We traveled back to Monongahela to celebrate Dan’s reunion with highschool classmates, all born in 1951 and celebrating their 75th birthday in 2026. What a wonderful party with everyone smiling, shaking hands, hugging, laughing, sharing stories and recounting memories, memories, memories!!!
Gaillardia, Fire Wheel, Sundance, Indian Blanketflower. The state flower of Oklahoma.
“As long as I’m alive, I will continue to try to understand more, because the work of the heart is never done.” Muhammad Ali
Once a puppy always a puppy. A puppy is a puppy. No matter how old or well-trained or well-behaved, a part of him remains a puppy: running and jumping into the air, spinning, wagging, humping, panting, sighing, chasing balls, begging treats and sniffing out where the hot dogs are and soft pretzels too. WOWEE WOW!!! Yesterday’s end-of-summer Puppy Pool Party was a blast. There must’ve been 15 or 20 dogs, big ones, small ones racing around smiling silly, splashing, swimming, shaking off and splattering water onto all of us owners and onlookers. WOWEE WOW!!!
Last night’s moon. It was beautiful. And so close to home, I had to take a picture. It’s not a pretty picture. I don’t mind. You’ll have to believe me, it was beautiful.
Colorful campsite. A short distance away, all their cars were parked along the gravel road at the edge of the woods. The license plate on every car was from Delaware. This made me wonder if these campers were descended from the Lenape Tribe, also known as the Delaware Nation, the indigenous “Original People” of the Greater Delaware Valley. I also read that the Lenni Lenape were highly regarded by other Native American nations and were given the name “Grandfathers” for their respected roles as peacemakers and elders.
What to write about these leaves… Leaves, leaves, nothing but leaves…but wait a minute, that leaf has eyes, sad and lonely little eyes, looking down and out and in the dumps. Makes me wonder…Do leaves on trees have feelings? Do leaves feel sad when they leave their tree and tumble all the way down, all the way down to the ground?
She: “Some mornings I’ve got nothing. I just can’t think of anything to say.” 😝
He: “Yeah yeah. Just do something.” 😘
All kitties know how to meditate. Aren’t we all buddhas? Two golden pears lean in, blushing with rosy cheeks. Green leaves never ask for much to be happy, only sunshine and water. Pinecones go on forever—symbols of immortality, fertility, creativity, protection.
It was a warm sunny day. I looked out thru the window back behind the house where the railroad tracks run. There he was pulling with sharpened teeth, happily gnashing grasses and chomping away mouthful by mouthful. I grabbed my phone to take a picture. He paused, turned his head, looked back at me then quickly waddled away up the slope and disappeared into the tall bushes near the tracks. Curious, I Googled and learned: A groundhog has four strong self-sharpening teeth crowded to the front of its mouth, can eat up to a pound and a half of grass every day, and can make a fast getaway running up to 10mph!
Lately, I’ve been paying closer attention to squirrels in the woods. They appear to be more intentionally active now, scurrying, scurrying, chittering, churling, squirreling away acorns and acorns. Surely a sign of changes to come.
This is an American Dagger Caterpillar, looks cute and fuzzy but don’t touch—it’s poisonous! I wonder if it mistook this tire for a tree, or maybe it wants to go for a ride!😉
Tucked away down beside the paved walkway, tiny parasola mushrooms, like the three musketeers leaning in, winking with mischievous smiles, tipping their hats for anyone willing to get down on hands and knees to take their photo.
Just outside the waiting room: Sun’s up. Skies are clear and hot. It’s 90° and there’s 60 pounds of ice melt waiting. Whoa, wait a minute… Is it supposed to snow? Hey, I know everything changes but, wait a minute! 😆
Walking along in the woods, down on the ground at my feet—what color! Red. My fave. What is that? Is that a feather? Is it real? Who cares. It’s so red. So bright. So bold brilliant blazing vivid vibrant intense sheeny shiny flashy smashy. I’m getting carried away.😘
The old black cat growing older every year keeps going. One life leads to another.
Looks like he’s on a mission. Where’s he headed? Makes me think about traveling. I was reading about the random way rocks tumble down to the ground, how the rain spills out from the clouds up high, why the flashing fishes splash across the raging creek. I’m just rambling. Cats are different. Nothing a cat does is random. I’ve been paying attention to cats a long time. Pay attention to something long enough, and you can fall in love.
Across the infield, approaching the green, slowly step by step by step goes a black crow without a sound…then takes off like a line drive home run soaring way high above the centerfield fence. I clapped.
Last summer, they were more than 20 watermelons growing on the front lawn. How many this year under all those leaves?
“Happiness is a warm puppy”—Charles Schultz. The only thing happier than a puppy is two puppies together.
Enjoying a light supper at the end of a hot summer day and reading “The Overdue Life of Amy Byler,” a delightful story of a librarian from rural Pennsylvania, single mom and mother of two teens, who wins a free trip to New York City with a total makeover for a new look and a new life.
Now and then I like to look back and reflect at the end of the day—did I do everything fully, was I true to myself, did I do my best?
Summer slowly coming to an end, morning hours darker now, soft cry of crickets…cri-cri…cri-cri…
What a way to start the day!
Yesterday, I drove 100 miles down to the south Jersey shore to hang out with friends I hadn’t seen in three or four years. We walked the boards, ate french fries and ice cream, and people watched. It was sunny and windy and hot. Later on I drove home thru thunderstorms all the way, hands gripping the wheel, holding on to my breath, and when I got home looked up at the sky. What a sky!
Everyone’s happy-go-lucky on the beach at the Jersey shore! I quick ran down and took another few pictures of the whole gang.
Walking along the wooded trail, late summer’s humid heat slowed me down enough to spot that bee, dancing like a tiny pugilist all around those flowers, like Muhammad Ali. I couldn’t hear it, but I’m sure it was buzzing. In size, that tiny bee was maybe one-fourth the size of my pinky fingernail, the aster blossoms barely an inch.
Muggy morning walking through the woods, my mind trips back to 1957 and the launching of Sputnik, the beginning of the Space Age.
I returned to the woods again to walk. I hadn’t been there in quite a while. Meandering along the rolling path, pausing here and there to take in the smells and sounds. I breathed in the warm, moist earthy atmosphere. It was like being home again.
For a long while, I stood there watching and listening to their classic ko-caw…ko-awing sounds in rhythm like a gathering of monks in black robes chanting in meditation. A flock of crows at the top of the tree, their morning voices clear and strong rising and falling in perfect time with the lifting and fluttering of their wings like leaves rustling in the morning breeze. Mesmerizing.
Curiosity is more important than knowledge….is the key to problem-solving….is the mother of wisdom….staves off boredom and negativity….frees the mind, keeps it fresh and happy.
The sun rising up over and over again, no matter what. Amazing!🌞
What makes zinnias so great? Easy to grow…quick to bloom…low maintenance…vibrant variety of colors…resistant to deer…long blooming from summer to frost…favorite of pollinators, especially bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds…multitudinous petals, each one a seed.
The old withered willow, no longer green, but the dove doesn’t mind. It has the advantage over me.
This last haiku is by Issa, one of the four great Haiku poets. He has long been honored by the Japanese for his compassion and tender love for children and animals.
Tommy and The Gang posing for a framily photo.