Walks yesterday and today

We went out to the reservoir yesterday – it was nice but hot.  The dogs went into the lake – Bennie loves to plow into the deep end but Baxter won’t go higher than the tops of his legs. 

Today, because it is drizzling, we went on a mile walk on the bike trail near my house.  It is where we would normally walk before we started going to the reservoir so not much new there.  However, I did see some beautiful flowering trees so took a few pictures there.

This bloom is on a tree – anyone know what type it is?

White starshaped flowers

Small purple flower is everywhere now.

Baxter stalking a squirrel

My very dirty hiking boots

Leaves on the BIG trees now!

Pretty aren’t they?

Blooms on the tree

Today its about yesterday

We all have those nostalgic days where we wonder what would have been if we had made other choices.  I suppose no one can go through life without wondering and reassessing the choices they made.  Most people could probably come up with a few things they would do differently if they could do it over knowing then what we know now.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the way it works.

Our choices are made by what information is available to us at that time.  We assimilate the data and choose what we hope is the best course of action.  Hind sight is always 20/20 – the future never is.  Ten years from now I will probably look back on this time of my life and be able to pick out some things I could have done differently – though right in the here and now, I am blinded to those options.

Sometimes I wish I could see the “big” picture – that I could see how my life will unfold so I can be prepared.  But really, how boring life would be if we knew exactly what we’d be doing, where we’d be doing it, who we’d be doing it with, and why we’d be doing what we were doing ten, twenty, thirty years from now.  It takes away possibilities and options – it steals hope.

So instead of spending my time today wishing I could change things in the past, I am spending it looking to the future with optimism, enthusiasm, and yes, hope.  I don’t know how it will all unfold – I fear there may be a few heartaches ahead of me but I also know that I will cope with them when they present themselves.  Really, what choice do I have? 

Flowers

This is the only picture I managed to take on my walk today.  Are they daffodils? I don’t know my flowers all that well unfortunately – guess I’ll have to get a flower book to help me identify them better if I’m going to take pictures of them.

The flowers are in the beds under the windows of our apts.  Mine has a bush so I don’t know if I’ll get any flowers though on the other side of the door there appears to be a single plant growing.  My neighbor on the end gets the most sunlight on her beds which is why I think her flowers bloomed first. 

Still no buds on the trees – am anxious for leaves. 

It's great to see some flowers blooming!!

Out on the Town

Went to Applebees with family members tonight.  There was three generations present – isn’t that great? I love that we can get together with such different age groups thus different perspectives.  It was fun – we laughed a lot.

Amy turned her head right as I was snapping the picture. :-(

Laughing it up!

Amy, Marjorie, Cyndi, Jackie and Rachel

Amy, Marjorie, Cyndi, Me, and Jackie

Birds

I forgot to mention the birds in my last post. When I got home about 3:30 am, I opened the windows so I could hear the storm better when it came (it never did).

What I did hear were the morning birds chirping away at the sunrise. It reminded me of people getting ready to go to work the way they were chirping and fluttering around in the trees.

Down in Florida we had a Mockingbird and I would sit outside listening to it at night. The birds this morning were not as loud as the mockingbird but I still enjoyed their song.

Night Sky

On my way home tonight while driving north on 965, I saw the brightest light streaking across the sky not too very far off the ground.  It was too low and bright to be a shooting star – it looked like something on fire but then it simply went out.  I could be convinced it was a fire cracker of some proportion but there was no noise associated with it and it looked bigger than a fire cracker would.

I have no idea what it was – it looked big enough to be a small plane but yet it didn’t fall from the sky or hit the ground with a loud thundering so it couldn’t be that either.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of it – I mean, what is flying around at 3:20am anyway?

Oh well, guess it was an anomaly that probably had to do with the cloudless night sky.  I wouldn’t have put it more than a few hundred feet off the ground and it definitely looked like something on fire.  Guess if it doesn’t make the news in awhile than it was nothing – probably nothing anyway because I haven’t heard any fire or ambulance people dispatched and I live close enough to the station that I would have.

Maybe it was one of Mom’s UFO’s.  I guess by definition it was a UFO because it was an “unidentified flying object”…that covers just about everything in the sky some nights. 

Father of the Bride

I watched the above movie streamed to my computer via Netflix earlier this evening.  What is it about this movie that always warms my heart? I love it! I love the second one as well – I laugh and cry in them every time.

Steve Martin in these two movies reminds me a smidgen of my brother which makes me wonder how he is doing up there in Canada.  I’m sure he has the love of his “split apart” to keep him toasty warm.  I look forward to seeing them in June.

I guess the movie gives me a sense of nostalgia but also of peace at how simple events like a wedding can bring a family together.  My niece is getting married in a few months…actually will probably have two nieces getting married this year.  Weddings are so wonderful because they represent a fresh new life for the couple saying those wedding vows.  I usually sit there wondering what the future will bring for them – will they be happy? Will their love last the tests of time? I hope so.

Hmmm…wonder if my niece is registered anywhere? I need to check that out.

It occurs to me

It occurs to me, as I sit here watching the sun rise through my monitors, that we are quickly approaching the end of summer here in Iowa.  Next month is September…that is when the weather starts cooling off and leaves start to change colors.

After September is October…we’ve had snow before in October but that is rare.  By Halloween, though, the trees will be bare and people will be raking the leaves into piles to give their yards a dramatic effect for the trick or treaters.  It will get windy and cold in October.

November will give probably give us snow…I have seen many Novembers with no snow at all but I have a feeling that won’t happen this year.  Thanksgiving will see us all wearing coats, hats and gloves to protect us from the cold.

December will deliver snow almost for sure…again, I have seen some without but I don’t think that will be the case this year.  By Christmas we will probably have a few inches on the ground good for making snow forts, snowmen, and having snowball fights.  Everything will look so pretty with the Christmas lights.  On days when I get off at 7am – I will get to see trees encased in ice…very beautiful.

Yep…we are on the downhill slide for this year…just amazing how fast time is flying up here!

Something Cheerful

My sister said she wishes I’d write something more cheerful so I have been searching the web for something that fit the bill.  Sorry folks, but this is all I could come up with:

Four Giant Panda’s were born at a China breeding facility on Saturday.  Reports say a mini-baby boom such as this is pretty unheard of.  One mother gave birth to twins  while two other mothers gave birth to one each.  The center has 71 pandas in captivity in an effort to repopulate the species which has less then 1600 pandas alive in the wild.

Due to an earthquake in China’s southwestern providence which killed 70,000 people, has caused the government to have to relocate the pandas for the time being.  The Giant Panda is the unofficial national symbol of China – all babies are doing well. 

So there, sis, hope this qualifies as something more cheerful.

Father of Slain Family Struggles

A year ago, Dr. William Petit had a thriving medical practice. He lived in a comfortable colonial house adorned with flower gardens in an upscale Connecticut suburb with his wife and two daughters admired for their charitable works.

Thus begins the article I read regarding this man who thought he had the world all figured out and everything going the way he wanted it in life.  As I’ve said a hundred times, things can change in a heartbeat, can’t they?

Two men broke into this man’s house during the night.  In search of money, the two previously convicted criminals severely beat Petit and his wife.  Not finding what they wanted in the house, the criminals took Mrs. Petit to the ATM so she could withdrawal thousands of dollars for them.  Then they strangled her.

Petit’s children, ages 17 and 11, were gagged and bound to their beds.  The men were later charged with sexual assault but the article doesn’t tell which of the three females was raped – maybe they all were.  In an effort to conceal their crime, the subjects started the house on fire as they left the scene.  Petit, severely injured, made it out of the house but the two girls died of smoke inhalation before they could be rescued.

Now, one year later, Dr. Petit struggles daily with the events that tore his family away from him.  Petit moved in with his parents and had what was left of the house torn down and carved a big heart into the lawn.  His parents say he struggles every day to find a purpose to living a life that doesn’t include his family.

Petit works with the charities his wife and daughter were involved with to feel a connection with them and to keep busy.  He tries to find solace with friends and frequents a therapist.

I feel like contacting this man to give him my sympathies.  The attack at his home lasted hours…hours he had to witness the destruction of his family and endure physical abuse.  Why? Because some criminals thought his house looked like a good one to rob.

Once again I feel I must lament on how life is so very fragile and we all must take stock of it every day.  Not only how our lives are going, but how our lives are affecting others around us.  Do we help or hinder? Do we uplift or tear down? Do we smile or frown? Are we quick to do what is right, or do we procrastinate?

I don’t know about everyone else but I would like my life to mean something and I think the only way that can happen is in service to others and our planet.  Let us all say a prayer for those people who are hurting in this world and to give thanks for all that we have.