Lake Bruin State Park

We had a wonderful weekend  at Lake Bruin State Park in St. Joseph, LA. With six of our grandchildren and my son and daughter- in- law, and 2 dogs, we had quite a crew. Our camper sleeps 7 pretty comfortably and we had a tent set up too. It was pretty cold at night and very nice during the day, except Sunday was kinda cold and dreary all day.

The kids brought their bikes and had a great time riding them to the playground. They brought the dogs with them and even had June climbing on the equipment and going down slides. She was soooo tired  at the end of the day she wouldn't even eat.

 

 

There were boats there you could rent (without motors), but my husband and son brought their canoe and kyack. A few of the kids wanted to go in the canoe, but most just wanted to hang around and relax. The lake is really pretty with cypress trees and several nice fishing piers.

Feeding the crowd was an ongoing chore, or um... adventure. We had jambalya one night, hamburgers and dogs one night, monkey bread and of course pancakes and sausage and hasbrowns for breakfast too. I even tried making a dump cobbler that wasn't half bad.

I even ran in to a dear friend from high school. Who woulda thunk!
All in all it was a very nice trip and I think we will try to make it an annual affair.

Signs of Spring

As I was working  in the flower beds yesterday , I came across definite signs of spring....finally.

A fine brown lizzard looking for some supper.

A sleepy green tree frog taking a siesta

A lazy yellow dog sunning her belly and snoozing.

Some fresh eggs in the nest box

And a curious hen...

 All wonderful signs of the spring and summer to come.

Race for the Cure 2010

Yesterday was the Susan B Komen Race for the Cure in Baton Rouge. My sister and I are both breast cancer survivors. We had a small group of family and friends join us in the 5K run/walk.

My husband and son cooked some good jambalaya. We raised $330 in donations from friends and family for research.

The weather was perfect and we finished the walk in about and hour and 15 minutes. What's that, about a 23 minute mile?  Not bad for an out of shape oldtimer like me!

I want to thank everyone for their participation, hopefully this awful disease will be a thing of the past and our children and grandchildren will not have to experience it.

My Son....the Marathon runner!!!

My youngest son ran his 1st Marathon yesterday in New Orleans. We got to see him at the 16 mile, 25 mile and finish line. He finished in 5 hours and 3 minutes...we are very proud of him.

After the race we went out to eat in the French Quarter at a place called the Oyster House.The food was O.K. but very expensive, as usual in that area.We were seated in the upper area and had to climb some long steep stairs.

 

The weather was gorgeous in the low 60's. The kids had a good time walking down Royal St.

Steve and his family stayed in the elegent old Hotel Monteleon on Royal Street.

Here are few pictures of the beautiful cystal chandeliers that hang in the lobby.

Garden Goings On

We finally dried out just enough to plow up the garden and get some seeds planted for our spring/summer garden. Dan plowed the damp earth (probably not dry enough) and rowed up some hills. We planted corn, potatoes, spinach, beets, onions, green onions, pole beans, cantaloupe, carrots, 4 early tomatoes (celebrity), 2 merliton vines, turnips, and mustard greens. We barely got it all planted when the rain came again. Gardening is hard work...I was really tired and sore even though I didn't do that much, only bending and hoeing a little bit. We fudged a little on the timing of planting the tomatoes, hoping it won't freeze too hard and kill them.

The young hens have started laying eggs!! Yipee!! We got four yesterday. Sunday, as we were planting the garden, Dan saw a chicken hawk diving at the chicken pen. We have it covered with chicken wire and he was trying to get in. The rooster was going crazy, running all around. We don't know if he was scared to death or trying to protect his hens, hopefully the latter. When the hawk saw Dan he he lit in a tree and then took off. Thank goodness for the chicken wire cover that Dan put up last year. We were losing chickens as soon as they were old enough to lay. We haven't lost any, since the wire has been up.

Snow in Louisiana!

It has snowed twice this winter. Unbelieveable in Louisiana. We got about 2 inches this morning. It is BIG Heavy snow, almost like ice, but it makes everything look so beautiful.

June found something hiding in under the snow and pounced on it...I don't think she got it.

More winter wonderland.

The ducks were flying out of this pond when they heard us crunching through the snow this morning.

No garden this winter!!!

Mardi Gras Pet Parade

Some of my grandchildren and my husband and I went to the Crewe of Paws Mardi Gras parade last weekend. Everybody brings their dogs, lots of them are dressed in costume. Some of them walk in the parade, but most just stand on the side and watch the sights. There was lots of barking and tail wagging. Here are few pictures of some of the sight.

Next year the kids want to dress up our dogs and walk in the parade. They threw beads and dog biscuits. We had a nice time.