Where did you grow up?

I grew up on a 100 year-old ranch in the mountains of rural central Wyoming. The mountains are beautiful and each of the seasons are pretty in their own way.

Spring has the the snow thawing and the rising of the creeks. The spring rains bring flowers such as sunflowers, wild iris, buttercups, Indian paintbrush.

The summer has more flowers of the same flowers and green grass. In August the grass turns brown. It is the sagebrush that is noticed then. The sagebrush is silver-gray and it looks like a grey stormy sea. That is one of my favorite things to see.

Fall brings hunting season and the yellow leaves of the quaking aspen. Sometimes you have to be quick to see the leaves change, beacause can have an early frost and the leaves will be brown. Drive safely on the road because there will be hunters driving as they are trying to find elk, deer and antelope.

Winter brings the wind. I never really liked the wind, but some days are better than others. The wind blows much more in the winter. This winter the wind must have blown continuously at 50 mph for one entire day. It causes the dust and snow to come in the windows and the shingles to blow off the buildings. Some of the shingles have been for decades and some have not been there very long, so it is interesting to see how the older buildings have been built much better. I do like the snow in the winter. It can get pretty deep and it is fun to ski, sled and snowmobile.

I really enjoyed growing up in the mountains of Wyoming and I make sure I take my children there every chance I can.

What is your favorite hobby and why?

My favorite hobby is photography. I like being able to take pictures of everything to see what little things I can see in the bigger picture.

My favorite thing to take pictures of is elk. I have yet to have the best lenses for taking individual pictures of elk. I have taken pictures of herds of elk. In central Wyoming it is not very hard to find large herds of elk on their summer range. I have even taken pictures of elk and antelope with cattle.

I also enjoy taking pictures of nature and people. It is unbelievable what types of nature you can find in the park or even in your backyard. I have enjoyed taking photos of leaves, flowers and grass in our yard and the squirrels in the park. My kids are wonderful subjects. They are young enough to have been born when we already had a digital camera. They have had thousands of pictures taken of them. They enjoy posing and can be disappointed when they are not included in the picture.

I am glad that digital cameras have been invented so I can take as many pictures as I like and bad pictures can just be deleted. I know I will always be able to improve my skills and enjoy the pictures for years to come thanks to digital cameras and my favorite hobby photography.

And the answer to “Write a Riddle” from December 6, is cafeteria dishroom!