC ATHLETES!!!!!

The USA has shown such great talent in so many sports during this Olympic spectacular, and this morning (middle of the night for us here on Mountain Time), my favorites, the men's basketball team.......WON THE GOLD!!!! WHOOOOOOO!! WHOOOOOO!!! WAY TO GO, USA!!! Congratulations to all the athletes, and to Denver Nuggets player Carmelo Anthony.....GO NUGGETS!!!! The basketball boys played undefeated in Beijing, with every game a show of superb talent from all players and all teams. This Redeem Team, as they have been called, has definitely shown to all of us that NBA superstars CAN play together as a winning team!!! A special thank you to LeBron James for his leadership for Team USA!! CONGRATULATIONS on the 118-107 win over Spain!! Congratulations on bringing home the gold!!!! Congratulations to all!!!!

NIGHT VISIT TO THE BALLOON FEST 2008

We returned to the Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival this evening, in anticipation of the mass illumination of the balloons.......but, due to the wind, it was not very mass!! Several balloons attempted to inflate, but the weather did not cooperate. One finally made it into position, and I can only imagine how cool it would have been to have many up and glowing!! I have included a few shots from dusk, but sadly I missed the herd of 8 or so deer, mostly bucks with good size racks, that came running by.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN BALLOON FESTIVAL 2008

The morning was perfect for the first mass ascension of more than 40 hot air balloons from the Chatfield State Park launch site! Although we normally watch this event from our home, this morning we drove into the Park and watched from a hilltop as the balloons were being inflated, with a few at a time rising up and sailing away!! I have shared a few select shots, although I took a zillion, of course!! Apparently the returning pink rabbit is the LARGEST hot air balloon around...and as we watched it land, it IS HUGE!!!! I hope you enjoy the color of the festivities!!

THE BUNNY IS BACK!!!!

As preparations are underway for the annual Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival at the nearby Chatfield State Park....and the Dems are in Denver.....this morning the famed Energizer Bunny arose from below, to be my early morning greeter as I looked out to check on my beloved mountains!! With the recent snowfall in the high country, the tallest peaks, known as the 14ers, were covered with a blanket of beautiful glistening white snow...which is now not quite such a thick blanket, with the warmth that followed the cold!! Unlike many....I love winter, and love the snow, but I must admit that mid-August snowfalls are a bit too early for me, too!!

ROCKY GRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL 2008!!!!!

One of our most favorite festivals to attend is the annual Rocky Grass Festival in Lyons, Colorado....which is always guaranteed to have an intimate setting, quality music, and the best Asian dumplings and curry in the world!!! This is a superior festival, from the same wonderful Planet Bluegrass folks that put on the Telluride Music Festival.

Making this event even more of an adventure is the academy that precedes the weekend festival, where participants are treated to classes with some of the performers, as well as the opportunity to make your own mandolin!!! The academy has become so popular that tickets are now difficult to obtain. It is no longer just a matter of being first on the phone....they are awarded by lottery....darn!! Guess that is fair, since some of us have attended several times, and need to allow room for some newcomers!! I have had the great pleasure of taking fiddle from some of my most favorite players...Laurie Lewis, Darrel Anger, Richard Green, and Jason Carter (fiddle player for The Del McCoury Band!!). I'm thinking next time I attend the academy....I want to make a mandolin!!

The setting for this festival and academy is gorgeous (what part of Colorado is not gorgeous!!!?), with the St. Vrain river running next to the grounds, providing a great way to cool off during the fest. The temperatures weren't toooo hot this year, with only a couple minor rain bursts. The music was superb....as can be validated by my lack of quality photos!! You can tell I was much more interested in enjoying the music, than in taking my best shots!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRECIOUS THE CAT!!!!!!!!

Perhaps the most adored and spoiled cat ever.....Precious the Cat is now officially 19 years old!! She was acquired from a friend of daughter Amy when Amy was 10....hmmm...wonder how old that makes Amy??? We got to bring her home in October of that year, when Precious was 8 weeks old......and she has been a prominent family member ever since!! As some of you know, Precious had a health issue in October of last year, and it was pretty tense for awhile. But, she has fully recovered from her little stroke-like episode, and continues to enjoy every day, spoiled as ever!! She is definitely the Cat Queen of our Castle!! She still goes up and down the stairs, and often acts like you would expect a much younger cat to act. We hope that she will be with us for many more years!! Happy Birthday, Precious!! I tried to take some pictures of her today in a birthday hat....but she wasn't too happy with me!! So...the pictures posted here will have to do as her birthday celebration shots!!