Beautiful blue sky this morning. Looked at the paint chart and decide it was cerulean blue. Probably qualifies as sky blue but that’s not an exciting descriptive color. Working on learning new color words.

Did lots of porch pondering today but dictated nothing. Just sat and watched the sky change colors and the song birds enjoy the feeders and the pretty day. If there was a symphony it was the faint wind chime tinkling. The sun was hot on my face but the breeze cooled my face. The wispy clouds were burned off by mid-day but after lunch the sky was covered in clouds, beefing up and getting ready to get the rain started on Friday.

Watched lots of birds today from my perch in the swing. The little wren sat in the gardenia bush fussing. He’s been eating from the feeders on the other side of the yard. He and a lone chickadee are the only ones visiting those feeders. Maybe the wren is telling his friends to come over to these feeders where it’s not busy. One of the feeders is old and has no lid. The little chickadee crawls down into the feeder to get his seeds. There aren’t any bushes to hide in on that side of the yard so not many birds visit. Sometimes Penelope sits on the heater in the lady den and watches the birds on those feeders.

The downy woodpecker and the red bellied woodpecker had a drumming war on the oak tree trunk this morning. They never got in sync with each other’s hammering, though. Mr. Downy would stop occasionally to get a few bites of suet. He is so white and so black, a handsome fellow with his checkered feathers and red cap.

It was so quiet in the yard I could hear the birds cracking the sunflower seeds on the feeders. The wood thrush sat on the edge of the bird bath but didn’t bathe. The cardinals had their party of seven pair and argued at the feeders. Only one finch and one chickadee competed for feeder perches with the cardinals. One lone dove puttered around bobbing his head. When I walked Penelope I saw a flock of sparrows in a brush pile. They were having the best time flitting and hiding in the pile of branches and bamboo stalks. They were noisy in their chattering, made me think they might be playing hide and seek.

Stumbled across this question today while I was reading — “What is your most significant childhood memory?” Was it the night my daddy died, the day my mother died? Never really felt like an adult till my mother died. Been thinking of how to answer this question all day. Gonna be trying to answer this forever. I don’t think it has to be a life altering moment to be significant. Probably stay awake tonight trying to answer this.

I have three brothers and I’m trying to wrestle a significant memory that involves all of us. Then I remembered a family trip that involved us and all our children. Kind of a McMurray family reunion celebrating a cousin fulfilling his dream of being an astronaut. Not a childhood memory…but a significant memory for my McMurray family and a significant memory I’m sure for my children.

My first cousin Joe Edwards piloted the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1998. The shuttle transferred scientific equipment and water during a docking with Russia’s Mir space station. All of my McMurray family travelled to Florida to watch the blast off of the shuttle. We met the astronauts who traveled with him, had tours of the Kennedy Space Center, and gathered at a party with Joe’s wife to celebrate. On the day of the shuttle’s blast off we were bussed to a special observation deck to watch the launch. It was so exciting to be there with my McMurray kin. When the shuttle engines cranked, we could feel the powerful vibrations in our bodies. Once the shuttle lifted off, we all caught our breath, sighed with relief, and started clapping and yelling. It was really exciting! His parents and brothers were so proud and so were the rest of us.

I also thought how wonderful it was to gather with all my cousins and my daddy’s family. Everyone had changed their schedules and taken their children out of school and made the trip to Florida so the whole family could gather together to support Joe and watch the shuttle launch. I cherish these memories. I hope my grandchildren will find the same feelings when they are grown and remembering their gatherings with their cousins.

We all have memories that take us to special places and special times in our lives. Every memory is precious. Life is full of ordinary days and photographs and videos help us share these times with family. Sharing these moments with our children and grandchildren help make us closer. These moments bond us as a family. A picture of a loved one really is worth a thousand words.