Thursday, July 29, 2010

Mary Alice and I do walk-about



He heard us say that the bird feeder is empty, waited in the tree for a moment, then zoomed down.  He is a scraggly teen-age Scrub Jay, and learned quickly from parents how to unload the entire feeder in about two minutes in a voracious search for the peanuts.  Hay, wait, maybe I should just put out a little bowl of peanuts just for him, by the fountain so he doesn't have to go far for his after-snack swim.


I have a huge respect for people who catch butterflies in photos.  I took many shots, all of which were extremely blurred.  Of course, the butterflies are fluttering, as is their nature.


We're goin' berry pickin'.


My Mimi.



There are four of them, but one is very hard to see.



Beautiful but prickly, scratchy, itchy.



"When I find a big one, I just have to eat it," says Mary.  "And lots of these are big."


Quickly the heat got to us, since it was foggy and cool this morning, and the house was cool and we had to dig out sweaters, and eat scrambled eggs(so fresh they were warm before they hit the pan) and toast, and we picked apples first, and tomatoes and berries out by the garden, so by the time we got to this spot... we're pretty hot and tired.  



There is some concern that our prolonged cool start to summer has slowed, even stunted the grape crop.  This vineyard looks pretty good to my uneducated eye.  This will be these vine's first harvest, so they are inexperienced.  Two years ago they were planted on the hottest day of the year, watered for 24 hours straight, which made all of our pumps quit because the water level was so low.

It is a great day when Dev comes and brings the girls.  Makes my day!  Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of Rebekah eating pizza, or scrambled eggs, or apples, or berries, or whatever else she found.  I didn't get a photo of her napping, or reading, or of Dev typing on (my) annoying, sticky keyboard, "Do you type on that?  Do you have another one you use?"

Some questions are better left unanswered, don't you think?

Unfortunately, the photo I took of all four of them is blurry, with a fabulous, in-focus background.  I think I need to blow-out my camera again.

Hay!  Happy Day!
xoxoLC


6 comments:

Annie Jeffries said...

My mouth is simply watering for some of those warm, juicy berries.

Merry ME said...

The berries do look very good but Mary Alice takes the cake! What a big cutie!

Jendocino said...

I am grateful for YOU, Swallowtail! Your photos the last couple of posts have been as delicious as I imagine these berries were. And your sentiments were just as sweet, too. Thank you so much for the beautiful posts. They always make me smile at the moment, and my heart feels happy for a long time after, too. Have a beautiful day!

N2 said...

Those are big berries! Which patch were those ones in?? That Mary Alice is a good pickin companion, not to mention cute. Glad you had such a good day with your gals. x0 N2

A wildlife gardener said...

What a beautiful little girl...the prettiest flower in your garden, i have no doubt :)

The berries look good enough to eat now...I enjoyed my walk with you...thanks for sharing :)

Bimbimbie said...

Yes I agree you should put a little bowl of peanuts out by the fountain for that little Jay, smiling at the very thought of that ... lovely photos
capturing happy summer moments*!*

 
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