Deceptive Clouds

These clouds are what I awoke to this morning -- which was a surprise, because there really wasn't any rain in the forecast. It turns out the meteorologists knew what they were talking about this time -- during the next hour the clouds broke apart, and drifted away, leaving us with a beautiful sunshiny day. It never did rain, regardless of how threatening it looked at 6:30 a.m.!   

E is for Eggs

Another photo for my "alphabet series."  My only regret is that they aren't good old brown country eggs!

D is for Devoted

Jake and his miniature beagle, Mollie, rocking on the front porch.

C is for Colored Pencils

Working my way through the alphabet....and our box of school supplies "supplied" me with my letter "C".   

August Sunrise

One of the (few) benefits to our school-year starting again is that I'm getting to enjoy the colors in the morning sky more often. During the summer break, I tended to sleep about 30 minutes later than I do now, and as a result, I missed the sky "waking up" for the day.

Now I find myself checking the eastern sky each morning to see what it holds in store. :-)   

Old Favorite

After wearing this hat for roughly half of his 13 years, Jake was very attached to his "old favorite." Over the years, as it started to show it's age, many people tried to replace the hat...hoping to tempt him with a new one, but he would hear none of it -- he liked his old hat, just the way it was. When it finally reached the point that he was afraid that it would fall apart completely, he regretfully decided to hang his old favorite on the wall in his room. Jake wears a different hat now, but is still partial to his "Old Favorite."   

Peacock Feather

I've always loved the irridescence of peacock feathers...definitely one of Mother Nature's masterpieces! :-)   

Sunset After the Storm

After weeks without measurable rain, we had a quick, fast-moving storm move through this afternoon. The sun set behind the trees just as the clouds were breaking up.   

Yee Haw!

One of the big draws for our annual "Cousins Weekend" is the chance to ride the five-man sled. It's an "all-in-fun" battle between the driver of the boat and the riders of the sled. The boat doesn't go fast, but it does turn around and around, kicking up waves, tryng to tip the sled over and dump the kids. The sled riders, by contrast, do everything possible to hang on and "survive" the ride.

The best part is that 26 years ago my cousins and I had a blast riding a prior version of the sled....and now our kids look forward every year to the same fun we had!   

Sunset Over the Lake

Every summer, my cousins on my father's side of the family get together at the Lake of the Ozarks for a weekend of good food, good fun and good company. We arrived this evening, just in time to watch the sun go down over the lake....and are looking forward to getting out on the water tomorrow!   

Layered Clouds

This is an odd version of a sunrise photo -- it's the western sky, but it's lit up because of the sunrise on the other side of the sky! I always like "cloud photos," and the way these clouds were stacked up really appealed to me!