As April closes ...

We are heading to Europe!  An epic journey, originally planned for 2020 until the pandemic shut down the world.  (Of course, we have been to the UK since then to visit my in-laws, and we will start and end our visit with them!)  A sneak peek:  several days with one of our former au pairs in France, then a driving tour through Switzerland, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic.  In Poland, we will visit another one of our former au pairs.  The list of sights and activities is too long to mention here!  And it also worked out that we will experience Bruce Springsteen in concert in Prague!

So, I just wanted to post a few highlights from April, and wish you much joy in the month of May!

Below - back side of Snowbird Resort, which is east of Salt Lake City, Utah.  I was in the area for a climate conference, and several fellow volunteers gave me a fabulous skiing tour of the mountain.

While in Utah, I stayed with my brother and my sister-in-law, so of course it was the perfect excuse to go skiing at Snowbasin again!
 

 

And Idaho Falls is a perfect stopping spot on the way home - such a blessing to get to see #1 Son, and wish him an early birthday!  He took me to Reed's Dairy, which began its family-owned milk delivery business in 1955 in Idaho Falls.  Larry Reed, in the collage below, started and operated the dairy while his two brothers managed the farming side of their business.  And yes, I managed to eat these two massive scoops of ice cream!

And wouldn't you know that Spousal Unit had flowers for me when I got home?  I should go away for six days more often!

April is highway clean-up time in Montana - the snow is gone and all the ugliness of winter trash is revealed ... and you have to get in there before the grass gets too high!  Don't my neighbors and friends look so happy?  This is before they picked up 130 bags of garbage along a 6-mile stretch!  I got reports later of swollen knees and aching backs ... we need some younger recruits!  (Please note that not everyone is in the picture ... a shout-out to all the pickers!)  And do you see the little Grouse to the left of the crew - oddest thing - that grouse followed me around for at least an hour in that area!

Most of you know that April 22 was Earth Day.  I volunteer with Citizens' Climate Lobby, and our local chapter hosted an ambitious Earth Day event at the local community college on April 20.  As part of our pre-event publicity, I was on the radio with my friend Denny, Flathead Audubon Conservation Educator.  I am so grateful to all the people who made this event possible - over 100 community members contributed to financial sponsorship, panel discussions, workshops, tabling and our Electric Vehicle Showcase.  And our volunteers - so many hours of work to put this together, not to mention support from 8 - 5 on the day itself.  I am ready for a vacation, and I am retired!!!

I mentioned that I was in Utah for a climate conference.  One of the presenters shared this quote:

"When any environmental issue is pursued to its origins, it reveals an inescapable truth - that the root cause of the crisis is not to be found in how men interact with nature, but in how they interact with each other - that, to solve the environmental crisis we must solve the problems of poverty, racial injustice and war."  Barry Commoner, 1973

The more things change, the more they stay the same!  If you can and if you dare, be part of the change.

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Joining LeeAnna's I Like Thursday - Prompt for May 2 - What does your name mean? Are you named for someone?  Do you like your name?  Have you ever changed your name?  Would you like a different name?  A Google of Angela yields "messenger, messenger of God."  I am not aware of anyone else in my family with my name, and my Dad always said they named me Angela because I was his "angel".  He certainly did not appreciate it when I adopted Angie - I can still hear him calling me Angela!  I am very happy with my name (Angie) and cannot imagine being called anything else.

Linking to Thankful Thursday

Linking to Mosaic Monday