``Au Naturel``

It`s so funny the things you pick up to hold on to when you`re going through a rough spot.


For some reason these past 2 weeks have been crazy.
I`ve found myself at ropes end on one too many occasions.
Everything hit the fan night before last and I seriously wondered how I was to make it through the next day.
I hid under my covers that night...hoping and wishing and determined to make tomorrow a better day- for everyone:(


I woke up and told myself I would snatch up all the things I could.
No matter how small and seemingly insignificant, by George! I was going to grab èm!
And so...(they say small things amuse the small mind....but I truly was desperate)...here are moments I grabbed.....


The irony of this shot:

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My 8 year old (accidentally) blowing me a kiss in public.
I had dropped him off at his music class. Flying out of the van with his saxophone and music books, he hastily said Goodbye and then flew me a kiss...to which he quickly scanned the area to make sure none of the other kids around had noticed. He then jerked his hand the other way- I think to make it look like he had been merely swatting a fly.
I knew.
I caught it....smiled....felt smug that he had done it....and put it in my Memory Bank.

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The Moon still up for the day.

If the Moon could be up during the day....there was no reason I should go back to bed, (even though I was tempted!)

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These captures my son brought in to me.
We had been eating breakfast and I was just about to get up and put more food into plates for everyone- when someone jumped up and ran to the window.
Of course that could only mean one of 3 things:
-A fire
-Someone didn`t like the meal and was escaping the next round of scrambled eggs
-A visitor.


Visitor it was.
My 11 year old son grabbed his camera...shouting at me that he`d be right back, and the next thing we knew- saw him tiptoeing across the yard to sneak up on this guy:

We never saw my 11 year old after that for almost an hour and a half. He followed the Owl on his trek around the yard...through trees and bushes and down the driveway.

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Running my 10km in the morning without stopping once.

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When I saw the sun and bright leaves out my window-

I made myself stop all the ""necessary business" of the afternoon.

I went out and threw myself down under a group of trees.

 I watched the crazy wind pluck all the yellow from the limbs and fly them up into this blue:

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And.....

finding the fact that one of my kids fell to the ground - dramatically holding his hand over his mouth and nose-yelling out that something ""SMELLED AWFUL!

WHAT WAS THAT SMELL!"........

....... funny when I figured out why.

Trying to ""spice up the day" I had sprayed on some perfume I found in a drawer.

I NEVER wear perfume.

My kids never smell it.

They're used to me being ""Au Naturel"" I guess.

To him it was the most awful smell ever.

I was kind of glad....I had been sneezing all morning and couldn't figure out why.

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Sometimes (a lot!), I find myself wishing my circumstances would change.

"THEN!"" I think....""Then I would be happy!"

I don't know.

Happiness comes in simple.

Finding the every-day things beyond our circumstances.

The everyday Natural things that we often overlook because we're in some sort of funk.

(Of course...don't tell me any of this when I'm in the middle of one!:)

It's just nice that I came out of the entire thing...

(knowing I didn't need perfume to make my day any better:)

The Winning Title is....

HOOT N`HOLLER

(by SassyShoe Diary)

(I`m sorry...this is the last time you have to look at this photo:)

After tallying the votes from comments and all the emails I received.....

Congratulations go out to Sassy Shoe.....

your title is now forever labeling this photo:)

(Thanks to all who entered! I loved all those creative titles and appreciated your input!)

And they`re off.....

I am not a huge fan of the Goose.

I have nothing against them directly....but to be honest- they scare me.

When I venture around the lake in town I`m always careful to stay out of their way- especially when they have goslings. The hissing that ensues as I pass by strikes terror in me every time. 

I think I feel similar to passing a hissing goose- as I would a bear:

 Do I make eye contact....

Do I run...

Do I back up slowly....

From a distance they are beautiful and I never tire of watching them...especially when they have those babies with them and they all swim by in a Family row:)

This time of year sends hundreds of them over our house- south of course.

The sound is incredible.....and on a day when they all decide to fly out 

I always hope I`m around to look and listen. 

It`s beautiful, and puts a ``sad for seasons gone by``feeling in me.

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Some facts about the Goose:

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An adult goose eats up to 4lbs. of grass a day.

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Life span can reach 24 years.

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Geese generally return to their same nesting and birth place every year.

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Migratory geese flight range 2 – 3 thousand miles

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Geese mate for life and will stay together during all seasons.

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(And my favorite fact about geese....)

According to theoretical calculations, birds flying in the "V" formation can fly about 10 percent farther than a lone bird can, while expending the same amount of energy. 

The birds function more efficiently in a group working together.

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We could learn from these 

honking (hissing) creatures.

My Escape

This is the road I get to bike and run on.

Mornings are amazing.

My favorite time of day.

When I`m on here I want to bike or run for as long as the road goes on.

I really never want to go home.

Today I felt like running...or rather- biking away.

But I didn`t.

Not today.

Caught

I saw this picture my son took.....and the following quote seemed to go (rather comically) with it:

``Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake.``

-Napoleon Bonaparte

Of course....that`s not something I want to instill in my everyday living, but being human there ARE times I would be tempted to agree with this quote:)

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Here`s one a bit more positive in thinking-

 one that would be good for me to remember as I blunder through my day(s).....

``Life is too short to end up caught in a prison of  past mistakes.``

Wishing you all a wonderful Monday!

(Don`t forget to vote here)

Time to vote....

What a response! I have no idea which one of these to use...each one would work!

(My family and I narrowed the choices down....each choosing 2 from the list.)
Now .....you all get to vote for the winner.

Here`s  12 of the 32 responses I received via comments, email, and face book:

1.``I love it when I win horseshoes!``

2.``And they call ME a Nag!``

3.Aaaaaachoooo!

4.Neigh-Sayers Delight

5.BESSIE TOLD A GOOD ONE

6.The Horse Yodeler

7.Hoot n`Holler

8.``The most wasted of days is one without laughter.``

9.No, I don`t floss.

10.Could it be the famous Mr.Ed....

11.It only hurts when I laugh.

12.Whoa! I don`t think my polid-ent is doing its job.

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(So....tell me what YOU think! 

The votes will be tallied Thursday morning.....)

Wishing you all a Happy Monday!

Walk into a Season

``Life is made up of the moments that take your breath away``.

That was my walk yesterday.

After the 2 weeks of almost constant gray and dreariness,

I took myself on a walk through the woods around our place.

I took my phone camera because I knew there would be something out there that would probably take my breath away- considering I was finally seeing color.

My walk and all I saw was not a dissappointment.

I truly needed this time to shake off the last couple of weeks.

I think I now can wholeheartedly embrace this fall season, and come to terms with the fact that no, we did not have a beautiful summer....but we will get some sort of an amazingly beautiful autumn.

These are the days I wish I never had to go indoors.

Finally I can heartily say-

Happy Autumn!

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(Remember to come back on Monday to vote for your favorite title....

the Horse needs to be named once and for all:)

My Visitors

This was the view from my window the other morning-

a mother and her twins feasting on the ruins of my garden after the heavy frost.

At least someone is making use of the garden this fall. 

When I try to work in it, my feet sink into thick, heavy mud....and everything that was above ground seems too mushy to harvest.

BUT....Mr.Weatherman seems to be promising heat for the next few days.

Maybe it will dry up long enough for me to dig up what there is to store for winter.

Meanwhile...these hungry deer are feasting.

They`re beautiful.

I never tire of watching them.

Even when they treat themselves to my mountain ash and apple trees...

(although - at $80/tree it is an expensive viewing!)

I hope they can blend in well over the next couple of months.

(Which leads me to the following letter I`ve been meaning to write.....)

Dear Mr. Hunter:

I just thought I would write and let you know,

that I will be the one wearing the bright red hat while running down the miles of my gravel road.

Molly will be the one in the bright red sweater...riding her horse through the pasture.

My boys hang out in the yard and like to play football and throw sticks to our lazy dog.

Please watch out for us and don`t shoot while we are out.

It`s unnerving.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dawn

P.S.

I would say good luck and wish you Happy Hunting this season, but I don`t think I can.

I do so like my garden visitors and don`t mind them hanging around here another year.

(Even if they do eat my expensive trees.)

It wouldn`t hurt my feelings at all if your scope was out of line just a tad....

Photo Dilemma

I don`t normally post pictures of this sort.

But I`m in a dilemma.

My daughter wants to enter a Photo Contest but needs a name to go with her picture.

Sometimes I can think up names in a blink.

This particular one has me stumped.

Not sure why.

Maybe it`s because the picture scares me a little.

Maybe I just feel at a loss for words when I see it.

Maybe I just can`t keep from laughing.

Or MAYBE I just feel a bit squeamish....and can`t stop wondering if maybe there is such thing as toothpaste for Horses.

Whatever it is....

we are open to suggestions for a ``Title`` for this photo.

Any ideas are very welcome.

After all suggestions are in I think I``ll take a vote.

The lucky person who gives us the winning title will receive.....

(drum roll please)....

A 16x20 framed print of the PHOTO!

Woot!

(Just kidding....wouldn`t wish that on anyone)

But come on...it just might look kind of cute hung above your mantel;)

Leave a comment or email me with your suggestion by next Sunday (the 26th)...

and we`ll vote for the winning title on Monday.

Cannot wait to see what YOU think when you look at this ``piece``.

:)

Books and Apple Pie

I think I`ve mentioned a few times that our family loves to read. All of us.
A day doesn`t go by when at least one or 2 of us has to be brought back to reality from another world.


I have read to the kids for as long as I can remember...I think even when they were newborns!
 (Probably more for my sanity than their enjoyment:)


Over the years I`ve collected a few favorites. They`re books that we have read over and over...the kind that got requested every night for weeks in a row and no one ever seemed to mind that it had been the same one night after night.
These are the books that I`ll keep....and hopefully one day read to my grand kids:)


One of my...(I mean our)...favorites:

A little girl goes out to shop for the things she needs to bake a pie, but upon arriving at the Market finds that the store owner has:

She then decides to travel around the world....collecting all the necessary ingredients to make and bake her Apple Pie.
Cinnamon from Sri Lanka,
apples from Vermont,
even a cow from England to make the butter!


At the end is the Apple Pie Recipe- which we seem to use every time we have apples sitting around, 

or Grandma`s apple tree needs to be picked....

I never tire of this book.....and the illustrations are perfect!

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Other books we love and I highly recommend .....

(these would be for younger ages)

Emily`s House by Niko Scharer & Joanne Fitzgerald

Blueberries For Sal by Robert McCloskey

The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

(and a couple that are for those a bit older):

Uncommon Traveler (Mary Kingsley in Africa) by Don Brown

&

Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling

There are so many more on my `Love These Books` list,

but for another rainy day.....(yes...it rained again today:)

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Happy reading ....whatever literary treasure you happen to find and love!

For Every Thing....

...there is a season.

I have to admit that this past week has been a hard one for me.
There have been many things which has made it so, but a huge factor would have to be the weather.
(Am I the only one he gets ``down`` when it`s continually miserable.....)

We had a very heavy frost a few mornings which left everything looking like this:

My 8 foot sunflowers all wilted up and fell over.
The colors seem gone from everywhere.
The garden nothing but a soggy, droopy mess.

I KNOW one should not base happiness on surroundings, but I so wanted at least my Sunflowers to take me into the fall, waving their big yellow, lazy heads at me from the garden.

I have been feeling like this,

devoid of color, smiles, anything bright.

Could we only get a good day of warm sun, blue sky, fluffy clouds (if any)....just for ONE day a week....
nope.

A thought hit me as I sadly looked out at the garden I have yet to harvest....if there is anything to harvest at all.....
To everything there is a Season.
A time to sow...and a time to reap.
A time for bad weather, (and as though it feels it will never come again)....a time for good weather.

Seasons come and go. There is a time for everything under the sun.
Seasons aren`t supposed to stay.

For a few minutes last week somewhere in between the frosty gray mornings- and windy, pelting rain evening.....we were able to capture color.

A ``season`` of color.

 Not quite sure how long a season will last...but I guess you grab the moment of one as it passes by.

Wishing you a Happy Week ahead, regardless of what season you may be in.

There is a time for everything.

Everything.

Fall Freedom

Watching this made my heart smile today.

I needed a bit of fall freedom from the adult world.

Hoping your weekend is bringing you a smile here and there....

Just Thinking....

``Never let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved.``

-Barbara Johnson

Do one thing every day that scares you

-Eleanor Roosevelt

``The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.``
-Martin Luther King Jr.

``Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and 

realize they were the big things.``

-Robert Brault

``A good book should leave you...slightly exhausted at the end. 

You live several lives while reading it.``

-William Styron

``Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.``

-Lady Bird Johnson

``What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment.``