pretty bird

no clue what kind of bird this is. he was @ the zoo when Earma, Edie & I went. can't remember what the guy said he was. but delightful.....
....it's tuesday morn and I woke late, but then again I went to bed really late. lazy day yesterday which was really good for me. will have a similar day today but will at least do sum dishes and fold sum laundry. I better enjoy these days while I can because class starts this Saturday. another 30 week course, 2 exams and I'm a practitioner. all will be fine until the exams then I'll be like a shaky leaf.....lol I do ok with exams, I always get really nervous about them. will not think about them until the time has come...
...in the meantime, it's going to be another warm day. about every other day or few days, it's really cool. then it's hot again. the changing weather like this is when I usually get a cold. will do my damnest knot to do so. as reminded by Julie, time for my flu shot. I see my doc Thursday so will get it then. I hate being sick in any way, shape or form. just knot my cup of tea. so I will do my best to stay healthy during the changing seasons....well I'm off...have a great one!

home again

it's a cool fall morn with the wind blowin'. home at last for some rest. not that I've been anywhere but @ church workin'. lounging around today and reading a book. may just stay in my pajamas all day. it's one of those days especially after workin' my butt off for 4 days in a row. so is the life. It's alll good....

i don't want to hear it

snoozin'

I didn't have a hammock like this bobcat, but I've been snoozing today in between shifts @ work...now off to a dinner engagement with friends, then back to work. hope I'm home by midnight. an event rented the building all day and evening today. they won't be out until 10pm. thankfully I have some help with cleanup tonight. I pray it goes quickly....

the lion roars

....well actually the lion is just yawning. but I feel like roaring myself at this moment. so I like this as an expression of my roar this morn. ahhhh. done. now I feel better. off for a brighter day. It's all good.

Autumnal Equinox

The summer yields to the autumn winds blowing
While the cool burns the leaves golden red
We harvest fields we planted once knowing
Grains of truth would soon come to a head.

Mystery Healer, I feel your hand above my brow
Into your love I bow.

Aging dreams seeming hard to remember
Alluring sleep ever taking its toll
Love redeems like the snows of December
Pure and dep as the infinite soul.

Mystery Healer, I feel your hand above my brow
Into your love I bow.

To meadowlands of our soul's flowering
We return from the roots we have sprung
To understand love we know is empowering
Though we learn from the truth where love hung.

Mystery Healer, I feel your hand above my brow
Into your love I bow.

-Chris Van Cleave

and then there was deer

fall is here...CC #21

out of focus

I managed to get this photo and a few others despite half of my photos out of focus today. i had sum great composition on sum horses, but I was so distracted I wasn't paying attention to how I set the camera. didn't catch it until I got home..dammit! well there'll be other days that are better. time heals. back to the woods tomorrow but closer to home. did get a few fall foliage today. they're coming soon...

life in the slow lane

it's a day off! yippee! we had a retreat this weekend. i was @ the church 3 days in a row all day, all night sometimes. i was exhausted once i got home yesterday. feel a little rested now. i can rest more these next 2 days. having breakfast with a friend this morn, then i'm taking a hike. there's been sum major challenges for me @ church this last month. i'm making some adjustments, but recognizing again,, some people never change....so now i'm contemplating how i will respond to these people and move on. i see changes for me on the horizon this winter or next spring, unless other changes come about. no matter how kind i may be, there are still those who are knot so. much prayer and guidance will get me thru. i've come a long way baby...

barely made it...

the sun just barely came out in time for the concert tonight. it was rainin' more buckets today, ALL day. about 5pm, 2hrs before the concert, it dried up and the sun was actually shining. we were certain we wouldn't be going to the concert because of rain, although it was an all weather concert. we just weren't going to get drenched. but alas, we made it. it was a great concert. we didn't stay for the entire show because we wanted to beat traffic out. but we stayed most of it. if we had stayed for the entire night we would have been in the parking lot for 2hrs just to get out-ugh! the concert was packed. first time I saw Brad Paisley in concert. don't even have any of his music but always enjoy him on the radio. Dierks Bentley was his warm up-another great performer. I went with friends and we all agreed it was a great change from being at the church all the time. I love live concerts, sittin' on the grass enjoying the music and fresh air. intoxicating. definitely needed it tonight. hope the rain has stopped for good for awhile so I can get more fresh air on the trails. until then....g'nite!

knot on my concert please

it's rainin'. buckets. tomorrow night I have a concert to attend. more rain in the forecast for all day. but please knot while I'm @ the concert. so pray for me....lol.....I've been back to work for a few days now. last month was quite the turmoil for me. my grandbaby was a good distraction. I'm more peaceful being back but knot quite comfortable. maybe in time. learning more Life lessons. tomorrow coffee with a friend to help sort more of it out. I just remind myself there's purpose for good in all things. tonight a light bulb went on in my head. let's see how the 'light' leads me. It's all good. definitely can tell I need sum hiking right now. if it's knot raining buckets tomorrow, I'm on the trail.....thank goodness for friends!

best birthday present ever

they left yesterday morn. on my birthday. but my heart was full of joy from their visit. I went & had photos printed and enlarged. this one of my favorites. her beautiful smile which was difficult to capture but alas we caught a few. I can hardly wait to see her again...

the lion king

color carnival #20

still wild!

a slight interruption from my grandbaby. this cougar is a beauty. except for the cage she lives in, she's still wild...more zoo photos laterz this week...

grandma's touch

it's been a great week....
i have one more day...
today we went to the zoo. she fell asleep on me as pictured just above. Grandma's touch really happens to be about me being able to get her to sleep more often than mom. our Lil Edie fights her sleep ALL the time. somehow when I would hold her she wouldn't fight as much. at first I thought I was just lucky, but it kept happening. I was amazed. I've spoiled her as much as she has spoiled me. don't want this to end...

gettin' a workout...lol

well today we got out of my hovel. first day we lounged around chattin' & visitin'. it was good. plus Edie really needed sum sleep. today I took them to church to meet the staff and then coffee with Maggie. last we strolled thru the mall for a tidbit and had dinner out. Earma got her first taste of a buffalo burger. then we headed home. by the time I got home, my right bicep was worn out...lol..from holding Edie so much. she loved everyone she met today especially our Youth Minister. she just totally laid her head down on Rev Kylie's chest gettin' all cozy. a kodak moment and I didn't have my camera. figure my hands wood be too full to shoot while out & about. well from this point, knot leaving home without the camera too. the first surprise was this morn for both Earma & I. when Edie saw me she practically leaped out of her mother's arms to jump in mine. neither one of us were expecting that, especially this young. anyways, it's been a great day. the next 2 days is to see a little more of the area and meet Marsha & Madison. it's late right now, waiting for the sleeping pill to kick in. Edie had so much excitment she refused to go to sleep tonight. she usually fights her sleep anyways, but tonight it was like it was a double effort on her part knot to fall asleep. it took awhile, but alas she fell asleep in her mom's arms. it's been a great day. already I'm hating the thought of their departure soon. but I'm taking more photos and more photos and more photos. Life is Good....

her dad's eyes

so my DIL & I think Edie has her dad's eyes (my son). we can't figure out how she looks like him, so we narrowed it down to her eyes. they're almost blue too. we're not sure what color her eyes will turn into, but they're big & beautiful right now. this photo is typical of her expressions with her eyes most the time...

heeere's Edie...& Mom too!

here she is...
Edie & her Mom....
aint she just the cutest.....I'm having a great time....more soon...

they're here...

the band @ Las Golondrinas...
well Earma (DIL) and Edie (grandbaby) are here. it was way late before we got to bed last night. somewhere between 2-3a.m. this morn. they're still sleepin @ the moment. once they wake up, which she said probably won't be until this afternoon, I'll be shootin' away with the camera. so much excitement! i'll post her photos later this afternoon. it's soooo good to have them here. it's a beautiful day too to put the icing on the cake!

tuesday night

knot sure what intrigued me about this, but probably because it's symbolizes southwest to me also. cattle skulls or in this case antlers hanging or laying around in the desert. the old dry west is what it says to me. should take a photo of the skull on my wall....
....anyways, my DIL & grandbaby won't be here until tomorrow night (Tuesday night). real late too arriving past my bedtime. it'll be midnight or later b4 we get home. but at least it's tomorrow. there was a chance it was going 2 be until Thursday then it wood have been on standby-UGH!! so we're sleeping in Wednesday morn and waking whenever we so please. it sorts changes the iternary for the week, but I really don't care as long as I get to see them. so I'll wait patiently tomorrow reading a book and/or sitting in the park. may take a nap too so I can stay awake late. knot really a night owl except on full moons. I'll be fine. just won't take my meds until late in the evening, then for sure I'll stay awake. for now, it's more vegging in front of the tv. had my cable put back on. the TV digital converter just wasn't working for me with only 4 channels. I felt deprived.....lol. Life is good and getting better...

knot today ?

first of all I'm experimenting with photobucket at the moment so this post may continue to change as I do it....
secondly, I received a call from Earma (DIL) that there's been a delay in her coming here...ugh....the travel agency screwed up her booking...dammit! goodness let me play sum more with this entry...she may or may knot make it in today...

less than 24hrs

4 sum reason, blogger is knot allowing me to post photos....so....i'll just post a note. in less than 24hrs my grandbaby will be here. I'm nervous, I'm excited. I need sum good news and joy right now. things have been a little tough lately and I'm ready for refreshment. that will be a wonderful bundle of joy coming my way. now let's hope I can get photos on here of her once she's here. that'll be my next post asap! cya then..

turkey vulture

after much debate and pondering, with this photo I can see it is the Turkey Vulture after all. I forgot I had this angle on him. I cropped and enlarged him in photoshop to see his head better. click on this photo to see him larger if you can see his head. disappointed it's knot a hawk, but again I still like that I captured this guy....don't worry, I will one day get my hawk, hopefully more than one. after my car repairs I'm going off road. I just pulled out my New Mexico Wilderness book again that I bought to explore NM more. I'll be hitting the back roads. going to frame this vulture anyways to remind me to keep looking for that hawk. hell a friend who lives near the mtns here too, saw a hawk go up & down the arroyo behind her apartment complex. there's plenty nature and wildlife here. I'll be on the lookout always with camera in tow...

C.C. #19...& maybe knot a hawk

well, back to the zoo for a moment for next week's Color Carnival. always, if you want to see sum colorfull photos, click on the Color Carnival site on my sidebar>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>....in the meantime, I enlarged the "hawk" photo. can't tell it on the computer, but when printed, there's red around the beak of this bird. 3 of us are now thinking it's a vulture. looking @ my bird book at this moment, it "may" be a Turkey Vulture. doesn't say much about it, but who knows at this point. looking at my very old bird book, it's either a Turkey Vulture or the Rough-legged Hawk I identified earlier. I still think it's a beauty of a shot. love the wing span on the bird. anyways, I'll just have to get out in the country and find me a definite hawk somewhere, sometime. all in time. good things come to those who wait. right now it's a letter to my therapist, then off to bed. it's been another hell of a week. I hope it gets better soon....

I miss him...

JUST talked to my son. he called tonight from Iraq. he's leaving there real soon. real soon. thank goodness he'll be back on U.S. soil. he sounded tired but good. first phone call since he was in Hawaii a few months ago. it was great to hear his voice. still have to wait a few more months before seeing him, but I will see him one way or another, come hell or high water. it's just been tooooo long since I've seen him. I'll have a part of him come Monday as my grandbaby arrives. that will help tremendously. I'm all excited and get more anxious as the time gets nearer. will be taking tons of photos when she gets here. TONS!!!...lol...he asked me to do something for him when Earma & Edie gets here. something I can do and had already planned on doing it anyways. now for sure will get them to that favorite place of his. back to where I was on Monday, a few days ago.....anyways, I miss him. can't wait for him to be "state side". at least we'll be closer in proximity. goodness, for someone who didn't want kids many years ago, I sure am Happy to have him. and our birthday is coming soon too. we share the same birthday, Sep 14. despite sum headaches and more gray hairs, I wouldn't trade him for the world. nothing like being a mom and grandma....I love you son!

b4 sunset..

retired 2 pasture

I like this truck in it's original color because it's all rustic anyways. but today I wanted to play with Sepia finally in my Adobe Photoshop CS3. like the effect....

color carnival #18....

don't think I've done this for Color Carnival yet. I have sooo many Balloon Fiesta photos I can't keep track of those I've posted here or for C.C. anyways, another day early. usually I forget by the time Friday rolls around. Friday is usually so busy by the end of the day my thinking cap is off.....well I didn't think I"d do it but I finally changed the photo atop my page here. I love that desert scene, but fall is all but here and thought I'd make a change for a little while. actually recognizing lately I have sum good photos, I'll keep changing in and out to give this blog a different feel from time to time.....well sum more good news. a friend of mine daughter just had her baby this morn sum where around 5a.m. Imani is her name. this year is the year for babies too. 3 newborns within 4 months. so when my Edie gets here, we're going to visit Nevaeh & Imani. that will be fun. Life is Good although it seems contrary to that at times...

it's good to be me

it's an old photo from White Sands..as is the one atop my blog here...anyways, knot sure if I told you, but I recently bought a sweatshirt that says It's Good to Be Me...and that's what I'm feelin' right now. just plain GOOD! for many reasons despite sum struggles this last month. It can only get better from this point on. I think I'm finally coming into my own, totally my own. I've felt the change these past 2 months and I like it. I like me. all about me. especially since journeying thru this illness of mine which I now call The Gift. really can't tell you how good I feel. undescribable. have no clue what brought the Change about, but I'm loving it...loving me! so the sweatshirt is right on time and I'm wearing it. there are t-shirts available too. think I'll get one of those too for seasonal changes. anyways, if you want one, just Google the phrase and there will be a few links for items with this phrase. I found 3 sites. if you can't find them, let me know, I'll send them to you. great gift ideas for yourself, family or friends....

rough-legged hawk

after Indigo's confirmation with this bird...it's a hawk!....I found my bird book finally and discovered it's a Rough-Legged Hawk. I'm ecstatic about capturing him. my first hawk on photo. he sure is a beauty! will have to enlarge him and hang him on my wall....

in the other direction

O my God, come to me, so that You may dwell in me and I ay dwell in you. -Saint John Vianney

as the sun set that evening, I headed back to my car only to discover the above view staring me in the face. the clouds were beautiful but I also tried to capture the moon with it. it was a squeeze on the page. this was more beauty in the moment than the sunset. a painted sky from Mother Earth in all her beauty.

what happened 2...?

so I caught this little guy too while atop the Peak yesterday. they're usually too quick to stay still long enough to photograph. I was very fortunate yesterday with all the photos I captured.....
....anyways, the question for the day is what ever happened to cheap service on one's car. took my jeep in for a diagnostics thinking it was the started, ya know maybe a $100 job. well lo & behold, $1200+ dollars later was the estimate of things needing done yesterday on my jeep....and it's been sittin' for a few years while I road my bike-geez! so much for the sunroof right now. must wait on that. first the brakes need replacing maybe the rotors too. then the cables around the battery and the battery. then something I've been putting off=major tune-up, and finally another minor repair. all adding up to the aforementioned total cost. whew that's a chunk of change and I was bitchin' about the repairs on my bike. I spent that much over a few years, not in a few months. now I'm wondering if it's worth it to own a vehicle anymore. maybe a bicycle wood be the way 2 go not only because it's Green, but low maintenance plus the benefits of exercise. may just contemplate that one. so this was the news for today.....I did go shopping for my grandbaby who is arriving on monday. bought her a Bears outfit like her grams (mine). it's football season and my Bears will be playing on a sunday night while they're here. we'll don matchig outfits and bbq for the night while watching the game. goodness can't wait for them to be here. more bad news today=a friend at church was beaten to death, literally, only a few days ago. just found out tis morn. Life has been better in sum ways this year, but I've lost 3 people I've known to death also. so it's been a mixed blessing year....