Thursday, July 24, 2008

Flying

Annika wants to fly.  She pretends with her toys that they are flying, complete with sound effects.  Babies fly, and jump high in the air.  Dinosaurs fly, trucks fly, rocks fly.  

We went to the zoo the other day for the first time in a long time.  At bedtime, I asked Annika what her favorite thing from the day was, and she said, with gusto, "Clouds!"  I was puzzled.  I asked her if maybe she didn't like the zoo, with the flamingos and snakes and Zoomazium.  She said she did like the snakes, but I could tell she wasn't as enthusiastic about them.  I asked her some more questions, and she told me in toddler-speak that she liked looking at the clouds flying in the air, and she wanted to fly, too, up there with them.  I was truly amazed at this revelation.  "Me fly, too!" she said, pointing to herself.  What wonderful things are going on in that brain of hers?  It is such a privilege to get a glimpse inside her head, to see what she thinks is important, and to try to comprehend how she views the world.

Annika is my little adventurer, and I look forward to seeing where it takes her in life.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Hearts

I have noticed lately that there are many plants in my garden that have leaves in the shape of a heart. Once I observed one or two, suddenly I saw more. Following are some photos of the heart leaves in my garden, as well as two pictures from our recent hike along the Talapus Lake Trail.

Epimedium



Hosta


Pumpkin (volunteer)



Morning glory



Lamium



Wild ginger



And finally, a heart-shaped rock