Sunshine and Siblings . . . .

 It was a last-minute plan to take off to someplace close by with our cameras.  After receiving the text from Barbara, I called her and asked where she wanted to go.  

While listening to me talking to her, Bill, who was headed off later to the Trout Unlimited banquet, suggested the Wyman property at Naples. 

Bill has been wanting my sisters to see the place, and with the springlike weather of late, we figured the walking trails through this beautiful game preserve would be fairly dry. 

So, with camera equipment in hand, my brother Jim, sisters Laurie and Barbara, and I headed up HWY 95, and, within minutes, had parked the car to try to catch shots of white swans at the north end of McArthur reservoir. 

I think those photographers among us with the magna telephoto lenses may have gotten a few shots of swans, but I stuck to what my lens could capture----a couple of geese. 

We then moved on to the north entrance of the Wyman property.  

As an aside, I must stay that this property does have special family meaning in that Les and Violet Wyman were friends of our parents.  My dad bought a Hereford bull or two from Les way back when . . . .  I also think Harold may have done some hunting in that area years ago. 

It didn't take long for my sisters to see the wonderful potential of this place for some nearby trail riding, and, of course, Laurie, who has her students involved in forestry contests every year, saw the potential of tree identification with all the attractive signs informing visitors of tree species. 

We had just a short time to enjoy the place because we needed to get back for chores and the ZAGS game.

Nonetheless, our experience turned out to be a pleasant walk in the woods, complemented by a few fun photo ops----one of which included those voices we heard as we were returning to the car.

"Turists," I announced, mimicking Bill's frequent claim whenever we (who, of course, are not "turists') encounter someone invading our "own private domain."

Turns out these "turists" were riding their horses and that they are much more familiar with the Wyman property than the lot of us combined.  They ride the area in spring and fall and love it because horses do not need to be shod. 

One of the "turists," Sarah, recalled having both Barbara and me as teachers and, more specifically, a time when Barbara required her to write 25 sentences in cursive about never ever again launching "projectiles" in Barbara's class.  

I think Sarah joins an illustrious group who can remember completing that same writing assignment.

Anyway, our spontaneous photo shooting adventure turned out to be great fun on yet another day of magnificent spring weather where other four legged critters were out and about in the sun and even others took time to soak up the warmth while napping.  

We have been so blessed with our weather, and I feel equally blessed spending such a fun outing with my brother and sisters.  Somehow, with age, those opportunities take on more meaning than ever before. 

Happy Sunday.