good morning
this morning dawned impossibly soft and beautiful,
weak shafts of sunlight weaving their way between the trees in the back yard
and laying in thin slices across the lawn.
only for a moment, though,
until high clouds drifted by and erased them all.
sometimes life feels like an etch-a-sketch,
draw and erase, come and go.
this is tough for a dreamer like me,
one who enjoys nothing more than to fall into reverie
in the beauty of a moment and get lost in time,
only to come to my senses and find everything mysteriously changed.
this is probably why i like art and photography so much,
allowing me the opportunity to hold that moment
and return to it at any time.
i went out to feed the horses and donkeys
and came upon an industrious bunny who was up with the sun
creating what appears to be her future home–
right next to the horse feeder.
as with most of our bunnies,
this one was not at all alarmed at my proximity
and quite content to continue her work
as i continued mine.
this gives me one more area to tip toe around for a little while.
did i tell you we were growing bunnies in our garden?
indeed…
whilst weeding one evening the ground suddenly gave way,
and this surprising view unfolded!
mama bunny was quite concerned,
but i told her not to fear and we just hand watered everything
for a few days.
it wasn’t long before they left their cozy nest.
one of them has taken up residence
between the tack room and the stall,
and this itty bitty hopper is only about
four inches long!
baby robins have fledged
and i came across this one in the yard who just froze
and let me take a bunch of photos.
as soon as i was finished it hopped over to mama robin
and was duly rewarded with a feeding.
i hope that it winds up a bit smarter than some of its compatriots around here
who smack into our plate glass windows with alarming regularity.
i put a shout-out to my instagram friends for ways to deter
the birds from flying into the reflective surface and received a host
of good ideas. now we’re hanging crystals and other bright shiny objects
in the windows to scare them away, unless they happen to be
bowerbirds such as myself…
because who doesn’t like crystals and bright shiny objects?
suddenly it’s mid-july and the yard and garden are going crazy.
after a cool, cloudy spring and early summer
things were not looking too hopeful,
but now that we’re reaching temps in the 90’s and more sunlight
growth is quite rapid.
we had lots of free irrigation water this spring due to snowmelt,
and all of this community has been irrigating heavily.
we ran water last saturday and i made a video of it
flowing through our back yard deeply watering the trees.
it made me so very happy to just stand out there and watch the water move.
i love stuff like that.
perhaps i’m dull.
sunday morning we called all the kids at 6 a.m. and had them report STAT
with their shop-vacs and buckets then proceeded to spend
the next 12 hours removing two inches of water from our basement.
dammit. dull and simple.
and we were being so careful…
we’ve spent the better part of this past week recovering from that,
industrial fans roaring into the night.
things look good, mighty good considering that brandt has his library down there
with thousands of volumes lining all the walls.
in our defense, the water came up through the floor drains due to the high
water table and we were not the only ones who flooded.
thank goodness it was clean, clear water.
other things the past month has brought are beautiful clouds and sunsets,
evening reads on the deck,
our own home-grown hay to pick up and stack in the barn,
walks wherein the beauty of nature was appreciated,
simultaneous horse training and horse loving,
heaps of fun with the grandkids,
and oh…
did i mention irrigation??
i hope that your days are bringing you an abundance
of everything summer should be.
thanks for being here, friends!
xoxo
Such a lovely summer post, Janet. I can tell you are feeling content – pretty prose flows and beautiful pictures materialize. Glad your flood was not drastic and things are better now. Those baby bunnies and robins and always, the beautiful horses…the colorful beams in your barn! Enjoy it all.
so nice to see you here, Diana! I’ve been pretty absent from computer connections lately, flikr included. i’ve gotten a little spoiled with the ease of Instagram and am more inclined to post photos there while I’m on the go. when I have checked in I’ve been loving your vacation photos and seeing how beautiful your yard looks this year. how is retirement treating you two? I sure hope that you’re enjoying it!
What a beautiful post. So sorry to hear about the flooding. You should add me to your call list when you need help. Those baby bunnies are the cutest. We have them all over the neighborhood. They show no fear even when I’m walking the dogs. My great niece is
visiting the first week of August and we’d love to come see the horses.
Janet A!! You have been on my mind constantly lately, and we need to get together! Of course you can bring your great niece over in August. The talisman necklace you gifted me with has been working its magic– I’m still going easy but did ride Si Gaoithe for about 40 minutes this week. It feels so good to be back in the saddle and living summer life here on the farm! Thanks for your offer of help– we’ll put you on the help list and hope that we never need to call! 😉
o such a lovely post.
love every scene.
especially baby bunnies.
and gypsies.
you know they are my favourites….
*
oh Marie– these bunnies are multiplying like rabbits!! all of the animals seem happy to me, like they know they’re living the good life and are grateful for it. that may sound funny, but it truly feels that way. the gypsies are no exception, all fat and sassy and definitely under foot whenever we try to get anything done! xoxo
So very summer.
Sorry to hear about the basement flooding, what a stressful mess. I’m glad that you have plenty of helpful loved ones.
Take good care, I’ve been thinking about you these days.
I’ve been thinking of you, too. Your photos are just amazing and full of goodness! The basement flooding may be yet another blessing in disguise– nothing critical was lost but boxes of things we’ll get to “some day” are being addressed. We’ve also gotten drain alarms that will warn us when the water rises– that and a Shop-Vac with a hose pump attachment that can shoot the water elsewhere. When it’s ground water, however, options are somewhat limited…
Thanks for being here!
Could we make it a date for August 1st…in the afternoon? Addison is 14 and would love to see Wonderland. I have to add that it’s looking more and more wondrous every day. So glad the talisman is protecting you. I have one for myself as well. Janet A.
yes– I am putting it on the calendar!!
We’ll see you then. I’ve been thinking and dreaming of horses.
You’re living in a dream world, baby!!
Your grass is like velvet, the splashing kids, the laughing eyes.
The bunnies. THE BUNNIES!
Every time I see you on the back of a horse, I grin from ear to ear. It’s true.
I can sympathize with you on ‘the flood’. Oh, the terrible flood story!
Two years ago we went to Key West for New Years. While hanging out with Hemingway’s Cats, in the garden, I got the dreaded call. YOUR BASEMENT IS A FOOT HIGH WITH SEWER WATER!! (Yes, you heard that right)
Needless to say, our vacation ended on that note, right then and there.
Glad you’ve got an alarm now! Man, Colorado and Wyoming are really getting clobbered with rain!! I like it. 😉
Thanks for sharing your summer fun with us, Janet. x
oh, Lynn! sewer water– YUK!! as i was wading through the clear water i was completely aware that we were lucky it was not that!! things inside are fairly dry now, but outside is another story. the horses are slogging through slippery, muddy pens and look a fright! I keep checking the basement to see if the water table has risen again, but so far so good! our internet was down for a soggy day– gotta love these country DSL connections that are weather-sensitive.
hope you’re out with your super-sized lens capturing prairie beauty today!
xo
Beautiful post, beautiful life. (Well, besides the flooded basement.) These soft and gentle summer days are so perfect. Thanks for sharing your wonderful prose and photographs. xx
my pleasure– thanks for being here! it’s always a joy to connect with others who are keenly aware of the beauty that surrounds us in the natural world! hope your day is filled with it!!
xx
Bird strikes. A painful experience for us, as well. Here are resources to prevent bird strikes – I have used these decals on three residences and the printed-out silhouettes from Audobon (both white and black on the widows prevent strikes during clear AND cloudy days) as well… (One strike after posting decals showed I had a gap in the window coverage- I posted one more decal.) and all strikes simply stopped.
Excellent Decals: http://www.wpines.com/
Printouts: http://songbirdphoto.com/wordpress/?p=136 or http://www.birdsandblooms.com/blog/stop-birds-from-flying-into-windows/
Other options: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/bird_safe_windows.html
Lovely images you post – thank you for soul-touching eye-candy
Hi Deborah! Thank you so much for these links– I’ve started checking them out and they look just perfect! I’m glad you visited here. I love it when people come together through a shared love of the natural world! I hope to see you here again!