Wings and Things

Portal RV Resort
August 9, 2015
Moab, UT

After two days of traveling in Belle and two days on the trails, we opted for a lazy Sunday. Being in Moab at Portal is one of my favorite places to call home. As I perched in my outdoor recliner with the pups our yard was full of life as quick moving and energetic wings fluttered, hovered, and swooped in all directions. 

 It is so peaceful and quiet...catching myself dozing off and waking up to enjoy the sun's light illuminating the roses and sunflowers...

 ...or to catch a deer or two or three munching on the tall grass in the meadow.

The grass has grown and so have those antlers since June!

I did wander across the street to the koi pond for a few more photos...

Hope you are having a great week. Things are pretty quiet around here...and that is not a complaint.

Until next time...did you know that only male frogs call and females can only make short chirpy sounds or peeps? The male's calls advertise their species, general fitness, size, and territory. Notice the round circle behind his eye. That is the frog's eardrum which acts as a shield and cover for their inner ear. It works both under and above water to detect sounds. Vibrations are shuttled all through their body and lungs to an inner ear in their chest...

...now that's pretty cool! So, whether you call or peep, make some noise and let the good-times-roll!

Day 5...

Portal RV Resort
Moab, Utah
September, 15, 2014

Day 5 was the charm...that is Day 5 in the chemo treatment cycle. Overall, Joe has done great. He never even needed any of the three extra meds we got to help with nausea on Day 2 or 3. And on Day 4, he stopped the one medicine he was told he must take to stop nausea for the first 48 hours. Yesterday was Day 5...we made a trip to Grand Junction for a follow-up visit with the Cardiac/Thoracic surgeon. Dr. Lapkin was very pleased with the progress, took out the stitches and said he would like to see Joe in a year. A YEAR! That was just the best news ever! Joe felt better yesterday than he has in months. The other good news...no restrictions on activities and we are hoping to be hiking and jeeping very soon. His lungs and heart are both strong. He does have 5 more chemo treatments.
 Last Saturday morning I took a walk around Portal...all the pictures in todays post are from that walk. It was cool, the sky was so blue and I had a fun time exploring some areas here I have never seen. 

A view of the LaSal Mountains from Portal... 

Portal actually backs up to a watershed formed by the Colorado River. I will revisit this sign in the near future...I was wearing flip-flops and quickly decided that was not good for wandering further into "Portal Outback".


There were lots of dragonflies...Joe and I just watched an episode on Nat Geo about dragonflies. Did you know they were in existence 100 million years before dinosaurs?  According to National Geographic, they are so perfectly made with full body armor and extraordinary eyesight that the only change in their "design" has been in their size.

There are also two spring fed ponds...one for pups and the other for people. White butterflies were fluttering all about. It was hard to get any pictures of them...they were so fast!

Dragonfly wings glisten in the sunlight...

We had visitors late Saturday afternoon while we were sitting outside enjoying some fresh air...

 Three fawns and their mama stopped by for a bite in the meadow...our backyard. Well, mama didn't eat. She stood guard. She wasn't so sure about us.

We so enjoy watching the sunset on the red rocks...its beautiful to watch the sunrise on the red rocks too!

 I am slowly catching up on blogs. Reading about your adventures and making notes!

Well, that's all for now...until next time, take care and...

 happy trails!