SueBee and Kat

Finishing up with the pictures I took in Hutchinson, Kansas, this past Christmas Eve. I wanted to include “regular” scenes around town, not just the most pretty and interesting ones. A favorite thing about living here, having come from Southern California, is that old buildings are still standing. Property developers haven’t razed everything and put […]

Christmas Eve was the perfect day to drive around town, do a bit of exploring, and see how much snow was left. Since shops closed early, the streets were nearly empty. That made for an easy day of taking pictures. Since moving to Hutchinson, Kansas (2020 population 40,006), in October of 2021, I’ve spent a […]

Following an afternoon wandering around the Swedish town of Lindsborg, about 45 minutes north of my home, I started exploring the surrounding area. I’d heard of Coronado Heights before, and was very happy to stumble across it. Per Wikipedia, “It is alleged to be near the place where Francisco Vásquez de Coronado gave up his search for […]

This is my fifth post documenting my recent cruise on the Norwegian Encore to Alaska’s Inside Passage. My brother surprised me with an excursion ashore at Ketchikan, the final stop in Alaska. We gathered with a handful of other ship passengers to board a van that took us on a beautiful drive down the coast, […]

This is my fourth post showing pictures of my recent cruise with my son, son-in-law, and my brother on the Norwegian Encore to the Inside Passage of Alaska. Today I’m sharing our experience onboard as we viewed the glaciers. They were everything I’d imagined, and more. Below, you’ll see as we’re entering Glacier Bay. (Click […]

Continuing with pictures of my fantastic cruise to Alaska, this post features our stop at Icy Strait Point. From the dock, I explored the offerings at Icy Strait Point, but then walked to the village of Hoonah, about 1 1/2 mile up a seaside road. A shuttle ran people back and forth, but to me, […]

We boarded the ship and departed Seattle! Our first day was at sea, covering quite a distance as we headed north. We spent the day exploring the ship, as well as eating and drinking. When all food and beverages are included, and prepared for you, life is so simple! Once docked, we each set off […]

I returned a few days ago from a trip I’ll remember forever – a cruise up the Inside Passage of Alaska. It was a gift to me from my son and his husband, who were also on the trip. My brother joined us, as well, checking off a lifelong dream of seeing Alaska. We shared […]

My large back yard was calling for a vegetable and herb garden, so I laid out a plan in an area that was pretty dull and featureless. My inspiration was drawn from pictures my sister-in-law showed me of large trellises made from heavy metal cattle fencing panels. I was immediately drawn to them and started […]

I’d been looking forward to seeing the fields of sunflowers Kansas is famous for. It’s the state flower after all. I lucked out in having the entire field to myself, although, had I been a week later, more flowers would have been in full bloom. A somewhat cooler, overcast day without crowds suited me just […]

Nine years ago Kat and I decided to start documenting our picture-taking adventures around Southern California. Now, as happens, 1207 posts and 8666 pictures later, we find Kat busy with married life and being mommy to an adorable little boy, and me now living in Kansas. Time has certainly moved on. I don’t post nearly […]

This is the final installment from my visit to the Heritage Day event in nearby Yoder, Kansas. I think most everyone felt very lucky it was a bit cloudy and hadn’t gotten to the forecast 98 degrees. Watching the races was a highlight for me as I’d never seen something like that in person before. […]

Continuing on from yesterday’s post, this gallery features more wonderful entries from the Yoder Heritage Day parade. I think it’s easy to see this is an area of farms. The parade highlight for me was the pig walking along… at least he was toward the very end of the parade so he wasn’t setting the […]

I visited the nearby farming village of Yoder, Kansas, for their Heritage Day this past Saturday, and was so glad I did. Yoder, and the surrounding area, is home to about 165 people. Since its founding in 1906, it’s been the hub of the local Amish community, as per their website. Arriving fairly early morning, […]

While out and about yesterday, I came across an old drive-in movie theater in Kanopolis, a town about an hour’s drive from my home. It certainly took me back to the days of my youth when I often went to the drive-in, both as a child with my family, and later as an adult. I […]

I visited Dillon Nature Center, about 2 miles from home, for a walk yesterday morning. It was a good decision as you might agree after seeing the pictures. ~SueBee

The dilapidated garden shed in my backyard that I converted to a beach shack last month has now been upgraded to a She Shed. The function of it is mostly decorative, but the project allowed me to bring things out of storage in my garage and I’m glad of that. Back in Orange, California, I […]

Hutchinson, Kansas, had lightning, thunder, and thankfully, lots of rain last night. With our current heat spell, I’m grateful for any amount of extra water on my yard. The soil is so different here than anything I’ve experienced; it’s actually sand. This area was apparently a gigantic inland ocean ages ago. That being said, I’ve […]

Try as I might, I’ve not been very lucky in getting pictures of all the various birds visiting my backyard, whether at the feeders or the three bird baths I maintain for them. Regardless of a lack of good pictures, they bring me endless joy on a daily basis. My favorites are the blue jays […]

I don’t go out exploring as much as I did while living back in California. I’ve instead been spending every daylight hour on projects in my huge yard. It’s been so much fun! I’ve been turning a very plain half acre into my own paradise, particularly in the back yard. I’ll try to bring my […]