fresh air, hard work and a shower……….

……. does wonders !! If you read my last post that I did this morning ~ you will know that I was going out to mow today and hopefully clear my head. It took me about four hours bumping along this Texas soil (got smart after 2 years and got a sports bra that I wore for the first time today!) Boy, did that make a difference! Whoo hoo!! ….. While mowing, the birds were dive-bombing me. I thought it was those silly killdeer, but they didn’t have the stripes around their necks… so I don’t know what they were. I took a few pictures, but you can’t make out the females, so I got a picture of the male. I don’t have a fancy schmancy camera therefore, my close-ups aren’t close enough. I had to sneak up around the trees to get a shot of him. If anyone knows what he is, let me know! We used to look for the nest(s) while mowing and then put a stake by them to protect the eggs when we mowed again. That didn’t do any good because then some varmint would eat them anyway … so, sorry to say ….. I just mow now and can’t be worrying about seeing a nest the size of a pancake somewhere in the grass. They have 52 acres behind me that doesn’t get mowed during killdeer season and they still choose my “once a week” mowed yard. UGH!

There he is (above) on the fence! Watching as his “lady” birds are doing something on the ground. I thought they were looking for the nest. These were my dive-bombers!

(Above) are the lady birds (the two brown circles near the bottom center of this picture). I know, I know, I am not a very good bird picture taker. But my friend Kate is, she is at Chronicles of a Country Girl! Check out her pics!

I did however happen to get some pretty shots of the wildflowers on the other side of the fence. Don’t they look like a painting??

Now, wouldn’t you think this would be a better place to hide a nest????? Silly birds!!

This is another shot of the fence where the male bird was sitting. Bird gone, but barn there! Imagine, this is right from my yard. God, I love where I live!

Here is another shot with a view of the red barn. I hope I am not boring you. Taking these shots today was just what I needed :)

Two more things to tell you. I did not plant these petunias. I had some petunias in pots above this area of the ground last year ~ and I guess the seeds must have dropped …. and here is where they grow! It is not a very convenient place because it is right where I mow and walk … but my heart could never deny them where they want to be!

And lastly, I have to tell you that this round rock has come from a field along the beach between Ventura and Santa Barbara of our beloved Southern California. We, (hubby, me and son) were taking our dear parakeet to his final resting place at the beach. As we walked, and walked along the Pacific Ocean to find just the right place to bury our bird, my son found this rock. He was probably around seven at the time. The rock is about the size of a large cantaloupe (which I spell, cantelope, but spell check disagrees) and probably weighs 5-7 lbs. He proceeded to carry it along the walk and we asked him what he was going to do with it. “It is for my round rock collection”, he told us. Well, it was actually the first round rock for his round rock collection. My son is 25 now. This is the only round rock in his round rock collection!!!!! But, I am a mom, so I keep it! You never know, maybe he will have a son and he will find a round rock for the collection!! :)

So, as you can see …. my spirits have been lifted simply by walking out my own back door. And I kid you not, as I typed that sentence, the sun just peeked through the clouds, through my back window and on to my face! If there is anything I must learn from this past week. Love life everyday while we are able.

Thank you all who commented on my last post. I sobbed for a few moments while reading them, not realizing how the week truly took it’s toll on my head and my heart. Thank you. Thank you. ~Cheryl