A lovely brown spider and a couple of her molts. Unfortunately, I was cleaning up the converted garage studio, so she was not impressed with my sweeping.

This cute little critter was poking their nose out at us on our hike. So cute! Of course I didn't have my "good" camera with me (because I like to make sure sometimes I just enjoy the experience.) but I absolutely had to snap a pic with my phone.

Why do I get the unnerving feeling that this shelf fungus is going to start singing "Feed Me, Seymour" ?

I love water just so, so much. I really should go find it more often, I live with lots of it nearby, it's just a matter of remembering how much better being around bodies of water make me feel and then going to them. Taking care of yourself: sometimes even when you know what would help, it's hard to just do.

I absolutely adore pine trees. I love to see sap dripping from them, and I have to stop myself from squishing it in my fingers (and then having to deal with super sticky fingers.)

One of the less fun aspects of living in the Western US is wildfires. And even if the fires in your area are currently under control or extinguished, smoke from fires in other areas like California or Colorado can blow in. It's getting just the tiniest bit better today and we can actually see the hazy outline of the mountains.  It's supposed to improve more in the coming week. Here's hoping! My heart goes out to the folks closer to the current fires, especially everyone that has had to evacuate during the pandemic and lost their homes. What a scary, sad thing to go through.

A moment of quiet contempation with a small friend.

I have been loving all the ladybug visitors to our sunflower corner this year.

The first sunflower has unfurled its happy yellow petals. A bit of hope and happiness, which I very much need right now. It's all about finding the small joys for me right now.