Took me 280 shots to get this one last night from the deck last night.

Even this one ain't that great… But it's the only one that produced the goods…

Thank God for digital cameras, "burst mode", and moving items to the Trash.

Two or three lightning strikes every second (by then it was too dark and raining too hard for photos).

Sunny and cool today.

in sepia

It's Thursday.

Done coaching for the week.

Wrote for a couple hours, now I'm toast.

Listening to the Yankees on the radio. They're losing again, but I maintain a sense of optimism.

Softball tonight if the rain holds off.

Maintaining that same sense of optimism.

Figured I could share these photos. Or not.

But what the hell…

I have no idea what flowering plant this is.

It's just growing at the base of our hill.

Could be a weed.

But still, it's kinda pretty.

Lotsa beauty in the world. Really. The place is full of it…

P-Nut on the deck…

One day about a year ago Karin walked through the door and said, "Guess what…"

She told me the story about finding this sick kitten in the middle of the road, I quickly did the math and voila!, we added a second cat to our brood.

P-Nut is a mama's boy. He'll sleep on my lap or occupy the space between my feet on the bed at night, but he doesn't tolerate me picking him up or other such nonsense. He's not mean about it, he's just clear in his desire and his preferences. His mama can carry him around cradled like a little baby and he happily plays along.

While I'll probably never have the bond with P-Nut that Karin does, I appreciate having him in my life. In fact, I find him to be a sort of role model.

Quite simply, this cat knows how to live. While I think this is true of most animals we love, P-Nut strikes me as being especially good at expressing his sense of well-being. He's a pro at meeting his own needs for food, comfort, fun, and love.

Sometimes other people fit into this plan. Sometimes they do not. He does not strike me as the least bit concerned about what anyone else thinks… He just manages his own vibration.

And that's just cool (and clean) energy to be around.

I saw him perched on the deck the other evening, eyes closed and peaceful… he appeared to be completely content with the world and his place in it.

I looked at him and I thought… ah, yes.

That's the way…

UPDATE: Was outside shooting some baskets this evening. Had the camera, thought this reflected P-Nut (and Tasha in background)…

UPDATE #2 Thanks to Christina for coming up with a better title to this post…

Popping bud. I believe this will be a red maple leaf.
But I could be wrong. Tasha is out of focus on the left.

 

Spring is here.

And this is good. So good.

Buds explode into flowers and leaves.

Fox pups wrestle.

Windows open.

The world turns green. More every minute.

Birds chirp, squawk, and sing.

The smell of rain on pavement.

Shorts and sandals.

I feel the life flowing again.

And business is buzzing after a long slumber.

 

 

Okay, so it was spring. For like a minute…

And then the snow returned…

Doing my best to get a good shot of the cardinal who greets me every morning. He's wary of me though. Any time I pick up the camera and move toward the window, he's gone. (I hear his chirp outside my window right now!)

Had to zoom in on the tree for this one, so the resolution is not great.

Need a high-end camera!

 

 

Finch dive-bombing the feeder outside my office window…

 

 

Just having some fun here… This is the field next to my house. To my surprise, I really enjoy flying a kite. A bought it over the summer on a trip to Cape Cod — a $12.99 investment that continues to pay dividends. Flying a kite reminds me of fishing — there's thrill of the unknown… What will be on the end of the line? Will I be able to keep this kite from being eaten by a tree?

I actually get anxious when the kite gets really high… is it too high? There's a metaphor there for life, I suppose…

But it is a simple, clean rush…

 

 

 

Finally — these things don't fly… but an update on Limpy the fox who lives across the road under my neighbor's barn. Limpy's got a wife and they have three little pups! I will try to get pictures because the babies are sooo cute (they even wag their tails like little puppies). Will do my best to get a photo or movie, but I am not sure how close I can get…