Sunset

I don't really know what to say about these pictures. I just know that I wanted to share them with you. The dogs really enjoy walking early in the morning, and at dusk. The temps are cooler and the critters (frogs, worms, etc) come out at dusk. At dawn, Charlie enjoys finding frogs that are dead and flat (I assume they were run over) and eating them. It's pretty terrifying.  Cooper prefers dead, dried worms he finds on the sidewalk.  In these pics, the dogs are rolling around in the grass. Well, Charlie is in the grass. It looks like Cooper is in a patch of dirt and dead leaves. Remind me to bathe those mongrels.

These pictures were taken as the sun was setting.

See:


Why yes, that is a walking stick. I bought that beauty at a little shop in Wimberly, Tx that sold everything from Kendra Scott earrings to boot scrapers. 

We were in the field by my house, which was great because we don't always have the opportunity to frolic in that area as it is often occupied by other dogs and their owners. Off leash dogs. Charlie does not play well with others so unless the lot is empty, we have to move on.

The lot is really beautiful, especially at sunset


There are patches of wildflowers growing here and there. Each year, there seems to be a different variety.



Saving these for the next dead animal I find.

I need to time our walks to where we are always in the field to watch the sunset. You can never see enough sunsets.


 That is all.

More Dead Things

Two days after I posted about the dead squirrel and Emma Kisiel's photography, I came upon another dead creature. I was on my afternoon walk and everything was beautiful and BOOM! Dead little bird on my path.

So little.
So fragile.
So covered in ants.
So dead.

I plucked some blossoms off a nearby bush and made a memorial.

Can you imagine what people think when they find this?

Dead Things

I was walking down a street in my neighborhood when I came upon a dead squirrel. It's body was laid out in a way to which half of it (bottom half) was on the sidewalk and the half on the ground. No blood, no guts, no smell. This squirrel had recently passed.

I stood there looking down at it for a while. The squirrels' eyes were halfway closed as if it were sleepy. One hand (paw?) was palm down on the ground and the other was tucked under it's chest. The squirrel's tail was long and spread out on the pavement...the fur moving with the breeze.

I remembered coming across a series of photographs by Emma Kisiel called At Rest in which she creates and photographs  a serene memorial by encircling roadkill with rocks and flowers.
Here is one of her creations:

Emma Kisiel (Source)

I looked around and saw a bunch of wildflowers in the open lot adjacent to where I was standing.  Quickly, I picked a few of each color available. I went back to the squirrel and basically just tossed the flowers here and there. I didn't take the time to pull the blossoms from the stems and arrange them in a beautiful circle with little rocks. This is because I was afraid somebody would see me if I didn't hurry up and think I was the neighborhood weirdo (if they don't already). Also, I was a little afraid of getting too close to Mr. Squirrel. Not because of germs and diseases but because I had the irrational thought that he might come back to life and attack me.




This happened yesterday. This morning, I went back to the death spot to see if the squirrel was still there. No squirrel, no flowers, no nothing.

0.7 Miles

I've been using my fitbit for 2 months now and I'm still in love. It really works for me!  A while back, I tweaked my lower back a little. Not enough to keep me in bed all day, but I knew I had to take it easy for a day or two so that my back wouldn't go all the way out. I pretty much just hung around the house, watched tv, did a little bit of light housework, etc. Activity wise, It was close to how a typical Saturday might look like before the fitbit. Here is what my fitbit tracked for that day:

Pretty pathetic.


Now, this is a screenshot of an average day since I have been using my fitbit:


Big difference. HUGE.
This really made me see how inactive I used to be. All of my "activities" involved me just sitting there ( reading, playing around online, playing guitar, watching tv, taking long baths, taking a short naps, and eating).
I've lost weight, I feel stronger, and I have less neck/back pain. : )

My  fitbit experience isn't all positive. I feel like the band is a shackle sometimes and that I have no choice but to meet my steps goal. One time, I walked around the neighborhood after drinking a few (*cough* three *cough*) glasses of wine because I had to meet the damn goal!
I drunk walked two miles!
I've found out what a "deep blister is" from personal experience and my two fitbit walking buddies both had ankle problems from walking too much in the wrong footwear. Flats are not your friends. I love my Toms but they offer zero arch support.

In other news:
I got the best new Betsy Johnson Sunglasses.

That is all.