friends

The sun had broken through puffy, white clouds this morning as I entered my SUV and headed down route 68 for Lexington, KY. I passed along winding, back roads in Paris so I could see horses grazing in open fields. It wouldn't be long before I would meet my blogging friend Caron from A Piece of News. Cantuckee Diner would be our destination.

Arriving safely Caron, her mom, niece, nieces friend & I strode inside to have a lunch plate from the buffet. We filled our plates with wholesome, country eating. Afterwards we ordered desert: butterscotch pie, banana pudding, chocolate pie & coconut pie.  I don't know that we truly decided which was our favorite. Between food & drink we carried conversations as if we'd been friends for a long while.

Back outside we captured the moment while talking excitedly about our possible meetup in December. We'll explore Cincinnati perhaps atop Carew Tower or alongside the downtown fountain. Whatever the choice may be it'll be shared with a good friend.

blog meetup

If all goes well I will be meeting a blogging friend for the first time. I'm excited beyond words.  Since I've started blogging I've made some great connections and have wanted to meet each unique, creative person. Maybe this will be the start of a new trend and I'll get to see more of you over the years. Have a blessed day~

lifebits

Received good news Friday. My blood work & ct scans came back showing no signs of my cancer returning. And... I get to do my ct scans once a year now (instead of twice) because everything came back clean. I'll have my blood work done again in January.

I'll be going for a substitute cook training August 2nd. This will determine if I can become a cook for a local school system.  The training consists of watching a video and answering questions, lasting 4 hrs.

August 7th I'll be returning to my heart specialist to see the results of my nuclear stress test (myoview, lexiscan). I'm hoping it will give me the answers I seek about my continued tiredness, shortness of breath, etc...

Really looking forward to Wednesday... won't say what's happening that day, just yet. But, it's going to be a great day. I'll share more on this mystery later.

Almost forgot... I will be working on a picture to post as soon as I can. It's a horseshoe cowboy and a red guitar. Both pictures were taken months apart but were definitely meant to be together. I may even try to make it an animated pic... stay tuned~

queen anns lace

mud puddle

black swallowtail

feelin' blue~

This day I've walked among the blues. Somewhere between grey and emotion. I've been tagged like a cow readied for the stock yard. I've been waiting one hour already... waiting, simply... waiting. My throat is hoarse from the invasion of a week long sore throat/ cold. The emergency waiting room is cold and I'm tired. They call my number; 53. Finally, I think, I can get this process started. Only I'm told they don't have my ct scan or blood work order yet. I have to wait. Another hour passes when they call my number, "53." This time I'm to follow the blue arrows to the lab where they take two vials of blood. I watch as my pale skin bruises at the fold in my right arm. Soon I'm back in the lobby. I'm being escorted to another room where my ct scans will be administered. By the time I'm finished I look like a drug user with a bad habit for shooting heroin.

a summer walk

I walk alongside the barbed wire fence where the sun rests on my right shoulder. I'm standing tall among chicory, Queen Ann's lace, daisies, teasel & morning glories watching the insects gather pollen. They're situated in a rush of blues, whites, yellows & purples. 

I'm adrift in a weeded community looking up to the blue sky, cotton white clouds. I feel a cool, summer breeze wash my face. A tick climbs from this forest of color I'm immersed in and latches to my thigh like a child to a tree.

Walking with the sun to my left shoulder now. I've turned to see a salted bumblebee on a partially bloomed teasel. Its tasting purple sweetness along its circumference. I've bent down to meet the bumblebee on its clockwise rotation, closing this chasm between us. It engages me for a moment before continuing its work beneath the midday sun.

nature's phonograph

accentuating
rugged lawn; morning glory
nature's phonograph

Note: my haiku was inspired by this morning glory photo...

morning glory

deer

I've tucked the baby red winged blackbird's tiny, hollow boned features into my memory as I walk back to my SUV. I drive a short distance to another pond on the preserve before spying three deer. They're grazing grass along the embankment behind the pond. It's there I notice a  bat's aeronautics and the chorus of frogs sounding the evening. I'm watching the white tailed deer gently move into the woods. Before disappearing from my sight a doe takes one last look over her shoulder. It's as if she's tucked my five foot frame into her memory. Somewhere in the folds of darkness she's pulled away from my sight.

cattails

 

I've left the green frog behind. He's burrowed deep into the mud or hidden among a cloister of cattails. The cattails have burst from their corndog sheath looking like cotton candy on a stick. I won't disturb them so another momma red winged blackbird can line her nest with their downy. When I look up I notice I've missed the baby red winged blackbird's first flight. He or she is residing now on crossed cattails at the pond's forefront. It's there I stand, inches away, tucking this tiny, hollow boned creature into my memory.

Here's a link to wikipedia on typha (cattails) I thought was interesting... did you know they were edible?

green frog

I leave momma bird & her mate to their protesting as I continue walking along the pond's edge. At the other end I see frogs springing across the water like skipping stones... screaming. They tuck themselves safely beneath the water's surface so I can no longer see them. Only one green frog sits beside the water. It's body half clothed in mud. It allows me to step closer, closer still. When I've over stepped my boundaries he too flounces. Hidden loosely behind some weeds he allows me one snapshot before bounding off into the thick cattails.

red winged blackbird

Momma red winged blackbird & her mate begin swooping from power lines as soon as I exit my SUV. They're protesting loudly to my approach. Now standing at pond's edge where cattails hover over my five foot frame I can see what momma was trying to tell me. Sitting quietly among the cattails is a baby red winged blackbird who hasn't lost all it's downy feathers. He or she stares inquisitively at my stalking never leaving its perch. I imagine one day it'll be brave as its momma whose still swooping and protesting my presence.

twirling

During our June photography club meeting we had the pleasure of photographing a young bride in her beautiful strapless dress. Here's an animated gif of her twirling her dress for us.

hummingbird clearwing moth

Here's a hummingbird clearwing moth nectaring on a butterfly bush at my neighbors house. I took this last week when I snapped the trumpet vines & female red winged blackbird. 

red winged blackbird

Here's a female red winged blackbird letting me know she's not at all happy with me spying her through my lens. She's acting out quite loudly behind the trumpet vines and barbed wire fence. Perhaps she has some baby birds nesting just out of my sight? She never left that area until I moved away. Makes one wonder, doesn't it? Happy July everyone~