Color for a Dreary Day

It's really dark out now - and only 4pm. It's been raining since I sat down in the barber chair earlier this afternoon. By the time I got out of the guy's chair, my pick-um up truck had been rinsed off pretty well. It's the kind of day that turns you towards introspection, especially if you haven't got an especially absorbing book going, or a project of note. I've got neither right now, so I'll do kind of a stream of consciousness thing here and pick some photos that might otherwise languish in my files.

This shot is of Karen's erstwhile dog Shadow. It seemed appropriate in light of our current rain, even though it's better lit than anything I could get today. Shadow was a dog that loved to be in the water, and the more kids in the pool, the better.

Our last pool party was 10 days ago, its raison d'etre being Angela's becoming an alumna of UT-Arlington before her 50th birthday later this year. She worked so hard and we're very proud of her. (But I don't think any of us envied her struggle.) Karen's pool - her whole back yard, actually - is an ideal place to celebrate. The landscaping: that's Karen's struggle - and she excels at it. She's taking things a bit slower this past week. It's a good thing Mom moved in over there a while back, lest the garden suffer.

Mom's our own little "Energizer Bunny". She and Stephen are flying up to Ohio in a couple of weeks for a family reunion. Some of my other sibs are going up as well, but making a road trip out of it. It will, no doubt, be a wonderful affair. Though he's no longer with us, I associate going to Ohio with visiting Uncle Arthur, Mom's brother. This superb shot of him several years ago says it all. I can say it's superb because I didn't take the original picture - perhaps Michael or Paul? Anyway, I hope all the attendees have a wonderful time.

The closest I've been to a farm in years was to watch Gillian ride Summer. These two were taken about six or seven years ago. Gillian had a new phone when she visited here earlier this month and she had a so-so pic of Summer among her pictures thereon. I submit the Portrait of Summer, below, as an image upgrade.

And apropos of nothing, other than the end of the post, I leave you with this San Antonio Sunset, shot a few years ago from Ellen's and Stan's back porch. . .