Chew Toy Bliss

Special Directions from Mark and Bebeth:

"Just don't let Kuja chew on the purple handle of

the ' Tug-of-War' toy!"

It looks like that's the best part!

Walk in the rain

Had a great walk in the rain at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. Beautiful fall colors and big changes to the delta dynamics. There is a big celebration, opening, and unveiling of the new dike system on Thursday the 12th of November.

I spy goats!

Sabine's first hike to see the golden larch trees

on the Ingall's Lake trail.

Close Call

I was working on the patio yesterday afternoon with the chickens all free-roaming in the yard and out of the sky came a bird of prey. Heard the commotion and then saw the predator fly off as all the chickens scattered. It took Lilly and me 30 minutes to go find them all and put them back in their coop. They hide very well when frightenend. No one got hurt, it was a near miss thank goodness!

Here's a picture of the scene of touch down.

Never a dull moment!

Red Book, Black Book, and New Book

For those of you that have traveled with Grandpa Bob, you know where your favorites are. As for Maren, Julia, the "air compressor", and Grandpa Ted, we missed both your company and added volume.

A view into the goings on around a paddle camp on Hand Island

A week of perfect weather made this one of the rare camps where a tarp was not a central camp fixture and gathering area.

A Good Year

We miss you Rosie!

Rest in Peace.

EGG!

Someone (not pictured) was laboring this Labor Day Weekend!

Very exciting, our first egg. It contributed to a delicious dutch baby!

Zopf in dutch ovens!

It was 96ºF inside the house today so Mikaela and I decided to bake outside. We made a Swiss bread called Zopf. Thanks to Betti for being a great teacher! Andy and Heidi liked it!

I love that smile!

David, thanks for capturing it!

Nosey Rosie

Mikaela stole my camera for a while the other day.

Fishing in AK

Julie and I woke up EARLY one morning to go fishing for Kings. We were advised by some fellow anglers at the trailhead to leave our fishing net in the truck. It wasn't big enough. Someone else would let us borrow their net. We saw some HUGE fish brought in but not by us. Had a great time!

Cousins are SO FUN!

Mikaela and Becca

Had a great time hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail today with Mikaela, Becca and Lilly!

Alaska

The Hazards of Working From Home

For Mikaela

In classic little sister mode, Terese is working on one of her many ways to make her big sister happy,...

Deception Pass Field Trip

Thanks Betti!

Sleepyhead

Delta Day

Mud treatments on the Nisqually Delta

They're growing!

Mikaela and Luna

A good book and a new friend.

More Steudel Girls

I  took this photo the day I  brought the chicks home.  Lilly is very sweet with them.  I  wasn't so sure at first but for some reason she's very protective of them.

Projekt Hen House

The chicks are growing fast so Teddy had to get to work on a hen house.  He did a lot of research on some moveable coops and this is what he ended up with.  Pretty posh I think.  

First time in a solo boat!

Dutch Oven Bakers

Mikaela and Térèse baked us a cake in the dutch oven on our last trip in the San Juans.

Mmmm. Good.

Strawberry Island Wildflower Sitings

Blue-Eyed Mary

Hairy Indian-Paintbrush

Western Buttercup

Red-Flowering Currant

Harvesting Kelp

FINALLY!

 Here are the girls holding their newest cousin, Sabine.  We had to stop by after a few days of paddling to see her again.  She's absolutely adorable!  For some fun pictures of her go here

Thank you Mark and Bebeth!

March at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge