Dog Days

     Have you ever wondered where the phrase, "dog days of summer" came from? The term really started with the ancient Greeks and Romans and refers to the the Dog Star, Sirius. They said "Dog Days" occurred around the time Sirius appeared to rise just before the sun, in late July. Over the hundreds of years since, the origins of the phrase have gotten lost. I think most people just think of it as the hot days at the end of summer. So hot that dogs just lay around in the shade.

     For our dog Wally, I think everyday is a "Dog Day". 

Maybe a walk in the park.

A picnic in the mountains

Or a nice roll in the grass.

Maybe look for fairies, more likely a rabbit or squirrel.

There's always a cool place to take a nap, whether inside or out.

No matter what you do, don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

Our local park pool celebrates the end of summer swimming and the start of school with it's own "Dog Days". At the end of the last day of swimming, people can bring their dogs to enjoy the pools. Wally is not a big swimmer so we just went to watch the other dogs have fun.

A thought to ponder: "A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class                                      but by who they are inside."

Participating in:Grand Social, Hearth and Soul, Share Your Cup, Our World

Great Way to Start the Summer

     I haven't posted anything in quite a while. Other things kept getting in the way but mostly I haven't been in the blogging mood. The daughter and granddaughter were here for an end of school visit. So I thought I'd share some of the fun things we did in the short time they were here. 

     A morning walk along the city pathways was a nice way to start the day. Besides the lovely scenery,

we spotted a deer.

I also had the opportunity to take a group photo.

     One of the days we went to lunch at the Bradford Brinton museum. Look at the view we had while eating. 

This is the art museum where the bistro is located.

Here is a shot of some of the grounds and the house (taken a couple months ago). You can tour Mr. Brinton's house with all it's wonderful western art. It is worth a visit if you're ever in the neighborhood.

While driving home we passed an alpaca ranch. So of course we had to stop and say Hi. The kiddos really enjoyed looking at them.

A visit to the local nursery means you have to sit in the giant chair.

We of course made a visit to the park swimming pool and to the ice cream stand afterwards.

Sunday brunch with all the family is always nice.

The visit wouldn't be complete without a water fight with balloons and the hose.

And to top off the visit the grandson had a baseball game.

As with most visits this one was way to short. But we did manage to pack some fun activities in and make more memories. 

A thought to ponder: "Take care of your memories, for you can not relive them."

                                                                                                  Bob Dylan

Participating in: Share Your Cup, Wined Down Wednesday, Our World Tuesday, Grand Social

Medicine Wheel

     We finally got everything together and took a trip in our popup camper.  You can read more about the makeover and problems we had at my previous posts: The Road Trip that wasn't and Popup Camper Makeover. We camped at Sibley Lake which is an hour drive up into the Big Horn mountains from our house.

     We went up on a Sunday afternoon and came back on Wednesday. The weather was good other then Tuesday was cloudy with rain in the afternoon. The temps at home were in the nineties while on the mountain it was in the seventies.  So a good time to be there. We had a nice camping spot.

     It took us several hours to set up. Not so much the camper itself but rather the awning. We had not done the awning before so we fumbled around trying to figure it out. But we finally got everything in order. 

     It was a good idea to take a short local trip before we take a longer one.  It gave us a chance to work out some of the bugs. To see what works for us and what doesn't. Over all things went well.

Here's our dog Wally, keeping an eye on us while we eat dinner. You never know when a morsel might come your way.

     It was fun and peaceful hiking around the area and I took lots of photos.

     One of the places we visited while on the mountain is somewhere we hadn't been in over twenty years, and that is the Medicine Wheel. It was about a twenty-eight mile drive from our camp site. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel is considered the most important of several medicine wheels in the American West. It is thought to be about 700 years old. It is a sacred place for Native Americans and is used by them for fasting and vision quests. 

     Native Americans continue to come here for prayer ceremonies and to leave offerings.

     There is a well marked sign where you turn off the highway on to a dirt road. You drive up to a parking area with a small ranger's station. From there it is about a mile and half walk up hill to the site which sits at almost 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Because of the elevation the area is inaccessible much of the year because of snow pack. If you are unable to walk up hill that distance they do have limited parking at the top. But note it is a steep and narrow road.

     If you ever happen to be in Wyoming it is worth stopping to visit this sacred spot, it is interesting and you can definitely feel that it is a special place. If you are interested in learning more just Google Bighorn Medicine Wheel, Wyoming. 

A Rock chuck (Yellow-bellied marmont)

A thought to ponder: "Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."                                   Chief Seattle

Participating in: Grand Social, Share Your Cup, Outdoor Wednesday, Through My Lens