Morning Walk

 I walked this morning alone.  Missed The Husband but he needed to stay here.  Was walking over toward the library (so yeah, in the middle of houses, not rural at all) and saw a movement out of the corner of my eye.  We both froze.  Took me a second to figure out it was a little fox.  With a mouthful of black bird - feathers sticking out in all directions.  He backtracked into that backyard, waited for a bit then trotted out to the trail. I watched it go back and forth along the trail for a bit (though I was w-a-y too far to get a decent picture).  Fun to see it.  Kinda scrawny and rough looking.

Further along, close to home, this little bird lands on the trail in front of me.  Once it finally registered what kind of bird it was and I fumbled around for my phone, it had flitted up and was bouncing through the tree.  I tried and tried to catch it (for a picture) in a "resting-for-a-scant-second" phase, but totally missed every single attempt.  We have seen lazuli buntings in this area before but - really - rarely in our 21+ years here.  Lazuli Bunting

So two unusual and fun things to happen on the one walk The Husband misses.

Yep, that's really a fox.

We've appointments today and a new-to-me recipe to try for dinner.  All the while I'll be wracking my brain trying to find something to get for The Husband's birthday and Father's Day.  We tried to go away for a little trip, but circumstances conspired to mess that up. He says he has everything he needs and he's never been one to "want" a lot.  Which is nice - I've long been a proponent of being content.  But that's no help when there's been a lot of years filled with all kinds of gifts.  I'm fresh out of ideas. 

Wish I could take credit for the pretty rose picture.  Yesterday morning's delayed fertilizing of our few rose bushes yielded a bowl full of blooms that have scented my kitchen and brought a smile to my face.  I so love flowers.

Hoping today for some peace in my heart, some tolerance in my head, and a tiny bit of joy to see me through.