The Chicks are Trying to Leave the Nest

One Chick two Chicks,
Hawk Chick, OU Chick.

No no NO!  Say it ain't so!  I don't want my babies to grow up and go away (ok, there were times when I did want them to go away- like outside, for just a few minutes so I could think.  But not for long and not this far away!)

One is across town and one is several hours away.  How could they do this to me?!?!  Just because they know how to do their own laundry...

And my baby.  My fluffy, feathery, bright-eyed and happy-first-thing-in-the-morning one.  Surely she won't leave me.  She still sits on my lap in public places and says she doesn't care what people think, she loves her mama.

She says she'll take care of me when I'm old.  Says she'll call every day and visit every weekend.  I'm going to remind her of this.  Often.

Junior High?  No way!  It's a jungle in junior high, filled with hissing and biting and, shudder, lockers.  Why would anyone do that to their child?  Why would any child be excited about that?  But she is. Because she is the eternal optimist, the perpetual positive person.  Because she's normal and has never been stuffed in a locker.

I think I'm going to need therapy.

Summer Skies n Scapes

One of the benefits of living on the plains with few trees and plenty of scorching sun is that you get a great view of the sky.

Clear blue sky with fluffy, puffy, white, dry, little clouds teasing you from waaay up above, offering no shade and no rain and no respite from the heat.

But at least all that clear blue sky makes for some great KaleidoScapes!  Here's a couple of new ones for the collection.

This one is made from a tree that went without water for a very long time. Like, centuries maybe.

Hope you're still enjoying the warm, sunny days of summer!  We'll be complaining of the cold soon enough...


Happy Trails, and may your adventures take you through shady glens...

Riparian Love Affair

I love to explore rivers, their banks, and surrounding territory.  I love the sound of the water as it changes pitch, depending on what it's flowing over, or under. I love the timbre of the wind in the trees. (Sorry, couldn't pass up that one). I love the smell.  Well, ok, maybe not the smell. I love the colors in and out of the water.

I especially love watching the wildlife that gathers around a river. Life cycles intrigues me.  As in a lot of species, the guy is the colorful one here.  Dragonfly love.

This couple almost glow.  I chased them downriver for quite a ways before I got a decent picture of them.  Egret love.

We heard coyotes, an owl, turkey.  Wonderful, refreshing, life-giving water. Draws all things in.  Sustains all things.

Entertainment, recreation, sustenance, aesthetics, gathering place. All encompassing, all-good water.