Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: yard


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Things that make me smile from my living room window.

After my three day adventure in Michigan’s thumb I settled back at home, grateful for a more comfortable bed, my husband and my Katie-girl.

I forgive you, mama, for leaving me behind. But I expect a double reward for posing for you now.

Still, it’s hard for me to take pictures for three days and then just put the camera away. Especially when there’s so much going on in my own backyard.

Two turkey mamas bring the youngsters in for breakfast.

Do you want to see? Well settle in, because this might get a little long. But I guarantee you’ll be smiling just like me.

One of our resident deer watch the turkey breakfast, considering whether or not to crash the party.

The weather was changing and the birds seemed to realize it. They were in a frenzy at the feeders.

A juvenile blackbird holds his own even when the big birds show up.

Lots of comings and goings and squawking and jostling for position.

The youngster stood up to all the birds, even the bully grackle.

And then it started to rain, the first rain we’ve had in many weeks.

We got a steady, all day, summer rain. It was marvelous.

But rain didn’t keep my birds from coming in.

Resting between courses.

I especially enjoyed watching this young oriole.

Do you have any good food for me, lady?

I think she may have a cognitive problem. She spends lots of time at the hummingbird feeder.

This is my private buffet.

She works very hard at trying to get to the sugar water.

Maybe there’s something under here?

But eventually she’ll move over to the oriole feeder. If she thinks I’m laughing at her she gets a little bent out of shape.

Look lady, I was just exploring my options.

Meanwhile, the juvinille red winged blackbird watches everything from his elevated perch.

I don’t know why they are all excited about some damp oranges.

We still have one adult male oriole stopping by. When he’s eating the youngsters aren’t so welcome at the feeder.

I brought you into this world and I can take you out!

They try to quietly swoop in for a bite, but he’s not having it.

Maybe I can grab a bite on the go.

He never stays long though, so if they are patient they can get back to enjoying lunch.

Wait, what’s that over there?

Keeping watch.

The chickadee stays out of the orioles way by feeding at the finch feeder. I hardly ever see any goldfinches these days, but the chickadee eats plenty.

It’s much more peaceful over here. Nom, nom, nom.

And little Miss Confused checks out the hummingbird feeder again.

Look lady, there’s sugar water in here and I’m going to get it. Now leave me alone!

The other young orioles are fine with that, leaves more oranges for them.

Personally, I think she’s crazy. But I guess every family has one.

So now you know why I’m smiling on a dim, rainy summer day. Oh yea, there’s this too.

We call him the flying squirrel because he leaps great distances to get to lunch.

I hope you’re smiling by now. You should write a post about what makes you smile and link it to Trent’s weekly smile post. He’ll recap next Monday and share it with lots of other smiling people!

Thanks Trent! You make us all smile too!

I’d smile more if all these youngsters would leave my lunch alone!


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Aha! I KNEW you missed me!

Katie here. Finally. Mama told me that since I was getting older and not going on any adventures lately that I was obsolete. Yep, I think that’s the word she used. Might have been redundant, it was a big word that I had to look up and I didn’t like it one bit.

This is me walking away from mama cause she asked me to sit for a picture. I’m a princess. She forgets that.

Anyway, I thought I should check mama’s blog and see what she’s been doing, cause it hasn’t been with me, that’s for sure! Looks like she’s been having fun…and with CATS! I thought I smelled cat on her when she came home last weekend, but I was napping when she arrived and really, it seemed like a lot of work to bark at her so I just went back to sleep.

No, I’m not too upset by her taking a get away without me, cause I really don’t like cats and I’m pretty sure that Ringo dude would have wiped the floor with me, so it’s just as well she left me with daddy. Daddy and I are buddies, we have lots of fun when mama is away.

Don’t tell her I said that.

Ok, mama. I’ll stand for a photo, but I’m not sitting.

No, what I’m upset about is that some of my fans, namely Miss Debbie and Miss Loisajay, asked about me and mama didn’t even tell me! They said the pictures of flowers from our garden would look better if I was included. Well of course they would! I am a princess and a princess always enhances any decor, inside or out.

So anyway, yesterday I gave mama a scare, just to get even with her ignoring me. Yep, we were on our walk around the yard after supper and mama was letting me stick my nose into whatever I wanted (frankly I think she was feeling guilty about the ignoring thing) and she was contemplating the green trees and blue sky when she thinks she saw me grab a berry off a nightshade plant. She lunged at me to pry my mouth open (which I do not allow, by the way) and she thinks she saw me swallow.

This is Davis Lake. My park overlooks it, which is why it’s called the Davis Lake Overlook park. I just call it Katie’s Park II

Yep, mama was in full on panic then. She picked me up and she raced inside and she looked up nightshade and found a site that said even two berries could kill a toddler. Oh my dog! She called my dad who wasn’t home, and then she called the vet to get the emergency number and then she called the emergency vet office where she was put on hold.

Mama is not very patient.

Finally they told her someone would call her back. Mama paced. I, however was very calm and took a nap beside the sofa. The vet tech called her in about ten minutes and told her they didn’t have a protocol for knowing how much of any certain plant could damage any sized dog and she should call animal poison control. Then the vet tech went on with a lengthy spiel about why they couldn’t help mama, and mama cut them right off and asked for the phone number. Did I mention mama is not very patient?

This is me smiling because I’m having fun.

She called poison control which had a long prerecorded message about what the vet would ask about and then said it would cost $75 on a credit card before a vet would speak to her. Mama hung up and started researching how to make me throw up.

Then daddy arrived home and they gave me something that tasted terrible and almost instantly I threw up most of my supper and there wasn’t any berry. Mama and daddy decided they’d just watch me for a little bit before they spent $75 to talk to a vet when maybe mama didn’t really see me eat that berry.

I told them they could watch me all they wanted, but I was going to go sleep on my new princess bed that daddy got me and if they could please be quiet while they watched me I’d appreciate it.

I walked right up to the camera cause I wanted a treat. Mama said that was OK and rubbed my ears.

And I also mentioned that I’d probably be really hungry about 4 a.m. and maybe they should consider being nice to me and feeding me breakfast early. Because they owed me.

So this morning I was just fine, even at 4 a.m. when mama got up with me and let me have a little something to eat. And later in the morning she took me to one of my parks for a short walk, cause, as I may have mentioned, she owes me.

I let her take one artsy-fartsy picture.

And that’s all the excitement around here. I didn’t eat the stinking berry, I never do stuff like that, and mama should have known better. But mama says better safe than sorry sweetie. I don’t know what that means, but I do know a princess does not like to throw up in front of her subjects.

Mama says I’m getting grey hair. I told her she should worry about her own hair and leave mine alone.

So let’s not do that again any time soon, OK mama?

Home, mama! (but thanks for the walk too)

Glad we got that straightened out.

Your girl, Katie.

That short little walk was just perfect for a princess like me!


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So much to smile about.

Both of them worked so hard to keep the kids fed.


Well, first on my smile list is the fact that I’m figuring out the new laptop, and the new Lightroom and even though there’s still a lot that I’m frustrated with I know eventually it will all work out.

Sneaking around the side to check on the kids.

But here it is, Sunday afternoon and I can’t let the second week go by without posting a smile for Trent’s Weekly Smile campaign. I don’t understand how time moves so fast when I’m not really doing anything. They say (and they are right, whoever they are) that time speeds up as you get older. Maybe that’s what I’m experiencing.

Listening to what the kids are up to in there.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago I took a series of photos of my wren family while mom and dad were frantically feeding the youngsters. The light wasn’t always good and certainly cropping these made them even more grainy, but they were such a delight to watch that I’ve been meaning to share them with you.

When either adult arrived at the box they’d do a little wing flap dance. This time they both arrived at the same time.

And even though they’ve been gone for a week or more now, looking at these images still makes me smile.

“I’ll wait here, you take yours in first.”

Of course the wrens aren’t the only thing worth smiling about around here. Yesterday I went on a guided walk through one of Katie’s park, she calls it Katie’s Park II, with a knowledgeable young man who manages the township’s nature preserves.

Doing their happy dances.

I didn’t take my camera and there were at least a couple moments that I wished I had it. In the next day or so I’ll be going back to see if I can capture a couple things I hadn’t noticed when I was walking there with Katie-girl.

“Eat your bugs and then dad will bring you desert.”

And during our walk someone told me about another park that she really likes, so I'll be going out there too. I'm pretty sure you'll get to see photos from both soon. Might even be next week's smile!

“Where’s my shift replacement?”

Meanwhile, enjoy the wren couple. I miss hearing them sing all day while they’re sitting on top of their home. I hope all their babies are growing big and strong and maybe next spring one of them will raise another brood here. Maybe I’ll get to photograph them with a more powerful lens, or at least in better light.

Taking a breather.

Oh, and Katie says to tell you all HI! She’d tell you herself but she’s busy planning her next nap. She says that’s about as exciting as it gets around here these days.

She’s not wrong.

Heading out to find more dinner for the hungry brood.


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The birth of summer

Katie and I went on an early morning walk around the yard today. It was already hot, the kind of hot that reminds me of summers growing up. Some of you remember those days, oppressive heat pressing down on you even early in the morning. Sweaty sleepless nights with a rattling box fan ineffectively moving the stifling air.

Morning light slices through our backyard.

As kids all four of us got to spend a week at grandma’s house on the farm each summer. No air conditioning there either, but I don’t remember being so insufferably hot in the big old farmhouse. We each got to choose the week, though I remember in later years my uncle requesting my brothers during certain harvest weeks.

Neighbor’s flag celebrating in morning light.

I usually tried to be there when the wild black raspberries were in season. They grew behind my grandpa’s work shed and every morning I’d go out and pick a small bowl of them, and grandma and I would put them on our breakfast cereal. So good.

Katie and I shared these in the backyard.

And I remember the summers when I was much younger and my folks bought a lake lot with the intention of building a cabin someday. I remember the orange lilies blooming in the ditches on the road to the lake.

Bringing back memories.

They always represented summer to me. Now when I see them I am instantly transported back to that lake lot and the summer days spent swimming off the dock and rowing the big green rowboat.

Queen Anne’s lace getting ready to spring into summer.

This morning while Katie was busy sniffing I was noticing so many reminders of summers past, right in my own back yard. Lots of evidence, too, that summer is progressing regardless of the craziness happening in the world.

Looking for something to cling to.

Even as we stay home, curtailing plans, missing family, time is moving and mother nature is pushing forward. A lesson, I guess, for all of us not to give up hope either. For more than sixty years I’ve watched summer unfold, leaf by leaf, petal by petal.

I guess I should stop worrying about what tomorrow will bring and just let it be.

Sneaking quietly into summer.


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Camping makes us smile, no matter where we are

I don’t know how it happens that a week can slip away before I realize it. But here it is Saturday morning, almost afternoon, and I still haven’t posted a smile for Trent’s Weekly Smile compilation. If you haven’t read his weekly smile post from Monday yet you should. He has the most beautiful foxglove flowering over there.

So anyway. Katie and I have been sleeping in the tent in our backyard almost every night for the past week. It’s been beautifully cool with clear skies and she loves it, even though some nights I am kind of cold.

Katie here, this is my “I’m going camping!” smile!

She starts prancing around the back door and whining as soon as the sun even begins to think about heading for the horizon. I’m never ready to go to bed that early and sometimes I just ignore her, in which case she’ll sigh in disappointment and go to sleep somewhere else.

Once I’m ready to head to bed I change into several layers of clothing, grab her leash and wake her up. When she sees me dressed in sweats and holding her leash she gets so excited and she happily pulls me across the back lawn to our tent.

Silly girl.

But it’s not just her, I’m pretty happy to be sleeping outside too. She gets me up every morning between 3 and 4:30 and we head back to the house where she settles in to snooze with her dad and I go back out to the tent to finish my own sleeping. Those three hours of early morning sleep are usually my best sleep each night.

Hey mama, are you awake yet? Cause I’d like to go pee please.

Who’d have thought that sleeping in a tent on a narrow sleeping pad would garner a great night of sleep!

Katie and I put the tent away yesterday afternoon in preparation for a few days of bad weather. They predicted 60 mph winds and potential hail. Of course, as usual, the weather people got overly excited and all we got was a little rain. But it is going to be much warmer this week, so we’ll probably stay inside with the air conditioning for a few days. But when we get the tent back out both Katie and I are going to smile!

Guaranteed.

Me and my tent!