Happy Golden Birthday!

Emmitt turned 14 on the 14th! She is still a spunky old girl. We took her out for an evening drive through the country and let her put her face out the window and enjoy the breeze. Sadly, we haven't done this in a very long time. We, as a family, have become so busy lately and oftentimes we leave her behind, tucked away in the laundry room during the day while we go out and enjoy ourselves.
We came upon some cows crossing the road and were forced to slow down and let her bark at them. The farmer in his pickup truck wasn't too thrilled with this but we didn't care, it was our dog's birthday! We also came upon several deer and we slowed down to watch them perk up their ears and stare us down. She loved every minute of it. Hmmm, what will we do next year?

Just two photos

My hand prints in the sand at the lake.
This is the last of the cucumbers and the beans. I have pulled most of the zucchini plants. The peppers are supposed to be red but they are not ripening on the plant and I have become impatient waiting for them. There are more tomatoes to come but we haven't had the heat this year.

Weekend Walk/Ride

D got our bikes fixed up so I decided to coast downhill all the way to this bridge just on the outside of town. It's about one mile and ALL downhill.
I spent some time walking back and forth on the bridge examining all the worn out boards and touching the bent nails and splintering wood. When I walked along the middle section of the bridge it would rattle the metal supports and make a musical sound. The birds were chirping and the crickets and frogs were still making all of their lovely morning sounds. The cows were bellowing and echoing from somewhere in the various neighboring fields. And the best part of all is that there wasn't a car in sight.
I decided to cross at my own risk...
I parked my bike and walked the rest of the way up and around the hills.
The strange thing with spiders is that when they are in their natural habitat I'm less likely to have the fearful physical reaction that I do when they are inside my home or on my property. As much as I proclaim to hate spiders and would gladly choose a world without spiders in exchange for all the bugs they eat, I think they are fascinating and I respect them...when they stay where they belong.
I wound my way up this road for another mile...or maybe it was two.
...and as I finish this post I'm reflecting on what I'm trying to say here. I don't think of myself as very profound. I seem to have a lot of pictures with bridges and roads...and a spider which is one of the things I fear most in the world. So, I've crossed a major bridge in my life, I'm heading down a new or even familiar road and I'm boldly facing my fears...there! And as I was going through my pictures I realized that I only took pictures of flowers past this point.

So, the walk back to the bridge was a piece of cake...but once I hit crossed back over the bridge again it was ALL uphill. I was able to ride some of it but I also walked some and I also stopped for a drink of water at the park in town. It was a good ride/walk and I'm sure I'll do it again.