Randy those are very nice photos as always. Amber is a lucky girl to have a dad who does things like this with her.

It has been years since we have gone to the Wichita Mountains but I do recall the buffalo and one trying to stick his head into the car with me.....yikes! I remember prairie dogs also....did you see any of them? They are so cute to watch.

How neat that so many of the cactus were in bloom..the prickly pear is an attractive plant.
Many years ago when my Detroit, MI husband first moved to OK he liked the looks of prickly pear and dug a small one and planted it in his yard...he doesn't recommend it to anyone....lol.

The wildflowers have been just beautiful this year. I was tempted one day to sneak out of the car along the highway and dig one of them for my yard...lol.

Thanks for sharing the photos.
How is your yard doing now? Is the creek back to normal size now?

We got 3 inches of rain here at my house yesterday afternoon.
G.M.

Randy,

What a great weekend trip it must have been. I love the photos. It has been a long time since we have been to the Wichita Mountains, although my son went rock climbing there a couple of months ago.

We were at an outdoor wedding in Tolar, Texas, on Saturday and the weather there was perfect too. They have lots of cactus there on the rocky outcroppings alongside the highway and the yucca (thousands of them) were in bloom. It was quite a sight.

I think the weather this weekend may not be quite as lovely.

Dawn

Great photos Randy!

Nice to see kids with smiling faces. Good theme too. Strong blooming flowers; healthy flourishing children.

Hank

G.M.

Thanks. I'm a lucky dad to have a sweet daughter like her. I'm sure all dads feel that way about their girls though.

The creek was back in it's banks later that day, but there was a lot of standing water in low spots for some time. I'm going to take the push mower into those low areas in the morning if it's not raining.

Dawn

Thanks. It was a fun weekend. I've never seen the abundance and diversity of wildflowers and things in bloom as it's been this spring. The one decent side effect of abundant moisture. Makes me wonder what winter will be like when all this stuff becomes tinder.

Hi Hank.

Thanks. The girls love this weekend. Some quiet time with dad and some time with friends doing things a little out of the norm.

randy

Randy,

It is raining here right now, so no one will be mowing grass at our house today even though it really needs it. :(

If I get desperate to get the grass mowed, I can use the wheeled weedeater to cut the tall stuff down to a manageable level and then go back over it with either the push mower or riding mower.

I have been wondering what will happen when all the green, lush growth dries out significantly. It is hard to imagine that we could find ourselves back in wildfire conditions again so soon, but it could easily happen.

For us, the lush and rampant growth from a wet summer of 2004 (12" of rain at our house in June 2004 alone) contributed greatly to the widespread wildfires we experienced from the autumn of 2005 to the summer of 2006. I sure don't want another wildfire season like that.

When we were in Texas last weekend I noticed that some areas south of Fort Worth were significantly drier than it is here. In one town between Fort Worth and Stephenville there were already BURN BAN signs at the city limits.

Dawn

We've had a light rain here most of the night. My Adeniums may have to be moved back to the greenhouse to keep them dry. This is getting ridiculous. :-) Think I've watered them once since they got moved outdoors.

randy

Randy,

It has rained lightly all night here too, and the rain was so light that I didn't think it would add up to very much.

So...in the rain gauge we have 7/10s of an inch and the light rain continues. We have HUGE puddles everywhere....much larger than you would expect from less than an inch of rain. Of course, the saturated ground just can't absorb the current rainfall quickly enough.

Your adeniums are so lovely. Isn't it crazy you may have to move them back into the greenhouse to stay dry! I am hoping this moisture is not too much for my lavender.

I have watered my veggie garden and flower beds once this year and it was just a light watering early this week because I knew we were supposed to get rain late in the week, as indeed we have.

I wish we could get about an inch of rain a week, instead of 4" or 5" in one week, and then none for several weeks. However, I am still grateful for any and all rain we receive.

We have already had a lot of skeeters, and now I feel we will have another big bunch of them hatching out. Our baby purple martins have begun flying this week, so maybe they will help their parents keep the pests under control. I haven't seen any bats yet, so maybe it is still a little early for them to be out.

Dawn

Randy, you are great.

Some of fondest memories were of fishing, camping, and golfing with my Dad. I am 56 now and lost him 15 years ago but no one can ever erase the memories of those great times.

He made me a better parent and a better grandparent for sure.

Your daughter is blessed. Steffie

Steffie,

I'm just a grumpy ole man that needs a life. Just ask Amber. :-)

randy

Randy,

Amber may grumble (what kid doesn't?) but I believe deep in her soul she knows EXACTLY how lucky she is to have such a wonderful, caring dad involved in her life!

Now that our 'little boy' is almost 23 years old and has begun his professional career, he is SO CLOSE to his dad. There had been that "I'm grown up and you can't tell me what to do or how to do it" clash on and off since DS became a teenager. Well, all that is behind them now.

Since they both work for D-FW Airport (DH in police, DS in fire), they have many co-workers and friends in common, and are always discussing their retirement plans and investment opations. They are often involved in the same 'incidents' at the airport, with DH usually running the police command post, and son responding as either an EMT/First Responder or Firefighter. It is amazing to see them relate to one another as co-workers and buddies and not just as father and son.

By the way, if anyone had told DS when he was a teenager that he would end up working for DH's employer and LOVING IT, he would have vehemently denied that such a thing would ever, ever occur. Now, sometimes he says to me...."It is amazing how much I am getting to be just like Dad." (And he says it with pride, too!)

The closeness you and Amber share now will get you through the terrible teen years! I know, 'cause we've been there and done that!

Dawn

Dawn,

You are so right. There are a bunch of parents out there that don't talk to their kids. Then when those kids turn into teens that have forgotten how to communicate, there is no comfort level to work things out and things can get ugly.

I'm constantly reminding Amber to spell it out. I'm just a dumb old man with one foot in the grave. Help me understand what you're are thinking. Talk to me like I'm in diapers. :-) Tends to lower the stress level and add fun to the situation.

Telling our teens "because I said so" didn't work well with a couple of the older ones too well. :-)

It's great your son and husband are so close. I couldn't hug my dad until I was almost 40. He was a macho man, never wrong, never questioned, never seeking advice, only wanting silence and strict adherence to his spoken word. We both made choices that hindered our relationship. It's fine now, but I can't help but be sad over all those wasted years.

randy