Deck blessings! Plus, GRAND Social No. 210 link party for grandparents

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Deck blessings!

May is always a challenging month in Colorado, weather wise, as temps rise and fall in grand rollercoaster fashion. It can be in the 70s one day, blizzard like the next, sunny and clear the day after. Once June arrives, though, the chance of snow has pretty much disappeared and summer-like spring days are more the norm.

Last Friday was such a day. I decided to soak up the sun while kicking back on my deck for an afternoon nap. Three minutes into it, though, I gave in to the natural blessings surrounding me and opted to grab photos instead of shut eye. Here are a few shots of what I caught, never moving more than a few feet from my Adirondack chair.

backyard birds...

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Operation Wasp Annihilation

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My husband and I ate dinner outside on our deck on Saturday evening. As we noshed on our nummy gyros from our favorite Greek restaurant, I had to keep swatting away what I thought were bees.

"What the heck's up with all the freakin' bees?" I asked Jim.

One quick look around—and up—told us exactly what was up... and that it wasn't bees. It was wasps! A huge melon-sized hive of them just above the door to our garage.

The size of the hive floored me! I immediately...

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Fossil find

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Colorado has seen unprecedented amounts of rainfall so far this summer.

Which means most Colorado residents are seeing unprecedented numbers of weeds in our yards.

Jim spent several hours pulling weeds in the front yard on Saturday. The yard looked better and better as he pulled and pulled, but it sure seemed a not-so-fun waste of time.

Until he found this...

fossil

Yes sirreee, that is a fossil. Found right...

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Timberrr! Grandma's tree comes tumbling down

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Jim and I — along with the many mourning doves that live in our yard — are mourning the loss of our Black Walnut tree. 

black walnut tree

Black Walnut trees supposedly don't grow well in Colorado. This one, though, lasted for more than 30 years. Or so says the neighbor upon which our beloved tree fell when...

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The view from here

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deer grazing 

When Jim and I bought our current house — after more than 20 years in a house that afforded us a daily view of Pikes Peak... in the winter when there weren't leaves on the trees to obstruct our view — we lamented the loss of any fantastic views. With this house, we had opted for a magnificent interior over majestic mountain views.

That said, I do regularly wax unapologetically about wanting to raze the house next door. It was built many years after our house, and it completely...

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Upcycle this: Wax tarts from candle remainders

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Upcycle this: Wax tarts from candle remainders

Wax tarts from candle remainders

I love candles. I don't love how so much of a candle goes to waste. Especially those expensive candles from fancy candle stores, the candles that cost so much yet smell so good. After burning about a third of the way down, the wick inevitably refuses to light and the wax goes to waste.

I have a cabinet where I keep all my jars of candles that no longer burn but have too much yummy smelling wax in them for me to, with clear conscience, throw in the garbage.

That cabinet recently became so full I couldn't...

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