Santa Fe Cathedral

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Santa Fe has long been a bucket list destination for me. Literally some 25 years now. From the first time I saw Mary Emmerling mixing chintz and kilim and turquoise and blue willow in her historic adobe home there the idea was planted firmly in my mind. Then, of course, there is Georgia OKeefe. And Willa Cather. And Ansel Adams. Well dear reader, I got there finally and it did not disappoint. It was a short visit and my feet were throbbing by the end from trying to cover as much ground as possible.

If you've read Death Comes for the Archbishop (and I have not but am about to) then you may remember the fictionalized account of the Cathedral of Santa Fe. I thought you might enjoy a peek. We can start here…

“Either a building is part of a place or it is not. Once that kinship is there, time will only make it stronger.”
― Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop

Starry, starry, school days

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Kim Halloran-Fry

This has been a stargazing sort of summer. We have studied constellations before and I will tell you straight up I am NOT very good at finding them in the sky. That may change this year given some of the books we have found and the projects we have done. My first favorite is the Stikky Night Skies book (link below) which is every bit as awesome as the Stikky Trees book was. It leads you along step by step into trickier configurations. Somehow it breaks down this wild spattering of white dots into something you can begin to sort out. Or maybe most normal people can sort this out? I definitely needed extra help.

As always, Pinterest is my BFF, my bestie, my personal assistant, my teacher's aide. "Hey Pinterest, what have you got for constellations?" Pinterest shot back with marshmallow and toothpick constructions and some flash cards. I was also beside myself to find this chart by Alice Cantrell. I have loved her work forever and am so pleased she has something that works for this unit.

Upside? You can eat the leftovers.

Here are a few standouts in our stack:

Stikky Night Skies

Find the Constellations

Child's Introduction to the Night Sky This was another fave. Chock full of trivia and history to include the stories of the constellations. These work well for narrations and notebooks. A keeper.

The Stars

Zoo in the Sky

goals

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Kim Halloran-Fry

“These are the few ways we can practice humility:

To speak as little as possible of one's self.

To mind one's own business.

Not to want to manage other people's affairs.

To avoid curiosity.

To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully.

To pass over the mistakes of others.

To accept insults and injuries.

To accept being slighted, forgotten and disliked.

To be kind and gentle even under provocation.

Never to stand on one's dignity.

To choose always the hardest.”

– Mother Teresa

Swiss on Sunday

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Up for a virtual Sunday drive in the country? How about we visit Midway, Utah? It's a little bit of Switzerland in the Rockies. We hope to return for Swiss Days in the fall or the Christmas creche festival. From the folk painted exteriors to the bits of charm throughout town to the horseback riders along the road, it was a breath of fresh air.

It's hard to tell here but we arrived as the clock struck on the hour. The doors opened and the tiny figures spun around as the chimes rang.

Whoever planted these is surely a kindred spirit.

This fella?

I got nuthin'

America the Beautiful – Farmer’s Market

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Or that time we had ice cream for dinner. They serve some epic ice cream at the roadside market in Mount Vernon, WA. People stand in lines that trail outside the building and out into the garden. If you ask around 'everyone' knows where to go. So of course we had to give it a try. It was late afternoon when we arrived at the market. The sun was slowly sinking lower in the sky but the air was still warm and breezy.

We passed the time while waiting visiting with the man in front of us and his little dog. He turned around, did a quick head count of the dozen-plus of our family and friends, then threw back his head and laughed it was a darn good thing he had gotten in line ahead of us. Truth! The whole scooping of softball-sized artisan ice cream scoops into hand-wrapped cones fresh from the waffle iron takes time.

Slow food is the best food. It was a perfect way to ease into the evening after a whole day in the sunshine. The kids loaded into the van, full and happy, and most of them promptly drifted off to the oldies playing on the dashboard radio.

Good friends, great day.

Canyonlands Half Marathon 2016

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The sun was shining in beautiful Moab, UT last weekend and we were race groupies once again. It was the first time since we moved back and it felt good to be going through the familiar paces: picking up race packets, pinning numbers on, squeezing to the front of the finish line for that high five. We spent a three day weekend almost entirely outside, soaking in the canyon lands and shooting a crazy number of frames. I felt very like myself again by the end.

Before and After

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Last week out my back window, in all it's golden glory.

Just a few days later we got our first winter storm here in the highlands. Still beautiful, just different. With the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers being finished off the inside of the house is also transitioning from autumn to advent. I have absolutely loved watching the view change here and am embracing this new season wholeheartedly.

I am ready.

served up family style

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Seventeen years ago our two families spent our first Thanksgiving together here in Utah. They had just arrived after living in Germany several years. Today the tables were turned and we made our first Thanksgiving dinner in Utah after many overseas, again with our old friends.

Since all of us are originally from the upper midwest, we share a very similar holiday menu. They are the same dishes we ate all those years ago and the same ones we will be eating in years to come – roast turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, cranberry jiggling from the can, jello salad, brown and serve rolls, and pie, pie, pie.

All carried in deep 9×13 dishes and served on paper plates so clean up is quick work because…

We have important stuff to do after we eat. Board games, ping pong, and…

Curling up on the couch with Charlie Brown.

"Thanksgiving is more than eating…Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by 'Thanksgiving,'"

Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving

turkey day – no, for real…

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Sometime mid-summer we were visited by a handful of wild turkeys who wandered across the back yard, into the neighbors', and on off down the side of the mountain not to be seen again. Knowing how weird enthusiastic I am about unexpected wildlife sightings, when Aidan spotted them coming down the drive today he told me I better get my camera. I don't generally need to be told twice so I grabbed it and got out front in time to see the last one waddle past.

Turning on my heel I beelined through the house again. When I got out the back door there was a gobble….overhead. Not a turkey in sight. Another gobble. Then I looked up to see several crepey necked fowl peeking over the gutter.

Coming around the house I saw the last one climbing the garage roof…. where he joined the other ten.

A few flew into the trees. The rest crept along the shingles til one inspired the rest with a noble, if less than graceful, flight over the trees towards the base flight line. Pretty sure they didn't reach the runway. In fact gravity likely landed them in the farm pasture at the bottom of the hill.

It was impressive none the less.

A downtown birthday

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The last half dozen years of travel have firmly engrained in us a preference for investing in experiences over stuff. So this year, the little girls each invited a neighbor friend to go on a downtown adventure in lieu of themed parties (which are not really my strong suit anyway.) Disney is not usually among my top ten favorite things either, but this show turned out to be outstanding.

We managed to keep our plans a secret right up until the morning of our outing. Abbie (whose birthday comes first) had been making party and cake recommendations for a couple weeks. She was beginning to be perplexed that we weren't committing. By the time Saturday rolled around she was downright alarmed.

We explained we needed to run to Salt Lake City for some errands so they needed to be up and dressed for a shopping trip. Soon after the doorbell rang and they ran to tell their friends they couldn't play. That's when we sprang the real plan on them. I still can't believe they had no idea. Go, us. : D

We piled in the van and made the trek to the Delta Center downtown.

Snacks in hand we settled in for Disney on Ice. The littlest girl with us positively screamed, "Hi Minnie Mouse!!" over and over when the skaters appeared. She was beside herself.

There was some "stuff" too, like craft kits and much needed cold weather gear.

And homemade cake for the first birthday girl. 'Cause that's what we do. (The bigger girl will have cake on her day.)

And then there were some last minute discussions about this whole getting bigger idea. We finally agreed we would carry on with these annual birthdays so long as she agreed to always be my baby. Which made me feel a little better only since she is still small enough to climb on my lap in Minnie slippers.

Starry Sky Journal

Reflections from Starry Sky Ranch

Tag Archives: photography