Another beautiful day. Mother Nature is still blowing her wind. Penelope and I sat in the yard in the sun today more than we did the porch. Oldest brother came by and he sat in the yard with us. He left his phone on the table in the yard when he left so I gave him time to get back up to the farm and called him and took the phone back to him. Picked a few daffodils and yellow bells stems from his yard to make me a little Chief bouquet. Checked out his bird feeders, too, while I was there.

Haven’t seen the cedar waxwings today. Guess they’ve had their fill of berries and left the area. I read about them last night. The male will bring the female a small blossom or leaf when they are courting. I love that thought. I’m still in awe of how red the cardinals are. The females cardinals are changing their colors too. I’ve never really studied female birds’ coloring till this year. I always talk about the dowdy cardinal bird wives but this year I realize their subtle coloring is as beautiful and variegated as the males. The females have so many colors of pale brown with a myriad of reds, kind of the colors in a match flame. I just love the songbirds visiting in my yard!

Well, Grandpaw raccoon made a visit to the deck last night. I was telling Stew how the finches must have loved the thistle feeder because there was about an inch of seeds left in the feeder. He said look closer and then I saw the hole in the bottom corner of the feeder. Guess Grandpaw didn’t like the seeds because they were all over the railing and deck floor. I honestly didn’t think Grandpaw would come back since the sunflower feeders are gone. Maybe he still checks the deck out each night. The birds will eat them, though. Course it might have been Fatty the squirrel but Grandpaw always gets blamed.

I love family photos. I’m sitting here at my desk and looking at all the photos hanging on the walls and sitting on the desk and remembering the memories associated with them. I’m getting distracted with my thoughts of what to ponder on today so maybe it’s family photos calling me. Photos can stir memories and help us connect with family members who have passed. Sitting here I see a framed collage of photos from when I went to Disney World with Thomas and his family. It was just the boys. Handley hadn’t arrived yet. They were so precious on that trip. Alexander and Emerson broke into a little dance near a dinosaur mural and I remember folks stopping to watch them because they were so cute. Such a wonderful treat for a grandmother to experience this with her grandchildren. Thomas and Ashley would go back to the park at night and the children and I would put on our Disney pajamas and laugh till we went to sleep. I cherish these special memories.

Then there is a photo of Chief just moments before we walked down the aisle at Calloway Gardens during Thomas and Ashley’s wedding. He’s so handsome in his tuxedo with his white rose boutonnière and he’s smiling which is rare in a photo of him. I honestly think this is the only wedding photo that captured him with a smile on his face. He’s always so stoic in photos.

Then there is traditional Olan Mills black and white photo of me and my three brothers. I’m standing beside middle brother and baby brother is sitting in oldest brother’s lap. I remember when the photo was made. I’m probably about five years old. Mama took me to the beauty parlor for a hair cut and the beautician scotch tapped the pixie curls on my face. Mama took the tape off right before the photos. My older brothers have the traditional crew cut and baby brother is sporting a spit curl on top.

All you young families documenting your family adventures on Facebook, I hope you are getting some hard copies of your photos. Nothing is more enjoyable then rummaging through a shoe box of family photos. I always have trouble cleaning out drawers here because I come across a stash of family photos and that slows me down. The older I get the more I appreciate and cherish these family photos. Digital photos are great but nothing beats holding the photo in your hand while remembering the moment that was documented. Your children will treasure these photos when you’re gone.

I’m enjoying your comments on my ponderings and appreciate y’all taking the time to respond. Writing these ponderings is therapy for me and leaves a little trail of my life for my children.