Another Post About Bunnies and Frogs

The bunnies have really been enjoying the long grass. They can get right up to the porch incognito and feast on all the spilled birdseed. This guy above is always there eating his breakfast at 6am. One day I saw 3 bunnies milling around on the porch. We've also got a resident pheasant that we see walking up and down the road once in a while. We saw our first possum the other day. The first live one I should say, there is more roadkill around here than you might imagine.

This little guy was found on our back patio

This is as close as Mia ever cares to get to the great wilderness outside.

The sad news for the animals is that after several parts, the lawn mover is finally fixed. It took Jason several hours today to get the back lawn mowed. the grass was probably 18 inches high out there. The bunnies, snakes, and voles scattered when they heard Jason coming.

Just for the Halibut

Ethan has wanted to go deep sea fishing for years. He finally got that chance when he and Jason took a weekend trip to Newport and went on a 12-hour halibut fishing trip. The seas were choppy and Ethan threw up 3 times, but it was worth it because he got his fish. It took 2 1/2 to 3 hours to get 30 miles off the coast to the fishing grounds. The line had to go down 600 feet to the bottom of the ocean, so it took a while to reel in the fish. Jason got a bite within 10 minutes. Ethan got his about an hour later and then spent most of the rest of the trip huddled on a bench in the cabin. With 2 halibut we have enough for 8 or 9 dinners! Jason made fish and chips for us and it was so good!

Run Caleb, RUN!

In Caleb's school district, 40% of all the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders participate in the annual track meet. The kids practice after school for 3 weeks then have a meet with three other schools. Caleb competed in the 100m, 200m, tug-of-war and relay race. His team came in second in tug-of-war. He did a great job and it was fun to see him compete in the big high school stadium.

Cousins!

A couple of weeks ago Caleb and I took a trip to Utah to babysit Caleb's cousin Olivia for a few days. He was so excited to play with her and his other cousins and go to all of his favorite places. It was a whirlwind of excitement! We went to Jungle Jim's Playland, Dollar Tree a few times, Nickelcade, the DI, and Grandma's house. We spent most of the day on Saturday at a yard sale where Caleb got to play with his cousins. Olivia found some great trinkets to buy too. At the end of the day when everything was free, Olivia joined in with all the boys in helping flag down passing cars. It was so cute! I was glad to be able to spend time with Olivia. It's refreshing to be around someone who lives totally in the moment. It also brought back a lot of memories of when my kids were little and how much work it is. I'm always happy to visit Utah and always happy to see the pine trees and and green hills as I fly back home.

A Hip Hop, A Hippity Hop...

I have some fun posts lined up to catch you up on what's been going on, but first I want to show you a picture I took this morning. Our lawn mower is broken so the grass hasn't been cut in a while. The grass is so long that the bunnies are having a grand ol' time hiding and munching. I went out to fill my bird feeder (blue jays are big pigs, by the way) and saw two bunnies hiding in the grass. I love how they think if they freeze no one will notice them. Juan Carlos just happened to be by the fence. I think it would be funny to make a book called "Where's Juan Carlos?" Maybe I will someday. Yesterday morning I saw a coyote running in the field. It probably wanted a cute bunny for breakfast.

Animals Revealed!

We've lived here for over ten months and in that time we have enjoyed seeing bunnies dart across the dirt road as we drive up to our house. Sometimes all we see is the white of their little bunny tails especially if it's dark. Just last week I was able to finally catch one of these elusive animals in a photo. I think the bunnies are getting used to us because they seem to run a little slower and this one hangs out in our front yard in the morning!
We've got even more elusive animals around here. A couple of months ago I heard a strange noise coming from outside, so I opened the bedroom window and heard what sounded like thousands of frogs. At first I wondered if they were crickets, but no, I could hear some "croaks" in all of that white noise. I rushed downstairs to tell Jason about it and by the time we were outside it was completely silent. I couldn't believe it. I thought I was crazy for a minute. We eventually realized that when the frogs feel threatened they all stop croaking. The next night we sneaked down to the frog pond and recorded the loud noise.


Here is a picture of the pond in relation to our house. It's not that close, but we can still hear them with the windows shut! I couldn't believe that I had never seen any of these frogs! It took a while but one of the kids finally caught one.
I can't believe such a loud noise comes out of such a small creature! It does provide a relaxing noise (with some coyote howls mixed in) to fall asleep to.

Camas Plant Fair

I have been looking for an event to debut my floral designs and it was suggested that I try the Camas Plant and Garden Fair. This is a popular event that takes place every year the day before Mother's Day, so I decided to give it a try. I spent weeks planning which designs I would create. I got a business license and buyer's pass at the Portland flower market. I bought all of my supplies including folding tables, a canopy and banner. I placed my flower order 2 weeks in advance. Then, about a week before the fair we all got sick with a bronchitis type illness. I was able to rally when Thursday rolled around to pick up my flowers and start working. Thursday was spent prepping the flowers and making 14 orchid corsages. Friday was the big work day. I started at 6am and didn't stop until 4am on Saturday. I'm not sure why I thought I would be able to quickly create over 20 arrangements because everything took so much longer than I had anticipated. By 3am I decided to stop arranging and started wrapping all the extra flowers I had to sell them in bundles at the fair.

My garage workshop

After a couple of hours sleep, Jason and I got up to go set everything up at the fair. By this time I was not in a good mood. If you know me you know that I get grumpy if I don't get enough sleep. I was actually pretty surprised that I hadn't had a mental meltdown by that point. We set up our stuff and Jason went back home to get the rest of the flowers. We got everything set up just in time for the 9am opening.

My corsages and handmade felt gift card holders

After looking at everything I had accomplished I was very proud of myself. The arrangements looked great and I got many compliments. It was funny how many people asked if the flowers were real! I wish I had taken photos of each arrangement, but I was just too tired. It was pretty much miserable after a short downpour that got everything and everyone wet and cold.

Caleb got the biggest snow cone ever!

I really didn't want to take two trips home with unsold flowers, so I had somewhat of a fire sale at the end of the day. I came home with only one arrangement.

After all was said and done, it was a great learning experience, but not something I will be doing on a regular basis. I thought the flowers turned out great and it gave me a boost of confidence that I was able to accomplish what I did. I couldn't have done it without Jason's support. He did so much to help out. It felt sooooo good to get lots of sleep afterward and have a very relaxing Mother's Day.