Mentalpause

Believe it or not, I sort of forgot I had a blog!!! It certainly isn't for lack of anything to say as I have LOTS to say, it's just that my mind is always subdivided and going in a thousand different directions, none of which seems to include posting updates.

We've survived lots here - graduation ceremonies, tornadoes, parties, and basically life in general. I cannot complain. Life is good - tiring and trying - but good.

I have lots of pictures but haven't uploaded most of them. I think that I am in the midlife phase of what I am calling "mentalpause".....  so I'll leave you with just a cute photo of Ruby.....

Fledging

Since early March, I have been engrossed in the lives of six barn owls - a mom named Molly, a dad named McGee, four owlets named Max, Pattison, Austin, and Wesley, and one lone unhatched egg that all who were watching named Dudley.  For almost four months I have been intrigued by the day-to-day life of a mother owl nurturing her babies, and a father owl who provided food every single night for mom and babies, with dad stopping momentarily in the owl box to bond with his mate - a ritual carried out every single night. Did you know barn owls mate for life? I didn't...  Did you know that they can actually feel emotions?  I did not.  Did you ever witness the beauty of nature inside an owl box 24/7?  I hadn't until now.  I joined the ustream site right after the first two eggs hatched and have been hooked ever since, fully knowing that approximately 70 days from the hatching, the babies would begin the process of fledging - leaving the nest to strike out on their own.  

This morning at 5:17 AM, the last two owlets fledged, leaving a couple thousand viewers both sad and happy - happy that all four owlets survived to adulthood so that they can begin their own families, but sad because this one chat room that has intertwined so many lives together for the sole purpose of watching this beautiful event in nature will no longer air the lives of six barn owls.

This week, the process of "fledging" has begun in my own home.  My oldest child, my daughter, graduated high school, left the following morning for Walt Disney World for senior week, and will soon be preparing to head off to college.  Funny how both events happened around the same time.....

I've watched nature prepare its young to face the world, and now I'm preparing to send my "young" out into the world....

I Heart Faces - Faces and Flowers

I decided to try my hand at adding some texture to one of the prom photos I took back on senior prom night. This young beautiful girl is a friend of my daughter.  I have lots of learning to do with adding texture. I used a free texture called "Bokeh Flash" created by Prareeerica.

Be sure to stop by I Heart Faces and catch a glimpse of hundreds of other faces and flower entries.

Does This Phobia Have A Name?

For almost three years, I have been taking photos with my Canon Rebel, and for almost three years I have stored all of my photos on this laptop - to the tune of over 16,500 photographs. I have twice now backed them up to the "family" external hard drive, and I have also started the process of backing them up on CDs. I am also looking into getting my own external drive to copy them to.  So, somebody tell me why I am having such a difficult time hitting the delete button for the folders of pictures that I know are backed up. I cannot get myself to do it and I need to free up space on my hard drive.... I need to remove everything from one of my first photographs taken back in early 2007... when my little boy was on the cusp of a growth spurt...

To one of the last photos I took last month..... It amazes me that my boy's face could change this much and he could grow 7 1/2 inches in just a smidge less than three years.

I plan on practicing hitting that "delete" button soon, but I'm not quite ready yet.  It'll have to happen on a day that I've had a good cup of tea (or two or three) and am feeling more confident that all of my photo files are truly safe and sound....

I'm calling this fear "phototossophobia" -  I will now admit that I suffer from phototossophobia. Now, I must look into a remedy for this!

College High, Prom Woes Over, and Phillies Phever

College decision finalized, and our deposit is in!!! We will be Blue Hens, and their motto is "Fear the Hen".... No fear here, though, just excitement.

As of two hours ago, the prom issue was resolved also, and my daughter asked a friend who graduated last year.

Monday was a really fun day as my kids' high school marching band was invited to lead the Phillies into the ballpark for our season home opener.  The skies were beautiful and brilliant, the breeze just perfect, and all was right for a great day of baseball.

This new lens allowed me to take some great photos of the day's events.

The kids had about two hours to kill outside Citizens Bank Ballpark before the festivities began. There was lots of socializing....

A picture of the band director taking a picture of me....

Then there was some warming up....

Then there was the parade for about 100 yards - it was a very short parade lead by some absolutely gorgeous Clydesdale horses......

Jamie Moyer had a lot to say to Roy Halladay the full length of the parade - I'd love to know what he was chatting about.

Then a great game that began with some wonderful festivities.

 
The game was great, with Cole Hamels pitching, and the Phils winning over the Capitols 7-4

Yes, my new zoom lens allows me to capture great moments.....................


and also allows me to stalk my friends who are seated clear across the ballpark!

Deep Into The Process

College, college, college - I will be soooooooooooo glad to have the decision made and the deposit in.  I will also be so glad when a date for the senior prom is sewn up. So many things up in the air, so much drama, I really can't take it much more.  Where's the reference book for me to read up on how to deal with issues of an 18 year old daughter. Most nights I lay my head down on my pillow and it feels like it will just explode.  My gut tells me everything will be just fine, the heart sometimes feels like it will just break.

The official college count is seven out of seven - however we've narrowed it down to two choices, and we will be revisiting one of them this weekend. A decision will be made by day's end on Saturday.... at least that is what this mom is counting on.

The prom........ why do they make it mandatory to have a date? That's fine for the girls who are "popular" by today's standards but what about those whose self-confidence has taken many hits over the the course of grade school and high school?

It will all work out, I know, but the process of getting there is exhausting. I don't have all of the words of wisdom to give - I didn't date in high school - I had bad skin, braces, and very wavy hair that had a mind of its own. I can't offer advice other than to say it will all work out in the end.... this coming from a girl who wore a dress her mom made to the senior prom!

None of my photos have anything to do with this post but they are colorful and fun glimpses of our Easter Sunday.

It will all work out....... I just may not survive it....

St. Pat's Parade

A fellow band parent found the segment of my kids' high school band in our Philadelphia parade on You Tube. So, I figured I'd share it here. Fortunately, both my kids are shown in it so it's kind of neat for me to see.