Birds of a Feather...

...don't always just flock together.

I noticed the robins and the cedar waxwings liked to hang out in the same trees.

Sometimes the robins flew solo, though.

“The robin flew from his swinging spray of ivy on to the top of the wall and he opened his beak and sang a loud, lovely trill, merely to show off. Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off - and they are nearly always doing it.”

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Wrens have always been one of my favorites, and not just because they love to eat the insects around the house.

They are just so chubby and cute.

"Who you calling 'chubby'?"

A splash of cardinal red always brightens a gray day.

Add the backdrop of a blue sky and even the memory of a gray day disappears.

Sparrows aren't afraid of anything.

This one seems to be daring me to come closer.

It was pure luck that I came upon this couple in February,

and even more luck that I was able to snap their photo.

I was trying to get closer to the waxwings, and there these two were, right on my path.

I'm guessing they are a type of goldfinch.

(I'm grateful I have blog friends who will correct me if I'm wrong!)

“The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”

― J.M. Barrie

From Random Mornings in July

Because of work, real estate school, and our recent string of rainy days (hallelujah!), I haven't been taking as many photographs. 

But I do have a growing collection of random morning shots I've been wanting to share with you... 

This is a common sight on our walks.

Max is a water dog, but Belle loves dirt. Every soft patch of caliche we come to...which means every few feet... she plops down and wallows, dragging her nose through it, rolling on her back, pawing...with a look of pure joy on her face. 

Inevitably, a line from Monty Python's "Search for the Holy Grail" pops in my mind: "There's some lovely filth down here, Dennis!"

(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click on the link and watch the video. I'll warn you, though...it's pure sillines!)

This is a section of our driveway, about an eighth of the total length.

See the rock piled on either side? 

Tom's been collecting them for ages now for his current project: paving the entire driveway. 

. 

A few morning pinks still dot the Hollow.

They're a great illustration for "Bloom where God plants you", aren't they?

Why are they so afraid of me?

Silly doves.

I cut my leg on a barbed wire fence when I was six. 

So it's kind of weird that I still love them, isn't it?

One morning the cardinals carried on a long conversation all around me. 

I could hear one near me and finally tracked him to the top of this tree, singing his heart out.   

I spotted this handsome frog down by our little pond. 

He's definitely not alone, though. Last night there was a wild frog ruckus going on down there, celebrating all the rain we've gotten lately. 

It's hard to believe such a tiny thing can be so loud!

Tom's mermaid, who lives in the little pond, catching some morning sun rays.

No, I'm not jealous.

Well, maybe just a little.

I hope you enjoyed the walk through my Hollow! 

I'm very grateful I have the chance almost every morning to enjoy the beauty around us.

In every walk with nature one receives fare more than he seeks. 

~John Muir

P.S. Please keep my parents in your thoughts and prayers. They're both in the hospital right now.

  Thank you!