Photo taken Friday morning.
The natural/animal world makes me smile. I get to see this sunflower budding while I walk my dog. He always aims for the bushes surrounding it, but never for the sunflower plant. I think this is a type of respect in the natural world. Yes, I think he purposely does not aim at the sunflower plant, as he knows it is higher in the pecking order of plant life.
Am I right? I respect him more for it. Seeing this thing grow makes me smile. I’ll certainly share a picture when the flower blooms! My smile this week is a quiet one. A smile of acceptance and gratitude. I am so thankful for my little dog monster that gets me out of the house and looking at these things. I might not otherwise! This little dog/monster that pulls on the leash and would chase every cat and squirrel if I let him….He’d also come home with deep scratches, I am sure. He is quiet around me, just like me son is, but we enjoy a walk out in nature together, my son and I, or my dog and I. My son doesn’t chase after cats or squirrels, though. 🙂 My point is, the outdoor walks are very healthy for me and whoever is accompanying.
The natural world is so good for one’s mind. This week at my workplace, we said goodbye to a co-worker who taught Science at my school for many years. A dedicated teacher, she also took in and adopted several small critters into her classroom over the years. She had such a respect for nature. That’s what I’ll most remember, her nurturing and curiosity. She was also friendly and always had a smile when I took my then younger son to work on an off day or after school. She was about 60 and it was recently discovered she had cancer. I want to go on about how her death didn’t have to happen. Instead, I’ll just remember the stories of her outdoors adventures studying nature and her smile and, at times, sardonic wit. My smile is a smile of acceptance, and even though that is hard, there is something worth smiling about, that I was privileged to know her. Nature will reinforce our belief that life goes on. I think Deb would appreciate that. Always remember, but don’t tarnish your remembrance with regret.
Photo taken Saturday evening.
***Weekly smile is a blogger’s challenge started by Trent. Visit his blog and his Weekly Smile post at https://trentsworldblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/06/i-want-your-smiles-weeklysmile-83-reminder/
Have a great week!
pamelascanepa 