Summertime . . .and the Livin' Is Easy

In the past week, I've seen an adult bear and (a few days later) a coyote from my bedroom window. Both times they were moving too fast for me to get to my camera.

But this little guy has found his sweet spot and is staying put.

Podcast Link...and the Replacement Camera is Here!

 HERE is a link to a podcast that I and Marlin Barton, a fellow Regal House author, did about our novels.  

And my replacement camera arrived and I've been getting to know it better.

Wait fot It... . . .

More Josie--Tiny Blocks and Dress Up and Bubbles

Me, Josie again.

Meema and I are working on color theory. 

The blocks are tiny and I have to be careful.

Meema gets fussy when they go on the floor and she steps on them.

Sometimes I like to knock them down.

Skippyjon Jones is playing too.

I love the colors but red is my favorite.

Time for dress up. Meema wanted to wear the velvet hat but I said NO because I wanted to dress up like a lady.

I think I look pretty good. 

Also there were these socks in the dress up box.

It is good weather for bubbles. I am a bubble-blower and a bubble-popper.

We had Family Dinner Up and Meema made stromboli. I helped mix the dough. But Meema couldn't take pictures because her hands were all floury. 

It was a good day.

More Notes From the Bubble

The day dawns clear and peaceful. Mourning doves call; I hear a Barred Owl's Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?; a dog barks frantically Danger! Danger! I catch sight of an adult bear (an exciting first!) in front of the old cabin but by the time I've grabbed my camera, he's disappeared into the woods.

The earth grinds on and the sun appears, flooding the slopes with light. The dogs return from sniffing every inch of the ground where the bear had been. The aroma of coffee fills the house. The owl calls again and is answered.

So complete is the peace here in this place. Elsewhere, the streets are angry and our president* is doing all he can to whip up emotions, warning of vicious dogs and extreme weaponry protecting him while encouraging governors to get tough. Pictures of white men breaking windows, reporters being attacked, wounds from rubber bullets fill my internet. Peaceful demonstrators are tear gassed so the president* can use a historic church and the bible as props in a photo op. Protests, peaceful and otherwise, are everywhere.

I am taken back to when I was a very young child, playing in my grandparents' big back yard that was bordered by an empty golf course. I knew that my father was away fighting in The War where there were bombs and guns and explosions, and as I played in the stillness of that long ago day, I remember listening very hard to try to hear the guns.

But there were only mourning doves.  

Josie Sees About Stuff

Guess who! It's me Josie in my rainbow shirt from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Peter. It is sparkly.

I started my day by checking out the greenhouse. Meema says a blacksnake lives in there but we did not see him. 

 Then we went for a walk.

I got some rocks for my collection.

And I picked daisies.

I also picked a flower called a pink. It is my favorite. It  smells very good.

Honeysuckle also smells very sweet. Meema showed me how I could suck honey out of it but I said No thank you.

We blew bubbles. 

When I was little I couldn't blow bubbles but now I can. I also like for Meema to blow them and then I chase them and pop them.

Then I had to see about Meema's workroom. There was a handy box that I could sit in.

I put up one side and it is the sail.

I told Meema to jump in but she said the chair she was sitting in was her boat and she made vroom vroom sounds like she was going fast.

Back down in the kitchen, I was doing silly walks. Meema asked me again if she could fix my hair and I told her the answer was no. 

I pretended my broom was a tightrope. I am pretty good. I could probably be in a circus.

When we went outside to wait for Mama, I checked on the bean seeds I planted and one had sprouted!! Meema says they will grow very tall and have scarlet flowers and then beans--if nothing happens to them. 

But I must not pull them up to look at the roots because it hurts their feelings.

I will be careful.

Japanese Iris