Success!! Mom is online ... !!

Success!! Mom is online ... !!, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

Aside from the usual trip home - I had an important goal for this visit. I picked up a netbook for Mom ... (a shout of thanks to Liz for sharing her research findings and experience!) and after much angst, hair-pulling and gnashing of teeth ... (and many, many phone minutes across the miles with my saintly husband) we finally got her up and running!!!

I had already set her up with an email account ...and notified the family ... so that when she finally made the connection she had 23 emails waiting!!! Success!!! And what fun ...:-)

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Farmer's Market 101

Farmer's Market 101, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

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I was setting up to shoot the beautiful bounty with Mom's red bowl and in comes my stepdad (we call him P.B.- for Papa Baker) with this funny little guy. Then he whips out his "matching" hat and poses ....

That's our P.B. .... :-D

P.B. at his best ...

P.B. at his best ..., originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

I've been home again ... to the Ruston, La. Peach Festival ...

I've been home again ... to the Ruston, La. Peach Festival ..., originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

Shown is shopping at the Pewter Company, my sister-in-law's booth with her fantastic, personalized items - done on the spot with her amazing computer and sewing machine ... my adorable niece ... and the amazingly delicious award-winning pepper jellies of the Old Homestead.. Also not shown: the visit to the farmer's market where we got huge, home-grown tomatoes, luscious peaches and chow-chow made by the world renowned artist, Sarah Albritton - original owner of the notable Blue Light Cafe.

NOT shown is the 104 degree temps ... the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds .... and how grateful we were for that first traditional bite of Peach Icecream!!!

I was so disappointed by how prohibitive the heat was this year wrt getting those great shots of the event. But, the excitement was still there and I was in exceptionally good company!

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The coveted fleur-de-lis is everywhere!!

The coveted fleur-de-lis is everywhere!!, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

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Peanut Swing

Peanut Swing, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

Actually it's a wonderful Papasan swing ... ;-) Most often we sit by the window and I point out to him the bird visitors, the clouds, the budding crepe myrtle tree. He looks where I point and while he's watching the "whatever", I watch him watch it. ;-) Ahhh, Nana.

The whirly, musical attachments over his head are faced with this mirrored piece that will normally hold his attention for a long while. But. Not this time. :-)

That Woman
~~~ by Sarah Getty ~~


Look! A flash of orange along the river's edge--
"oriole!" comes to your lips like instinct, then
it's vanished--lost in the foliage,

in all your head holds, getting on with the day.
But not gone for good. There is that woman
walks unseen beside you with her apron

pockets full. Days later, or years, when you least
seem to need it--reading Frost on the subway,
singing over a candled cake--she'll reach

into a pocket and hand you this intact
moment--the river, the orange streak parting
the willow, and the "oriole!" that leapt

to your lips. Unnoticed, steadfast, she gathers
all this jumble, sorts it, hands it back like
prizes from Crackerjack. She is your mother,

who first said, "Look! a robin!" and pointed,
and there was a robin, because her own
mother had said to her, "Look!" and pointed,

and so on, back to the beginning: the mother,
the child, and the world. The damp bottom
on one arm and pointing with the other:

the peach tree, the small rocks in the shallows,
the moon and the man in the moon. So you keep on,
seeing, forgetting, faithfully followed;

and you yourself, unwitting, gaining weight,
have thinned to invisibility, become
that follower. Even now, your daughter

doesn't see you at her elbow as she walks
the beach. There! a gull dips to the Pacific,
and she points and says to the baby, "Look!"

"Hello? Is anybody home? Can Karin come out and play?"

I have a friend currently living and working in China; she's been there for the past few years teaching English. The internet is her lifeline to the outside world - in fact that's how we "met" and became friends ... through sharing a love of photography, poetry, nature and more.

On the very day that my grandson received a package from Karin - filled with a grand assortment of items introducing him to the many wonders of China and its culture -

the very day that Zachary's world grew larger because of her kindness and his new knowledge of things outside his own country and people -

Karin's world was reduced to very small ... to only China. A block was placed on communication to/from China in an attempt to prevent any acknowledgement or notice to the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest and massacre.

We take so many of our freedoms for granted ... and too often I fear we aren't paying enough attention to the workings of our society - and we blindly trust that "whoever is in charge" will do what is best for our nation. I'm feeling especially challenged and motivated away from that mindset for myself - and challenge every reader to dig, research, learn - and have an active part through your voting voice to protect our nation's freedoms.

Looking Around, Seeing and Believing

I am so loving this poem right now; it seems to fit with everything about my day ...

Looking Around, Believing

by Gary Soto
How strange that we can begin at any time.
With two feet we get down the street.
With a hand we undo the rose.
With an eye we lift up the peach tree
And hold it up to the wind — white blossoms
At our feet. Like today. I started
In the yard with my daughter,
With my wife poking at a potted geranium,
And now I am walking down the street,
Amazed that the sun is only so high,
Just over the roof, and a child
Is singing through a rolled newspaper
And a terrier is leaping like a flea
And at the bakery I pass, a palm,
Like a suctioning starfish, is pressed
To the window. We're keeping busy —
This way, that way, we're making shadows
Where sunlight was, making words
Where there was only noise in the trees.

Riding A Sunbeam to A Rose ...

Riding A Sunbeam to A Rose ..., originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

I know ... not an artistic or photographic triumph by any means ... this one is for me ... to remember the unmistakable feeling of connection when this lovely creature turned and looked straight into my eyes ...

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Sophie - Jungle Cat

Sophie - Jungle Cat, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

My dear Sophie ... is nearly 14 years old ... has never been to the vet because of illness and she's doing well. I think persnickityness is her tonic. ;-) She loves to think she's getting past us into the "wildness" of the backyard so we let her when we can. I see in this shot she's been rolling in the grass again which sometimes I think she does just to get another brushing (which she loves). ;-)

Whoa! How Cool Is THAT!!!

Whoa! How Cool Is THAT!!!, originally uploaded by Sparky2*.

We should all take a lesson from Luke - and learn something new, exciting and cool about ourselves every day!! ;-)