1. Our family feeding hummingbirds, sometimes almost by hand. They're amazing little birds that are so active that often I can't concentrate on my reading on the back porch because their wings buzz so loudly.
2. Incredible sunrises and sunsets. You need lots of big, open, unobstructed sky to really appreciate the true works of art in God's world. They're amazing to see when there aren't buildings, wires and trees in the way.
3. The animals! Since moving here we've seen elk, deer, rabbits, eagles, hawks, snakes, lizards, squirrels, and the cutest little prarie dogs!
4. Double rainbows brighter than any I've seen through the smog in the Valley or the pieces peeking out between too many trees in NH. It goes back to the big open sky thing.
5. Incredible lightning storms! You can see them rolling in from miles away. They always look like they're hitting so close - sometimes they do - but it's an amazing sight to see up here. Maybe because at almost 6500 ft. elevation they're closer?
6. Raising tadpoles to frogs. This was interesting. With more rain than usual, the disfunctional pool filled with water, then a few frogs found it and laid eggs. We watched what looked like a thousand tadpoles turn canibalistic until there were just a few hundred. Then they looked like mice, all brown and puffy w/long tails. They grew back legs - we were so excited! - then front ones. They turned into tiny little frogs. We threw 10 of them into the golf course pond to save those because we found out how dumb frogs are...they either end up drowning (how does that happen with plenty of pool bottom out of the water?), or they sun themselves til they shrivel up and get eaten by the ants, or they get attacked by the remaining 50 tadpoles. As homeschoolers, it was a neat learning adventure.
7. The wildflowers! I know purple thistles are on the Ferguson family crest, so I was thrilled to see them growing here. There's also wildflowers in oranges, purples, whites, yellows and pinks. I've never seen any of them before. Most are tiny flowers. I also like driving down the road and the black-eyed susan daisies will fill a field until all you see is a carpet of green and yellow.
8. A deep green garden in the usually brown high desert...I can't take ANY credit for that one. I kill plants. I feel like I'm the only one on both sides of my family that can't grow things. The rest of this family however, has grown a beautiful, deep green garden full of green beans, corn, squash, carrots, potatoes, melons, cucumbers, and a few peas. I love eating organic so this is a treat I'm very thankful to have. My part is properly freezing the leftovers for everyone.
9. Green everywhere! This year had more rain than any of the 6 years Tim's parents have lived here. The drive anywhere here is beautiful. Miles and miles of open, rolling green fields and hills. I expected the usual brown this year, being desert, and we're above the tree line, so green is a scarce color here. I'm thankful for all the welcoming green our family's seen this summer.
10. REAL cowboys. They wear hats, boots & jeans, they sing old Cowboy folk songs, they play guitar, live on lots of land, their word is important to them, they're patriotic, can shoot a fly off a fence at 100 yards (or however that saying goes), and they respect women. I wish there was some kind of Cowboy Revival. Our country needs that.
