Last lake trip of the summer?

Say it isn't so. But I think it might have been. Bummer.

Please enjoy these snapshots while I go bemoan the whole 'being a grown up and going to work' thing.

5 July 2011

29 June 2011

Don't even try to make sense of it

I sat on the dock the other night for a long while just watching this spider spinning its web.

It moved so fast that it was almost hypnotizing. And very hard to capture with the lens I had with me. Not that having a different lens would have made any difference due to my lack of photographic skill, but I like to pretend it would just to make myself feel better.

And I know some of you are wondering: No I am not creeped out by spiders. They might startle me, but once I realize what it is I calm down. But I've never encountered a big hairy spider like a tarantula either, so I can't say for certain that I'd never be bothered by spiders.

But do you know what did freak me out a bit down at the dock? This:

Algae covered ladder steps in murky water. I kept glancing over there sure that at any moment some nasty sea monster was going to climb up them and eat me for dinner. But I'm really working on trying to face my irrational fears, so I plopped myself down and tried not to inch any further away from the portal of doom.

 

But if  I'm being honest, I have to say that if the view hadn't been so lovely,  there is no way I would have lasted as long as I did. 

Mellon Does Swallow Falls

Pretty, right? Even the marshy stuff in the foreground that I stood in as I was taking this picture. Nature has a way of calming one's spirit, wouldn't you agree? You slow down a bit and take time to notice the less obvious beauty that surrounds you. This might be my favorite:

I just love how trees grow on rocks. It speaks of a will to live despite inhospitable circumstances. Nothing made survival easy for this tree, yet still it thrives. I like to picture it as a tiny little seedling tree boldly defying wind, snow and ice as it strains to stretch its roots across the hard surface. Yes, I do have a vivid imagination. It's part of my charm or so I tell myself.

Something I do not love?

Snakes. See it on the log there? Ew. I have noticed that when I venture out to places alone, the people I encounter are much more likely to strike up a conversation with me. I guess I look lonely or something? Anyway, that would be how I found this snake. A group of dads and sons happily pointed it out to me as I tried not to run the other way. I faced my fear--sure it was from about 20 ft above, still. I was daring. Not nearly as daring as this fellow though.

He spent a good 15 minutes in that spot contemplating jumping. He'd start, then pull himself back. Start again, pull back again. Until finally, he dove head first into the water. I didn't think he was ever going to do it, so I wasn't speedy enough to get a picture of the dive, but I did get the evidence picture.

He quickly swam to shore only to discover that it was rocky and impassable. I don't know what he finally did to get out of the river because I was too busy running away from the snake to stick around and find out.

22 June 2011

8 June 2011

It seems to me that when I was a kid, the 8th of June was always the last day of school. I can still remember the feeling of freedom that coursed through my body as I took that final step off of the bus each June. Nothing in front of me but lazy days spent by the pool, softball games and joy rides through the country.  And lemonade. Lots of lemonade.

Since today is, in my mind, officially the first day of Summer Vacation, I am starting a new project. I plan to choose one photo each day to document my season of fun & sun. My hope is to get them all up here on the blog the day they're taken, but well y'all remember how that December Daily thing went, right? So we'll see how it goes. No promises.

Don't Eat Him!

Spring is here! And I really think it plans to stick around this time. In fact, I'm going to officially go on record as saying that there will be no further need for warm winter coats until next November. I'm even packing them away I'm so sure of this prophesy. From here on out, it's barefoot on the patio days.

Now, you might be wondering what Little Miss Sunshine is doing on her knees there. Well, if you look really closely at the grout line, you'll see a tiny speck. That little dot is actually this:

A poor little bee who'd lost the will or perhaps the ability to fly. Maybe because he got a little overzealous with the pollen collection and was too heavy to take flight? That yellow stuff on him is pollen, right? If not, ew.

So yes, we were studying a bee yesterday. The little stinger kept crawling all over the patio fluttering his wings to no avail. It's a wonder the poor thing didn't fall over dead from fright because Iverson kept sticking his nose right up against him and slobbering all over the place. Which caused Amaya to chase after the dog screaming: "Don't eat him!" It was quite comical. Also she gets her compassion from me. Obviously.

The kids decided that since bees like flowers, maybe if they gave him one he'd get well and take to the sky once again.

Sadly, the daffodil did not captivate the bee enough for him to forget that he should be walking away from the giant striped arm instead of toward it. I ended up relocating our insect friend to the yard, and we eventually lost track of him. I fear it may have been his final hours, but at least he did not meet his maker by the paws of a silly Australian Shepherd.

You may be wondering why the kids weren't running screaming from the bee. Well they did at first. But I gently reminded them that the bee won't bother them if they don't bother the bee--which is basically my line for every squiggly, squirmy creature one might encounter in nature. Which, yes I know is not 100% true, but true enough that I feel little guilt about continuing to repeat the phrase. Plus bees aren't really something to be afraid of unless you happen to be allergic to them.

I know what you're thinking right now: But they sting! Bees sting! Pain! Pain is something to fear! And yes, you might have a point there, but you see my view on the whole bee thing has been so skewed that I can't really be made to see reason. What? You want to know the story? Well, if you insist...

We must go back, way back, back into time. Back to when I was just a small fry--maybe 5?-- and my family had an apple tree in the front yard. My dad decided that it would be my chore to pick up the apples that had fallen to the ground and put them into a 5 gallon bucket. When the bucket was full, I was done with my chore for the day.  And I'd get a dollar; a crisp GW of my very own. Thus, I was quite happy to prance around the yard tossing apples into a bucket--I mean do you know how much penny candy a dollar could buy? 100 pieces? Um, no actually inflation had risen the price of penny candy to 5¢, so only 20. Still, that's a lot of sugar to a kindergartner.

But do you know what likes to land on and feast upon rotting apples? Wasps. And do you know how angry they get when you try to pick up their tasty treat and throw it in a plastic cylinder? Very. It was usually after the 4th or 5th sting that my mom would take pity on me and end the misery by taking me inside to rub a solution of water and baking soda on my welts. I don't think I ever lasted long enough to get a single bucket full that entire summer. But what I did get is desensitized to the fear of being stung by a bee--sure it smarts a bit, but only for a minute or two. Ten max. Oh and I also got my dollar. Every time.

I'll just climb back into my shell now

Hmmm...something is out of the ordinary around here. Do you see it guys?

Amaya sees it!

 

You don't see it? Come on Mama, use your eyes!

Oh geez, how blind can you be? Here, let me make it easy for you. 

 

Glad we're finally on the same page here, Mama. 

Memo? Bye Bye Memo. Memo?

So the last few days, Chase has been obsessed with Memo. (Nemo) I am not sure why because he's only seen the movie maybe once in its entirety, but the kid goes around the house saying Memo all day long. At school he points out the Memo in the fish tank. And just this morning he found the flash card with the clown fish on it and very lovingly said, "Memo", kissed it and then gently placed it in his most treasured Smash Crash monster truck book.

Fast forward to this morning when we went on a nature walk at the local park. Part of the trek included a stroll past the pond. Little Chase kept calling for Memo as we walked around the marshy perimeter. "Memooooo...Memo??" When it came time to leave the pond and head for drier pastures, he kept turning back saying "Bye Bye Memo". Can the kid get any cuter?

I didn't get to take any pictures by the pond b/c I was too occupied with trying to keep the little man out of the water, but here are a few shots I got on other parts of our jaunt. As you can see from the pictures, he was so entranced with his fish hunt, that he forgot he was wearing a hat. Otherwise, it would have been swiftly thrown to the ground as the little stinker hates wearing hats.

Geese! With Babies! But Chase calls them "Ucks".

Listening to the guide talk about how tadpoles become frogs. He's soaking it all in...can't ya tell?

Walking along in his new Target sandals. Cool dude.

Listen lady, I know the difference between a real duck and a pretend duck & this here duck's a fraud!