A 24 hr drive to and from Texas, a total solar eclipse and visiting my 2 brothers

 Kelly and I have just returned from a 4 day 3,200 mile drive to Marlin Texas to visit my brother Bill and his wife Patty.

First night 13 hours drive to Albuquerque NM

and, keeping in theme,

 dinner at a restaurant called Cosmos.

Second day 11 hours to Marlin Texas

Bill and Patty live in Marlin Texas

where, after a good nights sleep

 we had an amazing viewing of the total solar eclipse

for over 4 minutes

                                   We saw a wonderful corona and solar flare 

                                   with the naked eye, but difficult to photograph

At total darkness the birds stopped talking, 

the outside lights came on and we could see stars

and planets in the sky.

Remember these were taken 

in the middle of the afternoon

                                        

                                            We had special glasses to view

                                          it entering into totality. When the sun light

                                      was returning the roosters next door crowed.

                                   After a picnic lunch we headed back the southern route

                                    to stop one more hotel night in western Texas 

                                    and one more stop to have lunch the next day 

                                    with my brother Simon in  Tucson Arizona.

A wonderful experience driving across country

with Kelly... singing and snacking all the way.

It was so nice sharing the awesome eclipse 

 with Bill and Patty

and seeing Simon .

February into March

The Blue Jays are very entertaining

 

A new roof and chimney wood

we hope the color will mature

at some point.

a few more beach rocks for the dry pond

The boardwalk is beautiful

with the oxalis in bloom

Many rainbows this winter

beautiful clouds bring rain

to make the plants happy

My Christmas cactus blooms 

for a second time.

Thank You Lucy

Dandelion orange marmalade,

those dandelions keep popping up

in the garden.

In February we took to the road

to celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary

We headed to the sierras

passing almond trees in bloom

We enjoyed a lovely site by the Kaweah

river in Three Rivers.

Mike always enjoys cooking

Snow on the Sierras

First stop at the King River

near the cute little town of Kingsburg.

Tasty Jalapeno poppers

Our cozy bedroom

with its new curtains

Cozy coffee in bed

A hike to explore the river.

This is a river that has less water

in the winter and fills in the summer

when the snow melts

 Our hills are very green

as we began our trip on hwy 46

Before we left we picked up the trash

on Hwy 1.

Kelly sewed us new curtains

I enjoyed the Harmony Headlands hike 

with Michelle and Eden and Lily

Eden found a geo cache while

 Lily made friends with a snail

The girls ask me to touch up

their photos with my magic eraser.

Eden is standing on air

And flying

A mud picture of me by Lily

A bit of mud is always fun

Making a bridge over a puddle

In the garden the Camelias

are in bloom

Driftwood gathers on the beach

and inspires creative structures