I Love Pictures of Bugs

Of all my links,
the one most regularly updated
is Curieux Jardin
which has great photography
and many great bug pictures.

I now bring you another great bug link
which also has wonderful birds
and other creatures and scenes of Florida.
Click on 'Paul's Pictures' to see,
well, you know....
pictures by Paul.

Paul is a great fellow
songwriter
woodcarver
snorting laugher
birdwatcher
photographer
all around cool guy.

Enjoy his photos.

Three Year Old Christmas

If you have been following the blog for a while,
you may remember my youngest goddaughter, Julia.
She is three now, and her mother sent the following
a couple days ago.

Julia had a Christmas party at school yesterday:

The morning conversation:
Julia: I don't want to go to school today.
Mom: But, today's your Christmas party, you don't want to miss that.
J: Whose birthday is it ?
Mom: Well, it will be Jesus' birthday next week, and you'll be celebrating that early today.
J: Will there be cake?

The afternoon conversation:
Mom: How was your Christmas party?
J: Katie said it was Jesus's birthday.
Mom: Yes.
J (with great concern and seriousness): But Jesus didn't come to school today, so he didn't get any cake.


Clear here for the original post about Julia's baptism.

Dam grateful

Unlike Georgia and Florida,

Western North Carolina is

simply not chock full of ponds and lakes.

Up here, unless there is a dam,

everything is a creek or a river.

This picture is one of my favorite

dam spots in North Carolina.

So to speak.

I've skipped a rock

across the surface of this small lake

with over 20 hops.

Of course, the temperature

had been blow 20 degrees for a couple weeks,

and the lake was frozen over.

Hence the good hoppage.

I've come here in the spring

and in the summer.

A beautiful area for hiking,

for skipping stones,

for just relaxing.

I'm grateful for leaves and rocks and water

in all seasons

of peace and renewal.

This photo was taken in November

when the leaves were still showing their colors.

A Boy and His Bug

Some pics from the week of Thanksgiving

down in Georgia with my kin.