Pictures for Pam, Day 137: Happy Monkey

(+5 insets!)

It was so lovely to be outside this morning, even though it was frosty and grey above. Marching down to the gate on my second lap, I encountered a Red-Breasted Robin on the road who charged along in front of me. I've seen this bird now for three days in a row now. Each time it runs down the road about 20 feet away, quite unafraid of me! The funny thing is that it stays on the road and that's where I'm going so I have to slow down and avert my eyes. I don't want it to think that I'm chasing it. The problem is that it keeps going the same way I am so I end up stopping and watching out of the corner of my eye. The gate was open because I'd opened it on my first time down--Steve will be taking our RV trailer out for some practice driving and I wanted to make it easier for him. The robin ran through the opening and stopped to peer back at me. I got to the gate and turned around for my return trip and said goodbye to my handsome friend. I hope I'll see it again tomorrow!

By the way, if you're interested to know how our RV adventure is shaping up, Steve has been hard at work upgrading, altering and furnishing our home away from home. One of the first things we ordered was a replacement for the "China bomb" tires. RV trailers usually come with tires manufactured in China and they tend to blow out without warning. Low-quality and dangerous, we put new tires at the top of our list. They're in place now and we're delighted at the great price we got for them, as well as the peace of mind we have with proper tires on our rig.

Steve's done lots of other upgrades and tweaks inside and every improvement makes it just that much better. We felt at home right away with this trailer and the additions make it even nicer. This next week we are planning on a couple of days of "driveway camping" to find out how everything works and discover any problems that pop up. If all goes well, we're planning on our first outing in about three weeks. Both of us are getting very excited and getting comfortable with the reality that this dream of ours is really going to happen. Stay tuned for more as the adventure begins to unfold!

Today's picture is all about being happy! This flower is called a Chickweed Monkeyflower and it grows in extremely boggy areas. On our property it grows by our two seasonal streams and where the water flows from our hillside down over moss-covered slabs of granite. Another thing I should add..this picture is upside-down! Steve asked me to turn it around when he saw it and we both burst out laughing at the boisterous, funny face that stared back at us.

I don't usually link music videos but I just gotta this time around. The song is "Happy" and the video is actually a dance performance from Dancing with the Stars. It's one of my all-time favorites, and the celebrity is phenomenally talented ice skating Olympic Gold Medalist Charlie White and his professional partner Sharna Burgess. The main flower today is Charlie through and through!
(The dance ends at 1:34) It's a dancing version of how all of the flowers are feeling today!

I am also sharing another round of flowers from around our property, taken on the first day of spring last week! I hope you enjoy the presentation!

Before I forget, we had two new visitors to our feeders! Several turkey hens were wandering around under the feeders yesterday and I whooped in delight when I also found chickadees ferrying single sunflower seeds back and forth to their nest in a regular procession. Hooray! I've added insets for both species—you'll have to excuse my turkey collage which shows males for the most part but I think you'll forgive me...they are stunning!

Pam, I found the perfect picture to represent "Happy", namely your Flicka "Smile" and its perfect poem to match. Flicka is so darn cute and beaming with joy as he looks at the love of his life. So dear. I hope that the day is treating you well my dear! *BIG HUGS FROM SOUTHERN OREGON*!

Explored on 3/27/19, highest placement, #2.