New "Normal"

I've come to the conclusion that my new "normal" is odd.  Not the typical, not what most would expect.  Just different and oftentimes, odd.

Started out the day with a nice 1.5 mile walk with a friend, then home to make phone calls and see if I could call in a special favor (which turned out MUCH better than I had hoped) and then it was time to fill those bird feeders that are impossible to keep seed in!  Need to get more peanuts for my blue jays, but I did put out more woodpecker suet in the meantime.  I also need to get my butt moving tomorrow and make suet for some of the other suet holders.

Then, it was off to Friendship Village again to see what was going on to celebrate the 20s and 30s . . . 

There was a movie marathon going on that I couldn't get pictures of, but I did get pics of some of the decorations in the commons lounge, as well as some of the staff who dressed in character for the time, AND the barbershop quartet.  

Then, it was off to visit with the favorite pre-15 year old niece and find out her version of what it was like to have an upper GI, followed by a trip to Englewood MetroPark before returning to Friendship Village for session 2 of the series presented by the Alzheimer's Association.  

Loved watching the Canada Geese move through the water.  I don't remember seeing them move their necks back and forth to help propel them . . .

I took 2 pictures from this same spot, but I think this is the better of the two.  This one has the water as the focal point, which gives it more of an Impressionistic painting look than a photo; the other photo has the foliage as the focal point.

I have no clue what this is, but the shape reminded me of a swan neck and head.  Thought it was unusual, so it had to be part of my day!

Pretty sure this is Mock Orange and I'm assuming it was the fragrance I kept catching as I walked along (I saw NO honeysuckle that might account for the scent).

I was captivated by the play of light and shadow on the walk.  There were times the sun was so bright I had a hard time figuring out if I was seeing a leaf reflecting a lot of light, or a flower in bloom.   It was crazy, but crazy beautiful.

I heard a lot of birds singing, but didn't see many of them, unfortunately.  This little guy was the first critter I was able to catch a shot of, and loved seeing him upside down, but keeping an eye on me.

 A part of the trail I took to snap my pics tonight.  You can see from the light and shadows that there are a ton of trees lining the path.

I was fascinated by the view when I was able to get down on a knee to be almost eye level with the tree trunk and the moss growing on it.

More of that super bright light and shadow . . .

The shot above is of the shadows of plants thrown onto the tree trunk.  The shadows below were so distinct and in such sharp contrast to the foliage and the trunk that I couldn't pass up a shot of them.

  
These flowers were in the middle of a lot of shadow, tree limbs, and leaves.  Their yellow stood out, especially with the ray of sun that they were bathed in.  

The only shot of a bird I was able to get today.  Every time I tried to get closer, it would fly off just far enough to keep pretty much the same distance between us!  Normally this would not be a photo I'd use because it's a little too grainy, but my "Master Birder" friend Jenny @ I'd Rather Be Birding! suggested it might be a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (it's not easy to try to identify from this pic), and I've never seen one of those before . . .

Let's see . . . that's people dressed in styles from the 20s and 30s, a barbershop quartet, an awesome pre-15 yr old niece (she's always pretty darn awesome!), swan shaped plants, lots of sun and shadows creating their own amazing beauty, and a "new" bird.  I think I'm liking odd!


So, if odd is my new normal, then my new abnormal would be the expected.  I like that idea a LOT.  Since most of what catches my eye is the unusual or unexpected, it all fits.  I like finding unexpected beauty - it's as if God has given me a little surprise party to enjoy.