My father, Paul W. Muller celebrates his 90th birthday

Paul W. Muller celebrates his 90th birthday.  Born to Paul S. Muller and Robina Gardiner Muller in Ogden, Utah.  He married Arlene Bachman Muller.  They made their home in Ogden Canyon.  They raised Pauline Muller-Orton (deceased), Debra Muller and Curtis Paul Muller.  He has two grand-children: MandiAnne Orton Poll and Zachery Paul Muller.

Paul attended schools in Utah, graduating from Ogden High School; and from the University of Utah School of Pharmacy.  He served the United States as a Navy pilot during World War II in the Pacific theater.

Paul was the owner of Paul's Pharmacy located at 12th and Washington. He served as the executive director of the Utah Pharmaceutical Association where he was active in state and national pharmacy legislation. He served as the editor of the Utah Pharmacy Digest. He was a member of the University of Utah's School of Pharmacy Dean's Advisory Committee. He held a real estate license.

Paul raised and showed collies for confirmation. Dogs from his Samarkand Kennels were shown and awarded nationally. He was the president of the Utah Collie Club, and served as the Utah director of the Collie Club of America.   

An avid photographer, and traveller, Paul photographs won may local and national salons.  His beautiful images were purchased for commercial purposes.  He was a long time member of the Ogden Color Camera Club. 

Paul passed away in January 2017.

Green Apples

After mowing the lawn at the cabin,  I noticed that the apples on a nearby tree were ripening.  I chose one yellow-green with just a blush of red, and no noticeable worm holes.  I shined it by rubbing in on my t-shirt.  Then took a deep, crisp bite.  The apple made a hard, crisp crackling sound, tart juice hit my taste buds, memories came to mind.

As children, my sister and I stole green apples from the tree on the old maids property, an abandoned cabin just east of our home.  Yummy green apples, we would them until they almost made us sick.  We would bring them home to share with our parents and to eat sprinkled with salt.  They may have come from a volunteer apple tree or one planted by the old maid that had lived in the cabin.

There are lots of volunteer apple trees in the canyon.  They grew from apple cores left by the WPA workers that build the water pipeline through the canyon in the early 1940's.  As children, we knew which were the best green and which were better once they ripened to red.  The canyon deer like apples.  The often clean all the apples in reach, then return at a later date to feast on the windfall apples that have fermented.

Fermented apples add an interesting scent to the autumn breeze.  They mix with the fragrance of fallen leaves and acorns.

And then, there is the autumn scent of apples, my mother's homemade apple sauce cookies made with green or red apples whichever are available.  The scent and taste of apples, cinnamon, and cloves.

I just had to share a few of the memories brought to mind by a bite into a crisp, hard yellow-green apple.  What memories come to mind for you?

While driving down the canyon yesterday, a flash of white caught my eye.  Always interested in seeing the canyon's wildlife, I stopped to look again.  There in a gorgeous stand of green conifers was a while plastic shopping bag trapped in the branches.  We need to do a must better job of containing and recycling our trash.

Rain & Evening Light

A good rain

Flash, boom, tumbling roar
Clouds burst
Rain falls
Deluge
Sunrise
Morning
Autumn colors refreshed
Crisp air.

Weather change

I awaken to the heady scent and drip,splash sound of rain.  The breeze through my opened window has cooled.

Then, the rainstorm moved on too soon.

Art In Bloom

The art center at which I work, is holding a art in bloom competition.  Designers started putting together their displays - beautiful!  I hope to have some more pictures to share with you or if you have a facebook account, search for Eccles Community Art Center.

Growth of an acorn

 Now that the acorns have ripened to brown, they should soon be dropping, and be harvested by the canyon squirrels.

Changing

The leaves of the trees on the mountainside are changing, are they changing due to the approaching fall or because they are drying out from the over the top hot temperatures?

Bumble Bee Pin

My mother claimed this pin.

Lady Bug Pin

Just finished a lady bug label pin.

Haiku at Sunsets

8.4.12
The sun paints with light
Pastel watercolor clouds
In an evening sky.

8.3.12
On the horizon
Orange - russet evening light
smolders into dusk.

Restful Evening

Here I sit in a friends backyard,  facing west waiting for a lovely sunset.  Her house and backyard sit up on Ben Lomond (mountain)  with a perfect view over the valley.  The sun is golden at the moment, its light paints the near by bushes.  My friend's dog is nearby in the grass catching a cool evening breeze.  As are we, today our temperature hit 100 F degrees.  Hot weather for Northern Utah.

Time

How fleeting is time?  This summer has zoomed by, and I had hoped to accomplish so much more.  As the days of summer are longer than winter days, we try to fill them with so much more activity.  Summer gardens  and lawns need attention.  Mollie and I take longer walks.  With August on its way, I need to finish some summer projects.  I guess I should sit down to prioritize the projects.

I tend to get reflective when celebrating the addition of another year.

More Sketchbook drawings

Sunday Evening

Across a field of blue sky, a ethereal cloud dances, is its partner the breeze or the limestone mountain cliff above my home?  The canyon floor is in shadow, the day cooling.  The canyon breeze teases my hair, then stills. I am reminded of the afternoon heat.  Its taste and scent evident in the still.

Mollie and I walk the dry, dirt road to the cement bridge over the river.  The river rushes under us, an increase of water has been released from the dam to assist the farmers in irrigating their crops.

Flashes of color capture our attention.  Scarlet tanagers fly from willow to cottonwood trees.  A lovely yellow tiger-stripe swallow tail butterfly feeds on the pink star flowers of milkweeds.  Then a surprise, an orange and black butterfly - a monarch or viceroy.  Just a fleeting glimpse.  I recall seeing them in my childhood, but they have been rare in recent years.

The hard dirt road has lead us back home to mom's  color filled garden and cool green grass.  Mollie ends her walk with a good, back scratching roll in the grass.

A lovely Sunday evening, and wishes for the same for you!

Bits and Pieces; Notes and Observations

I have bits and pieces with notes and observations written on them spread around.  I thought I share a few with you.

Last Week:

Over the mountains
Cumulonimbus clouds puff
Like heated popcorn.


Friday Night before the cold front moved in:
A muggy warm night
The tempting spray of sprinklers
A quick cooling run....


Friday Night:
A jar of seashells
Collected along the shore
Ocean memories.


Today, around 7:30 p.m. while leaving Layton:
Between sun and mountains a line of clouds fill the sky creating stripes of light and shadow on the mountainside.

Rain

And the rain came pouring down.

Mollie came in this morning with raindrops in her fur.  She snuggled in close to share them with me.

Our April showers have finally come at the end of May, to water our May flowers.  May has been warm and dry, so the rain is welcome.

Old Friend

I am so glad that you stopped me to say Hello.  I have thought of you often in the past and so happy to see you.  I hope that we will run into each other more often.  You reminded me  of times we spent together at Gramercy Elementary.

Another Bonfire

Saturday, I enjoyed my third bonfire of the season.  Friends invited me to a local camp ground for an evening picnic and bonfire.  We had a great time!