What an Amazing Trip

Terrie and I never cease to be amazed at our wondrous country! The shows we did in Henderson, NV, Litchfield Park, AZ, and Tucson, AZ, weren't that great, but driving across our great nation was astonishing! Oh, we met wonderful people, both customers and artists, and sold feeders and other items, but seeing what is in our great country overpowers any and all shows.

Highlights were the Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson where we sat in the hummingbird aviary for about 3 hours. We saw two different species on nests and several species of hummers flitting about and were just in total awe!

On the way home we drove through the White Sands National Monument and were again in awe. We had a chuckle in Roswell, NM. We absorbed the history in Dodge City, KS. Seeing the ocean off the California coast reminds us that there IS a greater being. Being with family reminds us of our ties to the past and to the future. The United States of America is a fabulous country and the people who "fly over" miss so damn much! From ocean to mountains to desert - from grasses to sauguaro cacti to scrub to wilderness and timberland - think of how our ancestors felt when seeing these things on their treks across the land in their wagons. It boggles the mind!

Now we're back in Missouri and gearing up for spring and summer shows. Needless to say, we found glass in our wanderings that is just waiting to be turned into functional garden art. And we're ready to create! After we catch up with 4 weeks of mail...........

Hummingbird fact for today: Using pesticides on your garden is NOT a good idea when you have hummers.

On The Road

What fun we are having! Headed out to Ventura, CA, first. On the way we stood on the corner in Winslow, AZ (yes, there really is a corner). Then we spent a week with my son the Naval Flight Officer and his wife. It was great to get to know Kate better and marvel at what a wonderful man my son has become. From there we headed to a show in Henderson, NV. Turned out that it was an extremely small show with only about 1,000 people coming through in the two days. We met a marvelous lady who has led a fascinating life. Additionally, she liked my work and bought several pieces!

Then we went to visit Terrie's mom and husband in Yucca Valley, CA. This, too, was a great week. Left there for a show in Litchfield Park, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix. We met some wonderful artists, sold some feeders, and enjoyed the great weather. Terrie managed to hook up with one of her girlfriends from high school (Lexington, MO, class of 1970). From Phoenix we hit the back roads heading to Tucson. Again, Terrie tracked down another high school chum and I was enlightened (to say the least) about some of my wife's dubious activities when she was younger. We had a great visit and then headed on down to Tombstone. Terrie indulged my passion for airplanes and we spent a day at the Pima Air and Space Museum. I plan to indulge her (and my) passion for hummingbirds and visit the Sonora Desert Museum. Then we will get ready for the 4th Avenue Spring Fair in Tucson this coming weekend.

Road trips are great! As Terrie has observed, it seems that 90% of America's population is concentrated in about 10% of the space. There's a whole lot of nothing out there in this great country of ours and we all need to take the time to see it.

Grandson #3 was born this past Friday. Terrie says it is only fitting that her son have 3 sons spaced just two years apart because paybacks can be hell. It also reminds us of the fact that God gives babies to young people because we old folks have lost our patience.

Hummingbird fact for today: Over 340 species of hummers exist in the Western Hemisphere, with about 20 species visiting North America at some point in the year.