Our big red coyote

my dahlias are in bloom, dahling

botanical gardens

big fat zinnia

koi: they nibbled on our fingers when we dangled them in the water

the nearby village of Dixboro that we biked through to get to the gardens, lest we forget

my living room all aglow What is that painting doing on the floor.? hopefully I can convince Steve to mount it above the window

selfie holding a sausage from the sausage tree

soccer lessons

Love his curls! Daniel turns 7 today though he is only 2 in this photo

my scary looking sixth grandchild weighing in at 11 oz. All is well

Halfway to due date

For the past month, Steve has seen the coyote gallop across our lawn a couple of times. He described it as big, red and very fast. Sure it isn't a fox? All the coyotes I've seen are grayish brown. But right before I left, I saw it myself. Way too big to be a fox. I was thinking it is too big to be a coyote too. But it was very red. I guess they do come in red. If it ever slows down, I will try to take a picture of it. I went to check to see if Odie, the next door border collie was OK. Normally he is very quiet but when he sees the coyote, he goes crazy. But he was inside this time. And the coyote seems to be bigger than him.

I also saw my first cat here. It looked like it as only 4 or 5 months old and very thin. While Steve was trying to find something to feed it, it scampered away. I assume it was after the chipmunks. The woman we had dinner with last week, feeds feral cats. She also captures them somehow to neuter them. Once a cat is feral, it can't be tamed. I showed her the feral cat feeder I found in the woods of Redding, California.

I am gradually getting back to my life before vacations. I've been busy except for today. I had my friends over for a bike ride to and from the botanical gardens and dinner Tuesday. I had made this arrangement earlier thinking I'd be home by Sunday but plans change. Fun. We managed to miss the rain. Yep rain. After 2 months of drought, I've seen 3 rains since I've been home. Our grass is green again. However in some areas of the country, they've been getting too much rain. 25 inches have fallen in the past week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My friend's daughter had to be rescued by boat from her 2nd story apartment. I don't think she has been able to get back to the apartment yet. There is no cell service there now though she was able to get on Facebook to tell the world she was safe. She has had a front row seat to several disasters in her short life (Josh's age). As a sophomore at NYU, she saw the first plane hit while she was on her way to class. She lived in the toxic dust zone so she had to live elsewhere for a while. Then she was in Boston during the marathon bombing. And now, her new town has been swept away by floods.

Yesterday I saw my friend with the stem cell transplant feeling a bit stronger and then on to the dentist for a check-up. Every 5 years, they x-ray each tooth individually. took forever and not comfortable. And after years of no cavities, I have the beginnings of 3. Maybe they can wait until next year. Then Josh and Allie came over followed by Naomi and Maya for dinner. Maya stayed to spend the night and somehow ended up in my bed. I built a pillow wall to prevent myself from being kicked but my earphones did not drown her tooth grinding adequately.

And today, after running and biking (relatively cool here), a fun time was had trying to see why my insurance hasn't paid my dentist for the damage done in my accident. How many calls have I made, each lasting over an hour. Everyone always seems nice and helpful but then, nothing gets done. I suspect I am still on the hook for more phone calls.

Daniel will have his big birthday party at the bouncy castle place this weekend but today is his actual birthday. We will go over for birthday cake later tonight. It's been 7 years since we made the big drive to Boston while Shanna was in labor. As he was in some crazy position, a C-section was needed. And despite his large body, he was 6 weeks premature and had great difficulty breathing. But he is strong and healthy now.