a day for ducks

When my youngest was little, we religiously, daily, sometimes twice or thrice daily, watched PBS's Arthur. We loved it. It was a great mama and little boy together time. After a while, the character voices changed, and then the show in general changed, my youngest grew up, and needless to say, I haven't seen an episode of Arthur in years.

That has absolutely nothing to do with this post.

On one particular very rainy day in Arthur's talking animal world, the kids paid a visit to their Grandma Thora, who greeted them at the door with, "Well if this isn't a day for ducks!"

That phrase stuck with me. I like it. A lot. It's the perfect way to describe a dreary, drizzly, rainy day.

Today is a day for ducks here on the farm. We usually don't get socked in, constant, pouring rain here in Montana. It usually comes and goes fairly quickly, and while it might be raining at my house, it's probably not raining at my friend's house just a mile or two away.

It has been raining the vast majority of the last twelve days.

At everyone's house.


This is my usually manicured front lawn.


We fertilized right before the rain hit - always a good plan - but at this point, we may as well call the guy that does our haying for us. The foreseeable forecast is for rain, so I pity the fool who has to mow this mess when we finally dry out.

(Just watch, it will be me, as my usual mower always seems to be able to pull out the always lame and much over used, "I have to go to school" on the only nice day in weeks. School, schmool. Whatever.)

Our mountains have almost disappeared. If you look really close, you might see a faint outline against the gray.


Now, to the actual reason for this impromptu post.

Last night, I was firmly settled in my comfy chair, laptop in lap, television on. It's a common sight around here and quite appropriate for a rainy evening.

Out my window, this is what I see.


The clouds virtually disappeared in moments.

The dandelions in our field were glowing in the sun.


It was absolutely gorgeous, and the camera does not do it any kind of justice.

I tried anyway.

Wheel line with sun flare.


Wheel line without sun flare.


Which do you like better? I can't decide myself.

Leaves were transparent and beautiful with the light shining through.


Even things commonplace and usually overlooked took on a sparkly new life.


The light was electric. Colors were saturated.


An obsession with reflections was born in an instant.








And then this morning.


The light went back to being gray and flat.

But an obsession with water droplets, not a new obsession mind you, was given its chance to shine.












Dear Rain,
I appreciate your recent visit. I know we need you. Desperately. I profusely thank you for the wonderful job you are doing. You are bringing life to our drought ridden valley and for that I will be eternally grateful.
But, I'm feeling a bit stifled. You're getting a bit clingy, and I think it might be time for a break. You certainly may come back and visit, but we are going to have to establish some boundaries.
I have to say, the fact that you have totally ignored my suggestion that you come each night, then leave during the day is a bit irritating. It smacks of an uncooperative attitude.
I feel you are not listening to me.
In any relationship, communication is key.
I look forward to you giving this matter your full attention as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Teresa

i wish i could think of a title

Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a big fan of the writing part of blogging? Many, and in fact, most of the posts I publish, start with me staring at a blank screen for what seems like hours. With no idea where to start.


Today is no exception, so I'm just going to dive in, go the random route, and see where we end up.

I'll start with flowers, because you really can't ever go wrong there.

My crabapples are finally blooming. I have come to the conclusion that, while they are still in extremely close competition, I like flower buds more than flower blossoms.


I reserve the right to change my mind on that, perhaps even as soon as tomorrow, but for today, buds are in the lead.


As I am typing this, I once again realize that I am afraid of my blogger dashboard. Twice now, over the last few months, I've just been typing along, minding my own business, and all of a sudden, the "your post has been successfully published" screen pops up.

Whaaaaat?

Noooooo!


One time, I'm pretty sure I hit the enter key while typing the title, and I think that's what did me in, although I'm afraid to try it again to see. Now, every time I hit enter, my heart rate elevates just a bit. It's quite stressful.

You've heard of "Artful Blogging"? I'm going to start a magazine called, "Stressful Blogging".

It will be a hit, I'm sure.


The other time, I have no clue what happened.


Dear Blogger,

Please make publishing a post a two click process. Please give us one more screen with something along the lines of, "are you absolutely sure you want to publish this particular post, because it looks to me like it still needs a bit of work".

Sincerely,
Teresa


Has that ever happened to you?


Okay, one more blog related item.


A while back, a friend encouraged me to add my email address to my blogger profile. That way, when I comment on a blog, my email address is attached to my comment and sent to their email inbox. It makes it easy as pie to respond to a question, or jot a quick note back.


Now, as luck would have it, this particular friend had no clue how to perform this little blogging miracle, so after some investigation and asking around a bit, I was able to solve the mystery. That in itself is a minor miracle, as "computer whiz" is not a name I hear associated with myself on a regular basis.

Or ever.


For anyone else in the same technology impaired boat, I will share the love.

It's very simple. Go to your user profile, and under the privacy settings check "show my email address".

Now scroll to the bottom and click "save profile".

That's it.

Not really rocket science, but elusive nonetheless.


Of course, there are a million reasons you might not want your email address out there. But for those of you who are game, that's how you do it.


Now, I have a question for you. Can anyone tell me how you go about following a blog that does not have a "Follow" button? I know there is a way, but I can't seem to figure it out and I would really like to know.

My old pal Google wasn't even much help to me on this one, so I'm coming to you.

Have I mentioned that my claim to fame will never be anything computer related?

Yes? Several times?

Just making sure.


As for the adorable fluffy baby geese pictured above? Aren't they cute? Yes, they are cute. However, as they grow, they....well, let's just say they're messy. Very, very messy. And their favorite place to hang out is also our very favorite place to hang out.

This place.


This little section of pond shoreline is maybe a tenth of the available pond shoreline real estate. All we want is that one tenth. They may have free reign of the other nine tenths.

But, no.

The view isn't quite the same if you have to wear muck boots to enjoy it.



Shall we pop into the greenhouse for a moment?

All of our tomatoes are planted. Last year, we planted two tomatoes upside down, just to see how they'd fare.


It actually worked pretty well, so this year we have decided to quit fighting gravity and plant them all that way. We have tried every tomato cage known to man, and it was always a losing battle.

I've heard various reports on how they produce while hanging upside down, so I'll keep you posted. I have high hopes though and can't wait for some home grown tomato goodness.


The strawberry pots are planted with impatiens.


I am an instant gratification kind of person, so it's hard for me to see them looking this pitiful. However, in a couple months, you won't even be able to see the pot for all the impatiens glory.

I will try not to be impatien until then.


I have much more to say about the greenhouse, but seriously people, this post is boring me to tears. I'm putting myself to sleep and it's ten o'clock in the morning.

Sincerest apologies.

Having trouble getting your toddler down for a nap? Just read them this post.

I will leave you with this last very, very random thought.

I love the Kindle commercials.

See!

I warned you at the beginning that writing is not my thang.

Happy Monday!

any day now

Meet John and Jessica.

John works for my husband, and as you can see, he is about to become a father.


It goes without saying that he's pretty excited to meet his new little girl.

I've known John for quite a while, but I just met his wife Jessica last week.


Could she be any cuter?

You won't believe this, but she is due Saturday.

As in, less than a week away.

As in, it should be a crime to look this good full term.


Her ankles are not swollen.

She does not waddle.

It does not take a forklift to get her off the ground.

It's impossible to hold a grudge though, because she is truly one of the sweetest things I have ever met.


John and Jessica were high school sweethearts and I'm guessing they won the cutest couple award.


If by some slight chance they didn't, I am officially awarding it now.


It's so exciting to think about how life is going to change in an instant for John and Jessica. A little girl that they have not yet met is going to rock their world.


Once their little pink bundle arrives, there will be a new star of the show.

A new center of their universe.


And how fun for me to be able to capture it all.


In a few weeks, we'll do all this again with an extra little person along for the ride.


Dear John and Jessica,

Congratulations! I can easily see you will be amazing parents. Enjoy these last few minutes together before your life changes forever in the best possible way. I had so much fun photographing this special time in your life, and I am so excited to meet your little princess.

Your friend and future baby holder,

Teresa