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Borrego Springs, CA

Monday, July 7, 2014

What a week

Once my daughter and two grandgirls arrived to visit last Tuesday, my time for writing posts or reading blogs evaporated.  We were busy from the moment they arrived until this morning. 

Wednesday, Avery and Phoebe were off to the morning’s children’s program at the Chippewa Picnic Area while Bridget and I started the Loon Survey.  After lunch we headed for the visitors center.  The girls spent quite some time watching all the birds at the feeders.

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Later we visited the settler’s cabins area that is only open to the public during the Fall Festival weekend.

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One of the staff had suggested going there for photos.  He had hauled an old car frame to the area that he had found hidden elsewhere on the refuge.  It made for some nostalgic photo ops.  Robyn took this photo of Phoebe and Avery.  She’s thinking of entering it in the refuge photo contest. 

Thursday we headed off for a picnic at Itasca State Park thinking it wouldn’t be too crowded before the holiday weekend.  We were sure wrong about that, but the girls had a grand time donning their swimsuits and splashing around in the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River.

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On Friday, July 4th, my oldest son Daniel and his wife Crystal arrived.  They both had lots of help setting up their tent in my front yard.  Robyn and the girls stayed with me in the rig.

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                       Starting on the left – Robyn, Daniel, John, Bridget, Phoebe, Crystal, and Avery.

We dragged over the extra picnic table from John and Bridget’s site and enjoyed a tasty July 4th BBQ.  John brought ribs and I fixed the smoked pork chops with pineapple.  We had fruit and a couple of salads and literally ate ‘high off the hog’.  Breaking bread with family and good friends can’t be beat!

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As I finished the dishes, I heard music coming from John and Bridget’s site.  Who would have guessed that John plays the dulcimer?  Do you see what he is plucking the strings with?  I have heard that back in the day the best thing to use for playing the dulcimer was a feather from the left wing of a wild turkey.  Well, at least five years ago, I found two left wing turkey feathers at Rice Lake State Park.  I have been saving them ever since hoping to find a dulcimer player that could use them.  Cool beans!

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John played some snappy tunes, and it got the rest of us to tapping our feet or jumping up to do a little jig.  The girls even got to try playing his first dulcimer.  The one John was playing sounded just like a banjo.  A fun time.  I still have my soprano recorder tucked away in a drawer.  Maybe I should get it out and practice up.  Maybe we could have an old time jam session some time.  Winking smile

I’ll cover the rest of our weekend in another post.  Lots more happened, and I admit that I’m pretty worn out today.  It also doesn’t help that I’ve seen to have caught the cold, or whatever, that Avery and Robyn brought with them.  Hard to avoid the germs with four of us in the rig…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

24 comments:

  1. The gathering looks like so much fun, and the music had to be icing on the cake. I'd love to have been there, especially since I've always found only feathers from right wings of the turkey and would like to see the left wingers! Hope you shake the cold soon

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  2. Wondered where you were. Now I know! What a grand time!

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  3. You've been busy with your family get together, how very special, despite getting a cold. Great memories that will be cherished for years to come! :c)

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  4. We have a NOMADS friend who plays and teaches the dulcimer. Wonder if she knows the trick?

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  5. Glad you had family time. It is hard to come by when we live and travel full time. I would love to learn to play the dulcimer.

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  6. Sure looks like you all had a wonderful week together! The girls are growing prettier by the year and their photo at the cabin should indeed be a prize-winner! How wonderful to also get a dulcimer concert to finish off your big picnic. Such a soothing "down home" instrument!

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  7. Fun! Well, except for the cold. I was wondering where you've been. Glad you had such a great excuse - LOL!

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  8. Sounds like a great time had by all.

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  9. Wow you had a full week-end and lots of fun and friends and family. Are you sure you aren't going to be too tired for more company in just a few days. We didn't time it very well did we?? Love those old fashioned looking brownish photos. I definitely think she should enter that one.

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  10. You have a much better reason for not blogging than I do. You have been having too much fun. Sure glad to hear it. Love those pictures. And I love dulcimer music. Wish I knew how to play something. Take care of yourself and get over that cold.

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  11. Nothing like a fantastic family time together. The old time looking photos are wonderful!

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  12. I love the photos too. Looks like a great fun time.

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  13. Living high off the hog is right - good for you. Great pic of your granddaughters in the old car in front of the barn - should be a winner!

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  14. The left and right wing feathers fascinates me! Playing the dulcimer with a feather is wonderful!

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  15. Dave tried playing his recorder in a jam session one time but the other instruments drowned him out. Maybe it would work with a dulcimer, though. I think you should go for it.

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  16. Love the filter applied to the photos of your cute little granddaughters! Is that what they call sepia? Never heard of playing a dulcimer with a feather, something new I learned today! Have some dulcimer playing friends from Sun 'n Fun in Sarasota, will have to ask them if they do that.

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  17. What a great family time! Makes me wish my family could visit us here. I love that photo of the grandgirls... looks like a winner to me! Good reading you again...

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  18. That phot is a winner, even if she doesn't enter it in the contest.

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  19. As I recall, Minnesota has a strong Progressive political tradition, so it's logical that you would find left-wing turkey feathers there :-)

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  20. Oh what fun. I love the sepia photos. Excellent job!

    You sure made a ton of memories. So glad you had such an awesome time!

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