Braeburn as Rolf

The Hills are Alive.... with the Sound of Music!

This summer Braeburn was bitten by the acting bug.  We did not know this bug existed for Braeburn, who is normally extremely taciturn.  We suspect there was a girl involved somehow... but since he's so taciturn, we still don't know for sure.

Anyway, he decided to go try out for the community musical.  He was only going to be a member of the chorus.  He came home and described the whole process for us while making himself an enormous snack of some kind.  (At one point he was going to write a best seller about teenage cooking using only things like tortillas and cheese as ingredients - sort of a "survival because there is never any food around here" kind of a book, but I digress.)  He said he was slightly nervous, because as he was singing his tryout song he heard a bit of the "mellow richness" coming through.  Then they asked him to read the part for Rolf.  

Sure enough, several weeks later, when the parts were posted, Braeburn was listed as Rolf.  

The Spy Twins got a big kick out of this whole event because it involved dancing and singing with a girl on stage - something none of them was ever, ever going to do.

When opening night came I didn't know what to expect.  Braeburn told us not to even come.  Right!  My brother, Winesap,  even came up from Utah to support the budding star. 

Well, he was fantastic!  Mr. Bechtel and I just kept looking at each other the whole night with our mouths wide open.   We only missed 1 night of the 4 night run, and Rolf was a huge hit.  Braeburn actually had a great time - not to mention that he had all these girls suddenly wildly in love with him.  

This year the musical is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.... We'll have to see what happens.  

What Fictional Character Do I Identify with Most??

Cocoa, over at Chocolate on My Cranium, asked this question today.

She thought it was hilarious her children would joke with her about being Ma Kettle.  I can relate to Ma Kettle!  I LOVE the descriptions of Ma Kettle in the original book, The Egg and I, by Betty MacDonald.  Ma is gracious, loving, and kind in a household of absolute chaos.  I can't really say, though, that my life is anything like hers though, because my husband is very kind and helpful, and I'm not plagued by stinky outhouses and escaping bulls, etc.

My all time favorite mom is Nell McLaughlin from the My Friend Flicka trilogy by Mary O'Hara.  I don't think I'm very much like her, but I relate to her exactly.  When we lived in Wyoming we went to the Goose Bar Ranch where Mary O'Hara wrote her stories, and it was exactly as I imagined it.

In one book, Nell is so tired of the cold, and the wind, and the barrenness of a Wyoming winter, she walks down to where the railroad crosses their land and watches as the train flies by on its way to California.  She sees little squares of light flash by with picture vignettes of people inside.  They are laughing and dressed for dinner.  Then she walks back to her ranch house in the dark, cold night.  I've lived in Wyoming and that scene seems so vividly real to me.  I'm sure Mary O'Hara did that in real life many times.

My favorite thing about Nell, though, is her sensitivity to her boys and their needs.  She is tender, caring, and yet allows them to grow up.  I always thought Maureen O'Hara should have played the mom in the movie, with Brian Keith as Rob, the husband.  Sort of a Parent Trap on the Wyoming Ranch.  That would have been a great combination.

Crabapple Farm in Summer

Every summer we rent a skid steer to clear out the barn.  Then we put all the old compost into the fantastic old manure spreader and fertilize the fields.  The manure spreader actually works!  Not only is it  great for photo shoots, but it also is an honest to goodness manure spreader.

Last fall our grass in the lawn was in a very sad state.  Our sprinkler system was broken and the lawn really needed to be fertilized.   We happened to be cleaning out the barn that weekend and so we decided to use the compost on the lawn instead of on the fields.  

Mr. Bechtel drove around and around the house spraying clumps and globs of compost all over the grass.  I followed with a rake and tried to spread it evenly.  It looked terrible, but we just ignored it.   Three weeks later the composted just disappeared into the grass, the grass greened up and it looked like we'd had chem-lawn come spray. 

I decided I wasn't doing any new chickens this year.... ha ha ha.  Well, we had a hen go broody back in the barn.  She waited and waited and none of her eggs hatched.  Finally I took pity on her, and without going out to the barn to check on her, I blithely drove to the feed store, bought 5 little chickens and came home.  I was going to tuck them under her and make all her dreams come true.  When I went to the barn she had given up and left her nest!  She had no interest in the babies.  So, then I was stuck with 5 chickens to raise myself.  I decided If I was raising 5, I might as well raise 20, so I went and got some more from the feed store, and then everyone was happy.  Then I sold the old hens, and since the new hens weren't laying yet, I had to buy eggs at the grocery store for the first time in 4 years.  They taste awful and are a very sickly yellow color.  Ughh.  We're very spoiled with our beautiful brown eggs.

Birch Creek

Remember back when Golden Delicious and I were trying to take care of Cindy the cow and her new born calf by ourselves?  This is what the boys were doing....

They were just having a terrible time, I know.  So terrible, that when they got home, Mr. Bechtel went right out and bought a fly rod, and vest, and whatever else a true fly fisherman needs.  He loved it.  

Birch Creek is a beautiful, beautiful stream, and I can hardly wait to have Mr. Bechtel show me how to fly fish this summer. I wouldn't care about catching fish at all.  I would just love to stare at the water, and let my troubles slip downstream.

The Big Concert

Wow!

Miss Golden Delicious and I just want to say that Michael Buble really is just as fantastic in real life as he is on the radio.  We had so much fun at the concert in Boise!  

We drove over with friends, went to the concert, stayed at a hotel, went shopping the next day, and last but not least, went to the cheesecake factory.

I ended up standing by a guard at the gate for awhile because we had to take our HUGE camera back to the car.  ( It wasn't allowed.)  And I had a nice conversation with the guard about concealed carry laws in Idaho.  (very interesting conversation)

Michael Buble is a phenomenal showman.  His opening number was "Cry Me a River" and Golden Delicious and I screamed like fanatic fans as the curtain opened.  We continued screaming for the rest of the night, and completely lost our voices - such groupies!  The lady we were with was not impressed with the music or anything, really, and we felt bad, but not bad enough to stop having a great time!

My only disclaimer is that Michael Buble's mother should have washed his mouth out with soap more when he was a child.  His language was terrible.  We just wanted him to stop talking and sing!

At the very end, after he came back for an encore, he sang two songs, and then sang "Singing My Song For You."  He took off all his mic's and sang without any backup or mics at all.  The entire audience went quiet and it was just him, singing his song to all of us.

It was fabulous.

Hail the Mighty Fisherman!

Granny Smith went with the Spy Twins and Mr. Bechtel up to Henry's Lake to do some fishing.  

Even though it was June, it was still VERY cold.  But it was all worth it, when he made his big catch.  Mr. Bectel also had good luck.   The Spy Twins saw that several big fish had gone up a little creek by the lake and so tried to catch them with their hands - to no avail.  The fish was yummy.

..... And now.... For the Rest of the Year!

Well, folks, after a very long siesta, I realized if I didn't jot down a few things about the rest of last year, I was going to forget everything!

Since my journaling is not so great, this is an important part of family memory documentation.  So, here we go with the second half of the year.