Photo taken Friday morning.
The natural/animal world makes me smile. Â I get to see this sunflower budding while I walk my dog. Â He always aims for the bushes surrounding it, but never for the sunflower plant. Â I think this is a type of respect in the natural world. Â Yes, I think he purposely does not aim at the sunflower plant, Â 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. Â This week at my workplace, we said goodbye to a co-worker who taught Science at my school for many years. Â A dedicated teacher, she also took in and adopted several small critters into her classroom over the years. Â She had such a respect for nature. Â That’s what I’ll most remember, her nurturing and curiosity. Â 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. Â She was about 60 and it was recently discovered she had cancer. Â I want to go on about how her death didn’t have to happen. Â Instead, I’ll just remember the stories of her outdoors adventures studying nature and her smile and, at times, sardonic wit. Â 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. Â Nature will reinforce our belief that life goes on. Â I think Deb would appreciate that. Â 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!
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