A Birthday Visit (Almost!) 🧚🏽‍♂️

Happy Saturday friends!

Guess what today, actually today is? My 56th birthday! We celebrated yesterday at Tikila, a really yummy Mexican restaurant in Knightdale, with Dad, Delores, Uncle Chris, and of course B-Rad, and ManChild. Delores made her famous, and my favorite German Chocolate Cake:

And just like last year, my eyes were bigger than my stomach lol. Sooooo good!

Uncle Chris without Aunt Katy...sigh, but I was so happy that he joined us!

But this sweet photo of Katy and my Raynie back in Colorado popped up yesterday when I was thinking of her, I like to think they were both wishing me a happy birthday from the Great Beyond:

Bonnie brought me balloons this morning and we found them tied to the golf cart (thank you Bonnie!!!)

One of my gifts is this beautiful ficus, I'm so happy to have one again! I asked its name, meet "Persephone":

She's has stayed outside in quarantine for a few days to make sure she doesn't have any critters that could spread to the rest of my plants but will come in this weekend.

Early Friday morning I had the most amazing dream...I was sitting in a pasture with a beautiful chestnut mare. She was laying on the ground and I was sitting in between her front and back legs, leaning on her belly. I was faced toward her front and she was looking back at me and we were having a telepathic conversation. Sadly when I woke up, I didn't remember any of it but it felt so important! Frustrating how that happens sometimes. I do remember her name though, "Duchess." Like my relationship with Rayn, we could talk anytime, except Duchess was also touchy feely and liked to snuggle :-) Such a sweet feeling. I wandered around the interwebs looking for pics to draw from, found this horse in the right position:

And then I thought to describe it to ChatGPT, nope but it was fun to try! It got her outfit right but the rest of it still isn't it. Check out the woman's foot LOL! Her big toe is on the wrong side of her foot!!!:

30+ years as an artist and I still can't draw from memory! Ah well, I'll keep looking and sketching and when I finally get to the actual drawing and painting, I'll post it for you!

THE RANCH:

Little Sweetness was blue without Rayn this week and asked to be let out loose because it reminded him of when he and Rayn used to go outside the pasture to graze while I was doing chores. So, of course I let him:

July 2023:

And my most favorite pic of my girl, always brings tears. She actually looks like she's in heaven here:

Spotted an interesting moth! Google says it's a Pink-striped Oakworm Moth (Anisota virginiensis) which is a species of silk moth:

The muscadines are nearly there, they are at their peak sweetness when they are a deep, dark purple:

B-Rad decided to buy a new hat and boots for cutting down small trees on the pond dam, oh dear...lol but look how cute he is under that gooney hat (and the toothpick and the black socks!)

Those smile grooves have always been swoon worthy😍

Last week, after I posted a picture of this fairy ring:

a friend asked what a fairy ring was. Mushroom circles are called fairy rings. It's an old folktale, fairies dance in a ring, leaving behind mushrooms. 

So, I was out in the pasture taking photos of the fairy ring mushrooms:

when I caught a flit of color out of the corner of my eye

I turned as fast as I could but she darted under another clump

I slowly slowly moved closer

and closer

and closer

I heard a giggle, a whoosh of tiny wings, a flash of turquoise eyes

and in a blink she had darted behind this stalk

but by the time I could push the shutter, she was gone.

Sigh.

Maybe someday I'll be able to catch a photo! Boy they sure are fast!

•••

Have you been interested in my Women's Circles but can't make a night time session? Here you go! 

💜 October/November 2025 Women's Circle:

Tuesday mornings, 10am-1pm, $210 for the 6 weeks: Oct 14, 21, 28 and Nov 4, 11, 18

You can read more about it here!

THE MEMES:

My backpack was neat, my voicemail and texts are up to date but my email looks just like this:

This goes for ALL housework:

This one made me do a double and triple take and then laugh out loud:

This should land no matter which side you're on lol:

I didn't know the last one above but it makes sense, you?

Here are a few more:

Another thing coming is actually another think coming. (I didn't know this!)

Case and point is actually case in point (I've never heard anyone say case and point!)

Phased/Unphased is actually fazed/unfazed. 

Shoe-in is actually shoo-in

Nip it in the butt is actually nip it in the bud (this one has always driven me crazy but maybe you have to know something about gardening...)

For all intensive purposes is really for all intents and purposes

I could care less is actually I couldn't care less.

What are some that drive you crazy? I need to know!

https://www.themotherranch.com/womens-groups