Ducks at the park

Our civic center park is still one of my favorite places to go on Saturday mornings, so off I went last week.  There are now so many mud hens and ducks that there's a new city ordinance:  You can ONLY feed them duck food which is provided through dispensers in the park.  For a quarter, you get a VERY measly portion of duck food.  Ugh.  That's really NO FUN, especially for anxious 4 year olds like my grandson!  DRATS!  I don't feed them anyway, but I do grab my camera to get photos of them.  Aren't they adorable?

Horse day

I had a good day with the horses today (Sunday)...the ranch owner sent me an email that the shoer was there and asked if I was coming up to help hold each horse.  She said he would be there a couple of horse, so off I went at 9:00 a.m.  He only did 3 of mine:  Quad, Sunni, and Lucille.  Lucille needed new shoes.  Scout and Gigondas can wait until his next visit.  It was a beautiful, crisp, clear day and it was so nice to get outdoors.  I'm going to return tomorrow for the horses' lesson with my trainer.

An early Christmas holiday

We just spent 2 nights up in Idyllwild, CA, which is near the Palm Springs tram.  Idyllwild is the town in our local San Jacinto mountains, at about 5500 feet.  It was the community which was threated by the big fire last summer and was completely evacuated.  In fact, we drove right by the spot where the fire originated.  It was ugly.  Anyway, the grandson (who is 4...) wanted to stay in a "cabin" so we were able to book one night at the Silver Pines Lodge in town (our FAVORITE place!) and another night at the Fern Valley Inn.  Both cabins had a bedroom and either a pullout couch or two futons.  There was still snow on the ground up in Idyllwild from last week's unexpected snowfall and the cars were covered with frost early in the morning.  The blue jays were hungry and were screaming for food, too!  So, the grandson got a kick out of feeding them peanuts.  We ate lunch at the Red Kettle cafe in town (excellent food and service!) and cooked dinner in each of the cabins.  And, of course, we made smores for the little one (I even had one myself!).  A good time was had by all.  We tried to accommodate our son's work schedule and this worked out for all of us.  That's our son and our grandson.  They were at the Idyllwild public library.  Ben now has his FIRST library card!  :-)

A MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family!

~~Cheryl Ann~~

Mountain scene~Friday's Fences~122013

Just a peaceful scene up in our local San Bernardino mountains.  We have two 10,000 mountains and different mountain ranges here in the Coachella Valley.  One is the San Jacinto mountain range.  The Palm Springs tram is at the top of that one, and the town of Idyllwild.  On the other side of the valley are the San Bernardino mountains.  Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear are at the top of those mountains.  This is on the way up to Big Bear.  Friday's Fences for December 20, 2013.  To visit FF, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Wagon Wheel ~ ABC Wednesday~ December 18, 2013

Don't you love this decorated WAGON WHEEL?  HA!~  A "2-fer"!  ABC Wednesday for December 18, 2013.  To visit ABC Wednesday, please go to:   http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/

Oak Glen

So the son & his family piled into the XTerra Sunday (I was stuffed into the front seat) and off we went to Oak Glen so the grandson, who is 4, could see the apples at one of the big apple ranches there.  It is way past apple time and it was fairly deserted.  But, we did see snow on the ground and the top of their roof was covered with frost.  They also had a smoker outside and they were smoking tri-tip roasts.  They all got to sample apple cider and our son bought a gallon jug of it to take home.  The grandson got to run around and climb over some rocks in their kid-friendly play area.  It was good to get outdoors.  I had been cooped up in the house for 8 days...back to work today, however!  

Fall colors~no snow~

I took these photos yesterday up at the Whitewater Preserve, which is up a canyon in our local San Bernardino mountains.  It was a warm day and I quickly took my sweater off and discarded it!  We went on a family outing and took the grandson and his family along.  The little guy (he's 4...) ran around, examined every leaf there, looked at the fish in the holding ponds (it is also a fish hatchery) and announced, "Where's OUR cabin?"  Huh?  No cabins there.  He was remembering one of the trips up to Idyllwild!  Clever boy! :-)