Joyful Accomplishment at the Homestead

"There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something."-- Henry Ford

There's definitely joy in the Reinke house tonight. We're pretty happy with what we accomplished over the weekend at our new house. Dennis stripped the walls and ceiling down to the lathe in the kitchen. . .

I stripped off the baseboard and pulled up all the random nails in the floor along the walls. . .

Our friends Steve and Deb sacrificed their Saturday morning to load up their truck with the trash from our demolition and make two trips to the dump. That is true friendship. 

Tomorrow Garth the flooring guy will begin refinishing all our hardwood floors. Even the kitchen. He says they're "classic fir floors" and they're going to look great when he's done. This was music to my ears.

During my work breaks, I did manage to get some photographs of flora and fauna around our homestead. We have two lilac bushes in the front yard that are budding. . .

This deer politely posed for me. . .

There were several bluebirds building nests around our house. They were very hard to photograph, but I did get a picture of this one (look close, he's at the top of the photo near the fence) . . .

This elk was grazing across the street, in our neighbor's yard. . .

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

Nancy

It's a Walk in the Park

Dennis and I spent a good portion of this morning in RMNP.  I'm always glad I have my camera with me when we go for a drive in the Park. These bulls were hanging out not far from the entrance. . .

They still have their antlers, but it won't be long before they shed them. 

This fella was off by himself. . .

You may not be able to tell from this photo, since the bird was too far away for a good shot, but that's a Mountain Bluebird perched on the rock. . .

An interesting fact about this bird is that only the female builds the nest. According to Allaboutbirds.org: "The male sometimes acts as if he is helping, but he either brings no nest material or he drops it on the way." 

This would be akin to the human male either forgetting to pick up the gallon of milk on his way home from work, or dropping it in the driveway. (Just kidding. I personally know of no men who would do such a thing.)

The Black-billed Magpie were pretty busy in the Park this morning, too. . .

Maybe it's just me, but I felt this bird had a little bit of attitude. . .

Magpie are known for their unneighborly conduct, raiding the nests of other birds. However, they also like to land on the backs of large mammals, such as deer and moose, and clean off the ticks. Here in the Rockies, having a magpie on your back could be an asset.

There was a definite feeling of spring in the air, despite the wind. I hiked along Fall River in Endo Valley to get these shots. . .

Dennis got into the act in Moraine Park. . .

Isn't this a wonderful spot for a cabin?

I know there are other beautiful places to live besides the Colorado Rockies, but right now I can't think of any.

    The mountains rose; the valleys sank down

         To the place which You established for them. --Psalm 104:8

Nancy