Up and Down

This week the temperature has been high and low.  My own days have been up and down. As Lily and I walked this week I tried to pay attention to things that were both high and low.  Here is what I saw when I looked down...

Can you believe how RED this leaf is?

I really do love dandelions.  They look very simple at first: stem plus sphere.  I think the symmetry within the seed puff is beautiful.

I hope the owner comes back for this.  Lily and I will check on it today.

Here's what I saw when I looked up...

On a cool gray morning, it's nice to have this yellow greet you.

This day felt pretty dark.

Days are up and days are down.  Keep going.  Keep reaching...

Repair

It has begun.  Leaves are fluttering down to the ground, and blossoms are dying off.  The vibrant summer colours are slowly being replaced by dull browns and grays.

We pass this bench almost every day. This morning I noticed that the backboard is in need of repair.

I decided to take a closer look.  This is what I saw...

My own back is in need of some repair, and while I know I am slowly healing, sometimes I get a little discouraged. 

At times, the pain pierces right through my happy day.

I remind myself that repair takes time and work, and that repair is a hopeful act. 

I am not alone,

and there is fun wherever I decide to find it.

Lily is pretty good at reminding me about having fun!

Be well and have some fun today!

This week we saw a lot of beautiful and unexpected things.

This giant bud was so thick and shiny, it looked like plastic.  Eventually it will look like this...

One morning at the park, while Lily was busy gathering information...

I found Waldo!

The next day, Lily, my daughter and I went for a walk in my parent's neighbourhoood.  I love it there!

These little flowers had just opened up...

We were making our way down the road when all of a sudden something thumped and crashed through the brush on our right.  Can you see it here?

The deer stood there staring at us for about a minute.  Lily wanted to play with it.

Yesterday was all about change.  It was much cooler and the wind was very strong.  One of the first things I noticed was this...

I tried to convince myself that I was imagining things, but then we passed by this coneflower...

It's not so purple anymore! 

Cloudy or sunny, Lily always makes the best of the day.

The weather may be changing, but the fairies are still dancing in the garden.

Have a wonderful day!

P.S. Sometimes different is perfect.

Just another day at the park

Even though Lily and I have a routine walk at about the same time of day in familiar places, we often come across things that we did not expect to see.  For example, Lily was at first scared of and then mesmerized by a streetcleaner.

Then we came across this circle of flagstones. 

It obviously hasn't been weeded all summer, but that's what I like about it.

Soon after, we noticed that several monarch butterflies were feeding at a nearby flower patch.  The butterflies were very active and shy, but I did manage to get this one picture...

I just had to wait patiently and allow the moment to arrive.  I'll try to keep this in mind during the rest of my day!

Thankfully, the temperature and humidity have eased up a little and so we have been able to spend more time outside.   This makes Lily very happy.

Here are a few surprises we came across.

 How did this get here?  There isn't even a wading pool nearby.

These Black-eyed Susans give me an instant shot of joy each time we pass them!

 

We almost walked right past this tree without noticing what was concealed in its canopy...

Let's go, Lily!  The morning awaits!

     These past few days have been less humid and much more comfortable, so our walks have been longer.  We've been exploring some new routes and have disovered some unexpected things.  Lily was particularly excited to come across this...

I explained that we would have to leave this for the owner to find again.

Later, we passed these chinese lanterns. 

Lily wasn't too interested but I was very happy to find them!

Yesterday, we felt a little closer to the ocean when we found this...

and so Lily did her best Loch Ness impression.

Have a glorious morning!

What are you looking at?

I never really know what we will see on our walk, and that's part of the fun.  Sometimes it's an intense colour that grabs my attention.

The crabapples here have not been cleaned up yet, but Lily and I don't mind.  For once her nose and my eyes are drawn to the same things!

Some days, it's the shape or the geometry of an object that I get excited about.

There is always time to play with pinecones!