Memorial Day Weekend

My birthday was last Thursday and I got a new camera. I have been considering the option after going to Doug's motorcycle race and not being able to tell who he was from any other guy in the race through my lens and thought it would be great to have something with a better lens which allowed me to zoom in and perhaps catch better shots. So I got a Nixon D60 at Costco and so far I am loving it. You should see a vast improvement in my photos from here on out. ;)

The weekend started with an impromptu get together with friends, Carolyn Christa and kids and soon Todd stopped by. Carolyn and Christa's boys had spent the afternoon with us and had some good ol' fashioned fun in the mud and rolling down the hill. One thing you can count on when you bring your kids to our place, they will get dirtier than you have ever seen them before.

This weather suits me so well. I have been able to accomplish so much out here in the past week. It makes it very clear how stifling the hot weather is and how I wish we could enjoy these cooler temperatures just a little bit longer. It has given everything a chance to grow and get a head start on the HOT weather that is sure to come. Todd Kimball continues to irrigate our wheat and it is looking good.

Cruiser continues to recuperate and will be going into the vet tomorrow to get a recheck on his leg. I believe he is better but there is still some swelling and some heat so he might have to spend some more time off before I get in the saddle again.

Doug was on call so we stayed close to home and worked on projects like mowing, spraying, mowing some more....but we did take some time to have a little fun. A few of Doug's friends came out to race their bikes on the track. Great opportunity to try out my new camera. Doug's brother, Dean, has continued to make changes and improvements to the track throughout the spring so it has new twists and turns and a few jumps. Doug keeps busy moving hand lines to keep it watered so it doesn't become a complete dust bowl. Mother Nature helped get the track in shape for his friends to ride by putting a little water on it herself overnight. No matter how dangerous this sport may be you can't deny the physical strength and stamina it takes to ride those bikes when you watch it first hand. After getting a good ride in they all enjoyed time visiting and eating some pulled pork sandwiches I had made with some beans.

Aside from the thrill of the bike rides, Hadley and I enjoyed a lot of time together planting a lot of new plants in the yard and down at the guest house. Hadley is such a passionate little girl, she feels things intensely and her energy makes it fun to tackle projects with her. So we made no less than 3 trips to town over the long weekend to pick out different plants. We don't necessarily share the same taste in plants but I indulge her and we always come home with flowers she simply can't live without. I have also continued to add to our herb garden just outside our kitchen door so they are easily within reach when my brother in law Dean is cooking on the grill. He has a real knack of putting together herbs and spices to create tasty meals.

Monday night ended with a prime rib bbq at Dean's farm just down the road. It was a lot of fun despite questionable weather. There were a ton of little kids all about the same age and they had so much fun fishing in the pond with Adam. I wish I had brought my camera to catch all the fun they were having. Dean was stuck behind the bbq, right where he prefers to be, fussing over his meat. We all enjoyed the company. Rain cut our party short which gave us a chance to get home and crawl into bed and listen to the rain fall through our open windows. What a great way to end a special memorial day weekend.