Five Words

I’m really slow getting this meme done. Funny thing is I volunteered to do it, Betty (A Glimpse into Midlife) got me my 5 words right away, yet it took me two weeks to get around to completing! I’m SO bad!

1. Thanksgiving - My dad’s birthday is near, sometimes on, Thanksgiving, so I can’t think about turkey without thinking of him - lol. Often, we will make a trip to Missouri and spend the holiday with my parents and grandparents, but this year we’re staying home. I am hoping to have a houseful of kids.

2. Cleaning - I’ve been running around cleaning and organizing like it’s spring instead of fall. My dogs even benefited from this burst of cleanliness - I’m not so sure they’re happy about it though.

3. Savings - I save everything - well I used to, I guess my natural tendency would be pack rat but my hub’s tendency is minimalism, so not much gets kept.

4. Presents - Birthdays. Christmas, Celebrations. I love giving presents but I’m horrible about making decisions about what to get people. I love to get presents too, but I think the best ones are ones given for no reason, the just because gift.

5. Parents - They live 700+ miles away - my fault, I moved, and I often feel guilty for that - although I love where we live and really do not want to move back to MO, I do miss them and wish we lived closer together so we could help out when they need it, and vice versa. I feel bad that they just have my grandparents near them, and all their grandkids are up here, and great-grandkids - just wish we all had more time together.

If you’d like to play along, just leave a comment and I’ll send you your own set of five words.

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Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

We finally made it to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on our way back from Maine.  We've been talking about going for years, just never taken the time to stop when we get near.  This time we did stop at the headquarters to get our passport stamp, then went to Mt Baldy.

Immediately upon starting up the path we found a lizard.

Haden helped him pose for the camera.  He does have a way with creatures.  The little guy reminds me of a wiggling, growling dog.

I just thought the shadows on the uneven sand was cool.

Dennis hand to dip his toes in the cool water, hope a wave doesn't slap the camera.

A lighthouse in the distance.  If the day had been clearer we would have been able to see Chicago, but alas, it was not to be.

So cool and refreshing on a hot day!

Seagulls scavenge anywhere, even in the trashcans.

Skipper Macro Monday

I don't always use my macro lens for my closeups. Sometimes, the 400mm can do a better job since I can be further away. This helps to make the creature feel safer and have less chance of leaving. Of course, in this case I think the fence helped too.

Macro Monday is easy to play, snap a macro (or any close-up) photo, post it on your blog and come back here and sign MckLinky. Don't forget to visit each other. :)

Bryguy!

My step-son, Bryan also lives in Missouri - he didn't like the Wisconsin cold very much, lol and moved back to MO a few years ago. This is the shortest his hair has been in a number of years! I wish I had his hair because it is beautifully curly when longer.

Being silly

Amber is quite a bit shorter than Bryan and she was even wearing heels! lol

Ahhhhh, aren't they cute?!

Hope to see you guys again soon!

the Porcupine

You will never believe where we found this porcupine! In a cemetery! See, I can find all sorts of things there. He was walking across the grounds when Dennis spotted him. By the time I got back from grabbing the camera out of the car he was going into the brush.

He made some little growl/grunt noises at me then started climbing the tree.

He was very interesting to watch climb - I'd never seen one this close in the wild before.

He's a very slow climber. Occasionally he would pause and peek around the tree at me, then decide to keep climbing. Check out those claws! See the scratches on the tree?

This is how he climbed, stretching all the way out. . .

Then bringing the back feet up before moving the front feet again.

From the marks on the tree I think he's climbed this one before.

I was glad he was slow.

At this point, he was pretty high above me, with brush between us too, so I think he felt safe.

That's where we left him.

Our little hitchhiker

We came out of Starbucks to find a hitchhiker on our antenna.  Amazingly, he stayed there our entire drive home, about a mile, and I ran into the house and grabbed the camera.

I always love their cellophane wings!  So dainty and happy looking!