R.I.P. Pyracantha

Last night, while trekking back to the coop to tuck our hens in, we discovered that our twelve foot tall Pyracantha had fallen during the snow storm.

It was a good bush...sigh...but its nickname was "fire thorn" for a reason...kept us watching our step...

After garnishing our wreath, I wondered what else we can do with the berries... Pyracantha jelly? Wiki says they're not poisonous...

so long old friend. our backyard will look a little naked without you.

Halloween on the Homefront...
Before heading over to the MonkeyGrinder's at Velour, a swashbucklin' Liz decked out the front porch and handed out loot to the trick-or-treaters. without her, the kids' would have gotten nada! Every year Halloween means a LOT of work. And this year was no different. I helped my former co-workers with the downtown events...and then when things were finally over and all 1100 trolls, princesses, and masked what-have-yous had made the rounds...and the carnival games and pop-up tents were down...we hit the road, carpooling to Salt Lake...for our annual fix of Halloween at the Hayes'.

Can you tell what's taking shape?
the principal builder and his second-in-command call it the "pirates nest...argh".
i call it a room with a view or...a sanctuary....or a platform for a zip line...or a way to spin around and induce vertigo...or... "hey, ollie does the tree house count as increasing our square footage and maximizing the value of our home?"

once upon a time, or rather a week ago, i offhandedly mused "i want a hot tub."

in the room were unusually resourceful people who said, "ok!" and then proceeded to discuss stuff about super duper insulation and energy efficient ways to heat lots & lots of water.

and today we have a wish-come-true hot tub!

it sits 10 people. but i bet we could fit more...

thanks hot tub elves! (aka reo & jaime)

now what should i request next?