He has brought us Joy

I'm speaking of a little package Papa God gave us last summer at the end of camp season.  He wouldn't eat because we got him when he was wild and would only take his momma's milk.  We added some canned cat food to give him some nourishment.

He became so attached to Brent and was interested in all that he did.

He loved to nap on daddy too

I wish he still had the pretty blue eyes

When daddy was gone he would sleep on his clothes.  And still does

Here's the clincher.  Anyone who knows Brent knows he detests cats.  That's why this one was and is so special.  He captured Brent's heart.  He's not quite a year old yet but he has brought us so much joy and laughter.  For a guy who doesn't really like cats he sure has done a lot to take care of his Howie.  

He is quite the climber and we still haven't figured out how he got up on the roof.

Quota just wasn't sure what to make of this bold kitty that quickly became her best friend. They shared the water dish and still do.  Soon as I put the water down they both go over to take a drink.   

Our espalier fruit trees have only seen bear cubs and sows but not light weight kitties during times of growth.  I doubt we'll see any fruit this year.  

Just peeking through to see what the commotion was all about.  Mom's taking photos again.

The dead hemlock is a great place to be up high and try out his dexterity and balance.

So easy - just walk across the top of these branches 

and he can get across the back yard without getting his feet wet.

Checking out birds from a different perspective other than the ground.

Now to just relax and wait in these branches.

    I will have more photos to show of both Howard (Howie for short) and Quota but that will be in another post.  Most of the pictures are on our phones.  It's one of those things - quick take a picture of them! 

    Thanks for indulging me as I talk about my pet from my VIEW.  I love him to pieces and so does Brent.  You would have thought we have always been cat people.  

    Howie is a camp kitty (feral) and wouldn't have received as much love as we have given him and the opportunity to have a dog as a best friend and be an indoor and outdoor kitty.  

Such is the life of a country kitty ~ becoming a cat.

It's been a long, long while

Oh my goodness! It's been three years since my last post.  So much has happened in that time.

• I'm now semi retired. I work part time at CYO Camp Howard as their Health and Safety Director during camp season which starts Sunday, July 5th.  This past week was eight days of training and getting ready.
• Brent and I now have Caleb, Brent's youngest son, living with us. He will be a senior.  Not a very big adjustment because he is a great kid and easy to get along with.  Sometimes I can hardly tell he is even here.
• We also now have a darling granddaughter named Hailey.  She will be three in November.
• We have a new Rottweiler dog named Quota.  I miss Meika terribly.  She has been gone since January 3rd of this year.  We adopted Quota at the end of January at the age of 13 months.

So here's a picture of my fine family of boys and Amber (Paul's significant other). Krissy is taking the picture but I'll get her in later.  These photos are of the Bull Run River that we live above.  As you can see it's quite low for this time of year.  We've been in a heat wave for months now.  Yikies! Very little snow on the mountain. (another blog coming up?)

Sorry the picture is so small - I stole it off of FB (where else?) The center one is Caleb.  All three boys think a lot like their dad and love an adventure. And yes this is red clay paint on their faces and body.  Brent found it down on the river and they had a fun time creating their designs.

Now here's a picture of our granddaughter ~  She is a cutie.  And so is her mom (again, the one who is taking the pictures) and dad is standing next to Brent in the above picture. 

 Grandpa made a big hit with her for sure. 

This picture is of the closed down Bull Run Power Plant. Some entrepreneurs are making it into a museum for the public to visit about once a year or so. 

This post will be quite brief today and I hope to get more done this year.  Between opening my Etsy Shop to sell my vintage items and working at the camp time is quite valuable to me.

See you all again real soon.  And thank your taking the time to read my blog.  

Blessings to all ~

Leila and her views. 

God Shines Through The Clouds Of My Life

  I think back on all the times of my life I have suffered the clouds of consequences for the wrong choices I have made.  Yet my loving Heavenly Father still shines that glimmer of hope into my life - reminding me he is still here, all around me, not just next to me.  He doesn't ever leave me nor forsake me.  It is I who turns my back on him and usually when I need him the most.  


  My view on Monday was the darkness of these clouds surrounding this vast area of hills and valleys and yet there was a break, a very small crack, where the sun shown it's bright rays for me to see. 
This was my Heavenly Father reminding me of the hope he has for me.
 I came to know him  as my personal savior at a very young age and along the way I chose to take paths down a road that was not safe.  The enemy had an opportunity to enter into those parts of my wounding and raise havoc with my soul.  And each time God would show me that ray of sunshine through the cloudiness of my thoughts and spirit.  He wanted me to know he never left me - He always stood there with me waiting patiently to turn back for what blessings he wanted to share with me. 
  

  As I gaze over the mountainous terrain I'm reminded God put these same hills and valleys in my life so that I can grow, live and give to others.  Give hope to others as he has given me hope of a new and better life. A life no longer filled with condemnation, resentments or deep heart wounds but a life full of mercy and grace that only God can provide.   
  The clouds show me a picture of God's pain he felt when his only son Jesus died on the cross just for me and yet he shown through to provide me hope and salvation.  I picture seeing Jesus in this view - when he comes back to get me.  What a glorious day that will be!  
  Yes - Thank you Heavenly Father for this ever changing view so you can remind me in this very special way, just for me, how much you love me and care for me and give me hope.
https://www.facebook.com/leilablakely    

So much for my morning cup of coffee

Last Saturday about 8:15 am I was getting ready to go outside for a morning cup of coffee. It was actually warm enough to enjoy the out of doors which I have been longing for all spring/summer. Almost the 4th of July and no real sun shiny days until....Saturday the 2nd. While I was in the kitchen getting ready to make my espresso, from my little barista, Meika (my rottweiler dog) started barking her head off. I looked outside and there she was just a few feet from this guy to the right. He wasn't quite out of the bushes yet from the cliff side. He didn't seem to mind about her and was still headed up on the lawn. But, of course, since he was four times her size I guess her fierce barking didn't intimidate him any way. Then there's me...yelling for Meika to "Get Back"! and she was paying me no never mind. Humph! I gave up and came back inside and grabbed my camera. Definitely a Kodak moment. Since she no longer needed to get my attention she came running into the house with me but it was all I could do to keep her behind me when I stepped out of the sliding glass door at the end of the house. At this time I didn't want Meika scaring the bear away. Not at all likely. This male was not afraid of me or the dog. He only had one thing on his mind...red luscious strawberries.

Two things I didn't think about...one, putting my digital on action mode - yes, I have it but I was so excited about seeing this bear up close and personal it didn't even cross my mind. The second thing was my little camera even has movie capabilities. I proved that by filming the flood we had this last December down on the Sandy River. I took some great footage of Dodge Park and the Bull Run and Sandy Rivers coming together. Back to my morning coffee story...I did my best with my limited knowledge of picture taking. With his full, heavy, winter coat still on he made a very photogenic specimen.

This next picture is pretty blurry but I kept it in the post because I wanted you to be able to see his face as he's approaching the strawberry patch. Just a perfect level for him to chomp right in. I've always wondered how they picked the berries and ate them. Kind of just like a dog...face first.

I wish I could have caught the full muzzle with green leaves dangling out the side of his mouth. It was almost comical! He had turned to look at us and stood up. I would guess he's about 5ft tall. Now would be the perfect time to get a coat I would imagine. Before he starts getting all scraggly. I zoomed in a bit on this next shot but the porch post was in the way and I certainly did not want to step any closer than I already was.

I'm not sure why he didn't stay and eat more. It could have been because Meika was inching her way over towards him again or maybe he was getting perturbed I was taking his photograph. It seemed so strange. After he faced me with his mouth full of berries and leaves he got back down on all fours and just nonchalantly started walking towards my direction. Our bedroom slider door is only about three yards from the original bear trail - which obviously, is still in use. I wasn't worried he would come towards me but I have to admit I certainly had the thought in the back of my mind as he began making faster strides. And yes, he was looking right at me and I don't believe I even had Meika in my thoughts. As I look back on this I believe she was just a couple of steps in front of me watching the beast she was protecting Mom from.

After almost a week I think back on this whole episode of my leisurely view and I wish I had my camera in action mode. I would probably have gotten quite a few more good close-ups of him. I could still easily write about what I see in my 10/20ft X 50ft back yard but not many would have believed me if I didn't show the proof.

Until next time ... maybe it will be about the three bears.

Oh! I finally did get to drink my coffee but in the house. :)

A Bitter Sweet View

I couldn't pass this up. In my leisurely walk through the bedroom I happened to look out the sliding glass doors, as I generally do, and I noticed a mass in the artistically woven thicket Brent had created over the bank. He's actually woven the young wild hazelnut (Corylus) so it doesn't block our view and serves as a protective barrier for those unaware of the acute bank immediately beyond. Since he was out working in the yard today I figured it must have been a mass of buds pushing out or a nest of some sort. I looked down at Meika (my rotty) and realized she was intently looking at the same object I was. There must be something to this I figured but what could it be? I struggled to focus in on the object in question. (Mind you this is only 8 yards from where I was standing.) It moved...I saw it move... "It's a pheasant!" I exclaimed. Knowing my first response was incorrect I called to Brent! "What is it!?" What a looker! First time we have ever seen a 'Ruffed' Grouse in the 'View' zone. It was difficult to make out the form of the speckled reddish brown bird due to the natural reddish brown coloring of the young hazel. Perfectly camouflaged with colors of browns and white, which looked like spaces between branches, it could eat the newly formed catkins without being detected.


Now... the honest person that I am... I need to let you know this is not actually the bird I saw. Yes, I am more disappointed than you. After grabbing my camera and making my first attempt of getting a good close up without frightening the bird away my flash went off and reflected back at me through the glass. You could just imagine what that picture looked like. I changed the selection on the menu to no flash and handed the camera to Brent. While he was slowly opening the sliding glass doors, I grabbed the dog and held her silent. He was able to get two pictures in without using the flash before the bird flew away. I was so excited and just couldn't wait to post a new article on my views. I quickly took the memory card from the camera and inserted into my computer to download. The disappointment that came across my face as I viewed the white cloud of the reflection in glass and then the dark of the other two pictures. I blew them up in hopes of being able to see a bird but to no avail all was dark. So as you can attest, I am not a photographer. I would only like to be. How many times have I mentioned I need a better camera. It's time for an investment. These two pictures do not fully illustrate the dark reddish brown of 'our' grouse but they are on the same type of tree and engaged in the same activity of eating catkins. Guess I'm fortunate to be able to find the same bird doing the same activity in the tree in the same season.
To this I will close this off and say my view of persons, such as myself, that have blogs can put pictures from the Internet in their posts and nobody would be the wiser. But at least I'm willing to admit it.

My Morning View

As many times as my husband and I think about wanting to move we are reminded of why we love it here so much. There is no way I can put into words the magnificence of this glorious sunrise! No picture or painting can create this ... for our enjoyment. This is how I get to start some of my mornings. What more could I ever ask? Thank you God for your creation for my personal views to start out my mornings.



God you have created fire without having to destroy.







You have engulfed the forests and the mountains with flames of color

.

Here's my hardworking husband. We went through six cords of wood last year. He has decided to put the wood closer to the house for me so I won't need to go to the wood shed if he's not home. Possibly we won't have another winter like we did last year. Hard to say though. We were six days without electricity. (I'll post a couple of those pics at a later date).
Some folks wonder how we get this big ol' dodge back here. He's got a very narrow path he can squeeze by on the south side of the house. And I mean squeeze-the tires almost touching both flower beds.



Now I must admit this has got to be the strangest
view I have ever seen out the back. We have a straight drop off and most of what is back here is fill. If a deer had come through or even an elk but not a horse! This is the most unlikely presence of any animal I could ever expect to be back here. Luckily I was able to capture it running through. It actually had a little pony tagging behind it. Too funny! We did solve the mystery of it's owner a bit later.
So I guess my point of view on this...keep your pets in your own yard! And did you pick up after your um...horse? Just goes to show you - it's difficult to always keep your animals under control. After all they are animals. Most people can't keep their children under control either but that's a whole other topic - don't even want to go there.