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WordPress Photo Challenge: Abstract
April showers
HI!!!!
Mama says I shouldn’t be sad that it’s raining. We haven’t had any in a long time, and besides, she says, it’s not SNOW! Good point mama. Of course I sort of like snow so I guess I wouldn’t have minded if we got some to play in. Mama, on the other hand, does not want to see any more of that white stuff till next Christmas!
Anyway.
I’ve been to lots of parks lately. Mama is home all the time and we get to go go go! I love that. I think mama does too, though maybe not quite as much as me. Cause she doesn’t get treats at the park, not being a princess and all.
I’ve been over to my park quite a bit already this month. It still doesn’t look like spring over there, but at least the snow is gone. There aren’t any leaves yet, but after this rain I bet things begin to bud out!
This is my majestic look.
It’s been a bit wet with all the snow melt, and windy, but I don’t mind. I even walked through a puddle at the back of the park this year! Mama was surprised; she usually has to carry me through that part of the trail every spring. I guess I’m growing up and taking on more responsibility now that I’m almost ten.
Art in my park!
Did you know they are advertising the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) at my park? There are these big pictures with notes about the artist there! My mama reads them all to me but she says I can’t go to the DIA because I’m a dog. Seems unfair. I mean, why put art in my park if I can’t go?
One day at my park I didn’t feel like walking all the way around, so I took my mama over to the library and we walked around there. And you know what I accidentally did?
Uh, she’s on to me!
I walked down this long line of stairs! Without thinking! I forgot that I don’t do stairs! Now my mama is sure that I’ve been scamming her all these years when I made her carry me up and down.
And one time, over by one of the ponds mama thought she’d take a photo of the two of us enjoying my park. But she never did get the hang of setting the camera up. Most of the shots looked like this.
Mama doesn’t move fast enough.
I’ve also spent lots of time at home in my own pretty yard. Mama is getting worried that she’s already behind on the weeding, but I think the flowers are beautiful just the way they are.
I look good in blue, don’t you think?
AND…best news of all! Mama and I got to go camping in the back yard two nights in a row! I was very very good and only barked a little (OK a lot the first night and only a little the second night) at the snorting deer that trespassed on our camp site around two a.m. each night. The second night I slept all night and never even moved around on my princess pillow!
This is MY tent and MY stuff. Mama takes care of it for me.
Of course I got mama up at 5:15 a.m. each morning but she doesn’t seem to mind now that she doesn’t have to go to work anymore. I love camping! She says we’re going to a real campground in May and another one somewhere up north in June! I can not wait!
And you know what else? Last night I got to go for a wonderful walk with my pal Deuce and his mom at his park! It’s in a town and there’s a creek that runs through it and there’s ducks and lots of people and oh! The wonderful smells!
Deuce and me at his park!
I could hardly lift my nose from the ground anywhere, it was heaven! I walked a mile and a half and wasn’t even tired. I didn’t want to leave! Deuce was a real good host and showed me all the best spots to sniff. And his mom was so patient and let me sniff as long as I wanted. Even my own mama was pretty indulgent about it all.
I’ve been having the best time this spring so I guess it’s OK there’s one day of rain. I could probably use the rest anyway. I’m sure mama has more adventures up her sleeve, and I need to be ready!
Signing off now,
Katie.
PS: I got a little damp this morning.
The wet dog look.
Wordless Wednesday
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How to celebrate 60
Strong women. Every single one of them.
It’s certain there are about 3,500 women, mostly in this state, who are having trouble walking down stairs today. And tomorrow may be only slightly better.
If you’re not a runner you have no idea the quadricep carnage that occurred Sunday morning over in Grand Rapids the result of the Gazelle Girls half marathon and 5K, a women’s only road race. Thinking about it now, if you are a guy, this was the place to be. More than 3000 fit women dressed in running gear swarmed the city.
But that’s probably another blog.
Friends race for the finish line
I turned 60 on Saturday, an age I’m not too happy about. But what better way to boost my confidence, convince myself that age is just a number, that I’m not old, that it’s going to all be OK, then to run a 5K for the first time in umpteen years.
Superhero giving out high fives
Many of my friends ran the half marathon (13.2 miles), but I was thrilled to be running a 5K (3.1 miles). I’ve been walking so when this race came up, a time to reconnect with many of my cyber running friends, I thought I’d throw a little jogging into the training mix and be good to go.
Superhero sees his mom coming!
And that’s exactly what I did. I went on more walks than I might have if I wasn’t ‘training’ and I threw in some quarter miles of jogging sometimes. Maybe once a week. Or so. Surely that would be enough.
Enjoying the moment
I didn’t carry a camera with me on my 5K race, but so many times along the route I wished I had it with me. So you’ll have to use your imagination when I tell you I followed a woman with a pink shirt that read “too inspired to be tired” most of the race. And that the shadows of a mom and her two seven year old twins followed mine. And then they caught up with me. I ran either just in front or just behind them most of the race. They were adorable. And yes… they finished before I did. Seven year olds.
Running mom into the finish line
You’ll have to use your imagination when I tell you many women were wearing tiaras or tutus. Or both. A majority of them were dressed in the wildly beautiful bright colors that seem to be in style these days. The shoes pounding the pavement in front of me were beautiful. I so wanted to shoot them. With a camera. Seriously. A camera.
Suddenly I was tired. I sat on the curb and shot through the fence.
Pick up your feet, pick up your feet was my mantra as I kept watch of the crumbling city pavement. I’m too old, now, to fall. I could break a hip, land in a nursing home. It felt quite a bit like that’s where I should be anyway. Especially that last long uphill at the end, that final left turn toward the finish line. Pick up your feet, pick up your feet. Breath.
There was joy…
I went back to the hotel when I finished my race to get my camera because I couldn’t be that long without one. The photos here were taken while I was waiting for my half marathoner friends to come across the finish. There were lots of great people to watch. So many strong women. Such great family and friend support. Beautiful children excited to see their mom or sister or grandmother race by.
…there was angst.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate my 60th birthday with friends who truly believe you are never old. As evidenced by our “Energizer Betty” who Sunday ran a half marathon at age 72. Who ran a marathon on her 70th birthday.
Our Betty!
Who I want to be when I grow up.
Politics. It’s everywhere. 🙂
And there is one thing I know is true; 3.1 miles is a very long way to run. Thank goodness I didn’t have to do ten more!
Me and my water.
Grief strikes
Imoene painted Morgan. Photo taken from her Facebook page.
Oh Imogene.
That’s what’s running through my brain, has been ever since last night when I read the news. Oh Imogene.
I never met her, not in person. But she was my friend. Sure, there are many that knew her better, and she has family that love her even more. But people around the world considered her a friend.
I ‘met’ her many years ago when I ran across a whole bunch of people on the internet who wrote blogs from their dogs’ perspective, a group called Dogs With Blogs. Imogene wrote for her sheltie named Morgan. I loved both of them instantly.
Imogene was the kind of woman who put bright colored streaks in her hair long before it was mainstream fashionable. She took her dogs to canine Halloween parties. She described the protocol of reserving street parking with kitchen chairs during blizzards.
And last weekend she asked her Facebook friends whether she should order pizza or work on her taxes, after all her appointment with her tax guy was in two days. We all voted for pizza and later it turned out she ordered it and then stayed up all night sorting through receipts. She dropped her documents off at the tax guy’s office on Monday, but that doesn’t matter now.
She died yesterday.
Imogene died and legions of people are in shock. We aren’t ready to say goodbye to this spunky, sarcastic, witty, funny, truly lovable woman.
Oh Imogene.
Her sister says she didn’t like funerals. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t like all the attention now. The stories. The pictures. Especially the sad comments. Our tears. I’m pretty sure she’s probably all ticked off, not at us, but at the fact she had to go too soon. I hope it’s fodder for her new blog in heaven; that first post of hers is bound to be a zinger.
So…till we meet again Imogene…and I’m sure we will…I was glad to be included in your huge circle of friends. I am so going to miss you. And if you are getting a tax refund this year I hope it gets put to good use at one of your many charitable organizations. I know you’d like that.
But oh Imogene…
Taken from Imogene’s Facebook page. With her girls.
It’s a Horned Lark!
In Tuesday’s post I had been walking in a local park and saw a bird I wasn’t familar with. Turns out a friend of mine knew just what it was.
A Horned Lark!
I’ve never heard of such a bird; I’m beginning to realize that I’m only truly familiar with birds that come to my feeder. Last year, while camping I saw a new bird for the first time and a friend had to tell me that it was an American Redstart. I haven’t seen one since, but I hope to again this summer when I camp at the same park. Also last year, while mowing the back yard, I noticed a King bird for the first time. All of these birds are supposed to be common around here…but I’d never noticed them before. Obviously I have not been observant.
Anyway…to learn more about the Horned Lark, check out this link done by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. You can hear the sounds they make on that site too. The bird I saw was definitely singing, that’s how I noticed him at all.
So thank you Linda for letting me know what this was! Now I’ll be looking for him on my next trip to the park, and around my own backyard too.
Internet photo
Wordless Wednesday
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Looking for fog
After days and days of cold littered with snow we woke this morning to more temperate weather. With the snow rapidly melting the warm air was tinged with fog. As the sun rose I headed over to the closest park to see what might be interesting. I actually caught this out of the corner of my eye as I was driving to the back of the park, and just had to turn around at the golf course and come back. (Click on any photo to make it bigger and see more detail.)
Mysterious
The fog was disappearing and by the time I got up to the parking lot and began the long walk down the hill toward the woods it was gone. So I began to look for other interesting things.
A flock of seven sandhill cranes flew by, oddly silent. It’s rare that I’ve seen them when they weren’t making a lot of noise as they fly. But this was pretty early in the morning. Maybe they hadn’t had coffee yet.
Incoming!
I liked the fact that the red twig dogwood bushes were very very red even under the dull cloudy sky. And that the fog, now droplets, was beautiful tucked among the bright twigs.
Color bursting out all over
And there was something else bright red flitting through the forest. Some people believe a cardinal in your path is a loved one’s spirit come to visit. I see so many cardinals that I don’t think they can all be my long gone loved ones, but this one was all alone, so maybe.
Just stopped by to say hello
Then there was this bird. It was sitting quite far away, and the morning light interfered with my sight. Or maybe I’m just getting older. Anyway, I don’t know what this bird is, so I took a shot blindly and then cropped it a whole lot hoping one of you will know. We have killdeer out at this park…could it be one of those? It was making quite a racket out by the road, but not making the typical killdeer kind of song.
Who am I?
I don’t remember killdeer having yellow on them either…so…what do you think it is?
Of course the red winged blackbirds are everywhere. At home they are eating me out of bags and bags of sunflower oilers. They are starving! But so are all the other birds, so I keep putting it out for them. At the park they are establishing their territories and this guy was not excited about me walking by on the path.
No crossing into MY territory!
He fluffed up to get his picture taken though. Show off.
The pack of sandhill cranes flew back over, something must have startled them from their breakfast on the golf course. One of them still has legs hanging low. I wonder if he flies that way all the time?
We all have our own flying style lady. Get over it.
And then the sun came out! It lit up the hill I was climbing as I headed back to the car. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of one of my favorite trees.
Splendidly alone
Someone going the other way asked me if I had gotten any good pictures. I shrugged, wagged my hand back and forth. Nothing special I replied.
On my drive home I stopped at a hilly field, the home of a crabapple tree that used to grace a farmhouse yard. I’ve always admired the way the tree and the hill share the space, always meant to grab a photo. Today was the day.
Little tree, big sky
I don’t know what it is about this tree, sitting alone in an empty field. I just like it.
So…did I get any good pictures this morning? Oh yea. Every morning that I get to spend outside with my camera is a good morning. Fog, no fog. Sun, no sun. There’s always something special to find. And to make the day even better, when I got home Katie demanded equal time and we headed out to her park.
I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it soon.
Pay attention mama!
Two more dead
Wednesday near Charlotte NC a Swift semi ran off the road and hit a bridge. Watch this two minute news video that cites statistics about Swift, a large national carrier. These two deaths are numbers 56 and 57 for the truck company in the past two years. Other articles I’ve found say that Swift has been cited over 4000 times during the past two years for driving violations.
I don’t know how much more has to happen before the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) stops rating them as acceptable.
As many of you know I work with the Truck Safety Coalition, and we’ve been fighting to lower the maximum number of hours a driver can drive before having to take an extended rest break. It’s an uphill battle, with small victories later repealed by legislation backed by the deep pockets of the American Trucking Association which is out to maximize truck company profits. A news report yesterday said fatigue of the driver was a likely cause of this particular crash. He fell asleep behind the wheel at 4:30 in the morning.
So. Two more people are dead. This time they weren’t in a passenger car, they were in the cab of the truck that crashed.
In stories like this the news focuses on the traffic delays or the cost of repairing the infrastructure. I can tell you from personal experience the families of the two deceased don’t care about traffic delays or bridge repair today. As they move forward and figure out what caused their loss they’ll learn what so many other families have learned. That driving up to 11 hours a day is unsafe. That it doesn’t make any sense. That people die because they are pushed to work longer hours than in any other industry. It’s a complicated issue.
Five hundred truck drivers die in crashes each year. Yesterday two gave their lives just trying to make a living.
Sometimes I think that fighting the ATA on hours of service rules is useless. That we’re just playing defense, sticking our fingers in an deteriorating dike. That our time is better spent on issues we have a chance of winning. And then two more people die and I realize we have to keep fighting on all the issues.
Even hours of service.
