The Unfolding of a Peaceful Day

A wonderful, quiet, peaceful day unfolded for me today.  The phone did not ring, no knocks on the door, the only visitors were the regulars, the squirrels, the birds and the chipmunks.  I strolled thru the neighborhood, stopping to take a photo or two with Toby by my side.  He loves to walk and when we are over by the pond, I let him run free.  He never ventures very far, comes immediately when I call him....he does so love that freedom to run without a fence to stop him or a leash around his neck.  The Dog Park is great for letting him run, but today was a bit warm and there is absolutely no shade anywhere to be seen at the park.  He is quite content with his walk thru the neighborhood.  And I was quite content with no phone calls, no knocks on the door and just the regulars visiting.

 
I am pretty lucky to be living in a suburban town, in a typical subdivision and have this view as I look out my front door.  There was a pond across the street when we first moved here, but about 10 years ago or so, we had what they refer to as "the 100 year rain"....flooded everywhere (not me).  So the brilliant engineers decided to dig out 2 of the 3 ponds in our subdivision for flood control.  The brilliant engineers dug too deep, took out too much dirt and for several years this was a swamp, brilliant.  Finally after putting back some of the dirt that they brilliantly dug out a few years earlier, and added plants that liked the moisture the once lovely pond is now a field of grasses.  Not quite the same, but sooooo much better than the swampland I looked at for several years. 

On our walk we did stop by my neighbors that are raising chickens and took a few shots of the girls....

The girls like marigolds...not the flower, the leaves.  They are so tame, eat right out of your hand. 

Shame on me, I have been so lax about keeping the yard weeded lately.  These little pesky dandelions just show up everywhere. 

I am always so fascinated with cobwebs and they are in abundance at this time of the year.  The spider that wove this web was hiding under a hydrangea leaf and when I tried to lift the leaf to get a better shot I proceeded to tear the web into shreds.   Am I a great neighbor or what?? 

The Obedient Flower is starting to bloom.  I never could figure out why they call this flower "obedient".  It has a tendency to wander, flop, do whatever it darn well pleases, now tell me, is that obedient??

Oh, sorry, forgot to mention this little visitor.  Another little, tiny butterfly, probably another skipper of some sorts, but I don't have my butterfly book handy, so just guessing. 

I don't do many black & whites, but since the berries in this pod were already black, it wasn't much of a stretch to change to black & white.  I see someone else's b&w's and I think, oh wow, that is so nice in b&w and then I never seem to think about it.  I think Tracey Clark is teaching a class next year on b&w......need that class. 

I really can't get used to b&w....I am such a color person.  Oh well, sometimes we all should climb out of our boxes. 

So that was a smidge of my very quiet, peaceful day.  The evening is the same, darkness comes much earlier now and I can hear the sound of crickets, a sound I will miss when the cold wind begins to blow and the doors will be shut until spring returns. 

"We turn not older with years, but newer every day."  ~  Emily Dickinson

Until next time......