Thursday, September 05, 2013

Where the Ladybugs Sleep

Summer has gone by in a blink of an eye for Terran and I.  Between summer school, a trip back to Colorado, family visiting, T. spending 3 weeks in Dallas for school, major overtime hours for T. and all the hiking we could in between, fall is upon us. I can tell that the season of change is happening around us as the flowers lose their color, the little hummers outside fight over who gets to eat, and the evenings shorten. Have you ever wondered where all the bugs, birds and other summer creatures go during the winter? Last January Terran and I had a chance to explore a place ladybugs go sleep for the winter.


The Beginning of Steven's Creek Trail


Ladybugs


The more the merrier.




They covered the bark of the tree and the ground



A Lone Ranger


The river that is still popular for gold panning.


The view from the trail


On our way back

The only down side to a place ladybugs find warm enough to winter is that ticks agree. On the way home, while Terran was driving, I pulled roughly 40 ticks off the dogs. The ride home made the day all the more memorable.

Naomi

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Soon after Terran and I moved into our house, we heard rumors of there being petroglyphs in the hills around our area. A few weeks ago we decided it was time to go looking and spent a productive afternoon hiking. At first we didn't find anything, but after several hours we came to a large group of rocks with abstract drawings carved into them. It was quite exciting and a nice way to end a weekend excursion. Easter weekend we went out again and found the sun rock. It was one of the few drawings we saw that wasn't abstract. It's one of my favorites. Enjoy!!
 
 
The valley we live in.
 
 
Exploring


The first petroglyphs we saw.


Very happy our hours of walking paid off.

Sun Rock

The other side of the hill ~ A dry lake bed.
 
A bold little fellow.


A very shy Antelope.


Easter weekend

 

Naomi

Monday, February 25, 2013

American Kestrel

Both Terran and I find birds of prey amazing. We’ve always enjoyed watching the powerful birds glide over head or studying their profile while they watch for prey from trees or poles. We both have been surprised by the number of raptors we’ve seen while living in Reno. This weekend while on a walk and driving home we were fortunate to snap a few pictures of the colorful male American Kestrel – one of the few times we’ve remembered our camera and then actually seen something.








Naomi

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Winter Mists

Last week our weather turned misty and with that came a lovely other world feel that sometimes comes during the winter.
 

Kojo checking out the terrain. 

Don't let the grizzles bite.

Enjoy the beauty around you, Naomi

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Snow Soccer

One Sunday after church we got out to enjoy some snow with our two favorite furry friends. The dogs enjoy snow days as much or more than we do, especially when they include round objects.






Naomi