Spring is Coming, Isn't It?

I am so tired of winter. My husband stated back in November he hoped we had a lot of snow that he could plow this year. He meant a lot of snow at one time. God didn't. He meant a little snow, many times! So this winter has been long. I now understand why people go south for the winter when they retire. But I'm looking forward to spring. It really will come. I love the flowers, the greening of everything, the nice weather! and most importantly all of the fun activities that can be done in the spring. We like to take our fourwheeler out to play. I love backpacking, and my kayak misses me, and hiking in general is great in the spring. And then a wonderful activity I've actually only done once, but rock climbing is incredible! Waterfalls, even seasonal ones are usually beautiful. For those of you with beautiful flowers blooming already, I'm jealous! But within a month we should have our own flowers. I did notice the dogwoods the other day. The buds were swelling like they are also preparing for spring and will bloom soon.

From Enemies to Best Friends

For anyone that has many conversations with me, you know about our miniature schnauzer, Kendall. I just can't help but bring her up in conversation. Kendall was my husband's dog before we ever met. The first time her and BootsKitty met, it wasn't a pretty sight. Actually they didn't like each other the entire time we dated. Remember Boots is a diabetic cat, and where I go, he goes, and Kendall is a dog so where my husband went, she went. Which meant that every time we saw each other we each had a pet in tow. Right after we returned to my parents to retrieve the cat after our honeymoon, we left them alone while we went to church. At that time they wanted nothing to do with each other...or should I say Boots wanted nothing to do with Kendall. She thought everyone should be her friend, even the cat that striped her nose. So, we went to church and returned to find them sitting side by side. It was as if they were saying, ok, since this is obviously permanent I guess we will have to deal with it. We've come to a truce. Now, nearly two years later, they are best buddies. They love to wrestle and chase each other. And sometimes I think they team up to get into things although that is when no one is looking so I'm not real sure. Who would have ever thought that one curious, energetic, silly schnauzer and a cat could be best friends? But I'm glad they are, it makes it much nicer when I have happy pets!

Yellowstone

While typing yesterday, I started thinking about all of the fun trips I have been able to take. The first trip I have any memories at all of is a trip to Corpus Christi, Texas when I was three or four. The main memory...I got stung by a jellyfish. It was several years before we were able to take another trip, and we went to Colorado. The following year it was Colorado and Yellowstone, two years later, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, and two years after that it was Yellowstone and Glacier. Yes, when we visited Yellowstone we fell in love with it. So upon starting college I was fortunate enough to have my dream come true. I was hired to work in Yellowstone the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. I was serving pizza at the Lake House, overlooking Yellowstone Lake. I got there in mid-May. The lake was still frozen, snow drifts were higher than my head. I was at work the day the lake cracked. It was all frozen, then rather quickly the ice cracked and sank to the bottom with a windchime like sound. That summer was incredible. I never did see a grizzly bear although one was frequently seen between my dorm and work. I missed the moose that swam across the lake right in front of the restaurant. But the memories are unforgettable. I hiked 125 miles that summer, while working 40-48 hours per week. I remember hiking to Heart Lake and returning for evening Bible study. We were discussing how we knew God existed that night and I remember Holly (my roommate and hiking buddy) and I looked at each other. I think she's the one that said what we were both thinking. We had hiked sixteen miles that day, barely saw another person, saw spectacular hot pools, mountains reflecting off the lake, and a beautiful scene. We had also seen the effects of the fires of 88 and how much the trees had grown back. Her statement "Being here with all of this beauty and diversity, how could you not believe in God? Things this wonderful aren't just by chance." I've remembered that as I've seen some of the greatest places in this country and even in the Caribbean. God's hand is in all we see, all we are, and all we do. We just have to trust him. He created magical places like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, but that isn't all he does. He created us too. So no matter what is going on in your lives right now, just remember God is there.

Breathing Underwater Submersible Scooters

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

There are many fun things in life a person can experience, but one I never dreamed I would be doing would be riding around on a scooter underwater with my head in an oxygen filled bubble, but this past January, that is exactly what I was doing. We were on a cruise, at St. Thomas, when we signued up to do the Breathing Observation Submersible Scooter shore exursion. It was a lot of fun as we got to see coral, the crystal clear water, and all sorts of interesting fish. According to the person that owns them there were only about 200 of these ever made, so St. Thomas is one of the few places where you can ride a scooter underwater. The first thing we did was we were taken out to a little cove where we were given instruction in how to get onto the submersible scooter. Then one by one we jumped in the water, going to the designated scooter number. I jumped in and swam over to my scooter and was one of the first to be submersed. While they dropped us 8-10 feet underwater our only job was to keep popping our ears so the pressure didn't affect us. That was easy enough. Then they let us putter around while everyone else got underwater and then we posed for our picture. I was glad we had thought to bring waterproof cameras because I paid $7 for ours back in Missouri, but they would have sold them to us for $20! Then we went around for a while looking at things, making a small circle over a boat that had sunk. It seemed like we had just gotten started when our turn was up and they brought us back to the surface. After we had ridden the scooter we were also able to snorkel and while snorkeling we saw a sea turtle swimming around. Unfortunately I had already used all the film on my underwater camera before the little guy swam right underneath us. We saw fish of every color of the rainbow, which made our bass and crappie, and even a rainbow trout look a little boring. The colors were so amazing and we had so much fun that I actually have considered getting a saltwater aquarium so that I could look at it everyday and be reminded of our underwater experiences, but then I rationalize that the cat would probably try to eat the fish, the dog would probably try to play with them, and I'd have to figure out how to keep a saltwater tank clean! Guess I'll just have to visit places that have the aquariums in order to see the fish and coral. Or maybe I'll just have to go back to the Caribbean and go snorkeling again!

Meet BootsKitty, One Lucky Cat

From the start, Boots has been a very lucky kitty cat. You see, the way his life started out was with a mamma that nobody wanted and had dumped at a State Park in Northeast Arkansas. So of course, no one wanted the kittens to love either. These cats ran wild through the park and the story goes that Boots was just a little wilder than the others. One day a visitor to the park asked if they could try to trap the cats so she could take them home and let them be barn cats to eat the mice out of her barn. The park thought that was a great idea so they set out to capture the cats. They caught them all, except for one really wild one. A couple days later the park superintendent's mother was sitting on her back porch in the park when one "wild" black and white cat came and jumped up on her lap. It turns out that Boots wasn't really that wild, he was just going for a life of luxury instead of a barn cat's life. So since the superintendent already had two dogs and two cats and no room to really keep another cat, my phone rang. I had just gotten a full time job and moved into my first house. Since I was all alone I was going to get a pet anyway, so when I got a call saying there was a little kitten needing a home, I adopted him. For the first couple months that Boots and I lived together it required adjustment. He wanted to sleep in my bed, which was fine, but when he would wake up in the middle of the night he would crawl up around my head and chew on my hair, right at the roots. Not a very fun way to be woken up night after night, so Boots was banished from the bedroom. Then I had to be gone for a week and felt bad cause he'd been lonely and let him back in and he's not tried that again. So time passed and BootsKitty became very important to me. If I cried he'd lay beside me and soak up my tears. We played all the time. And he grew. Then one day I about 3 years ago I came home from a weekend camping and found my kitty so sick he couldnt even lift his head. I rushed him to the vet as fast as I could get there, crying the whole way. When I got him there, the prognosis was not good. He had a major urinary tract blockage, which they didnt know if they'd be able to clear or not. I had to leave him overnight with the vet and when I called the next morning he was doing better but was still pretty sick. They let me visit him and I think it was two days later I got to bring him home, with a new diet plan. He was to eat only this food for urinary tract problems. So we made it through that, he returned to being a healthy cat. Then two years ago, about a year after the urinary problems, BootsKitty wasn't acting quite right so it was back to the vet. He was diabetic. Severely. His blood sugar was in the 580 range, when it should have been right around 100. So after 6 weeks of trying to regulate his blood sugar, we got it under control, but now, my cat has to have insulin shots two times every day. No more leaving the cat behind, he goes too, wherever we go, or otherwise we have to get a babysitter. And yes, he has his own "tent" for camping. I guess maybe God knew Boots would need that extra bit of love and that's why he was never captured for a barn cat.

Pictures

Here is that rest area where I first saw the mountains! Of course my sister and I had to pose for a picture. The scary thing is that picture was taken in 1992 and I still have those shorts, although I only wear them for sleeping now and my husband doesnt like them:) But they are the most comfortable pair of shorts I've ever owned.
Florence during one of her rare indoor performances during a Senior American Special. You might think this sounds like a kids program but these adults loved it!

A closer look at Florence and a friend after the program.












Tomorrow is Sunday, which since I have to work I probably won't post (I dont get up as early on work sundays:) So Enjoy the pictures tonight and since I've learned how todo them, I will try to add more frequently!

A Monumental, Unexpected Visit from a Flying Squirrel

So you may be wondering why my name is Flying Squirrel Fan. It's a simple story really, and one that all of my friends are probably well aware of. Back in 2002 I was living and working at the best state park in the world (ok, so maybe I'm biased:). It took me 30 minutes to get to town, and that was where I went to church. After working on a Sunday, I went to town for the evening service at church. Meanwhile back at the house, events were unfolding. I returned home to a cat (at the time he was too much overweight) staring into a pile of walmart bags. For those of you that visit Walmart regularly, you will know that this was not a small 5 or 6 bag pile, but a monstrous, completely filled up large nook full of walmart bags. Having never seen my cat just sit and stare at a pile of bags, I asked him what he was doing. He wouldn't tell me...or maybe I just didnt speak cat, I'm not sure. Anyway, I fed him and he left the bags. I had sat down on the couch in the living room getting ready to read whatever book I was currently engrossed in when I saw it. There was a little flying squirrel running as fast through the house as his little legs would carry him. There was a large cat in pursuit. That put me in pursuit. So around the house we went, flying squirrel, cat, me. This lasted for a good five minutes and many trips through the house before I decided I needed to find advice, so I called up our friendly park ranger (he had previously lived in the house, I thought he might have experienced this before). He told me to open up the door and herd it out. Hmmm....herding flying squirrels works about as well as herding cats. By this time the chace has gone over every bit of furniture I owned, I almost lost a cat in a toilet, and I wasn't sure how it would all end. Eventually the flying squirrel ran into a folded up quilt. I grabbed the quilt and took it outside and tried to shake the flying squirrel out. He wouldnt turn loose. So....I laid the quilt down and after I had gone back inside, I saw little beady eyes peak out, look around and then glide to a nearby tree. When he landed he ran around the tree.

So, that's not the only wild animal that has ever been in my house. But for some reason that flying squirrel inspired me. I am an interpreter, and what I do is find fun ways to interpret nature. So that night, while trying to sleep an idea began forming in my head. People don't know anything about flying squirrels. They need to understand them. A program, but not any program would do. I wanted to become that flying squirrel. A phone call to my mom, who sounded like she thought I'd lost my mind, produced the groundwork for a flying squirrel costume. A few months later after learning all I could about flying squirrels, and my mother figuring out how to make a costume, Florence the Flying Squirrel became a reality. My favorite interpreter program I have ever done in nearly seven years of interpreting. I became known as the flying squirrel person and this past year even got to take Florence to the National Association Of Interpretation conference. And yes, my trademark began with just one little flying squirrel running through my living room. (Pictures to come whenever I figure out how to do that).