Clearwing Hummingbird Moth in My Garden

This is a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth. Captured him in my garden yesterday. They fly upright and, to the untrained eye, can look a bit like hummingbirds. They like the butterfly bush, I find them there all the time.

I love how you can see the pattern in his wings here.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I haven't been here in a very long time. Finally sold my house in Michigan and moved to Pennsylvania. I like it real well here. I've gotten very interested in photography these last couple years and I've decided to try something different. I'm going to post a few of my favorite photos here just for fun. All photos are copyrighted and I'd prefer you ask permission to copy and use.

So, to get started, here's a photo of a Monarch butterfly from my garden. We've seen more Monarchs this summer than we have in the past. I'm glad to see them. They like my tall Zinnias that I planted this year in the garden.

I'll try to post more in the future, but you know how it is, life gets hectic from time to time.

Thanks for stopping by.

It's been a loooong time....

Guess I've had a busy year. A very busy year. We put our house on the market to sell it and well, nothing happened. In the year we had it on the market we only had about three people look at it. Things are so bad in some parts of Michigan that there is just no one really looking for houses unless they can get them for $30,000 - $40,000. Well, we really can't do that, since we paid $30,000 for it 33 years ago and we've put so much into it. Now, if it was in the same shape as it was when we bought it in 1979, then yeah, I'd do that. But, not now, no way.

Sooooo.... we decided to just get a second home in Pennsylvania closer to family. We bought a co-op apartment which is kind of like buying a condo, but much, much cheaper. Our apartment is cute: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, kitchen and utility room. Not real spacious, but somewhat big enough for the two of us. We've been working on some decorating, just finished putting a new floor in the kitchen and plan to take out the ugly pink (can you believe it?) living room carpet and painting this spring. The floor in the living room is hardwood so we're hoping to be able to just refinish it and buy a room-sized rug instead of getting more carpet. I'm not overly fond of carpeting and our house has all hardwood and laminate floors.

We became grandparents again this past February with the birth of our grandson, Emerson. He's a little cutie. And, Morgan seems to be adjusting well to having a new baby in the house too. My life is pretty full these days.

I've been here in Pennsylvania since December now and plan to go back to Michigan in April for doctors/dentist appointments. Then when that's all done and taken care of, I'll be back here again. I like being closer to my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids. I'm looking forward to watching Emerson grow and change. Morgan is always a treasure too. She's so much fun these days, she'll be two the end of this month. It's always a new adventure with her.

And, that's about it.

Some Days

I've really kinda been feeling down the last few days. I miss Rusty, who went to the Rainbow Bridge in November, 2010. He's kind of left a hole in my heart. I know those of you who are pet owners understand exactly what I mean. More than anyone else in the world, next to small children, our pets love us unconditionally. They never criticize us, never tell us we said or did something stupid. They just love us completely no matter what we do. We will never find that in any person. They all have their judgments of us. They never completely accept us for who we are. That's just how it is. And, for those of you who have never had a pet, well... I feel you really have missed something.

Rusty passed away November 6, 2010. He lived to be nearly 20 years old. He was something. Those last few days were hard for me, I knew he wasn't doing real well, and that last day when he stopped eating everything, including his beloved whipped cream, I knew. I took him to the vet hoping there was a quick fix, but I think deep down in my soul, I knew. He deteriorated so drastically that last day, and the next morning I called the vet and took him in. Now he sits in a wooden box, today he's on my computer desk. I originally put him in the window where he liked to sit, but now he's here with me.

I miss him a lot. I know some people would wonder about that since he did become a quite crabby guy in his later years, but as I age, I think I understand that too. It's not easy getting old. Don't let anyone kid you. There's no gold in those golden years, they're quite tarnished these days. No one wants to deal with or be bothered with you when you get older.

And for anyone who's interested and would like to meet my Rusty, his blog is here: Rusty's World. He was such a part of my life for a very long time.

Morgan

We were invited to our daughter and son-in-law's for Valentines Day. We all decided that it would be nice if Manda and Nathan could spend a night, just romancing and having fun without the responsibility of Morgan-care. Not that Morgan-care is a bad thing, in fact, I think it's WONDERFUL! So, they went out to dinner on Saturday and spent the night at a hotel, just having fun and time away. And, Poppa and Nana took care of Morgan.

I was a little nervous, at first. Not that taking care of a baby is difficult or hard, but I didn't really know Morgan's habits and all her likes and dislikes. Manda told me specifically, "Mom if she gets up during the night and wants a bottle, don't talk to her, except in a whisper. She needs to know that this is night time, not play time." So, I followed Manda's advice. I did all she said, and sure, when Morgan woke me up around 4am or so, she thought going to the kitchen and making a bottle was fun. But, I didn't talk much (a difficult thing for me as most my friends know) and I just said a lot of "shhhhhh... shhhh..." to her. She had her bottle and then I put her back in her bed. And, off to sleep she went. No problems.

In the morning, we all got up and played. I'm glad that Manda and Nathan got together time for themselves. I'm glad that Poppa and Nana got the time to spend with beautiful Morgan.

She is the light of my life (well, after her mother, well maybe before her mother... heh heh). But, she is my joy. I watched her turn from a baby-bump full of promises and plans to a real person who is now walking and having such a good time with life. She is the best.

I never really knew how much fun a grandbaby could be. Now I do.

Life Changes

I have not been here in a long while. I'm sure that no one even looks at this blog anymore. But, whatever, I feel a place to express my thoughts, for what they're worth.

Rusty, my beloved kitty, was gently helped to the Rainbow Bridge the beginning of this month. It broke my heart, but as explained on his blog, he deteriorated so quickly I knew then that there was no bringing him back. He lived be be nearly 20 years old, I never dreamed that he would live that long. But, I didn't take it quite so easily, and it still breaks my heart losing him. And so... we listed our house for sale, the house we've lived in for nearly 32 years. This is also breaking my heart.

But, I keep trying to tell myself, this is not something you're leaving. This is something you're going towards. Going towards my family. My daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. That going towards my granddaughter is the important part. She is the light in my life. She is my joy these days when I am losing so much.















Sometimes, I think, if it wasn't for her, I might go down that lost road that my own mother went down when she got old. She is my heart, and I know I want to be closer to her as she gets older. She is my one joy in life these days. I am so grateful for her to be here.

New Arrival

We have a new arrival in our family.

Morgan Elisabeth made her debut on March 28, 2010 at 6:56am. She weighed 5lb 14oz and is 19 inches long. She's beautiful.