Lessons learned

She followed my every move this morning. Down to the chickens, back up to the house, fixated on me through the windows while I made breakfast, lunches and cleaned up. She trampled as many lilies and other pretty living things in the backyard as she could when I was trying to take pictures. Note to self: wear her out before photo sessions in the backyard.

Everything is growing well this year from all the rain, including the weeds. The clematis has begun to bloom,

the ferns have had a big growth spurt since I repotted them,

these little yellow flowers almost succumbed to Sunny's rampage,

and the lilacs are just about to pop open, I can smell them already.

Seems like I'm perpetually tired the past few days, especially today which I know is from too little sleep last night. The baseball season ended with an exciting game and a third place standing. They went into the playoffs in first place, so it was quite a blow to John to have lost last night, especially given how hard he played. Although it's bittersweet, despite the fact he has come so far in his abilities and was nominated for the all-star team, and even though we swell with pride when he leads every cheer for his teammates, we know in the end that sometimes the most valuable lessons are learned from not winning. And so we are thankful always for things just the way they are.