HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TABITHA!!!

It has been a joy to watch you grow into the wonderful young woman you are. We love you, Sis, Happy Birthday!

Brayden and Candy

Brayden is a real dog person and Candy is a real people person. This is a good thing because all cats would have been killed by their combined curiosities of one another (that is, if it is true that curiosity really does kill cats).

Brayden Cheers us up

After what has been a very stressful and depressing week with my father, Brayden and his many faces have brought some long absent smiles to our faces. Thanks Brayden.

Your Prayers Needed

My father is in the hospital and we cherish your prayers during this difficult time.

"Just another butterfly in the Wall"

Anything with wings is entertaining. With most birds spending their summer up north, I have to turn to other winged creatures for my fun. This guy kept clinging to our wall, so I took a few pics. In the last pic this butterfly reminds me of Robin Williams, can you guess why? (hint: you might have to blow up the pic to see the resemblance).

Hot Days of Summer

You know it's a typical hot August day when you look out over your yard at noon and see swarms of dragonflies. I don't know what they find appealing about the near 100 degree temperature and near 100% humidity. They are masters of the noon day lawn and I say they are welcome to it; I will come out later with the fireflies when the temperature is much cooler. These guys must know what they are doing because they have been around a lot longer than man; in fact, this Order of insect (Odonata) with its nearly 5000 species are some of the most ancient insects on earth.

Notice the shadow cast upon the stick from the opaque cells in the lower wing.

Swimming lessons for Brayden

I had the opportunity to go with Tabitha and Brayden to Brayden's swim lessons yesterday. I am so glad they are starting with him young. He doesn't really seem to know what is going on, but he is not afraid of the water and it is suprising how well he will instinctively do things like kick his feet or hold on to the board. Here are a few pictures at the pool.

Brayden with the instructor

Brayden seemed to like the board the best.

Brayden's swim buddy Owen seemed happy just to lay back and relax. It was so cute to see him just chillin' out!

Brayden and mom with "the noodle".

Happy Anniversary to my one and only Love!

29 years today!. I can not imagine my world without Troy in it. I hope to spend many more years together. I created this show a few years back and thought I would share it to remind him of our journey. Some of the pictures are old and hopefully they will show up okay. I love you Troy, you are my world!

Butterflies are beautiful

I finally got a chance to get a picture of a butterfly outside today. I have been waiting since spring to get the opportunity to get some pictures of some but this is the first one I have gotten a chance to film. I think butterflies are beautiful and one of God's greatest creations. There are so many lessons in this one creature. How can you look at a butterfly and doubt there is a God?

Evian Roller Babies - BestofYouTube.com

In a couple of months, I am going to teach Brayden how to do this.

Evian Roller Babies - BestofYouTube.com

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The Sky is Falling

The sky is like my wife, it just gets more beautiful the angrier it gets.

Staying with Nanna and Pappa

Brayden stayed with us Tuesday night this week. We had a ball with him. He is such a good baby and we had lots of fun. He is old enough now to get around some in the walker we have and I took a few pictures.

The above picture reminded me of one I took of Brody when he was here this spring. Can you tell they are cousins?

Father's Day Gift

Thanks for my Father's Day gift (Tabitha, Sean, and Debbie), I really love it and am looking forward to this Fall when all the birds return to these feeders and next Spring when I can grow some vines up each side.

Side view
Looking from the Patio

View from under the Sugar Maple

Back Patio

Cluttered most of the time and always the center of activity for me in the mornings and evenings. It is my favorite room in (?) the house.

Time with Brayden

I haven't been blogging much, but I have been enjoying the time I am able to spend with Brayden. He is adorable and we love him very much. Here are a few more pictures of him.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Hope you had a good 4th

Here are a few pictures from me and my baby.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Surprise Visitor

Every year Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) build nests in our chimney (I hate to think about how many nest are in there). Fortunately, we stopped using the fireplace years ago. Well, every year there will be one or two that will come down the chimney like Santa Claus, squeeze between the brick and the fireplace insert, and fly into our house.

Debbie is deathly afraid of these birds; I don't know why (maybe they look too much like bats). So, I have to catch them ASAP and take them back outside. Here is our latest visitor and I must say he was very cooperative. It only took me a couple of tries to catch him. Once on the curtains, he just let me reach up and grab him. Note the rough (uneven) edge on his wings in the curtain pic; the Latin word serripennis means "saw feather."

Volunteers Reporting for Duty

Yes, volunteers. These sunflowers come up each year under my bird feeders. So I get a double blessing; I get to see and photograph the birds and then enjoy the results of their bad table manners. Maybe, you remember the 7-headed sunflower blog from last year.

Serenity Now!

Here is where I find serenity and peace. Nearly every morning and evening I will walk around and just look at the flowers. I take great comfort in their beauty. I am currently designing a type of prayer/meditation garden for the backyard complete with a bench and lots of bird feeders and flowers. Since my yard (front and back) is so shade-challenged, I will need to design things around my lone Sugar Maple.

Isn't the shade of pink in this Hydrangea cool? Thanks Sean and Tabitha.
The Gladiolus flowers were pretty while they lasted, but they will be back again next year.