Tuesday, February 26, 2008

In which we get a new visitor to the pond...

This morning, I heard Deb call from the bedroom to look out the window at a beautiful bird that had landed in the pond. After recognizing that it was a juvenile falcon, I ran downstairs to grab my camera. Carefully opening the blind in Tyler's old room, I was able to get a couple photos before it flew away. The quality is not great because I did not take time to mount the camera on a tripod because I was afraid the falcon would fly away before I could do it... that and the fact that I am shooting through a window that has not been cleaned on the outside since last spring, contributed to the not so tack-sharp results.
The falcon flew from the submerged rock to the Japanese Maple that overlooks the edge of the pond...

What was the falcon interested in... long time returning visitors (5 years now I think), Donald and Daisy. Fortunately, they proved a little bit too much for the young raptor.


Saturday, February 23, 2008

BYU vs. U of Portland Pilots - Season Opener and Double Header

February 22-23, 2008

Coach Vance Law discussing the ground rules prior to the season opener at University of Portland's Joe Etzel Field on a cold and damp Friday afternoon.

Kent Walton (#9) scores the Cougar's first run of the season.


J.T. Musso (#10) scores next...

Bringing the score to 2-0 in the top of the 5th inning.

The Pilots answer...

with a couple...

in the bottom of the 5th, tying it up.

Sean McNaughton (#15) scores for the Cougars in extra innings...

followed by Jonathan Cluff (#8) in the top of the 11th inning...

clinching the win for BYU!

Coach Law has High Fives for everyone... but the high did not last for long...

Saturday dawned a beautiful warm sunny day - a perfect day for baseball!

But in the end, BYU did not have a lot to cheer about...

In game one of the double header, Steve Parker (#5) scored the only run that the Cougars would see this game!

The Pilots blew them out of the park with a 12-1 disaster.

The second game started out much better with Kasey Ko (#22) scoring first in the top of the second inning...

followed by Brysce Ayoso (#11)...

and Jonathan Cluff (#8)...

Making it 3-0 after two.

Steve Parker (#5) added one more, the season's first out of the park Home Run, when he sailed one over the 360' right field fence...

The Pilots answered with two in the bottom of the 6th and the bottom of the 8th tying the score at 4-4.

Things looked hopeful when Jonathan Cluff (#8)...

and Dan Vargas (#13)...

and Kent Walton (#9) all scored...

closing out the top of the 9th with BYU leading 7-4.

Then the clouds came out as the Pilots loaded the bases with a very fast substitute runner on First Base and a designated hitter driving a ball deep into Right field, which dropped just inside the OB line...Sending the game into extra innings one more time!

BYU was unable to score in the top of the 10th and Pilot CJ Cullen (#35) ices the game...

Ending in a heartbreaker...

Cougars 7 - Pilots 8

A fun game to watch, but not the results we were hoping for in the end.

I'll bet it was a long ride home tonight for BYU.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Lunar Eclipse

February 20th, 2008
Believe it or not, I was in a meeting when it started. By the time I got home to my camera, it was just past totality. But it still looked pretty cool! I can't wait until I get my mondo lens!
19:36:58 PST


19:37:50 PST
19:48:46 PST
19:49:46 PST
20:04:33 PST

20:05:30 PST

The Mountain Was Calling...

Sunday, February 17th (after Stake Conference), we decided to take a drive to Timberline Lodge. It was an incredibly beautiful day - the first for a long time - and we needed to soak up some sun, so we got as near to it as we could!


There is a lot of snow on the road up to the lodge!












The lodge is almost buried with snow!












You kids will recognize this as the rest stop at Government Camp.
That is a BIG pile of snow!

OK! She is safe for now! :)

On the way back down the hill, we took a walk up Lolo Pass Road to see if we could get a photo of Mt Hood as the sun was going down. We walked a long way but could not get a clear look at it and someone was getting cold!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The World Premier of the next #1 Bestseller!

Hey everyone- Now that Christmas is over and I no longer have to keep the secret, I am putting Ty and Jessi's book in the public domain. For obvious reasons, this one is priced at my cost. The badge above will allow you to look at the first 15 pages in a low-res format. The book turned out beautiful and is 196 pages of a great story! If you want to see the book before ordering, I have a copy, Wendy and Craig have a copy, and of course, Tyler and Jessi have a copy.

Scotty