The Joy News Thread ( In honor of our Annie)

I have watched all news channels and there is no joy there, only strife and bloody wars.  I thought that it would be nice, in honor of all of our friends who gave us joy.
I have little kittens.  They are four weeks old.  I put a litter box in their pen along with the mother's food bowls and milk bowls.  They are four weeks old.  I am looking forward to their adoptions.!!!
This day, two of them used the litter box for it's proper purpose, ate a few grains of litter and stumbled back to their blanket. I was proud.  Mama was proud!  
Small things 
like
this
make the everyday person's life
go from one day to the next and put joy in their lives.

Please post your small joys here.
Love,
Betty

I planted fifteen miniature roses today. All watered and fed ready for summer.

Shelagh, I love the miniature roses.  I planted some that were called 'ground cover roses' last year.  They are miniature little ramblers.  A few have made it.  Some have not.  If you can find one called, 'The Fairy" which is a small pink rambling rose that can be kept into bounds by trimming, I vouch for it.  It is beautiful and prolific.  You could use it like an old fashioned rose to cover a trellis or garden wall. 
I am proud for you and your plantings.  It makes me smile. Love, Betty

My foot is becoming less painful and I am looking forward to walking again in a month or so.
Planning to wear my slippers and be more careful.  I sure miss Ann.  There was only one of her.

That's great news, Alice! By the time summer is here, your foot might be well enough to stand some weight on it.

My mother helped plant a garden of marigolds and nasturtiums by my front door and they continue to bloom prolifically.  It's like rays of sunshine around the entry to the door.

Your mother is amazing, DK.  How old is she?

My mother will be 96 in September.  She is amazing with a bright spirit and very industrious.  She is now even busier with her own yard in Michigan plus keeping her house clean as she was a bit of a guest here (though she took care of everything that was her room, her bath and she did the dishes and some of the cooking here - in addition to the garden!)  She is a little bit slower and doesn't want to go out quite as much as in the past - but neither do I!  And I'm a spring chicken..cluck cluck.

I am glad you have such great heredity.  You should last well past 100.

Two of the kittens slept in the litter box today after digging with all their might and doing their business. Momma Cass the mom was not too pleased about that. 
DK, your mom is an inspiration! I hope I make it to 96 with here vitality! 
Alice, I just know that your foot will be better.  Your spirit and love flows forth on this message board. 
My good news this day is that the whistling ducks are back.  last year there was a flock of 40 or more that came to eat here along with the Sandhill Cranes, the black birds, the dove and the crows...not to mention the squirrels and the other critters.  Also, the apple tree has bloomed.  The bees did not swarm like we feared and came back to live in their hives.  Life is good.
Love,
Betty

Does anyone ever look at the night sky?  I interviewed an astrophotographer - who photographs the night sky and he said he was amazed by the number of people who seldom look up at the beauty there, or recognize starlight reflected off an automobile or see the Milky Way and the colors from the gases.

Looking at the night sky was a thing I did as a kid.  I would lie on the grass and ponder.  The stars would remind me of "Twinkle, twinkle little Star".  Then I learned that the Star light was from a star long-gone.  Today it reminds me of the long-gone star-light of my youth.  I can still dream and sometimes I relive those days.
As for old-age, some say that we are as old as we feel.  If that is true, there are days when I imagine what 100+ feels like.  I can only know how it feels to be a certain age once I reach it.  Being with my grand kids has made me feel a bit younger.  They get me doing things I normally would not do and it feels great.  Tomorrow I fly out of Washington and return to my domicile.  It has been a good trip.  I experienced the good, the bad and the so-called ugly.  Experiencing change is not always pleasant, but beneficial.

Just remember...TODAY IS AS YOUNG AS YOU'RE EVER GOING TO BE!

This is a picture of the Church of the Good Shepherd on the shores of Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand. We stayed in a bed and breakfast residence close by for one night. That evening, we met a group of astronomers from the nearby observatory on Mount John. They invited us to visit the observatory, so the next morning we drove up to the top of the mount, where the telescope was housed.

The night sky:



The view over Lake Tekapo from the top of Mount John with the observatory in the foreground:

Dear Shelagh,
When I lived in Arizona, the sky was spectacular, just like that.  So many stars to see!  Here in Florida, the pollution has clouded the stars and often the moon.  The crystal clear heavens is something to see. I am glad that you can see it.  I think tomorrow is a meteor extravaganza where people can see through the smog and pollution where they live.  No doubt in my mind about pollution and what we need to do to correct it one on one.  People cannot depend on governments any more in the USA.  Each person has to do what they can.  Here in Florida, the politics are bought and so it is up to the ignorant populace who does not care much.
Love,
Betty

The sky is beautiful and fun to look at.  I love hearing about your adventures--day and night.  The board is fun with harmony.

What joy! 

Jumbo Rabbit by Shelagh Watkins

5.0 out of 5 stars Connect with your Outer and Inner Chid April 22, 2015

This is a truly fun and memorable book to read and read and read again!

Congrats on the rabbit!!!!

I interviewed an astrophotographer who said most people love to photograph the sunsets and sunrises and the full moon - but he recommends sitting outside under the moon free night sky and looking for the Milky Way and the rest of the stars.  He says there's nothing more soothing than recognizing the infinite vastness of the universe where such celestial bodies appear so tiny.

I'm in awe everytime I can see the sky on a clear night.  Just to think that we earthlings are but a small dot in the vastness of the universe is mind boggling. 
I understand that he universe is still expanding.  What will happen when it stops?  Will it bounce back and begin to retract?  We can imagine and ponder the mysteries.  It is humbling when considering that we are such a small entity.  I get that feeling when flying.  Looking down as the plane ascends and watch the cars get smaller and the people eventually disappear.  It makes one wonder why we weight ourselves down with problems when they are so minute in the overall scheme of things.

I arrived this morning in Frankfurt.  Glad to be home, but already miss the affection of family left behind.  The flight was not the best.  It often happens that whenever they begin to serve drinks or dinner there is turbulance.  On the positive side, that is the time to order that extra drink.

dkchristi wrote:

Congrats on the rabbit!!!!

Thank you, DK!

My, Abe , You certainly were not here long.  Hope you enjoyed your visit.

It is not just the sky that connects me with the earth.  I do love it. 
Down on the ground are the true treasures that connect us.  Fungi, flowers, ....well you all know where I go with this.  The human animal is not the end all be all..That I know for sure.

Loe,
Betty

So, I looked out the window at the lovely rain and caught in the corner of my eye at the far corner of the fence, golden blooms.  So what, you say?  Well, all that's there are the discarded branches from a major trim of my plumeria!  They are blooming!  I went out and set them up against the fence with the cuts on the ground - maybe they will grow roots.  I am not a gardener, but I'm not into wasting little trees already a bloom with golden flowers - there in the weeds where they were discarded.  Nature is amazing, with so much to tell us about life.

I thought I would be laughed at by a rather "brainiac" friend when I told her I loved Avatar - not the whole movie - but certain bits of dialogue.  I especially loved when Sigourney Weaver was explaining "home tree" and the connection between the plant and animal kingdom communication system - so beautiful.  Perhaps it's not the same on earth as at "home tree," but the concept was certainly borrowed from the intricate natural balance in nature - of which we can be a participant if we listen and look.

I sometimes miss no longer being able to look at the sky from the top down...  Looking out of the open door of a small plane at anywhere from twelve to over twenty thosand feet in the sky, peering at scattered white clouds and the far away earth.  It's a sight to behold that can't be duplicated looking out the window of a commercial airplane.  Then stepping out of the plane and actally feeling the sky around me.

MEMORIES...LIFE'S GOOD!

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