Enchanting

On Friday afternoon my next door neighbor came over and invited Bradley and me to visit her backyard garden. She’d been out watering and discovered the trees were full of Monarch butterflies. Donna knows how much I enjoy the creatures out in the garden and thought I’d like to show the butterflies to Bradley.

He was very serious while watching them flit around and would point to them in the trees.

At one point I was able to get one onto my finger and hold it closer to Bradley. It only stayed 2 or 3 seconds, but it was cool to hold it.

I had noticed several Monarchs flying around that morning when I walked down the alley, but didn’t really think anything of it. There is a lot of milkweed around the area and that’s what they feed on, so it’s not out of the ordinary to see a few around the yard.

Of course I had to Google for facts about Monarch migration after seeing this gorgeous display. Here’s a condensed version regarding their migration from http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Migration.htm:

“Across the USA monarchs soar and glide in the warm sunshine from March through October (depending where they are born), but what happens in the fall when the brisk cold winds set in and winter looms in the air? Monarchs cannot survive cold winter temperatures of the northern states. So what does a monarch do to keep warm? It MIGRATES south and HIBERNATES! This means that it rests, with a very slow heart rate, just like bears in their hibernation caves. Monarchs east of the Rockies migrate 2500 miles to the Oyamel fir trees of Mexico. Monarchs west of the Rockies migrate to southern California to the eucalyptus trees of Pacific Grove and surrounding areas.

The monarch's flight to Mexico has been compared to the migration habits of birds flying south for the winter. It is the only insect that can fly 2,500 miles to a warmer climate. Their unique wing structure and yearly life cycle makes it possible for the fall generation monarchs to travel thousands of miles (on those amazing little wings) to the warm nesting grounds of Mexico and southern California.”

I am always appreciative and amazed when allowed to witness the wonders of Creation such as this. Hopefully that appreciation is being passed down the generations. Many thanks to Donna for thinking of us and letting us join her in this experience!

Keep on Brushing, Baby

Jessica is doing a fine job of instilling good dental habits in Bradley. He currently has seven teeth and must be working on some more, what with all the drooling going on.

He loves to have his teeth brushed using “training” toothpaste. This toothpaste has no flouride and is safe for him to swallow. He has a couple of toothbrushes – one sent home for him by the dental hygienist the last time I had a check-up.

Tonight he decided he’d brush his own teeth and his mama got a little video (aren’t cell phone cameras convenient?).

(The voice you hear is Jessica.)

Once he got to try brushing his own teeth, he didn’t want to stop, but he was too tired to keep on for long and gladly traded the toothbrush for a bottle. :o)

A Walk Down Memory Lane

This title is almost literally what I did one day a few weeks ago. I walked down memory lane in Harrison Park, and I went back, way back to a time of swimming at the pool, running the trails, and Girl Scout day camp near the creek.

Lots has changed in that park since I was a kid. The pool is gone now and you can’t really even tell it was ever there:

What seemed like an enormous concrete monument to summer didn’t really take up all that much space. I did get a little ache in my stomach when snapping this photo. So much of my childhood was spent here.

The pool isn’t the only thing that is gone – all of the play equipment up by the former pool entrance is gone, too. There is just a concrete walking path and a bike rack now.

Off to the west side of that path you can still see the trails through the trees, though. As children we ran those trails, playing in that little bit of wild forest available in the prairie.

Further down the path we come to the one thing that hasn’t really changed about this park, and that is Beaver Creek. Still nasty.

My brothers used to get in there and fish out the wayward golf balls from the country club golf course just to the west. Then they’d sell them back to the club house. I’m not sure they made enough money to justify the icky water and leeches, but that’s what they did. They also used to catch crawdads and bring them home, asking Mom to make them for supper. Thank goodness Mom always declined!

Down in the bottom of the park there were swings and a merry-go-round. This is where we had Girl Scout day camp each summer, and many a picnic. It’s been renovated now with new play equipment, sand volleyball, and a horseshoes area.

If you look closely at the left side of the photo, you’ll see the old merry-go-round – same one from when we were kids.

Bradley enjoyed coming along with me on my walk down memory lane. He was tired and ready for a nap, but listened to me babble on about what fun that park was for me when I was a child, and how much fun he was going to get to have there – different fun, but we’ll make great memories just the same.

 

Cat On a Hot Asphalt Roof

The other day I walked outside just as Tucker was readying himself to jump from the back deck rail onto the garage roof. Really? Is 4 cat years really like 12 human years and I’m dealing with a headstrong young boy who knows no danger?!

He barely glanced at me before hopping up onto the roof, then sauntered to the peak and laid down. Then he just watched the birds fly around and cars drive by. I’m thinking to myself, “The cat laid down on the peak of the garage roof. If he can’t get down, I’m NOT going up!  Good thing the fire station is just down the alley so I can call for them to rescue my cat…”  

Of course it wasn’t necessary to call for rescue. After a few minutes Tucker sauntered down and hopped back onto the deck. Then he scolded me – for what, I’m not sure, but he was quite serious about it.

Max watched all this while lying on the deck step. He was not about to get into any trouble…

“See Mom? I’m the GOOD cat!”

Use the Fork, Brad

A couple of days ago I gave Brad a little fork to use with his lunch, and noticed that he was using it to eat. Had to get out the camera and get a video. Guess that put the hex on fork usage…  Anyway, here’s a short video of him having lunch and me encouraging him to Use the Fork, Brad.

Sunrise on the Prairie

This is why being up early on Sunday morning is awesome:

I know there is no way with my little point and shoot camera that I will capture the colors – plus this photo was taken while I was sitting in the car, pointing the camera behind me. I wanted a shot of the sunrise so you’d appreciate this:

This is the reflection of the sunrise on the clouds. It was so pretty I had to stop in the middle of the road and just look at it.

Notice the weeds and the corn are both taking on a brownish hue – you know what that means – AUTUMN!

YIPPEE!

Summer Revue

It has been awhile since I caught up with you all here. I hope someone will read this and that you haven’t given up on me since my last post a couple of months ago!

‘Twas a busy summer, and Bradley has kept me running for most of it. When he took off walking at 8 1/2 months old, I knew I was in for trouble. Not the way I’d planned to spend the summer, but no complaints here. It has been an enormous blessing to watch him grow and learn.

Instead of me writing a novel to catch up on the past few months, lets do it in pictures, shall we?

Went to Sioux City to celebrate Reese’s first birthday,

and Taylor’s third birthday.

Took Randy’s kids to Little Diggers:

Greg built a new swingset for Bradley:

We took a field trip to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo:

There was blue rock shooting (Ben, Alan, Nick),

and target practice:

Of course there was swimming!

(Brad and Jess)

(Taylor)

(Taylor, Grace, Reese)

and Abbie stayed a few weeks.

We took Abbie home to Texas where we enjoyed our first visit to Joe’s Crab Shack…

At the county fair, Bradley fell in love with the baby chicks in the FFA animal tent:

At home, he LOVED sweet corn!

We got to know Scott a little better.

Let’s not forget the flowers

and the vegetables in the garden. Bradley has become an accomplished tomato-picker!

So there you have it, a glimpse into what has been a fun and busy summer around here.

I have several projects planned for this autumn, and there will be fun galore with the grandboy as we prepare to celebrate his first birthday in a few weeks. I hope you’ll stick with me as I get back into the blogging groove!