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!

A Walk on the Wild Side

It's March, can you believe it? 

I'm not happy that the year is flying by,

but the signs of spring I find around me make me want to dance.

The Hollow is coming back to life.

Most branches are still bare, but the redbuds are getting the party started.

Mourning doves are back, greeting me on my morning walk... 

...and cooing their mournful song from the trees.

There's been enough rain to keep Max's favorite pool open.

And he's not the only one enjoying it.

Adventurous and hardy Prairie Verbena is always one of the first to emerge and last to disappear.

American Robins have decided they like the Hollow and are lingering a bit.

Our little front yard (home of the bird feeder) is becoming a popular hang-out for the neighborhood critters like this squirrel.

I don't know why this Mexican Jay is giving me the Evil Eye.

A small party of fluffy American Sparrows arrived and posed for me. 

I'll share more of them tomorrow. 

What signs of spring are you finding?

Linking up with

and

Coo-Coo

Tom has been off dove-hunting with friends the past two days.

I'm happy for him just because he was so excited about going - I don't think he has hunted anything in the 30 years we've been together, but I know the "want to" was there, sort of like my "want to" with photography, writing a book, learning to play the drums... the kind of "want to" that's easy to set aside because it feels like such an indulgence and there are so many other things you need to do first...

So I'm happy for him.

But I don't wish him good luck.

I can't stop thinking of my goofy dove friends down the road, 

the ones who greet me every morning from their wire perch as I walk by with the puppies

and leave crazy tracks in the dirt that make me laugh..

I'm happy for Tom.

But I hope no one comes dove hunting in Long Hollow.