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On a sunny mid September day – windy but all the more beautiful for that as the wind was responsible for the event – David and I had the pleasure of viewing a staging of monarch butterflies.
Most people know these colorful creatures, native to North America, migrate. They go north in the spring (it takes three generations to accomplish that migration) and south in the fall (this journey is accomplished by a single generation). They over-winter along the Gulf coast, in Arizona and California, and in Mexico.
The butterflies have to rest and feed along the way, and these particular insects were taking shelter from a strong wind out of the south by clustering on the north side of a small densely wooded area, resting and feeding on the nectar of nearby wild aster and goldenrood while they waited for the wind to shift so they could continue their journey. It was very special to witness this event.

The “F” Word
HaHa – gotcha!
Just finished a weekend with our just five-year-old granddaughter whose pre-school is on “F” this week. So . . .
I present to you Fish, Fun, Flight, and Friends.

Hoping to find inspiration for an Automotive theme, my husband and I went to a local salvage yard last week. What an experience! Besides being very cold - below 40 degrees F and a brisk wind was blowing - I found the visit bittersweet. I was saddened by the rows and rows of discarded vehicles, but so many people were out there looking for reusable pieces to strip and buy at a bargain price, and that was actually exciting. It was also good to know that the stripped carcasses would be crushed and sold as scrap metal and then re-used. I love recycling :)
Here are four of the shots I got - you can see more by putting "salvage" into the search box on my page.

Going on a walk with our granddaughter is always a delight for me.

It’s a joy to watch her run on ahead (I’m slow, as she will readily tell you!) and then stop and look back to call, “Can you see me?” Our rules for walks include not going in the street and making sure she’s always in my sight.

It’s a joy when she chooses instead to hold my hand and walk quietly by my side, chatting about what she sees or, just as often, what she is reminded of that she doesn’t see.

And it’s a joy when she dances and skips nearby, noticing and sharing her view of the world around us: a bird in a tree (do I think it’s a mommy or a daddy?); a plane passing overhead (where do you suppose it’s going?); a flower by the path (is that one I can pick?); a gnome in a garden (she loves ceramic frogs and flamingos, too, though the latter are rare in Nebraska); the cracks in the sidewalk (they may need to be stepped on or over or even simply counted, depending on the day).

Sometimes she learns life lessons from our walks; more often, I do. Saturday, on a walk in Fontenelle Forest, she found an acorn and two acorn caps; they led to discussions about oak trees and squirrels. And Sunday, on a walk around the block, she found a brand new BAND-AID, still in its wrapping, that I let her pick up. AND she found this tiny sliver of concrete that had probably come out of a crack in the sidewalk. She picked it up and immediately declared, “A feather rock!” And so it is – the very best feather rock that I have EVER seen!



She brought it home to add to her collection. And I took this photo of it, front and back, not just to illustrate these musings, but to remind me of our walks and especially of the special gift of childhood, that of seeing everything with fresh eyes and of taking delight in even the most mundane of objects around us.

It's mid-August and for many in the United States that means back-to-school - either a week ago or within the next couple of weeks. As a former student, mother of former students, grand-mother of a pre-kindergartener, and retired teacher, this time of year brings untold emotions and many forgotten memories bubbling to the surface.
Today I was going through personal memorabilia my mother saved, including some of my elementary school report cards. Here are the comments sections from 5th grade.
First Period
Teacher’s Comment: Niki does excellent work. She shows good leadership ability. It is a pleasure to have her in class.
Parent’s Comment: Niki enjoys being in your class.
Second Period
Teacher’s Comment: Niki is continuing to do excellent work. She is too fond of talking to the children sitting by her.
Parent’s Comment: Am sorry Nik is thoughtless and disturbs class. Would a denial of privileges help? She gives reasons as: “Boy behind her breathes down her neck and pesters if she doesn’t answer” and also that she finishes her work and has nothing to do. I told her it takes 2 to talk – also I’m sure there are always books to read. Am also encouraging her to write fiction or non-fiction or poetry to enter in her “American girl” – By You Depart. Hope this is ok.
Third Period
Teacher’s Comment: Your interest and help has been appreciated. Niki has been better about the talking situation. I think that writing for the ‘By You Department’ in “American Girl” is an excellent idea. Niki does very well in writing poems and stories. This is a talent that is good to encourage.
Parent’s Comment: Nik’s current ambition is to be a 5th grade school teacher – I regard this as a measure of her happiness in your classroom this year. Many thanks.
Fourth Period
Teacher’s Comment: Niki is above average in all of her work. She will make an excellent sixth grade student. Her enthusiasm has made the room more pleasant all year. She has many talents and will always do well in whatever she tries.
Here are some of my thoughts, these many years later, about this exchange.
1. Teachers commented, in writing, on each student; and parents were offered the opportunity to respond, also in writing, to those comments. I’m certain I had to take the report card back signed – at the very least.
2. This teacher was not afraid to mention one of my shortcomings.
3. My mom was not afraid to address that shortcoming. She offered an apology for my behavior. Neither of my excuses impressed her much LOL. And she offered to help in ways that she considered practical and appropriate. And though I can’t really remember what transpired at home, I can assure you that she addressed the situation with me in much less diplomatic terms.
4. I grew, both academically and socially, during the year. And by the end of the year, I wanted to be a teacher myself.

We re-did our bedroom this summer. Lots of work! I had to strip wallpaper from two walls (I'd done the other two years ago) AND from the center of the ceiling!!), do a lot of repairing of drywall, and re-paint. Then we had someone come in and texture the ceiling to match the texture on the part that was around the wallpaper. Got new carpet, needed something for the walls, got a new king-size bed which led to needing a new cover and pillows . . . and on it goes.

Anyway, you see here the bed in its surrounding glory :) . The project gave me an excuse to order some of my own work so the three canvases over the bed and the two gold pillows on it are mine. I actually ordered a third, larger pillow to match, but the whole was too much yellow for me, so I put that one downstairs in the family room.

Here are the pieces I used to put the triptych over the bed together:
Hydrangea Leaves (left panel)
Hydrangea Leaves (center panel)
Hydrangea Leaves (right panel)

And I also have a single image triptych which could print as wide as 72" on canvas, is a bit of a different look, and would be quite a bit less expensive than ordering three pieces:
Networks

And here's what I used for the pillows:
Abstract in Brass - 2
Abstract in Brass - 3

I love it when I see an opportunity to take a picture others might not think to take, and I’m even happier when I work up the image and find that I like it just as well as I’d hoped I might. That was the case when I took The Window Box and the Meter. Here’s the back story.
I was wandering around the Old Market area in Omaha with my camera when I spotted this window box absolutely spilling over with coleus leaves and the perfectly lovely gas meter just below it. With the brick surround and the reflection of the city in the window, well, it was just too good to pass up. There was only one problem. It was half over the end table on the terrace of a restaurant, and two men were enjoying a drink at that table.
Maybe I can get the shot discretely, I thought. But when you’re lugging around a DSLR and you need an eye level shot and your preferred approach to composing and taking a photo requires using the viewfinder, it’s not easy to be discrete. I took the picture anyway and was about to walk on down the street when one of the men said, “Just out of curiosity, what were you shooting? So I told him and showed them both what I had composed on my LCD screen. “Wow, that’s way more interesting than I’d have thought!”
Not far to go since I’m pretty sure he’d never have thought to take the picture in the first place LOL

It’s been awhile since my last blog entry – life gets in the way sometimes. In my case, it’s been mostly good stuff – like remodeling the master bedroom and the family room. In the meantime, I’ve made another sale from my unofficial “Vintage Diner Collection”, so I’ve decided to spotlight those images this time.
"Diner #2" is my most recent sale. This is a close-up from "Diner #1", and another from the same diner, an old Wurlitzer with Stools has also sold more than once.

We were Skyping with our 4 ˝-year-old granddaughter the other night, and she asked us what we had had for supper – the day’s menus are always of importance in our conversations.

“Tacos,” I said.
“What did you have for dessert?”
“Nothing. You know we never have dessert,” I said. (She frequently spends the weekend with us.)
“Yes, we do,” she asserted.
“We do? What do we have?”
“Cheese sticks!” she responded enthusiastically.
And so we do. Cheese sticks or fresh fruit salad or, very occasionally, carrot sticks with ranch dressing.

So what does all this have to do with this image?


Well, I guess what constitutes a treat at the end of a meal depends on the person eating it just as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder*. So here is a pile of old brake drums and disc brakes and a shock and strut assembly from the local automotive salvage yard; I found the shapes, colors and textures to be beautiful and quite a treat, really. Hope you do, too.


*“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is attributed to Margaret Wolfe Hungerford in her 1878 novel Molly Bawn, but it’s also said to be a paraphrase from Plato.

Spring is back here in eastern Nebraska - well, almost. Yesterday was very cold and windy again but before that we had five days of very nice weather and the forecast for the weekend is exceptional for late February: 53 degrees F and cloudy on Sunday (meh but not awful) BUT 63 degrees and partly cloudy on Monday AND, better yet, 67 degrees and sunny tomorrow. I cannot wait!

Here are a couple of cheerful creatures from our neighborhood walk earlier this week, a cedar waxwing and an American robin. Flocks of both of these birds were sharing – not always peaceably – last autumn’s fruit on a small stand of crabapple trees.