Tetons, Yellowstone, and Little Bighorn -- the Last Batch of Vacation Photos

This is the last batch of vacation photos that I am going to post.  Enjoy...

Just east of the Grand Tetons

View of a Glacier

A view just north of the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park

Old Faithful

The effects of fire

Wyoming was a beautiful state -- this was shot as we were leaving and entering Montana

Wide open spaces, awesome wildlife!

We took a back road -- desolate and beautiful

Buzzards - catching some rays

Finally, we visited Little Bighorn.  So full of history you can almost hear an echo of the battle.

Native American encampment area at Little Bighorn.

You can click on any of the photos to get a larger view of the details.  I know a lot of people compress their images or add watermarks to their images to prevent theft.  I don't compress mine very much.  Perhaps I should, but I tend to trust most people not to steal my photography.  If you want to use one for something, just ask me.

Anyway, we've been back from vacation for a couple of weeks now.  I'm getting used to my new position at my company.  It is VERY fast paced and the day just flies by.  Things are still new to me and I can't wait to feel comfortable with my daily tasks.  

It is almost 9:30 PM and I am thinking about going to bed.  4:30 AM comes quickly and I need to be well-rested.  I have some nice Autumn photos to post this week and I want to show you how I am putting up the harvest.  

Ripe

Here is a look at what I have been pulling out of my garden lately and a bit of good news I'd like to share.  Things are finally starting to ripen.

I have a plethora of tomato varieties this year with different colors and flavors.  Green zebra, pink brandywine, white currant, etc.  They are like the jewels of the garden.
This year I haven't had success with my zucchini at all but the yellow summer squash and patty pan squash are doing great!  I've also had a few "volunteer" squash plants growing out of the compost pile.  The plants on the compost pile are going insane!  Leaves that are bigger than dinner plates on waist high stems!

This year I tried a few items I've never grown before.  Sweet corn is one of them.  I need to get the corn in the ground earlier next year, but I've been able to pick a couple of ears so far.  I also tried planting broom corn and have had incredible luck with that.  My intentions are to use it for fall decorations then feed it to the chickens (they already got one stalk that broke in a rainstorm.  They loved it!).
I had some amazing results with the okra I planted and Charlie and I ate fried okra this week.  Yum!  Soon I will post some photos of the unusual plants I grew this year and discuss some of the failures I've had as well.

I know I have been neglecting this blog lately and I apologize for the lack of updates.  I have had something else the has had my attention this month that is very exciting to me -- another thing coming to ripeness...
If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you have probably noticed that I don't talk about my job very much.  I really believe that talking about work in a public manor is not usually very beneficial.  On this occasion, I am going to break my own policy because I am very excited and want to share my joy with you.

For those that didn't know, I have worked in the Customer Service Department for a large utility provider in Michigan for the last 6 years.  I am very blessed to have had steady employment during this time since Michigan is really having a rough time with it's economy right now.  In fact, we have had a lot of overtime for the last 3+ years and the paychecks have been really nice.  The job I have can be very stressful though and I was really starting to feel discontented in that position -- I needed more of a challenge.
So, for the past few years I have been waiting for the right position to open up elsewhere in the company so I could apply for it.  Finally, the department that I wanted to get into had an opening and I applied for it.  I managed to get an interview that was scheduled last Monday.  That is why I only have one blog post in August before this one -- I've been prepping for the interview in my spare time and brushing up on some of the computer programs they use in that department.  The interview was intense!  Five people sat in on the interview - which lasted an hour and 20 minutes.
Anyway, to make a long story short, on Thursday I was notified that I got the position!!!  I will be in a scheduling department which will involve a lot of technical skills (like reading prints) mixed with customer service skills (interacting with a variety of departments).  I'm sure there will still be overtime involved in this position, however the shift is earlier than the one I have now so I will be getting out of work earlier.  I will be working in the same building as before so I will still have contact with all of my dear friends I have made over the years.  Oh, and the people in the scheduling department are nice as can be and I already love my new boss.  I really am lucky and I'm happy that all of the hard work I have put into this company has finally ripened into something I could call a career!
So, I have a couple more weeks before I make the transition.  Then Charlie and I are going on vacation at the end of September (I hated even bringing up the vacation we had scheduled when I was hired - but it didn't end up being a problem at all).  Charlie and I are going to go on a road trip but we are still determining which way we want to go.  We were thinking of heading westward to see what we could see -- toward the Badlands or the wild west.  I'd be happy heading east though too -- to Vermont and Maine and to see the ocean again.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a good road trip starting in Michigan and lasting about a week?

Exhaustion

I am so exhausted lately.  I feel so badly about not posting anything lately.  This winter I struggled to find things to blog about, and now I have so much to talk about that I don't know where to start.  I've been working the same long hours lately (57 a week average) but now I also have gardening to do in my spare time and chickens to look after too.  I'm not complaining -- those are things that give me joy -- its just that I don't have much down time to write about what is going on.
This photo is of some white bleeding heart flowers in the morning, covered in mist.  The plants in my shade garden came up nicely this year.  I'm still filling it in with more plants as I go, but it is a nice start.
I've been busy planting things and pulling weeds.  I'll be posting photos soon of the garden.
We are also trying to finish building a chicken tractor tomorrow.  We got a good start on it last weekend, and it is not optional to not finish it.  The chicks are now pullets and need to get out of that brooder box before they murder each other.
On top of work and the garden and chickens, I still have the house cleaning, bills, laundry, cooking (what cooking?  who has time for real food?) to do.  I'm about out of energy reserves and need a break.  Luckily, I have next Friday the 17th off as a vacation day.  It will be my 6th year married to the love of my life.  We don't have big plans, probably just dinner and a movie -- but a date night would be relaxing and recharging to me.  The week after that, I have Wednesday thru Friday off along with the weekend.  YES!  A five day weekend!!!  It is my Birthday treat to myself.  I am going to be 35 (gasp!  Where does time go?).  Maybe that is why I am so tired lately -- I am getting old.

Is winter over yet?

Ok, I don't know about anyone else, but I am done with winter.  It can stop at any time now.  

Perhaps I am just grumpy today.  I've been sick for about 2 weeks now and am tired of being exhausted all the time.  I have a long week ahead of me at work too, but it should be a good one.  

I've been training a batch of new employees and will be doing that for another month.  It is a great opportunity and I am happy they picked me to do it.  For those that don't know, I work in a call center for a major natural gas and electric provider in Michigan.  The company is great and the pay and benefits are hard to beat.  I've been in the call center for over 5 years now and am looking into opportunities to advance in the company.  This temporary training position can only help me in the long run.  

So, I've been trying to do the best job possible in this training position, but it hasn't been easy while sick. And the winter weather isn't helping.  My normal commute is 45 minutes to work each day, but the training job is even further away.  Now I drive 3 hours a day getting back and forth to work - but slippery, snowy roads increased that to 5 hours a few days last week.  Yuck!

Anyway, I do see an end in sight.  March is almost here and our high temperatures are in the mid 30s lately.  I thought I would post a cheery photo of cut flowers to make today a bit brighter.

I love Saturdays

Today has been a good day so far.  I spent some time this morning cleaning up our apartment a bit.  I went to the grocery store and the farmer's market.  Then I spent the rest of my day in the garden.

I am determined not to let the weeds get the best of me this year.  Once I let them take hold they are difficult to manage all year.  If I had my own garden I would probably mulch, but since we are renting I just do what I can with a hoe.  I have grand plans for my garden when I actually have a plot that I can call my own.  I can't wait to compost!  I want to put in some more permanent plants like asparagus, rhubarb, berries, etc.  Anyway, I am done planting the garden and now I'm doing a rain dance...

Outside one of the out-buildings we have around here.  Aunt Mary's rose trees are gorgeous right now.

This week I did a mini-fast and am working on changing my eating patterns.  I found myself craving too much junk food and not enough healthy food.  When I quit eating entirely for a couple of days and just focus on drinking water/cleansing I find that healthy foods are more appealing.  Any food is appealing at that point really, so I just make sure I have the good stuff around.  You have never tasted a peach until after you haven't eaten for a couple of days!

Working in the garden is good for me too.  I've gained a lot of weight since Charlie and I got married... mostly due to my job (hey, I have to blame something other than myself, ya know?).  I sit down at a desk tied to a phone/computer for 10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week.  It is a fairly stressful job too (customer service for a gas/electric utility company in Michigan) and I tend to eat comfort foods at the end of the day.  I am working on the food part of the equation and am hoping that the long days sitting down will come to an end soon.  We have been working 50-60 hours a week for the last year.  I've heard rumors that shorter shifts are coming.  I feel like we are the only ones in Michigan who have more work than we can handle (and am not complaining about the paychecks either).

It is getting late and I need to get ready for a wedding reception.  Charlie is on his way home from work right now and we will probably be pretty busy for the rest of the weekend.  This posting has been kind of scattered, but what I meant to say is that I love Saturdays -- at least the ones that I'm not at work.

Meltdown

Finally!  A break from the frigid temperatures we have been dealing with this winter.  It is suppose to get up into the mid 40's today.  I booted the cat out onto the back porch to soak up some fresh air.  The snow is melting and I can smell mud.  It makes me happy.

I've been cleaning up around here while I still have time.  I think this will be my last Saturday off for a while.  Rather than cut our hours back to 45 per week at work, we just had them increased.  Next week I'm scheduled for more than 55 hours.  I'm about to have a meltdown -- mentally.  Lately I get up when it is dark out, shower, feed the cat, pack a lunch, drive a half hour to work, work for 10-12 hours, drive home in the dark, sort through the mail/check e-mail/de-stress from work and then go to bed, toss and turn thinking about work, dream about work and then get up and do it all over.  There must be more to life.  I try to make the most of my weekends, but more and more I am too tired to do much more than clean, laundry, bills and maybe visit family or a friend.  And now they are taking away my Saturdays.

I wanted to get together with my friends in Grand Rapids that garden and do a seed swap this year.  I hate buying a whole packet of seed and only being able to plant a couple of them in my own garden.  I thought we could share or pool money to buy seeds to split up.  It doesn't look like I'll be able to organize that... but I have another idea...

If anyone is interested in sharing some seeds, let me know.  I think we could do this by mail.  I am going to be getting some heirloom tomato seeds for sure, perhaps some melon, squash, etc.  I'd like to stick with heirloom seeds if possible so that I can save the seeds for next year.  We could have an even bigger seed swap next year if everyone buys heirloom and learns to preserve the seed.  I'll post more about that this summer.  For now, if interested, send me a comment and we can figure this out.

A few weeks ago I dreamt of my garden.  It was beautiful and lush and I had gotten so carried away with planting it that I accidently took up a huge portion of my landlord's garden space.  Last night, after the crumby news at work I dreamt that someone had trampled my beautiful garden and ruined everything.  I woke up knowing I had dreamt of my job ruining my garden.  I will not let it!  I will work in it by moonlight this year if I must.  It brings me real satisfaction to see hard work turn into something tangible -- like a juicy fresh tomato.  It is more fulfilling than a paycheck to me (unfortunately, I can't live without that paycheck -- yet).

So, for now I will enjoy the weather today and look forward to the future (hopefully a summer with time to do as I please) and try to avoid a major meltdown.