A New Lifer!!

Hi Everybody! Remember me? I think this is the longest I've gone without a blog post. Lots of reasons- summer's been pretty busy. Work is progressing on our construction up north at Hasty Brook. Our two-story garage is on moving along. The septic system is in and has been inspected and the slab has been poured. The trusses are being ordered this week and materials will ship next week too. I received an email a few weeks ago from Richard from At the Water with suggestions and an amazing offer to help with the wiring of our new building. Last Friday Art and I took of for a drive to meet Richard at his lovely lake home to discuss the plans and get an idea of what we'll need.

My new life blogger is Richard of At the Water!!!!

What a nice fellow. Art, who can be a bit shy with new people said the meeting Richard was like meeting an old friend. Within minutes we were chatting like we'd known each other for years. Richard is a really interesting and multi talented man. His career history is amazing.

I've always said that the best part of blogging is the people I've gotten to know and the friendships I've formed. Richard is a perfect example. We got a tour of Richard's gardens and beautiful yard. We got to see the deck project he's been working so hard at. It's just so nice to actually see the views that I've seen through Richard's wonderful photos. I even snapped a few pictures of the young Orioles at the nectar feeder on his deck rail. We spent hours talking and laughing.

We even got to meet Richard's dog Jessy. I grew up with pug dogs and have a very special love for that breed so it was so nice to be able to spend time with this sweet old girl.

Isn't that a face to love?

Thank you Richard for letting me add you to my "Blogger Life List" and for your wonderful hospitality and friendship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somewhere along the way this month I lost the ability to download photos to my laptop. Not sure what the problem is, but I'm hoping this weekend Art, my "computer master" will try to figure it out. In the mean time I'll try to get some Hasty progress pix onto my little net-book so I can share the developments up there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometime last year I put a little "Blogiversary date" button on my sidebar and then completely forgot about it. Last week I hit the three year mark on my blog. Here's what I said in my first post:

It's time to just jump in with both feet. I've stalled and fretted long enough. I decided to start a blog as a sort of electronic journal to record pictures, observations and thoughts of a piece of land we call Hasty Brook. We bought ten acres of wooded land in northern Minnesota in the spring of 2005. We justified it by calling it an investment/savings plan for the future. On the first trip up just to look at the property I was hooked! I'm not a photographer or writer by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd like to try to share what I see and feel when I'm at Hasty Brook.

I'm still taking photos (and I hope I've improved a bit), and I'm still writing of my love for that place. I have learned so much from you all about birds and life and friendships. I share parts of my life here at home, my travels, and my love for birds too but I think I've stayed pretty true to my intentions. The part of this whole blogging experience that's really caught my heart is you all who come here to read and maybe to comment. The friendships I've found here are extraordinary. The people I've been blessed to meet through this blog have enriched my life more than I can say.

Thank you for all of the kind words over these past three years. Thanks especially for the kindness and support during my tough times with the loss of my Mom and then my sister.

I wish I could meet you all!

Remember- there will aways be a place for you at Hasty Brook Assisted Living Community!