Morning Glory

Indeed.

I hope the weather holds. There are too many buds to count left on the vine,

and every day I go out to look and find them more beautiful than the day before.

Happy Friday.

Fall Wetlands and Headwaters

I've been going on lots of walks with the dog, thanks to the lovely weather, and the compulsive urge to get more lights lit up on my fitbit pedometer. It's raining today and I'm itching to grab the leash and the dog and go somewhere else wonderful.

63 acres of wetland preserve in the middle of suburbia.

It's the asters time to shine.

This is the start of the one mile loop we walk. But the park service has been busy cutting new paths into the area. I'm conflicted about that. Nice for the humans, not so much for the wildlife and habitat.

This is a new trail, and it was a little creepy. The cattails towered more than a foot over my head. I had no idea where the trail ended and my monkey brain kept looking for snakes or dead bodies, but there was none of that. I know, the dead body thing is not normal, and I blame it on a scary black and white movie I watched when I was very young, where a group of kids playing in the woods found a murder victim. Some things you'd rather not stick in your head forever.

No gruesome or creepy surprises, just scenery. The path ended at the wet part of the wetlands, and it was too muddy for a closer look.

Wooly bear!

Lovely blue skies and grasses.

Lovely yellow flowers, I'm pretty sure that's their scientific name.

I took some close up portraits. They were prettier in person.

Also this week, another trip to the Headwaters.

First stop, dog park.

You can see almost forever.

The prairie grasses are amazing.

Goldenrod is golden.

Tucker peed about a hundred times. See him there in the corner? I'm pretty sure he was just going through the motions, he had to be peed out.

The new haircut and the cooler weather have him a lot more frisky. Usually I'm dragging him along, and this time, he had to wait for me.

 Come on, mom.

It's the aster's time at the Headwaters too. There are lots of whites and a few purples.

Didn't get a good shot of the purples, but they are in there.

I never cease to be amazed at how tall the prairie grows, tall enough to hide a grown man standing upright. I feel small here, but in a good way.

Until next time,

maybe the woodland or riverside trails are up next....

xo

Getaway Weekend

I drove to Indianapolis this weekend to visit my dearest and funniest friends, my just out of college gang of former lab geeks, and we're scattered across the midwest, with one in Canada. When she comes to visit, it's always a memorable, hilarious event.

On the ride down, I passed the Big Banana Car. I laughed out loud. I'm not sure if it was following the produce truck on purpose or by accident.  

Lovely blue September skies and golden cornfields, and loud music made the ride fly by. 

We went for a sunset sail on the reservoir, which was very nostalgic for me.

My husband and I sailed the same type of sailboat here for years until we moved.

It was a beautiful evening. Perfect.

Adult beverages were involved. I was tickled with the name of my wine, Tangent,

because that is a commentary on how my brain works.

I'm pretty sure that wine made me even more awesome.

The theme this weekend was microbrews, and I'm trying to learn to like beer.

It's good to have goals.

My cheeks are still sore from laughing and smiling. And my liver survived unscathed.

It was a perfect Friday night, a perfect weekend, and a perfect visit with my friends.

I promised myself that I'll take more of these visits, now that the kids are mostly grown and I can comfortably leave for a sleepover or two now and then. It did me a world of good, not that I needed to get away, but because I needed to remember who I am when I'm not busy being a type A mom and wife. And I needed to be around friends who've known me forever and love me anyway.

We're already making plans for the next visit. We're meeting in Canada this time.

I can hardly wait.

xo

Scenes from this Week

There's been a lot to see lately. I'm glad I've been grabbing the camera on my way out the door.

Yesterday's steamy sunrise, taken out the sunroof at 40 mph!

Wild Morning Glories at the Watershed Park

Sometimes Nature stares right back at you.

Prairie flowers tower 6 feet tall.

Queen Anne's Lace

Thistle

More thistle 

Dew drops on dogwood

 And these, from my garden, which is full of lovely curves and shapes.

Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, furled

Unfurled

Heavenly

True Blue

It's ironic that I bought the seeds and lovingly tended Morning Glory, because when I was a kid, they were the worst weed in our garden. Dad would pay me a penny for every ten I pulled and I pulled thousands. It was my first job. So it's part nostalgia and part awe for their lovely blooms, heart shaped leaves and tenacious clinging vines that led me to buy the seeds. And they had me at forget me not blue.

Morning Glory bound Ground Cherry

And, remember this guy? He was a little overdue for grooming.

He came back looking like this. 

 It's taken some getting used to, for both of us, and I promised him I wouldn't let them shave him this far down again. And I promised myself I wouldn't get chastised ever again for failing to brush and comb the unbrushable and uncombable, ie more frequent trips to the groomer. #middleclassproblems

It'll grow back, it always does. Different look on the outside, but same goofy fun loving dog on the inside. And I have to admit he's dragging in a lot less of the yard into the house, and I'm not dragging him along on the walks now, he runs ahead without his shaggy fur coat.

On to the next adventure. Until next time.

xo