here's lookin' at you...kid!

my thoughts on mirrors.

when did they all become carnival mirrors?
i've always felt young. looked young. thought young.
is it because this past august i moved a little closer to s...si...six...sixt...
'OH, go ahead, spit it out!'
this year i turned f...fif...fiftys...fifty-seven! *groan*
it's hard for those numbers to even cross my lips.

57. it sounds so...old.
i don't FEEL 57. but what is 57 supposed to feel like?

thinking back...the changes really started being noticeable at around 50.
hmmmm...changes...eyesight. difficulty driving at night. disappearance of my washboard tummy . a few gray hairs. a wrinkle here...there...
love handles...ha! they sound nice...but if i wanted handles, i would've screwed them on myself!
looser skin. dryer skin. *groan*
it definitely takes some getting used to.
those xtra trips to the bathroom during the night.
it takes a little longer to get out of bed and moving in the morning. sometimes i feel like i spent the night working out...i'm so sore in the AM.

anyway...i'm handling it. i just don't spend too much time in front of those damn circus mirrors that have seemed to magically replace all the old mirrors we used to have!

i plan to just keep on doing what i'm doing.
i feel good. eat good. work. hike. read. write. do my art stuff...
i'll try not to dwell on the fact that i don't have as many years left as i've already been through.
i'm (im)patiently waiting until i can retire!! 'til i can spend my time doing whatever i want, whenever i want.
'til i can throw all the clocks out...who cares what time it is...i have all the time in the world!  :]

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.  ~Cherokee Indian Proverb 

i love to wander outside.
every time i walk around...i see new things. flowers blooming. insects. lizards. fungi.
it's all just so amazing. i take pictures. lots of 'em.
it's always hard to decide which ones to post.  enjoy!  :)

butterflies...dragonflies...are my favorite things to take pictures of. oh, flowers too. and lizards. and spiders and their amazing & intricate webs....  :-\

the other day...home between appointments...i heard the red-shouldered hawks out back. there's a nest in one of the pine trees out front and you can hear the whole family...making their hawk sounds and flying from tree to tree! every day! i was lucky to get a couple of pretty good shots of one of the hawks.

~In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.~ John Muir

this 'southern cricket frog'

looks a little hung over...

strange looking fungi/mushroom....

~ Butterflies are graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable. Butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.~  Jeffrey Glassberg 

the gardenia bush is blooming (again)!! i love that scent...

while wandering out back...i found another feather...from the red-shouldered hawk...and spotted milo passed out on the back porch...

well...i hope you enjoyed your wander around with me...

and i hope that the mirrors you look into...will not be one of those mirrors from the 'fun-house'!!

The aging process has you firmly in its grasp 

if you never get the urge to throw a snowball.  ~Doug Larson

oh! i do i do...well, i would i would...but i live in florida!   BUT  if we had a freak snowfall, i'd be right out there...making snowballs & snow angels!

OH YEAH! i almost forgot! my niece's husband keeps emailing me these REALLY cool pictures that he finds out there in cyberspace...and i wanted to post a couple. these are both dew covered insects. a dragonfly upper body and a fly.

be safe. stay cool. 'til next time,  laura  :]