3/31/10

Now Arriving in Carefree Country, Colorado



It was as though we had switched bodies or something...and I was observing myself while yet still being my self. Obviously when I "left on a jet plane," I really did just that...I left, took a respite from myself, and let the "country roads" of Colorado "take me home." (I've had John Denver on the brain recently...can you tell?) At least, the excuse of "taking a break from myself" is how I justified my actions/consoled myself when I realized I hardly took any pictures of our vacation to Colorado a couple of weeks ago. That, or there's always that issue of the oxygen levels experienced at high altitudes...you know, not enough blood flow to brain = fluctuating outlook on life (otherwise known as F.O.O.L.). But, who am I kidding? Let's get back to the switching bodies part. You see, while I was busy being afflicted with a currently undiagnosed syndrome, my mom was busy being "F.O.O.L proof " (i.e. She was busy taking photos, and serving as Photographer in Chief (otherwise known as "P.I.C.") while I was away from my post, er...tripod). Therefore, I must credit some of these photos to her. Thanks momma! But, most of all, I must credit them to that which stood before the camera lens, whose only syndrome was on occasion the change in weather...which only made it more beautiful! To Colorado, to the Country, and to those special moments in time that allow you to be Carefree! Amen.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Ice Falls and Ice Climbing...

And (last, but definitely not least) Snowshoing...

3/8/10

E.T. and Snow ... One Friend and One Foe

Everyone has something they're afraid of...right? Something that just makes you want to shriek from the shock of its sight or sound, squirm from the eerie feeling that it sends coursing through your veins, and shake and shudder to try and rid your eyes, ears, and mind of what you just saw and/or heard?


Yeah...that's what I thought! So, guess what that one thing is for me? I'll give you a hint: the answer can be found in the title of this post. If you said my friends, foes, or the snow, then I must tell you NO! If you said E.T., then you're right on the money. (Oh wait, bad analogy...money is green...E.T. is green...shriek, squirm, shake, shudder...ok, I'm good...I think.) Yeah, seeing that little guy/alien/amorphous creature thing just gives me the creeps! Which is why I wanted you to know that when I tell you my mom, dad, nephew, and I all went to go see E.T. and that we had a great time, I'm not telling you that we were probed onto a spaceship and transported to meet the real-life version of E.T. on an other-worldly planet, but that we actually went to go see my grandpa at his ranch. Lost and confused yet? Yeah...that's what I thought!


You see, E.T. stands for "Edmondson" and "Throckmorton," which are, respectively, the last names of my grandpa and my great uncle. So, no need to fear, the real E.T. is neither here nor there! Actually, it would be rare to find another human, let alone alien, out where my grandpa has his ranch. What you will find though is a place so special, words alone cannot describe the place it holds in my heart...I LOVE it out there! I could give you countless reasons why (the picturesque country, the horses, the cows, the donkey and the goat (BFF's), the smell created by said animals, the dirt roads that turn red after it rains, the majestic oak trees and the rolling plains that make sunsets just that much more beautiful...etc.), but it's simpler if I just tell you that, from where I stand, it's a little piece of heaven on earth. And I don't say that lightly!




Recently, we've been able to take my nephew Justin out there with us. I can see that he appreciates and loves my grandpa and his ranch just like I do, and that only makes our visits more special. He can horseback ride and bareback- donkey ride with the best of 'em! And now, he has a new friend in Rowdy, a puppy (soon to be hunting dog) my grandpa just acquired.






One more thing about E.T. (the ranch version) that I think we can all agree on is the time we spend gathered around a campfire, swappin' stories about the past, present, and the future. Especially those times when we're baking cake in oranges. But, that's a story for another time. Haha!




Oh, and in case the town crier in your neck of the woods (Wow, I just keep on gettin' butter...I mean...better at this country dialect/lingo thing!) didn't alert you to what passed through here (the Texas Hill Country...emphasis on Texas) a couple of weeks ago, I feel it is my duty to inform you that WE GOT SNOW! I know! Snow! It was pretty, and pearly, and, well, at the risk of sounding too superfluous, it was perfect.


Spanish: Hasta luego. Ojala que vayan con Dios!
Texan: See y'all later! God bless ya'!
English: Until next time. May God be with you!

All my love, ~April~