Life, Love, and Critters – of course!
June 17
Just 41 days after planting (more like 39, since I harvested broccoli, spinach and a couple of green peppers on Sunday), we’re eating fresh organic food from our own vegetable garden. From the left in this photo we have tomatoes (against the fence), broccoli, cauliflower, beets, beans, peppers and spinach, and along the garden fencing I’ve got musk melon and cucumbers that are flowering.
The beautiful couple is my Godson and his new wife. The wedding was sweet, and short, and their adoration toward eachother was so apparent throughout the day.
The flowers were simple, but beautiful, they were just right.
The exchange of vows was romantic, and sincere, and yes, of course I cried.
They lit the unity candle in perfect synchronization.
The flower girl offered rose petals for everyone to throw as they exited the church.
And we danced.
* * * * *
It was a weekend of remembering, of smiling, laughing, hugging, and eating. It was a weekend of meeting people again that I haven’t seen in ages. And on the way home, it was a time of reflection.
In my 19 years away, look at all that I’ve missed. I’ve missed watching the childhood of my Godson – going to his baseball games, birthday parties, and graduations. I’ve cherished a photo of him when he was just a toddler and it was as though my mind didn’t think of him as a person who would grow up, fall in love, and get married.
I’ve missed my cousins being born – and met one of them, an adult, that I’ve never met before. I’m on the outside of the inside jokes. I’m loved, yes, from a distance and with casual yet formal hugs and smiles. I am the one they thank for traveling a distance (though it’s not a very big one) to visit.
It’s amazing to me how much life happens in 19 years. How not being nearer to your family means you will miss it, unless you make it a point not to. I spent some time mourning the things I missed, but also being so grateful that this realization hit me when it did. I won’t be the one who sits idly by and waits for an invitation to be with my family. I need to be the one to call, to remember, to make the effort – because if I’m not, no one will.
What a wonderful, beautiful, emotional weekend.
How far do you live from your family, and how often do you see the ones you love?
If I were tiny, I could climb on his back and ask him to fly me around the backyard. He just looks like he’s got a nice comfy little seat there for someone to ride on. In fact, I could probably bring a friend. Who wants to be tiny with me?
It looks like a comfortable spot, doesn’t it? Please say you’ll go.
Northern Flickers, when eating ants out of anthills on the side of the road, need to come up for air.
Maiden Pinks are really prettier than I thought. And also take up more space.
Wild mushrooms can disappear overnight.
Appreciate their beauty, before they’re gone.
Our Quaker parrot, Quintin, enjoys my Gerbera Daisies, and also?
He’s cute in his little green parrot pants.
Speaking of little and green, bugs can be cute, too.
I completed Boo’s portrait lastnight, but the sun went down fast and I signed the painting from the light of a small lamp. I prefer to paint during daylight hours, thankfully my signature was all that was left when it got too dark to paint in natural light!
Boo was a sweet little Pacific Parrotlet who passed away. Parrotlets are only about the size of the palm of your hand (no fingers), so this portrait is much larger than life size.
Here’s her previous work in progress so you can compare the underpainting to the finished portrait:
And here are Boo and Kiwi together, as this is a pair of portraits that will be gifted to one very special girl.
And relaxing.
And maybe even reflecting over how little we are in such a big, big world.
What are your weekend plans?
Did I ever tell you about how long it’s taken me to grow Peonies? Yes? Well if you don’t know the story, you can read it here. Now I’m so excited to have them, I cut them as soon as they’re ready and keep bouquets all over my house. This year, I have more Peonies than I have vases. It must be because I cut every one of them last year, I’m guessing, and all that flower power went back down into the roots of the plants.
I have three bouquets in my house, and cut two and gave them to a couple of special neighbors (and by special I mean polite). That’s five bouquets so far, and I’ll be cutting another bunch today.
If you want to relocate, there are a couple of homes for sale down the street.
The other morning, while I was busy spraying our yard with Mosquito-B-Gon
Daddy Cardinal teamed up with Mama and they both started in on me. Yes, me, Miss Doolittle-wouldn’t-harm-a-potato-bug, was getting the what-for by a pair of birdie parents. Now, I know this Daddy. He was just a teenager last year, and I could tell because he keeps his hair slicked back on his head. He’s still young and hip, because his Daddy, Grandpa Cardinal, visits our yard frequently and he’s a proud manbird. He keeps his hair fresh and in a high soft fuzzy peak. So, I cut the young one some slack, you know, first time parenting and all that. We all tend to get a little overprotective, eh?
Down he came, just feet away from me, giving me that side-hop-step, making sure I knew who was boss-a-da-bush.
Okay, Daddy. I decided to stop getting them all riled up in an unnecessary tizzy and went in the house for my morning latte. Hubby stepped outside then to see how effective The Spray
Anyhoo, Hubby stepped outside and a few moments later he was being given the talking-to, as well. Then I heard “Honey. Bring your camera.” As always, he gets to see all the action. I grabbed my trusty Panny
Huh. Well look at that. (The bird, not my dirty ride.) Was he there before, while I was getting the cheep-cheep talk? I don’t know. What I did know is that this baby is a newbie to the Birds in Flight School, and I totally wanted to watch flying lessons. I went back in and grabbed my latte and had a seat in my new time-out chair.
I watched as baby cheeped and mama chipped back. Baby hopped around my car as though he was saying “but I can’t, mama, it’s too high!” and Mama reassured him from her cozy position on my fence.
Baby took flight and flew smack into the side of our grill, which was covered, so it was a soft blow. He slid to the ground safely and hopped around a bit. Mama swooped down to see if he was okay, and he cheeped at her. Their conversation continued as I watched, fully entertained at the translation of cheeps and chips to words as they tumbled through my mind, and I considered myself lucky to be able to watch such an awesome display of Cardinal family togetherness.
As Mama continued her verbal training, Daddy was off somewhere. He must have felt okay about my position and distance, since neither of them were yelling at me to get out of the way. Just then, Baby took flight again, back into our garage – this time landing on Hubby’s car. Or, at least, he tried to. The smoothness of the roof caused instant slippage and Baby went *boom* on the floor of the garage. He screamed a little, and Mama went into a panic, but soon he cheeped a happy cheep and started hopping around underneath the car.
Then, I wanted to cry. Here was baby, sitting under the car cheeping and being chipped at by Mama, when Daddy lands outside the garage and hops over to his Pride and Joy.
And feeds him a little breakfast.
OMG. ::sniffles:: The. sweetest. thing. ever.
Daddy quickly moved out of the way and Mama resumed her instruction, and within a minute or so baby took flight again and found a cozy spot in the “S” curve of my studio gutter.
It was a little too close for comfort so I slipped into the back door and let them continue their training. You can see Mama on the roof of the garage standing by for her little one’s venture out into the world. Daddy tried to land on the gutter next to Baby to feed him again, but couldn’t get his footing so he hung back and waited for them to get to a new spot.
I’d say of all the time I’ve spent in and around my yard, that had to be one of the top 10 precious moments. Seeing their behavior as a family unit was nothing short of amazing – and it makes me glad to call myself a birdwatcher. It’s most definitely an enjoyable hobby!
