A happy holiday

The camera didn't come out until the kids had disappeared and Grandma was in the other room, but here's a skeleton crew of diners at our Thanksgiving dinner at Sally's.

We got to sample a pit-cooked turkey for the first time. Grandpa Kelly said it was the best turkey he had ever tasted, which is quite a tribute to the cook.

This year's special guests were Barbara and her three well-mannered girls. She stirred up some yummy gravy and brought tasty pumpkin cookies, too. Momma's rolls were perfect as usual. Another great and grateful Thanksgiving.

Pretty scary

Oh for funny grandkids. After Cord got his Halloween treat from grandma, he quickly found something scary to do with the two foil-wrapped chocolate eyeballs.

That's his mother's fingers, holding his ears back???

What would we do without Halloween and the silliness it breeds?

Cats at rest

What we have here are three cats taking some nap time, all in their own cat ways. There's Gray Cat, sleeping on her mat on a shelf above my computer. She's nearly 20, so napping is what she mainly does besides eating, and the shelf is her main downstairs bed.

Then we have Cletus, who is asleep on the couch with his tongue hanging out. That's how Cletus sleeps when he's serious about his nap. Often he's also on his back. Just not today.

And of course Baby Cat likes the empty warm dryer as she is the arthritic, heat-seeking cat. Anywhere she can find some extra therms is where she will lay her weary hurting bones. And you better not disturb her for photos, as you can see by the nonlook here. We love our cats at rest.

Lee's grizzly

I don't know how often we have driven along the Ashton to Flagg Ranch Road and watched for wildlife, particularly for grizzly bears. They live in the area, and it's fairly remote, so the chances of eventually seeing one along this road have to be better than in most places in the forest.

Lee's lucky day came last week when he was on his way to cut firewood. He saw this grizzly about 9:30 a.m. rambling along near the trees in a meadow.

Seeing a grizzly is rare even in Yellowstone. But seeing one outside the park in the forest is often one of those once in a lifetime deals. Lee thought fast enough to get this photo of the bear with his little camera. The first shot indicated how excited he was as seeing the critter. It was a bit out of focus. Needless to say, I was disappointed that I was working that day, sitting in a meeting while he was witness to this.

The visit

All week these two little girls have been staying at our house with their parents, Erin and Kris. Mayanna, the 4-month-old is so sweet, quietly draining big bottles of milk, burping and smiling. Isabella. 20 months, is full of 2-year-old independence. She's learning how to put sentences together and doing a good job of it. They are busy and keeping Erin and Kris very busy, too. It's going to be very quiet when they leave and we'll miss them all a lot.

The Meridian grandkids

Suzanna's two boys have been in the area for the past 10 days, kicking around with their Aunt and Uncle Mylers and with their Granpa Jim and Sandee and with us. There's probably few things those kids missed doing in their time in eastern Idaho. With us, they went to Yellowstone and Jackson, went camping and fishing (between them they caught 13 fish in two days) with Grandpa E, walking the greenway, running through the sprinklers, making jam. They also are known to have watched parades, plays and rodeos and God knows what else.

We did have fun. We read books and played games and drew pictures. We talked and they made up songs and dances. We had them run relays around the house and pick raspberries. They did everything on there list except see Mesa Falls again. Next time.

Cletus

It appears Cletus has decided to keep up, despite our subjecting him to being neutered, having numerous innoculations and various examinations and such.
He's still a tom cat at heart, though, spending some night prowling around, doing we don't know what. But so far, he has shown up for breakfast, or lunch.
He has the disposition of a prince, and the handsomeness, too. Though his paws are huge, he is agile and quick, and quick to chase both of the other cats and even stage ambushes for me and Lee.
We like him and hope he stays with us.