Sunday, September 9, 2012

Saving the best for last

I have been remiss in posting on my blog and visiting others'. This is my first week back to school. We had terrible storms Thursday evening and power lines came down, so we were without electricity. I've been reading two manuscripts for two different writers, wrote a blurb for one of the novels, and I have been editing the other. Plus, Not Your Mother's Book...On Family is coming up on deadline. I NEED more stories. Please tell your friends. I am receiving lots of Chicken Soup type stories. I want exactly the opposite.

I needed some R&R. This afternoon was gorgeous, the weather sunny and cool. We went to Bee Tree Park and I snapped photos of things that made me smile. We walked around the lake and I chuckled at the sun glistening on the surface like thousands of diamonds. "Looks to me like the fish are snapping pictures of us."

I love being outdoors. In our busy lives we seldom stop to appreciate nature's gifts. Look closely at the tree above. It was probably struck by lightning when it was a sapling. One side is completely smooth, and the otherside is covered in bark. Odd in appearance, but thriving none-the-less.

I stopped on the wooded path. Bill didn't see what I saw until I pointed out a skinny branch that was completely stripped of leaves, hanging on to a heart-shaped leaf, dangling a gift to us.
The monarch butterflies are getting ready for their migration. I swear this Painted Lady smiled at me.
It's a damsel fly wearing my favorite color. I stopped and thanked God for my eyes.
Can you imagine perching on the tip of ... anything? Look at those gossamer wings.
Bill spotted Charlotte or one of her relatives in this gigantic web. That arachnid was silver dollar size. The web was the size of a bicycle tire. And last, but not least ...
As we were heading back to the car, I spotted something in the grass that really made me smile. All I know about her, is she is Canden's mommy-to-be. I asked for her permission. She said, "Sure."
Don't you just love unexpected surprises like these?


13 comments:

Sioux Roslawski said...

What a cute idea that mom-to-be had. (I had to zoom in to see the baby's name stickered onto her belly.)

I hope you had a good first week, Linda. The first few weeks are always incredibly exhausting.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

One of my friends is a high school teacher, and she was wiped out this weekend.

Your photos are amazing, especially the last one. You know that baby will be loved. :)

Chatty Crone said...

Andy has been in school for 4 weeks already and I am wiped out from HOMEWORK! lol

Nice photos - love the mom to be one.

Val said...

I'm glad you took time out from burning that four-ended candle to snap these photos. The butterfly is my favorite.

BECKY said...

Great pics, Linda! Love the mommy one, too! Hey, did you ask her if she has any Mom to Be stories?? :)

Susan said...

That was quite a find-in-the-grass, Linda. Wowsers! The watery web was cool, too.

Take care and have a terrific Monday. Susan

noexcuses said...

I love coming to your blog! I so miss St. Louis! Your pictures are wonderful! So glad you got out for some R&R!

Hope you have a great school year!

Joanne Noragon said...

My granddaughters have three weeks under their belts--and I', still not into the groove!

Have a good year.

Lynn said...

For the same reason that you stated, I worked out in my yard yesterday. It was gorgeous. Love the photo of the mom-to-be. I wish I had a story for your publication... nothing seems to come to mind.

Bookie said...

Lovely pictures, Linda. So glad you got to be outdoors to enjoy it. Thanks for your comment on my blog too which I needed badly to find this morning. My weekend was spent at ER with retinal bleed and fear. Saw my doctor's associate this morning and no retina tear but a vitreous one to watch for a week. Told me to go on fishing with hubby and enjoy outside because nothing can be done to avoid this kind of tear. The floater is big one so I am squinting a lot but fear is lessened...so now some outdoor time for ne too!

Susan Sundwall said...

If we all remembered to take our cameras on our walks, the world would be a more contented place. Thanks for taking them for us, Linda. Beautiful - just like you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the blurb!

Lauralew said...

Thanks for the photos, Linda, especially the mom to be! That one was awesome. Away from St Louis for a couple of months--hope to see you when I return!

Linda Austin said...

Lovely pictures, Linda, especially as I've been too busy to enjoy this delightfully cooler weather. That's a painted lady butterfly, by the way, and though I love nature photos dearly, my fav is also the mommy-to-be!