Purple Wildflowers

These pretty purple flowers are growing on Turkey Mountain. I love their spiky little petals and vibrant color!

View from Turkey Mountain

We went to Turkey Mountain for a family walk/hike on Sunday afternoon. This is the mountain that blocks many of my attempts to get a good sunset picture (I like the ones where you can get the whole horizon in it, uncluttered by houses, mountains, etc.). It was an overcast day, so we thought we'd take advantage of it.

This is the view of the CitiPlex towers on the other side of the river. As you can see, it has been a while since we've gotten a lot of rain, although we have gotten some over the past three days.

There are so many wonderful trails to explore. Brownie really loves trails (so do I).

Oops, I meant to have this picture be last, but.... When Brownie sticks her head out the window, she closes her eyes and is really sniffing into the wind. It is so cute because it looks like an expression of utter bliss. I tried to capture it, but wish I could have gotten a clearer picture of her face in the side mirror.

Pausing to relax before we head back. I liked this shot as they were both watching whatever was going on to their right. That shows Pooker is just as curious about what is going on as Brownie! We had lots of fun on our hike and will have to do it again.

I bet somebody was crying

I bet somebody was crying and missing their little bear (probably the one they won't take a nap without). For all of you tenderhearted folks, this little guy wasn't there the next day.

Another day, more clouds!

These cloud photos were taken two weeks ago, the first two on our morning walk and the last three from our backyard in the afternoon. Just gorgeous!

Joyriding on the Bayou

Wait, this is the Arkansas river they are joyriding on. I wish I could have gotten an even closer picture to show you, but this was as good as I could get. Imagine my surprise while walking along the river with Brownie to hear the sound of a boat coming our way. By the time I whipped out my camera and zoomed in as far as I could, I only had one shot at it and this was it. They basically had two lawn chairs on there, one in front of the other and they were going as fast as they could. I'm not sure there are supposed to be boats on this part of the river anyway because it is so shallow. But in this boat, Go Bayou Boys!

Mistaken Identity

Last night, we were cleaning up the kitchen after supper. My husband was washing the pan we had used to brown the hamburger in. When he was done, he set the pan carefully to the side to dry and returned the scouring pad he used to the edge of the sink. I was still putting food up when something clicked in my mind. I noticed the scouring pad I had used the day before to clean the tub and toilet was wet. I glanced to where I had set it (on the opposite side of the sink from where we have the identical scouring pad for our dishes) and I confirmed that he had used the one I'd cleaned the tub and toilet with. I looked at him and said, "Uhhh, I used that one to clean the tub and toilet with yesterday." He appeared a bit startled, then gave me a blank look and said, "Communication is key." He then left the kitchen and I put the pan in the dishwasher and the scouring pad back under the sink so there'd be no further misuse. I think I'll re-think where I need to leave that sucker to dry.

Playing in the sprinkler

Since it has been so hot, sometimes the only way we can spend any amount of time outside in the afternoon is to turn the sprinkler on. She loves playing in the sprinkler! I just love seeing her so happy. She kept playing in that sprinkler for several hours. Every once in a while, I have to run through it as well to keep cooled off.

When I watch her play, I am amazed again at how much joy she gets from every moment. She truly lives in the present, enjoying life to the fullest. She's not worried about two minutes from now or an hour from now or a day or a month or a year from now. She just enjoys now and reminds me that I, too, need to live in the present. What better way to be reminded than from a frolicking dog girl?

Clouds, clouds, clouds

I have sure seen lots of beautiful clouds lately. Finally, the "heat wave" broke and we have been in the upper 80's, low 90's. We've even gotten a little rain the past two days. It's bearable to be outside again.

Shirt in the woods

Frankly, it is a little disturbing to find a shirt by itself in the woods. When I mean woods, I mean tiny little trail through thick foliage. Other places, to see a shirt by itself might not be so unusual. But in the woods? For what purpose do you take your shirt off? (Rhetorical question)

Brownie and I just got back from our walk this morning. It was overcast the first half of the walk, then the sun came out. Not as hot as it has been lately, but still hot enough to sweat (but not from the eyelids or wrists--whew). I've got to get ready because I'm meeting Pooker for lunch. We don't often meet for lunch during the work week, so it is a treat I'm looking forward to.

"Unbidden Tears"

"Unbidden Tears" painted 7/21/08