words

POPSICLE:


Pink popsicle, to be exact. It was 37 degrees when I snapped this picture early Sunday morning. Gotta love Montana girls. This darling thing had sweats, wool socks and fuzzy boots on under her dress, and that bought us enough time to get some gorgeous shots in the gorgeous morning light. What a trooper.

This young lady is the first of quite a few senior girls I'll be photographing this fall. How fun will that be?!

JINX:

Remember when I said we had been enjoying a lovely, wildfire and smoke free summer?

It would seem I spoke too soon.

Just days after writing those words, the fires started and the smoke arrived. We now have a 2800 acre fire just ten miles away, and many other fires scattered around our little valley.


It reminds me of the time I said, "I haven't had the stomach flu in I can't even remember how long", and within days I was on the couch for two weeks straight, or the time I said, "I haven't had a speeding ticket in ten years" and the next thing I knew, I was pulled over twice in 48 hours.

For the record, I don't even remotely believe in things like jinx.

Except maybe a little bit.

PINNED:

According to Pinterest, quite a few people were interested in my petunia filled washing machine, so I thought I'd snap a few more shots.


Trust me, there's a washtub in there.



Fertilizer is the key to getting your petunias to do their best. There was about a three week period around the wedding when I did not fertilize anything and my petunias almost totally quit blooming. Once I started feeding them again, they graciously forgave me and started showing off once again.


DEAD:

Something in my refrigerator, and I can't figure out what it is. I have personally smelled every single item that resides in there, but so far there is no obvious culprit.

Between the fridge and the smoke, this place stinks.

FOUR:

The number of my kids....including my brand spanking new daughter-in-law....who are currently under contract with various branches of the United States Armed Forces. Junior number three just signed on the dotted line last week, and leaves for basic right after he graduates from high school next June. My oldest is almost done with his four years in the Coast Guard, my aforementioned daughter-in-law is also a Coastie, and my middle son is currently off sunbathing in the desert with the National Guard.

It's just for a short little window of time that things are this way, but for me, it's kind of a big deal, kind of nerve wracking, and kind of hard to wrap my brain around. My daughter-in-law was out in the middle of Hurricane Irene doing her Coastie thing just weeks after she joined our family. She's one more to love, and one more to worry about, too. My youngest is five and seven years younger than his big brothers, and while they were out blazing their trails, it just kind of felt like he was our back-up kid. The one who would always be around. And now, lickity split, he's almost ready to leave the nest and head into the big unknown. What will the world be like during his years of service?

Now is probably a good time to pull a Scarlett and just plan to think about that tomorrow.

Or the next day.

REMEMBERING:

Ten years ago. A Tuesday morning. My kids had just hopped on the bus and I came in the house and turned on the news. We had contractors working on our house and invited them in to watch the horror unfold on the tv screen.

I'll watch the specials. I always watch the specials. I'll cry a little. I'll listen to the stories, and feel yet another surge of pride in my fellow countrymen. Normal, average Americans just going about their mornings. Some not knowing it would be their last morning ever, and some not knowing they would be unimaginable heroes before the day was over.


REMEMBER.