School Days: Fall 2014

classroom pets

jumpy the frog.

 i found him down on the lowest deck by the creek when i was down there by myself.  

i had to give myself a pep talk in order to grab him.  i'd just rather have george or river do that.  

 feeding the Koi fish

walker and i heard a cat meowing through the air vents.  it was her dream come true.  i was convinced it was the neighborhood bobcat's kittens that were making a home under our house.   gladly it was just this sweet cat, Tiger Lily, that we had on the back porch for 10 days.

we found this caterpillar in the wood chips during the process in which he was changing from a caterpillar to a pupa.  when we first discovered it, this is what we saw:

then 12 hours later or so, it was dark and hard and in pupa stage.  incredible.  

state fair of texas 2014

red river 2014

These photos will forever freeze in time a very special trip for us and our extended family.  

In 1954, my father-in-law, George A. Berre, went on his one and only childhood vacation to Tall Pines cabins in Red River, NM.  When Pete and Sherril had children, they retreated back to the fishing hole at Tall Pines for several summers with their best friends and their families.  In July 2006, the Berre family returned to Red River.  Sherril and I sat on the porch of her cabin at Tall Pines and she told me that she was so excited to bring all her grandchildren here.  That conversation stuck out in my mind because George and I were newlyweds...only married for 6 weeks when we rode in the back of the conversion van watching VHS movies as my in-laws drove us to the mountains.  Now we think back to that summer we all came as young married couples and wonder how we passed the time with no kids to enjoy.

These photos are priceless.  The time together in one of our favorite places on earth was even more spectacular that the pictures depict.  It was a dream come true for Pete and Sherril, who have now become Nommie and Grandpa to so many grandchildren...the fruition of the dream they dreamed so many years ago on their porch at Tall Pines.

We threw rocks.  We climbed the stairway to heaven.  We fished.  We explored.  We waded in the ice-cold river.  We played nickel-knock.  We ate smores.  We went to the trading post and traded beautiful rocks for souvenirs. We drank hot coffee on the porch.  We had tea parties.  We walked on the grassy path between the brook and the river.  We let the kids run wild.  We played soccer.  We watched Nommie serve the kids hot chocolate with no less than 40 marshmallows in each mug.  We sat.  We rested.  We added to the hundreds of memories that the Berre family has at Tall Pines. 

we love summer.