Special Wreath and Fence decor

This pic shows off not only my finished gate and part of my new fence, but it also shows off the wonderful surprise Christmas wreath I received in the mail this past week!!! The wreath is a gift from my New Mexico grandson!  What a beautiful surprise!! Looks great out here on my fence along with my new fence decor.  The New Mexico Zia symbol is a piece of metal work I purchased while visiting New Mexico in September. It, along with several wrought iron pieces add to the southwestern "flavor" to my lakeside exterior decor. 

After school campfire

On one of the coldest days this fall 20 plus students attended the "after school" campfire in my newly decorated "Spanish" courtyard.  The event had originally been scheduled to be held at a much more roomy location but due to the extreme cold we moved it to my more sheltered courtyard area. We roasted hot dogs and marshmellows on my firepit. Hot chocolate was also provided along with chips and orange frosted cupcakes. Thanks to a dear friend and two other adults for helping out as we all ate and snuggled around the fire. I had planned to share a special story called "Owl Moon" but again, most everyone was eager to eat and leave in order to return to indoor warmth. The event was to culminate the summer reading program theme and despite the cold everyone had a good time.

Library Planning Meeting

 Bonnie McKewon, representing our northwest Iowa library assoc. region conducted the first of two workshops to help the Lake View Public Library plan for their upcoming goals for the next 3 years.  This is a requirement to maintain our tier 3 accreditation status. Our small meeting room seated 26 community members, staff and library board members as we ate pizza, delicious bars and discussed the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of our small lakeside community.  I for one would love to include the expansion of our meeting room as a long term goal but am not sure if that is a feasible possibility right now.  One can dream, right!!?

Special Home Interior Scenes

 A special mosaic designed by Zoe Mosaic Designs in Albuquerque, N.M. now hangs prominently in my hall entry way.  It was designed by my new Albuquerque friend who spent the night in my home during Iowa's recent RAGBRAI event this past July. I requested a southwest scene to go with a lot of my other southwestern decor in my lakeside home. I personally picked up this beautiful mosaic while traveling in New Mexico this past October. I also purchased the book you can see in one picture that tells all about the painted ponies that were famous several years ago throughout the state of New Mexico.  I have a small version of one called "War Pony". The painting above my fireplace was painted by a local New Mexico artist and was one of the few items that wasn't destroyed during my house fire in 2004.

At Journey's End in Santa Fe

These are shots of a special tourist attraction in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The sculptures depict the end of the trail for pioneers heading west in the 1800s.  I was unable to take pictures from the opposite side due to the direction of the sun.  As such I couldn't get a good picture of the informational display case that told all about the building of this attraction.  Notice also the type of building structure of the home in the background.  Santa Fe is also unique to the fact that ALL HOME AND EVEN BUSINESSES have to be adobe brown in color with adobe looking structure as well. It is a great city to visit and especially if you know someone as I do who lives there to drive you around all the narrow and often dirt and steep roads within the city itself.  It is an easy place to get lost in if you don't know your way around.  I had another great but shorter visit to this area this past summer where I bought several new outdoor decor items from another unique place called Jack o Lope.  Not sure I have it spelled correctly but do recommend it if one is in Santa Fe.

Drought induced "beaches"

Some shots of the "beach area" along my shore of Black Hawk Lake after the drought and manual lowering of the lake level in preparation for the big fish kill expected later this fall. Certainly makes for some unusal sights. My brother, the painter, is able to paint the lake side of his storage shed much easier with there being no water to deal with. His steps that attach to his dock have never been this exposed -- as if they are like the Alaskan pipline that "leads to nowhere". haha Hopefully we will get enough snow or ice to help in the water level come next spring.  There will definitely be better fishing in a couple of years once the new fish are put in after the "big kill"!

Pelican's Return

Saw this large gathering of pelicans this past week floating by my lakeside home. They have "hung around" our lake longer than ususal this time of year probably due to the good fishing they are finding due to our lowered lake level - a process initiated in preparation for some major lake improvement projects already in progress.  Avid fishermen and women will have some great fishing to look forward to in a couple of years. They will just have to have patience as beautiful Black Hawk Lake is enhanced in the months ahead.

Do apologize for the somewhat blurry image.  Either they or I was moving too fast.