favorite wintertime sights

there are 2 species of birds that i'm on the lookout for when traveling in wintertime and today i saw both.
first are the red-tailed hawks. on sunny days they're very active, perching high, patiently on the lookout for movement on the ground below, hovering over a victim biding their time, or dive-bombing their prey
with deadly accuracy.
it's a mercy that the mice and voles don't know what hit them when a hawk chooses them as carry-out.
the second was a 100+ flock of snow buntings. when they take off en masse they are like a snow flurry that defies gravity as the group lifts, drops, lifts and swirls above the stubbly cornfields.

changes

our family, immediate and extended,

has suffered many losses over the past year and a half.

they say that bad things come in threes. (in our case, sevens)

they say that life is a journey.

they say that change is a constant.

they say that things happen for a reason.

they say that the only way to be able to feel great happiness is to know great sadness.

they say that bitter can become sweet over time.

they say that time heals.

they are right.

if we pay attention we realize that for every loss, there is some kind of gain. if we look hard enough, and beyond ourselves, they are there.

where did i put my yaktrax? and the calendar?

haste makes waste.

trying to hurriedly run the recyclables out this morning with dorie at my heels as part of a middling busy day, getting the jump on the garbagemen being my first priority.

preoccupied with the impending delivery of a new washer and dryer and and spending an afternoon with dummies at cpr refresher class.

in a wink of god's eye i was down on the patio, looking up at the sky, while dorie stood, torn between the urge to chase the recyclables that were skidding all over and the possibility that she might be needed to lick my face in a westie effort at resuscitation.

the recyclables won and it was up to me to get up and assess myself for noggin injuries and a broken hip. luckily the back took the brunt of the fall and spared me a brain injury.

needless to say the garbage never made it out to the curb today. but that's ok since garbage day is tomorrow.

so the only dummy i'll spend this afternoon with is myself, on the couch, with medication, my kindle, and dorie lying on my tummy looking at me with raised eyebrows since she knows full well that garbage day is thursday...

long time no blog

Emilie: "Mom, do you know you haven't blogged since September?"
Me: "yeah..."
Emilie: "Just sayin'..."



Dennis is in Chicago and was thoughtless enough to leave Dorie and I home alone, unsupervised, with a pint of ice cream in the freezer and a Finding Bigfoot marathon on Animal Planet tonite.
The ice cream is chocolate, too dangerous for Dorie to eat, since she's a dog.
Just sayin'....

to my dear friend on the loss of her son

a mother's grief



close the eyes that no longer see.

cover the face that will never smile back at me.

wrap the body.

take it away.

but he will stay with me.

i will draw him back into myself, a swelling burden

that will press upon my flesh and bone and make me cry.

cry with a pain that won't be eased after hours of labor,

but by years of caring for the living.

-----genevieve smith whitford

tiny garden visitor

Have had an interesting visitor in the flower garden.

What I thought was a baby hummingbird is actually a hummingbird clearwing moth.

They act just like hummers, hovering to sip nectar from the flowers, never stopping.

The 3 hummingbirds that hang out in the garden don't seem to mind sharing the bounty

with the little guy.

"priorities"

i would never spend $15 on a bottle of shampoo for myself.

but when it comes to meeting the grooming needs of this guy, brodie, with his sensitive westie skin, i'd spend my last nickel.