A Summer Day

Taller every day










Goofy Boy









And when did she get so lanky and beautiful?










And one more, because it is just this kind of day:

Wash Your Thoughts

“The artist does not try to identify with the colors he uses. He knows he chooses them, and applies them with a brush. So you paint your reality with your ideas in the same manner. You are not your ideas, nor even your thoughts. You are the self who experiences them. If a painter finds his hands stained with pigment at the end of a day, he can wash the stain off easily, knowing its nature. If you think that limiting thoughts are a portion of you, permanently attached therefore, you will not think of washing them off. You would behave instead like a mad artist who says, ‘My paints are part of me. They have stained my fingers, and there is nothing I can do about it’” (Roberts, 1994, p. 29).





This passage reminded me of a recent study that shows that washing your hands after making a difficult choice can reduce any lingering inner turmoil and tension caused by making that hard decision. This finding fascinated Spike W. S. Lee, a psychology researcher at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor who said, "Maybe there is a broader phenomenon here. Anything from the past, any kind of negative emotional experiences, might be washed away."


istockphoto.com

So wash your spirits and clear your mind, and then you can do anything and be anything you want.

One of My Favorite Places

We go here often, both to give and to receive.

Through a Dirty Windshield

Almost home!




I can see my house from here!

Pipsqueak Parade

On the fourth, Marian and Leo walked in the parade in a small town in the valley with a population of about 600. (Which is more than 5 times larger than the town closest to us, about 10 miles away.) Along with other animal shelter folks, Marian and Leo walked dogs, and did a fabulous job. (Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out.) While they were in the parade, Sophie and I watched the parade. The day was beautiful, and so was the girl.






And my favorite part of any valley parade--The Shriners!

Butterflies

The kids and I sent of for some caterpillars a few weeks back, and they arrived in a little jar full of food. We watched them for many days, as they ate and pooped and spun silk, and then they crawled up to the top of the jar and wrapped themselves up in their cocoons. You know what happens next.

Fresh Butterflies


Five of the six caterpillars made it to the butterfly stage. We turned them loose at the little pond/lake by our house.



No images of their release, because I wanted to be fully in the moment instead of behind a lens. Marian held up the first, and it lounged around on her hand for awhile, curling its proboscis in and out, and languidly flew away. Leo lifted his up, and it had a mishap during take-off and landed back on his hand, then flew away successfully. Sophie had barely lifted hers up to freedom when it immediately took off, and the two I released did the same. It was really lovely.

Want Some Glee?