Success

Well, I think yesterday was a success. :)  Here's what I was up to...

Visited Super Cao Nguyen, a huge Asian grocery store
Bought paper for the Neumans' sign at Hobby Lobby
Visited Walmart ($0.25 cans of pumpkin for the win!)
Stopped by to say hi to Amos at work
Visited Crest
Started pho, Vietnamese noodle soup (which our Vietnamese brother-in-law actually doesn't like!  ?!?!)
Mixed bread dough
Washed the dishes
Started to rearrange the upstairs
Listened to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Ate pho for dinner (very good!)

Today?
Finish organizing the upstairs
Wash more dishes
Bake my bread (when it finishes rising)
Start the sign for the Neumans
Read a book (hmmmmm, which one?!)
Figure out what to make for dinner
Try not to freeze!  The wind chill is driving the temperature down into negative territory!
Ring in the new year with my sweetheart and best friend! :)

A week off

I have this week off!  Amos and I spent Wednesday through Sunday up in Nebraska, visiting family, watching movies, eating dinakoga (I think that's how you spell it), shopping at Goodwill, and watching a brother and brother-in-law fix up Amos' parents' new house! ;)

I don't have to work this week (YEAAAAAAAAA!), so I am going to try to get a lot of things done.  Today's projects?

Pay rent
Go to the library
Go to Sprouts
Go to ALDI
Go to Hobby Lobby for some candleholders for my Goodwill candle sconces
Do the dishes and clean the kitchen
Make a list for the rest of the week!
Unpack and rearrange the living room
Vacuum the downstairs
Pick Amos up from work
Make dinner

List
Make a sign for Danielle and baby Amelia
Bleach the bathtub caulk
Clean the bathroom
Write down all the stuff that our landlord has done so we have a record in case we need it :P
Paint this year's ornament (oops)
Add and delete books from our master book list
Reshelve books
Pour candles
Bake bread
Clean and sweep the backyard
Write more blog posts
Finish at least one book
Work on my annual book post
Rearrange the upstairs
Take pictures of our new place

Almost 2015

Five more days till Christmas! What?!?!  Where has the time gone?

Work
I've been working at the OSU-OKC Testing and Assessment Center for two months now, and it is going okay.  The work isn't that hard, but it is customer service, so you hope every person who comes in is going to be nice.  You hope they won't throw a fit when you tell them they can't take an expired test, they should leave their mechanical pencils in their lockers, and, worst of all, they can't wear hats into the testing room.
I like my coworkers.  One of them, the only guy in the office, is a retired Navy guy.  He tells me stories about narrow misses with aircraft carriers and almost starting World War III during the Cold War off the coast of Libya.  He and his wife are Christians, and his wife used to be a missionary in Morocco, before they married about twelve years ago.  They are in their 60s, but they have two young girls that they adopted from Guatemala.  He is a really nice guy.

Church
We've attended one small group party and one Christmas celebration.  We like our small group people, even though attendance fluctuates and we are never sure who we are going to see on Sunday morning (small group time).
Amos went to a men's Bible study, and I've been to one missions meeting. I will hopefully be able to go to more in 2015, though I can already tell that the Covenant missions committee and the Crossroads missions team are very different.

Housing
We moved to a new place about six weeks ago!  We really like the townhome's split-level set up. Our landlord, however, is not so great.  Between entering our apartment without notice, poking in our tool box, messing with our thermostat, not fixing our gas when the gas company turned it off, and neglecting to our answer or return our calls, we are not impressed, to put it lightly.  We will see what the new year brings...hopefully he will behave himself.

Books
I've read a lot of books this year, but I think I've only finished three in the last two months. :P  Oh dear. I'd better get on that; I only have eleven more days until 2015!
Recent reads
Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself, Rachel Lloyd
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling, audiobook (almost done)

Neglectful

My poor blog.  The only post this month.

Work has been going pretty well.  I enjoy my coworkers, two of whom are Christians.  The students have been nice, with a few exceptions (one refused to leave on Wednesday; my slightly scary boss convinced him).

Bob and Kristen Bruce, some friends from our OK church, invited us to spend Thanksgiving with their three little boys and extended family.  We had a great time, and the food was really good. :)

This weekend we are trying to get our house put together, mostly.  I unpacked several boxes of books last night, and it was like Christmas!  Books that we haven't seen for eight months, finally reappearing! :D

Cold front

The weather is about to turn cool cold, so I guess I'll get to experience fall.  I've never been one of those people to bemoan a lack of seasons.  Many of my friends and acquaintances in California complain that the state only sees two-three seasons: warm, hot, and, maybe, cool.

I never really felt the absence.  I love the orange, red, and gold leaves brought on by a cold snap, but my favorite season is late spring/early summer.  Bring on school breaks, summer camp, bright evenings outdoors, ice cream, and the Fourth of July!

It has been an unseasonably warm October here in OK, just like the summer was unseasonably cool.  It was 86 degrees on Monday and 75 today, but tomorrow we aren't going to break 60!

Oh dear...and I've already started wearing my leggings under my dress pants and jeans.

Odd, part 3

Continuing my series on weird Oklahoma, I have a few more observations to share with you.

Oil derricks. Oklahoma pumps a lot of oil, so oil derricks are everywhere.  I've seen derricks in grocery store parking lots, in the field surrounding our new church, and even at the State Capitol (the only state capitol with a functioning oil derrick; they are very proud of this).

Driving.  Oklahomans are very bad drivers.  People who say California has bad drivers have obviously never been to Oklahoma.

Tribal license plates.  Oklahoma is home to many different Indian tribes, each of which is actually a sovereign nation.  Each tribe has a unique license plate design.

Sidewalks.  Where are all the sidewalks?  Do they take them in during the day?!

Overalls.  Many men wear overalls here (though definitely not everyone).  When Amos and I go somewhere, I keep track of the overalled men I see; the highest score so far is three.  Amos says that we will be seeing more because the cool fall weather is coming.  (Amos and I went to the state fair back in September; I saw a grampa wearing overalls AND a fanny pack!)

Ma'am.  I work at a university now, so I get called ma'am several times a day.  It throws me off every time.

--------------
Part 1
Part 2

Hi-ho, hi-ho

Time to dust off the Nalgene and the glass lunchware; I go back to work tomorrow!  It's been a nice seven months off.  Tomorrow I'll get up at 6:00 am, leave by 7:30, drop Amos off at 7:50, get to work by 8:05, start work at 9:00, get off work at 6:00, get Amos by 6:20, and get home by 6:30.  It is going to be a loooooong day.

This morning I made these pancakes (before church!).  For lunch I made quick enchilada bowls.  Tonight I'm making chicken piccata.

We have a few muffins and a box of waffles in our freezer, and leftover pancakes, some vanilla yogurt, and two dozen eggs in our fridge for breakfasts. We have windmill cookies, three kinds of pudding, and pumpkin pie for lunchtime desserts.  We have a few choices for snacks, and we have several dinner options ready be whipped up (hopefully quickly).

I think I'm ready as I'll ever be, at least in the food department, if the rice will just cook...

Cleaning

One thing I will not miss about this apartment is the cigarette smoke that wafts in periodically.  I also will not miss the "gargoyles," aka pigeons.  The little varmints can have our porch back in about three weeks, when we move to our new place!

Amos and I put down a deposit on a small townhouse only a few blocks away.  We would prefer to live in a little house in a small town to the west, but this will be fine for now. :)  The townhome has two stories and a little nook under the stairs; I'm hoping that we can get a papasan for the nook.  (I was going to get a papasan many months ago from Craigslist, but just as Amos and I were leaving to pick it up, the lady woman texted to say her husband wouldn't sell it to us after all!)

Anyway, I have started to clean our current apartment so that we will have less to do when we actually move.  So far I've bleached the bathtub and shower, wiped down the kitchen cabinets, cleaned the grease vent (might need to do that again later :P ), packed up our DVDs and books, scrubbed the oven, dusted the ceiling fan, and started on the refrigerator.  My latest audiobook, Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery, just finished, so now I need to find another good one in order to keep up steam!

Pistol Pete

Pistol Pete; via wikipedia

Two and a half weeks ago, I interviewed for a job at Oklahoma State University at Oklahoma City. I dressed up in my professional clothes, drove over to the small campus, and did a good job answering all my interviewers' questions, in spite of a cold.  By five o'clock that same day, I had a new job!  No more substitute teaching! Yea yea yea!!!

I'll soon be working at the school's testing center as a clerk, proctoring exams, recording results, working the front desk, etc., but for now, I am waiting on my background check!  The dumb thing was hung up on Los Angeles County, last I heard.  Oh well.  I am thankful that I have this job and that my supervisor is as anxious for me to start as I am!

Soon I'll be working at an extension campus of one of the top schools in Oklahoma (the main campus is in Stillwater).  OSU's colors are orange and black, their team name is the Cowboys (or the Pokes), and their mascot is an ugly little guy called Pistol Pete.

I am very thankful for the way that God provided this job for me...and I hope I like it! :)

New!

I added a new blog photo.  What do you think?  I used Photoshop (yes, the real Photoshop) to merge a picture of one of my watercolors, a map, and some text.  I like it!  I might need to change the blog's color scheme to match, but I'll leave everything as is for now.

Time may be in short supply soon (I interviewed for a full-time job today), but if any of my many friends across the globe would like a prayer card designed, I'd be happy to do it for you!

Out with the old...

in with the new!

In the library

Setting: The local library on a warm Saturday afternoon.  Patrons are using computers, perusing the stacks, sitting uncomfortably in too-small chairs.

Indistinct voice from stage right, indignant: Mumble mum mumble my shoes! Mum mumble!!

[Jennica's ears prick; she moves down the stacks to get a clear yet discreet view of the offended party.  She passes Amos and catches his eye with a delighted grin.]

Indignant: He took my shoes!

Librarian hurries up

Librarian, amazed: What?! He took your shoes?!

Indignant, rising above a stage whisper: Yes, he took my sneakers and left these flip flops!  I told him to stop messing with them.  I just thought he was bopping to his music or something, but he took my shoes!!!

[Jennica secretly wonders why she removed her tennis shoes in the first place]

Librarian, amazed: . . .

Helpful patron: Yeah, she told him.  I heard her.

Third patron brings up pictures of the suspect on a laptop or phone

Indignant: No, that wasn't him.  He looked nice.  He was dressed in bright colors, with pink.

Librarian: Pink!

Indignant: And he took my athletic shoes!  And they were women's shoes!

Librarian: Those aren't yours? [gestures at flip flops]

Indignant: No!  I'm from Arkansas, so I can leave barefoot [smoker laugh], but he took my shoes!

Librarian: This happened before, just a week or so ago!


Amos and Jennica are done picking out materials, so they reluctantly exit stage left.


Moral of the store: Never remove your shoes at the local library!

Quite a bit

I have quite a bit of time, yet WHY haven't I written a blog post in two weeks?!  Oh well, at least I'm writing one today!

Last week I worked every day at the Christian school connected to our Oklahoma church.  The classes are tiny and, substitute experience speaking, the students are very, very well behaved.  I'm not getting paid much, but that's okay.

Our apartment lease is about to go month-to-month, which is great.  We haven't found a place to live yet, but we will hopefully find one soon.

Danielle gave me the code for a free Shutterfly book, so I'm making an Aptartment 29 photo book!  I worked on it a lot yesterday, and I hope to finish it today.

I'm not a big animal person.  Animals are fun, but they take a lot of work and it is really sad when they die.  However, Amos and I have talked about getting a little mouse (I will name him Speedy).  We went to PetSmart on Sunday to look at them, but we only saw gerbils, rats, and hamsters.  I went to ask a checker about this.

Me: Do you have any mice?
Checker: Frozen.

I guess we'll have to look at Petco!

Labor Day

So far today...

Anne has refused to marry Gilbert.  (Oh, the horror!  I am listening to Anne of the Island.)

Amos has a headache...again. :(

I've made fried potatoes, eggs, and leftover chicken for breakfast; a new version of crustless quiche for breakfasts this week (zucchini, green onions, cilantro, and quinoa); and iced tea (currently brewing)

The September free audiobook is available at Christian Audio: How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer

We have finished off the cranberry-cherry juice.  It was okay; I thought it tasted kind of like Kool-Aid.


Did you know...

Francis with an I is the masculine version of the name; for example, Francis Schaeffer
Frances with an E is the feminine version of the name; for example, Frances the badger

I made cookies yesterday, and they actually worked, once I got the oven up to the correct temperature; it has problems.

Middle of the month

We are in the middle of August already!  Whoa!

School started yesterday in Santa Clarita, and if Amos and I still lived there, I would be in junior high right now, taking notes for Pinkie.  (I just typed Pinkie into my blog search bar, but I accidentally substituted an O for the P: Oinkie.  Oh dear!)  However, I am NOT in California, so I'm not in school yet, but I will be soon!  I'm signed up as a substitute teacher with three school districts and a Christian school.  I should start working in September; hmmmmm, I should probably find out where all the schools are...If you prayed for us, thank you very much!  The Lord showed us just in time 1) that I needed a job and 2) where to get one. :)


Today I am doing several things...

- reading this post from Mike Gaston about a mutual friend with a brain tumor (Our friend went back to work yesterday, teaching high school history!  Talk about a good recovery so far, thanks to the Lord!)

- making tapioca pudding using Amos' mom's recipe

- burning a nice pumpkin-somethingorother candle

- eating Aussie Bites!  I adapted this recipe a bit (vanilla, some chia seeds, a little regular flour), and the cookies/fiber muffins/whatever-they-are were really good. Amos likes them, too!

- listening to Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Anne was a nut!)

- cleaning vegetables out of the sink and washing dishes

- looking up books via Modern Mrs. Darcy's August twitterature post (check out her website; I like all her posts about books and reading)

- investigating new places to live.  Our lease is up in six weeks!

Books and snacks

When you have lots of books on your "currently reading" pile, sometimes you pick the one that lies the flattest so that you can read and have a snack with minimal effort.

Hint of Lime chips, guacamole, water, and
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

I was reading The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy.  The title is great, and cute little pictures are sprinkled here and there in the book, but it was just ehhhhh.  The climax was anti-climactic, the characters were interesting but not inspiring, and the ending was cliche' (one of the characters basically says, "I'm going to write down all our adventures and turn them into a book!").  I picked it up to see if it was appropriate for Gio and Luke, and it's probably fine, but, ironically, The Hero's Guide definitely wouldn't spur them on to be better young men.  Oh well!  Better luck with...


The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Kai Bird (biography of a CIA agent working in the Middle East)

One Vision Only by Carolyn L. Canfield (biography of Isobel Kuhn, including Isobel's abridged, unpublished Vistas; must get the unabridged version from Wheaton College)

Elisabeth Elliot: Joyful Surrender by Janet and Geoff Benge

My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme

Odd, continued

Here are a few more strange things about Oklahoma...

Okra.  The grocery stores sell fresh okra and frozen okra, and it seems like Sprouts has dried okra on sale every week!  Another grocery store had dried okra samples; I didn't try them.

Chicken.  Chicken restaurants are everywhere.  We have Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane's Chicken, Church's Chicken, KFC, Ann's Chicken Fry House, Slim Chickens (haha!), Popeye's, Eischen's (apparently this is the best), etc.

Water towers.  Amos says that the water towers create water pressure (Oklahoma is pretty flat).  The water towers all look different.  Some of them, like this one, are orange and white.  The water towers in Yukon all have red lettering.  (I like water towers, but they kind of creep me out, too.  They look like huge, blood-sucking bugs!)

Masonic lodges.  There are lots and lots of Masonic lodges. I have no idea why!

405. The whole state has just four area codes; FOUR.  405 is the Oklahoma City area code.  Since one-third of the population of OK lives in the Oklahoma City Metro area and thus (presumably) shares this area code, I have been writing my own area code (530) REALLY BIG on all of my applications so that the school districts will call the right person. :)

Gas meters.  Most of the homes in Oklahoma City (or at least NW OKC) have gas meters in their front yards.  Not the prettiest thing to have poking up out of your lawn, but it could be worse.

I am listening to...

someone's music turned a little too high.
librarian voices.
magazine pages turning.
a clicky keyboard.
clearing of throats.
magazine shelves clanging up and down.
automatic doors opening.
more coughing.
textbook pages.
cracking knuckles.
my thoughts.
book receipts printing.
sniffing.
yawning.
discussions.
muffled, shuffling footsteps.
a printer.
protestations.
whispers.
the beep of a scanner.

the library.

Artwork

Since moving to OKC, I've found some little projects to while away the hours, one of them being watercolor painting!  I copy ideas from Pinterest or I just paint different color schemes.  All of these are on 4x6 pieces of paper.  Click to enlarge.

My anniversary card for Amos :)

I used a AAA sticker to make this one, haha!

This one is supposed to be vertical...

A sailor turtle with freckles!

Fifty-cent peanut butter

It's that time again!

Amos and Jennica: Ummmmm, where did our money go?!  We haven't spent THAT much of it.

*Amos does a quick expense report*

Well, no more Chick-fil-A!

I don't like not having money.  It makes me feel anxious, and now I really should go out and get a job.  It was nice being Pinkie's note taker because I went to work every day and I got paid every day.  I was making close to what Amos was making, so we almost doubled our income and thus we paid off my school loans, bought a new computer to replace Amos' dying one, tuned up our car, paid for my trip to Canada, spent more money on groceries, put money away in our savings account, bought some nice Christmas presents for people, went out to frozen yogurt once a week, paid for a few trips to NorCal, etc.

Everyone we talked to said that the cost of living would be a lot cheaper in Oklahoma, but as Amos said, that was just people talking; we really didn't know, and I just trusted what our California friends said.

But, car insurance isn't cheaper (hail damage), internet isn't cheaper (they just raised the price on us, too!), food isn't cheaper (farther from the fields, orchards, and ports), rent isn't cheaper (we had the cheapest place available in Santa Clarita), even gas isn't that much cheaper (per gallon it is cheaper, but stores and church are more spread out in OKC).

So now we are back to scraping by, and it isn't that fun; I'm sure many of you reading this can relate.


But in the mean time...

Before, we couldn't get by just on Amos' income (I had to sub at least a few days a month to make it work), and now we can, though I'm still going to get a job.

I filled out applications, looked up substitute opportunities, and e-mailed a lady at church for information about the Christian school that shares the church campus.  I heard back from the headmaster today (I didn't know headmasters existed in the United States), saying that there weren't any openings at the moment but that they are always looking for substitute teachers and I am welcome to drop in and meet him; I plan to do this tomorrow or Wednesday.

Amos and I figured out how much I can spend on groceries, and it isn't very much, but I like shocking people with how little I spend for how much I get.  (I got all-natural peanut butter for $0.50 a jar today.) :)

Matthew 6:8b: "...your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."

Canada

I've been to Europe once, Africa twice, and Asia four times, but I'd never visited another country in North America, until last Tuesday.  I spent a week in Canada with Lester, my college friend and semester-long Aptartment 29 roommate.  We had a great time wearing Chacos, listening to a crazy guy in a bookstore, eating Timbits, visiting Niagara Falls twice, petting all the puppies, checking out the new library, going on walks and hikes, not getting ticks, talking about books, picking up and delivering anodized aluminum parts for her dad's business, attending her church, and getting to know her family a bit more.

Here are some pictures of my trip!  Click to enlarge.

Lester: "I don't think you should take any more pictures now..."
At the border crossing

Lake Ontario at sunset

A church in Saint Catharines

Sunset in Toronto

A field of huge clover behind Lester's dad's shop

Niagara River and Rainbow Bridge, looking at the Canadian side

American Falls, from the deck of the Maid of the Mist

Maid of the Mist, with the customary blue ponchos
and drops of water on the camera lens

Beside the American Falls

American Falls in the foreground, Horseshoe Falls in the background,
city of Niagara Falls, Canada, across the river

We may or may not have stepped into the river at one point...

Horseshoe Falls, with a Maid of the Mist boat

Horseshoe Falls, with the American Falls out of sight on the left,
and the old power plant building in the foreground on the right

Maid of the Mist in the basin right below
Horseshoe Falls

RIGHT at the drop-off of Horseshoe Falls

It was very bright and wet

Hiking through the woods down to the whirlpool,
where the Niagara River turns a sharp right angle

Out to lunch/tea

From the left: Lester's sister Andrea, Lester's mom's mom, Auntie Eleanor, Lester's dad's parents, Lester's mom Mary Ann, me

New links

June isn't looking very promising as a month of many blog posts...oh well!  This weekend will be rather busy, with a family reunion and birthday party for Amos' grampa tomorrow, Amos' family visiting on Sunday, hurried packing and cleaning on Monday, and my flying out to Canada on Tuesday!

Here are some links, though...

Audiobook Sync
If your library has the Overdrive service, you can download two audiobooks for FREE every week during the summer.  Read the website carefully to find out how it works (it's pretty easy).  One of the books this week is a favorite, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein!  The other book is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill.

YembiYembi
A really cool video about a couple who served with New Tribes Mission in Papua New Guinea.

A Modern Confession via Mike Gaston's blog
I thought this was really good.  Mike is the missions pastor at Grace Baptist, one of the churches in Santa Clarita.

17 Famous Literary Characters Almost Named Something Else via Mental Floss
Puny Pete.

Homemade Naan via Budget Bites
I made this naan with a few adjustments (subbed out some of the regular flour with 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour and 1/3 of a cup of potato flakes, plus needs more salt).  It turned out really well; the potato flakes and the egg made it more pliable than other naan I've made.

So, you now have...something to listen to, something to watch, something to contemplate, something to laugh about, and something to eat!  Have a good weekend!

Off to camp!

My brothers and sisters are off to camp in just under two weeks, so you know what that means...

Packages in the mail!

The kids are very, very excited about camp.  They paid for half of camp themselves, and the other half was paid by a much-appreciated anonymous donor.

Last year, I sent a package to Brenda, and like every other camper in living memory, she had to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" with the rest of the package recipients. Gio, not having gone to camp yet, was confused about this.  He thought that the receiver had to sing on a stage all by their lonesome.  When we visited in March, he said, "Jennica, I don't want you to send me a package at camp."  I'm sending three presents in one box, but I'm tempted to write on the outside, "Gio wants to sing ALL by himself," haha!

Presents for the kids; Brenda's present will go in another box since she
got a Nalgene last year, plus she's in the HIGH SCHOOL camp!

Overholser

My blog is turning into a photo blog!  I do have one crazy story to share about our old church, but I'm waiting on confirmation of one critical detail.  How's that for a teaser?!

We have quite a few lakes and ponds and rivers and streams and such in Oklahoma.  We aren't exactly the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but we do have a lot of water.  Here are some pictures from Lake Overholser that I took over the past few weeks.  Click the pictures for a better view.

The river/drainage from the dam

Open the gates!

Overholser Dam at sunset

Amos took a picture of me...up to no good...

Sunset

Sunset, with a water tower off to the left

Overholser Dam

Beautiful

Cottonwoods, much?!

Overholser Dam

Some nice weeds

Chocolate and rain

Today's cooking adventure:
Boston Cream Poke Cake, using these directions but recipes from my Joy of Cooking cookbook

Now Amos and I are sitting on the porch, reading books, listening to the rain and thunder.

Odd

Here are some strange things about Oklahoma...

There are LOTS of drive-through restaurants.
Panera Bread, Subway, even donut shops!

A lot of men have long hair.

There are no helmet laws.
If you are riding a motorcycle, you have to wear some type of glasses or goggles, but you don't have to wear a helmet!

E-cigarette stores are on almost every street.
I don't know why, but e-cig stores and "vapor lounges" are very popular here.  There are also cigarette butts everywhere.

Lakes and ponds are ubiquitous.
I don't know where all the water comes from, but I like it!  I also like all the pondlife.

Center turn lanes/suicide lanes are rare.
The vast majority of streets here in OKC don't have a middle turn lane.  People just stop in the left lane and put on their turn signal.

No one runs when it is raining.
When it rains, there is no hurrying to the car, hurrying to the house, hurrying to the grocery store entrance; people just stroll along at their regular pace.

People spit in public.

People really like their rims.
There are suped-up cars everywhere, even Suburbans and old Lincolns!

There are no dog poop pick-up laws.
Dogs just go wherever their owners let them, and no one picks up after them.

Discarded mattresses and box springs are everywhere.
Twice a week people take their garbage out to the curb, and mattresses and box springs are always included.  I'm not sure if a sleep store had a huge sale or what!

Dolese

I discovered a park with a lake just a short way from our house, and I love it.
Check out the pictures.

Turtle!  My favorite park creature. :)

This looks like the perfect camping spot.

Weird, cool, knobby roots

A tiny turtle on the pipe and several tiny turtles in the water

Goose parents and three small fluffs