It Started Out Well

Lucy and I went walking this morning. We walked for almost two miles before (as usual) she decided she had had enough. That was ok though, because we had a good time.

First we saw the pretty morning glory above. Then we saw the first of many feral kittens. I'm not sure if people dump them off at the walking trail, or if they are from a family of cats that have been there forever. I wish I could bring them all home, even though I have more than I need now. :( Here was the first kitty we saw. It looked so sad, don't you think?

People do leave food all along the walking trail, so at least they are eating.

Next I tried to take a photo like my pal Val does when she rides her mule, Badger. She gives such great perspective, and you actually feel like you're riding the mule with her. I thought I'd make you feel like you're walking Goose. ;) So, here's me walking Lucy, or rather, Lucy walking me:

It's hard to hold a leash and take a picture while you're walking really fast...or being dragged along really fast.

Next we spotted some leaves that have fallen. The colors are beautiful and made me even more excited about fall coming. :)


We spotted all sorts of pretty colors, but sadly, on around the track we found evidence that maybe all of the kitties there are eating more than cat food:

I love Blue Jays so I was sad to see the remainders of one on the trail. :(

We heard some rustling just a few yards away, and so we walked towards the noise to see what was going on. There were several kittens playing right beside the trail and when they saw me, they all ran out to greet me. However, when they saw Lucy, they all ran back into the woods, but this one, and he puffed up quite nicely:

We decided to move on as we were getting to one of our favorite spots in the trail:

We didn't know we were being watched:

We kept moving, and on our second go-around, we spotted this guy crossing the pathway...well, *I* spotted him, Lucy never saw him the first time:

And that was our last photo of the day because we really wanted to get in a brisk walk.

We ran a couple of errands before we went home, and then when we got back I thought I'd like to work on some of my photos. I also thought I'd rid my computer of all the junk files, something I do on a routine basis.

I ran System Mechanic (a program that I love) and it told me all of the things I needed to do to improve my computer's performance, but it also showed that it found spyware. When I started to run System Mechanic's clean-up program, it would get to the cleaning section where the spyware was and it would shut my computer down. Try as I might I couldn't get the file to delete (never did find the file looking myself, and SM doesn't say where it's located).

I ran System Restore because all of hubby's work files are on this computer and I can't play around with crap like that. It took me nearly ALL day, but now everything is safe and clean and running so much better. Yay!

For some reason, all day today I've been missing my grandmother SO much. I've actually had her on my mind for the past two days, just constant thoughts of her. This afternoon, I was skimming through a book when I found the words to this song, which was sung by Reba McIntyre (or however you spell it) a long time ago. I don't listen to country so I had never heard it.

Anyway, I'm sure this sounds nutty to some of you, but I said a little prayer and just asked for any small sign that she is with me, and that she's ok. A few hours later I signed on to flickr and it said I had new comments. I clicked on the new comments link, and the very first thing that shows up is a picture of my grandmother, that I posted over three years ago. I mean, you know, it's not like it's the most popular picture out there. It has been on my flickr acct. for over THREE years, and just out of the blue someone had marked it as a favorite. I happily took that as my sign. :)

So the lyrics to that song earlier in the day brought tears to my eyes, and reading it is why I wanted something...anything just letting me know that she's ok. Here are the lyrics:

If I had only known
It was the last walk in the rain
I'd keep you out for hours in the storm
I would hold your hand
Like a life line to my heart
Underneath the thunder we'd be warm
If I had only known
It was our last walk in the rain

If I had only known
I'd never hear your voice again
I'd memorize each thing you ever said
And on those lonely nights
I could think of them once more
Keep your words alive inside my head
If I had only known
I'd never hear your voice again

You were the treasure in my hand
You were the one who always stood beside me
So unaware I foolishly believed
That you would always be there
But then there came a day
And I turned my head and you slipped away

If I had only known
It was my last night by your side
I'd pray a miracle would stop the dawn
And when you'd smile at me
I would look into your eyes
And make sure you know my love
For you goes on and on
If I had only known
If I had only known
The love I would've shown
If I had only known

The song was written by a woman for her beloved aunt, who passed away from cancer.

I hope you enjoyed your walk with me and Lucy! Have a beautiful Friday tomorrow!