We have been up on the Grand Mesa at our cabin yesterday and today. We filled the hummingbird feeder as soon as we got there, and they were waiting for it. These little buggers are not shy! If the photos had sound, you would hear them saying rude things to me for taking pictures of them as they ate.
I especially like this photo of the hummer looking for the sound of the camera. I was taking the picture from the balcony above the feeder. Booker and I had to turn and rush back inside, though, as my husband began the lawn mower and scared out a bat, who decided the inside of the cabin looked like the place to go. We barely got the door shut in time!
Booker loves chasing sticks into the cool lake, but we still can't say he's a swimmer. He's done a few 'doggy paddles' when the stick goes beyond his reach, but he usually just waits until the tide brings it in closer to him. He does love the water, so we assume he'll figure out the swimming part one of these days.
I was thinking as I walked around the cabin, taking photos of the deer and flowers, seeing skunks run out of our way (thankfully), seeing hawks soar overhead and marmots and muskrats at the lake... I love all of this Nature 'stuff.' And I want my grandchildren to have the opportunity to love it, too. And their grandchildren. The way things happen so quickly and so destructively, there are no guarantees that this will all be there for them. Even around the small mountain lake where our cabin is, oil companies have drilled in every available space. What will happen to the lake if there is an underground spill into the water shed? This lake feeds into the Colorado River which provides water for people all over the western half of the country.
Well. We must all do what we can to keep things under control. Remember that when you vote and consume, won't you?
We went to the lake to fish for the first time this season. My husband backed the boat trailer into the water, and I pulled the boat into the lake. While I was waiting for him to park the truck and get back to the boat, I looked into the lake at my reflection. Oddly, I noticed that in my reflection, I was holding a red fishing pole. "No," I thought, "my pole is green and it's in the boat." I looked in the boat. Yep, there my green pole was. I looked back at my reflection. There I was, with a red pole sticking up above my head. I looked behind me... there was nobody there holding a red pole. I looked at myself again. Big floppy fishing hat, tacky sweater that had once belonged to my mother-in-law, red fishing pole, and new polarized sunglasses. Aha! I remembered that the lady who sold me the sunglasses had asked if I fish, and when I said I did she told me I would see clearly down into the water, and would even see the fish before I caught them, now that I had polarized lenses. So I looked more closely into the water. The red pole, rod
and reel, was in the water, below the end of the boat dock. So we took one of our poles and reeled it in! My first catch of the day! It didn't look like it had been in the water more than a week or two, so I cleaned up the rod, and my husband is sure he can clean up the reel to be a nice addition to our tackle! It is the second pole we have 'caught' - though the one before had a rusted reel that had to be trashed. I wonder about the person who lost the pole, though. It was so easy to get out of the lake, right there at the boat dock... did he (or she) have a bad fishing day and just pitch the whole thing into the lake? I guess I'll never know the answer to that.... In addition to the pretty red rod and reel, we brought home 6 rainbow trout.
Before we went to Chicago. I had done a search to see what tapestries the Chicago Art Institute might have. As it turned out, all textiles were in storage except one, in preparation for an upcoming exhibit. But the one tapestry I was most curious to see was the one above. And I don't even believe it was a handwoven tapestry. It was mass produced by Montgomery Wards (!) to commemorate their 100th anniversary in 1972.
