A Day in the Park

Last week Marv and I took a day away from our yard work and took our little grandson, Jack (2 1/2) , to Liberty Park. We had the BEST day! We took our stale bread and fed the ducks and geese.

He wasn't the least bit afraid of those big geese... Gigi was though! He thoroughly loved the downy little goslings and the stray feathers on the ground.


Then we went over to the Park's Tracy Aviary. We explained to Jack that it is a 'bird zoo'. We saw so many different kinds of birds. We saw a huge vulture, bigger than Jack, take a bath, flapping his big wings... all sorts of unusual cranes, hornbills clowning around, tons of parrots.

Here a parrot is chewing on Papa's sunglasses... Jack got a kick out of that. We got to watch a bird show with a trainer having the birds do all sorts of tricks. Great fun.

Afterwards we had an almond butter and jelly picnic and then hit the rides. Jack had a little Batman figure that he was playing with and he made a Beeline right to the Batman Plane Ride.

Then Jack and I took a ride on the Ferris Wheel. He is loves his Peter Pan movie and we sang Peter Pan's song... 'I can fly! I can fly! I can Flyyyyyy! as we rose high up into the air.


And then we headed over the the carousel. Jack wanted to ride the "Big Pink Horse" because pink is his favorite color... tee hee. Big pink horse, coming right up!

This picture is a little blurry, but sort of artsy. After the carnival rides we spent over an hour on the playground. Jack has great balance and is not afraid of even the tallest slides. It was the happiest of days and Marv and I both agreed that this is what life is all about... time with family and especially grandchildren. It makes me feel like I am 2 because I get to see everything fresh and new through his toddler eyes. The simplest things are so full of wonder. Very Zen... very in the moment. He really is the sweetest boy! I love being his Gigi.

Our Veggie Garden

Marv and I have been really working on our veggie garden this year. Here is a birds eye view of it from the upper level of our yard. It is really starting to take off. It's loved all the rain we had this spring... now it's needing some warmth however.

Our peas have especially loved the nice cool spring. We have been harvesting a full big colander full every day.... plus we munch munch munch while we're out there picking them and puttering around, picking weeds.


Last night I made a stir fry for dinner with zucchini, peas, chives, sun dried tomatoes (from last year's harvest) and oregano with organic chicken cubes and put it over Alfredo whole grain noodles and it tasted so fresh and delicious! It is really rewarding growing our own.

Here's the zucchini we ate. I took the photos just the day before and it matured into a nice sized zuke in a days time.

Corn! I've never grown corn before. It was always too short of a season in Park City! It is already knee high to a Gigi! I'll post another pick when it's as high as an elephant's eye! Notice Marv's trick drip system! He made it so we can dismantle it easily in the winter months and then reinstall it next spring! The mulch is ground up pine needles and pine cones from our 6 mature Scotch pines on the property... I raked them, Marv ground them up and I spread it out. Teamwork!

Here is a view from the lower level. The mountains are obscured by clouds, but we normally have a gorgeous view of the Wasatch from here. The little plants in the foreground are cantaloupe planted from seed... they need some heat now, but Marv thinks they'll produce.

Tomatoes are coming too... you can see them in the first pic.

We are really enjoying this! It's a dream come true for me. I'm channeling my inner pioneer. I've always been addicted to Little House On the Prairie and fancied myself in that life with my own Charles Ingalls by my side... Can I manifest or what? Yeah, yeah, it may be Salt Lake City in 2009 with a split level in suburbia.... but it feels like a step back to a simpler life and it feels good! My clothesline is next... I've been obsessed with clothesline visions lately!