Beautiful Weekend

What a surreal few days it has been in the air around here. We missed the pyrotechnics show, mainly because the Mice have been absolutely exhausted far too early in the evening for fireworks. Fortunately, though, we've had a front-row spot for the air show. Huber thinks the idea is fine as long as he is free to roam around the yard, and the picture shows Sunny Mouse making an impressed face. Truly, that's her impressed. Miss Mouse is on her third day of seeing the Blue Angels perform, and, although she seems nonchalant, she was still impressed by their moves.

This was the favorite of Miss Mouse, when the F-18 would start "smoking". We were at the splash pad on Thursday when they began their practice, and it truly was surreal to see them flying so very low, right above our heads, pouring smoke out the back. What an afternoon in the sun!

I was standing on a chair in the yard, shotting straight above me, attemping to show how very close they were.

Unreal.

I realize this isn't an impressive picture of the actual airplane, but I loved the clouds.

Again, I'm in love with these clouds. They're beautiful.

More of the clouds....I think it is most amazing to me to think of the pilots flying so close to those beautiful clouds. I wonder if they ever get used to it, if it ever becomes rote, everyday, to fly so closely with other pilots, in such incredible aircraft, showing off their skills to people who have no clue (i.e., me) and to others who have (i.e., Mr. T).

Can you find four? They're all right behind our evergreen branch in the backyard.

More plane pictures taken from my perch in the backyard.

And more...these were greeted usually with shouts of "Here they COME!" from my Mice as well as all the neighbor kids (and, to be honest, I was saying the same thing.....)

We could really see the writing on them - much more clearly than my pictures can show.

I cropped off my roof, but those are the trees in the front of our house that they're flying over.

While I was shooting pictures of the Blue Angels showing off the beauty that our intelligence and skill can allow us to create and enjoying the heavenly clouds in the sky that day, we all noticed this monarch land on one of our marigolds. More beauty.

I feel sort of proud thinking that there is bokeh in the back of that photo, but I'm guessing that lilac leaves don't really count.

But, hey, as an aside, I'm shooting from my own eye level. The marigold is five feet tall this summer and was started from seed that Miss Mouse, Sunny Mouse, and I planted in June. Not bad, in my book!

Part of why I wanted this camera so badly was to force me, ahem, encourage me to concentrate on the beauty that does appear simply in my backyard. I love my purple basil plants this year. We've been nearly saturated with pesto, and I'm looking forward to freezing some with my helpers this year! Miss Mouse brushed against one of my ten plants (yes, ten) the other day and pranced around, explaining that "I smell like basil now!".

So, in many ways we've had a beautiful weekend. It capped a beautiful week spent with Grammy and Great Auntie Linda. I have zoo pictures and butterfly hunting pictures to post, as well, but for tonight, I'm turning in and looking forward to dreams filled with puffy white clouds, strong monarch butterflies, and the fresh smell of basil.