Mid-day Breaks

Work was stressful today; I was so happy to call it a day. No matter what I was working on, something else came up that demanded my attention. At one point, I picked up the phone to call someone, and at that same moment, the phone rang, and two people IM'ed me with questions - all of which was interrupting my own tasks. And the whole day was like that. I could easily work long days, and have plenty to fill them, but I just don't have the heart for that anymore. So tonight I'll try to relax - and I should probably throw some clothes in the dryer - and maybe pay some bills - and tomorrow work will still be there, waiting for me.

Thank heavens for Bonnie, who insists I go out with her mid-day (at least for now; when the hot weather settles in, we'll have to change her walk schedule). The change of scenery does me good!

Here is some of that scenery. I don't know what these are, but how interesting they are - both before and after they bloom.

We saw these by Friendship Village, just growing in the grass. Pink! Who'd have thought?

We came across these pretty yellow flowers along one of the paths in the Friendship Village woods. I love the delicate layers.

This is the area between Frays Park and the entrance to Friendship Village (the back door, so to speak). I love these purple flowers - this time of year, they seem to be everywhere. In fact, I worried that they were purple loostrife - an invasive plant - but I found a good description here and I think these are not the problem children. So, I don't have to feel guilty about liking them.

We continue to see many Red Admiral butterflies, and one day in particular Bonnie & I saw them swarming around a patch of goldenrod. My camera takes pretty good closeups, but only if the subject agrees to hold still - so no butterfly photos! I found this photo in this article.

It explains that every ten years or so, the Red Admirals have a population explosion, and a major migration. Apparently, this is the year!

One day, Bonnie and I came across the remains of a rabbit - mostly just bits of fur. Bonnie was pretty interested (she is a beagle), and I had to drag her away. I wondered if a fox had killed the rabbit (I saw a small grey fox in the area a while back). But yesterday, walking on that same path, we saw a cat come around the bend. He took off as soon as his saw us, and I suspect he's the one who dispatched the rabbit.

We saw deer tracks in the mud, but I haven't seen any deer this season. We did see what might have been a ground hog one day. It was scooting through a yard, hunkered down close to the ground, doing its best to quickly move from point A to point B. I say 'we' saw it - but Bonnie misses a lot of these things, or simply isn't interested. She spends most of our walks with her nose to the ground! She did spy a rabbit through the park fence one day, and stood gazing longingly at it...

One day we saw a bird chasing a squirrel. The squirrel was really moving, and the bird was really mad. I wonder what brought that on; maybe the bird was tired of the squirrel's stealing his bird seed.

We saw goldfinches one day! There was a group of them, in a semi-open area at the Village, hanging out in a tree and singing. Yet another species that won't sit still for a photo, but I found a photo (and their song) at this site.

And today, I saw what I think was a scarlet tanager. I couldn't see it clearly - it was above me most of the time (let's be honest; with my stature, most things are above me, especially things that fly), back lit by the sun. But it was red, and didn't have the shape of a cardinal. I found a photo and song here and it seemed to match this bird's song. I feel privileged to have seen such a pretty bird.

Bonnie couldn't have cared less, I'm afraid. But she is learning to be patient while I take photos of flowers and plants - at least sometimes!

Come on, let's go already!