horny cows and letting go

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Last Sunday while on our butterfly hunt, my husband and I came across these handsome fellows grazing in a nearby field. They are African Watusi, and I couldn’t help but wonder how they have adapted to our harsh Michigan winters coming from such a warm, dry climate. The lazy days of August are coming to a close here but they are feeling much more like the cool crisp days of October and I’ve caught myself saying at least it’s not snowing several times already! I do believe that my life would be much easier, happiness much closer at hand, if I could adapt to change like the beautiful horned cattle in the photo above apparently have. I want to learn to embrace not only the crazy weather patterns here in Michigan, but also the roller-coaster ups and downs of this thing called life. In two weeks I’m turning fifty and the one year anniversary of my mother’s death is coming up at the end of September. I can’t believe I’m that old and that my mom has been gone for a year already. I’ve never been very good at accepting change, at “going with the flow” as they say, but I’m making a real effort to improve on that skill. I have to of course, because change is inevitable in every life and as we grow older the ride only speeds up and those peaks and valleys only grow taller and much deeper. My birthday gift to myself is going to be to learn to let go, to put my hands up in the air, feel the wind on my face, and enjoy the rest of the ride for as long as it lasts:)

It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it’s that place in between that we fear . . . . It’s like being between trapezes. It’s Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There’s nothing to hold on to. ~Marilyn Ferguson

See more PhotoHunt Saturday: Surprise entrants here and Camera Critter Meme players here!

wordless wednesday

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On Sunday, Doug and I went to the University of Michigan Botanical Gardens hoping to get some butterfly photos. As you can see from the picture above, the gardens were in full bloom, but we were disappointed to find only bees buzzing around the flowers. We took a few photos, whining a good deal of the time about the lack of the lovely winged insects, and then we set out for home. As we were driving down the freeway there was a sudden loud “plunk” as a large insect hit the windshield. When I turned and looked over at Doug he simply said, “Yes…it was a butterfly.” The irony continued at home when while sitting out on the deck the swallowtail pictured below fluttered and flapped and feasted leisurely on the flowers growing in our own backyard pots. As I looked at the photo of Doug on my computer the next day, surrounded as he was by masses of beautiful flowers, I realized how foolish we were that afternoon not to be grateful for the present moment just as it was, even if it did happen to be butterfly free. So I guess our lesson for the day was – You don’t necessarily need to wander far from home to find your heart’s desire, but if you do,  for heaven’s sake – stop and smell the flowers along the way!

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, it may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

See other (nearly) Wordless Wednesday participants here.

friday fill-ins

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1. I remember, I remember when my kids were younger. That’s a photo I took of Andy and Lizzi for our Christmas card one year, they were so cute!

2. Dear Mom I want you to know I can’t believe it will be a year next month since you died.

3. Is that my freakin’ age!!???

4. I’m trying to resist the temptation of buying more camera lenses.

5. I’m saving a hug just for you!

6. If I made a birthday list spending a day with my new granddaughter would definitely be on it!!!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a birthday dinner for Andy, tomorrow my plans include errands and lunch out with my hubby and Sunday, I want to go for a drive and try out my new wide angle camera lens!

Click on the pic to see more Friday Fill-ins! FridayFillIn-Graphic2

teaser tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays asks you to : Grab your current read, Open to a random page, Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. I finally finished the Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge. I had started it in April but set it aside unable to get into it, this time it took however, and I thoroughly enjoyed the read. Each chapter is a short story and they are all linked by the main character of Olive, a stern (and not always likable!) retired schoolteacher in the small town of Crosby, Maine. Themes of aging, marriage, and the always messy expectations of how we relate to our friends, spouses, and children are explored through the brutally honest eyes of Olive Kitteridge.

Today I’ve picked up something a bit lighter from my TBR pile, The Next Thing on my List by Jill Smolinski. The reviews say it is a charming summer read and when I opened to my teaser quote I liked what I saw!  This was catching a wave, and – my suspicions had been correct – I’d never done anything like it before. It felt as if the water beneath me had turned into a sea of hands that kept spiriting my board up and forward – gliding and skipping and lifting until I was shrieking with the unexpected thrill of it and wishing that this amazing rush would never, ever have to end.

Surfer girl photo is by Casch52 on Flickr. I tweaked it a little in my photo program:)

photo friday: young and old

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This week’s Photo Friday challenge is Young and Old. Okay, I know my son Andy isn’t exactly old, although compared to his newborn daughter he is! In this photo I caught Brooklyn giving her old man a perfect little pout:)

Fathers, be good to your daughters…You are the god and the weight of her world. ~ John Mayor

dog’s life

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This is Jake. A couple of times each summer, Jake comes over with our friends Ann and Shirley and he goes for a swim in our pool. He has trained us humans to throw a ball into the water and he swims out after it – we repeat this drill over and over again. We love to watch Jake chase his yellow tennis ball because he does it with such complete joy and abandon. When I go in the pool it has to be warm enough. I try not to get my hair wet because I don’t want it to get frizzy and I’m afraid the chlorine will turn my expensive highlights green. I don’t really have a bathing suit I like, you know, that elusive swim suit that makes me look ten pounds slimmer and ten years younger? I want to be like Jake. I want to jump into the pool and enjoy the feeling of the cold refreshing water as it washes over me. I don’t want to worry about my hair or what I’m wearing or how my body looks. I guess what I’m saying is I want to live like a dog, content with the simple delights that each moment brings, unaware of the past and unafraid of the future. Hmm, maybe the next time we’re sitting out by the pool I’ll have Mr. bookbabie toss a jar of Sanders Hot Fudge Topping into the deep end and we’ll see what happens;)

I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better. ~George Bird Evans
See other (not quite) Wordless Wednesday participants here.

PhotoHunt Saturday: Low

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Just about every morning when I wake up, I find I’ve been dreaming about my mom. The dreams are disjointed and stressful because she’s always sick and I’m always trying to help her get better. I often start the day feeling a little blue, a little low. I’d like to stop those dreams and rewind my memories to happier days, but I don’t know how. Maybe after I’ve worked through things in my conscious mind, made peace with everything that happened if that’s possible, my dreams will bring my old, healthy mom back. I hope so. I miss her.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. ~Kahlil Gibran

See more PhotoHunt Saturday pics here!