A Bend in the Road

What a beautiful morning!

Welcome to Heaven's Walk today!

I decided this morning that a bend in the road can be a really good thing.

 I laced on my fav workout shoes after hopping out of bed to take advantage of this warm, sunshiny morning and grabbed my camera on the way out the door.  I wanted to share a little more of my world with you.

The dogwoods were in full bloom. Beautiful, little puffs of pure,clean, white in the dark green woods. (I tried planting some in our yard last year. Pretty pink Katsuras. But the oh-so-hungry deer ate them right down to the ground. I replaced them with crabapples planted much closer to the house. We'll see how that goes.)

Heading down the first hill brings me to where I hear all the grand old bullfrogs calling to each other (and where I always, for some odd reason, have to sidestep a racoon roadkill...yeah, that's pleasant...and no, I won't share pics with you regarding that issue.)

Heading up the other side of the hill, a pair of Canadian geese were honking and looking for the perfect spot to nest their eggs, leaving a small, steady wake behind them as they made their way across the pond.

I pass by wide open fields surrounded by old, broken fences and forgotten grapevines...

...newly planted wheat fields and far off lakes...

...and big, statuesque trees hugging green meadows.

Beautiful rolling farmland...

...that seemed to go on forever.

When I see 'the glen', as I call it, I know I'm close to my most favorite view along the way.

I can see the lake through the trees and huff and puff my way up the big hill to the top.  My calf muscles burning as they carry me up to where the wind catches my breath and my whips my hair...

where tidy little lakeside cottages are tucked in among the trees.

And there.....Shimmer Lake greets me.  

Beautiful, isn't it?  That's not the true name of this lake, but when I saw it for the first time, I knew it deserved a much more appropriate name. I always love how the morning sun shimmers and sparkles in the breeze. The deep blue sky reflecting in it's depth. Mesmerizing. I'm in love with it. Total eye candy for this country gal pining to see water outside her windows once again. It's a peaceful, quiet lake. I never see anyone out on it. Someday, I'd love to build a quaint little summer cottage on it's shore...

...nestled along the trees somewhere with a grand view of the peaceful, sparkling bay.

I know I've lingered long enough when drivers passing by crane their necks to stare at the crazy woman with the wild hair standing in the field, staring off in the distance. "Crazy as a jaybird!" I'm sure they're thinking.

So I turn to head back home - but grab one more photo of my little lake, promising to return tomorrow morning to gaze and dream some more...

So at the bend in my road, there is my lake.

Shimmer Lake.  

A little piece of heaven that holds a special place in my heart.

I pray that there is a Shimmer Lake in the bend in your road today....

~ laurie

Larry, Daryl & Darryl

 Good morning, friends!

As I was putting in my 2-miler this morning in my new 'walk-fit' tennies (which I LUV btw), I passed by the big pond at the bottom of the hill by my house.  The granddaddy bullfrogs were croaking away with their deep voices.  I think they were telling all the youngsters to get their bums up out of bed and that they were missing the best bugs of the day.  My thoughts immediately shifted to the small pond I built last spring off the corner of our deck.

On a beautiful 65 degree day late in March, I decided that I wanted more than my Angel Boy fountain by the front porch to feed my need of hearing trickling water.  We love this vintage fountain, and can hear it's soothing sound as we drift off to sleep every night.  It's amazing.  Anyway, since I once worked for a landscape company who specialized in water gardens, I gathered the materials and started digging.  

It took me just one day to complete....

....and it took only two days for the frogs to find it.

Where they came from remains a mystery to us.

Our first tenants were Larry and Daryl.  (yup, we named them.)  Then Darryl arrived.  (Remember Larry, Daryl and Darryl from the old "Newhart Show"?  They now have frogs named after them.) We really weren't expecting any additional newcomers and were very happy with our little trio.  But as summer arrived in full force, the trio decided they were having such a grand time, they invited Sam and his buddies to the pad (no pun intended).  There was soon a full all-out party going on out there morning, noon and night. THIRTEEN OF THEM! And every one of them had something to say when dusk fell.  Deep croaking bass tones mixed with the higher alto tones which blended beautifully to create what we fondly call the "Froggy Serenade". 

During the day, they all sit out on the rocks sunning themselves and hoping to nab a fly passing by or a bumblebee landing in the catmint nearby. But rainy nights is when the fun reeeally begins. The Frog Party moves to the driveway where they position themselves in various strategic places and wait --- for worms.  Now, for some odd reason unbeknownst to me, these worms feel the need to cross the pavement.  Why? Must be kinda like the riddle "Why did the chicken cross the road?"  Why DO worms stretch themselves out across the drive during rain, anyway?  Don't they know how gullible and exposed they are? Don't they hear the slap of little frogs' feet jumping ever closer?  Do they even HAVE ears...?  

 (If you've got any answers to those befuddling age-old questions, I'd love to hear them.)

The frogs become Hoover vacuums on steroids, sucking up one worm after another like professional Italian spaghetti slurpers.  My curiosity actually got the best of me one night and I found myself down on my knees nose to nose with Larry watching him slurp down his dinner.

I was amazed - but totally grossed out - at the same time.

By morning though, Larry would make sure all his buddies were back in their home pond, bellies looking like a bunch of little green Buddhas, full and happy.  We thought we heard them belch once..... (*wink)

Yup.  They're our boys!  

And, oh yes......we have a very clean driveway.

 ("Cleaning provided by 'Frog Patrol on Sterioids'".   Call us today to clean YOUR driveway!) 

And (sigh), we also know why the pond always turns green.

Hmmm...I wonder if I could teach them to use the outhouse.....

 Happy slurping!

~ Laurie