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The four baby birds I'd been observing up high in the bush in our garden have grown and flown away. They've probably got their own little high-rise nests someone near by. In the meantime, I discovered that a smaller bird with a lower nest now has little ones to take care of. Three tiny ones are just now starting to get their feathers and look adorable. Here are two of them:

Stone 23:   Fledglings sporting thin, feathery mohawks peep as mother bird gathers worms.

Animals, animals, animals. (18-22)

This photo by Katarina Hofke.

As the cat relaxes on the sun-warmed macadam, slivers of shadows from the wrought iron gate paint new stripes across her fur.

With the blue lighting, the bat's wings look thin and crumpled like pieces of burnt paper.

As all the horses continue to graze, the curious foal trots over to greet me, and I become the "stone". 

Walking along the wooded path, I brush up against a tiny branch. On it a snail, attached to the backside of a leaf, begins to uncoil from its shell, its antennae moving back and forth as if waving "hello".

            Sometimes life is a rocky road, whether you are man, mouse or beetle.
                                                      Just keep going.

Blowing in the breeze

 The breeze gently folds the top petal of the poppy down like a mother putting a cap on a childs head, protecting its face from the blazing sun.

July 15 and 16

To Infinity ...and beyond!

Honey bees and bumble bees busily gather nectar, flying from one big blue sphere to the next like astronauts visiting a string of planets. One zooms right past my ear. Buzzzzzz! Flower globes, astronauts, buzzing...it somehow makes me think of Buzz Lightyear. Imagine all those humming insects hollering, "To infinity...and beyond!"


July 16

 

Ivy twists around the tree, covering it so well that one can barely see the bark. 

Four feet off the ground a snail holds on tight as it sleeps in its

 spiral-shaped shell.

Stones in a Row

The River of Stones is flowing and is already at its halfway point. Many people are participating and the most recently posted stones can be found here.  I am a bit behind with posting, so here are my "stones" from the past few days.

Day 11

The afternoon sun shines down on the playground. As the temperature rises, all little pirates abandon ship.





Day 12

A cluster of orange berries dangle from the tree, each one the taste of poison to human lips but to another the sweet bounty of summer--God's way of providing balance

Day 13

Light shining on the farmer's field reminds me of the lines "amber waves of grain" and I think about home.


Day 14

Seeds attached to white fluffy parachutes--
I want to blow as hard as I can
and make a hundred wishes.

Tenth Summer Stone

How unusual. The butterfly's middle looks like it has been painted with white-out or blotched with bleach.  Bright veined wing tips--one golden yellow, the other slightly more orange--look like separate entities touching opposite edges of a foreign achromatic mass. Perhaps this unusual coloring helps protect it from predators, confusing them, but it only served to get my attention. Sometimes there is beauty in imperfection.

Ninth Summer Stone

Body arched upon the thistle's lavender flowerhead, the bee carefully gathers sweet nectar.

Eighth Summer Stone

Keeping my distance, I remain as still as can be, but mother bird hears my camera zoom adjust--she adjusts her view, too.

Seventh Summer Stone

                                                  one lone ripe berry
                                                       my patience
                                                           tested.
                                                    

Sixth stone

The house is full of the scent of blueberry muffins baking,
and I am a child once again.

Fifth Stone - watching

A bird sits on the fence only a foot away.
I stay still, wait, listen to it sing as it watches me.
After three minutes I slowly walk by.
Unphased the bird continues chirping its song,
watching, watching, watching me go.
I wonder if I am the bird's stone.

Fourth Stone

parking lot
trucker sleeps against window
one sun-red cheek

July River of Stone #3 - rusty tussock moth larva

Those four mountains you carry upon your elongated, red spotted body look like yellowed paint brushes. The bristly protruding hairs, spikey tail, and hairy antennae make you look fierce.   Yet, you are beautiful in a way and certainly more interesting than the brown moth you will become. 

July River of Stones #2 - one day after the hail storm

The zucchinni plant looks like someone used it for target practice. No evidence of the perpetrator remains.

July River of Stones #1

Scattered beneath the red currants, July hail looks like giant white berries.