Friday, May 13, 2016

Mothers, Sons and Sunsets

Happy Friday!  Here is Willow's Week in Friday Fave Fives.  This edition is mostly about Mother's Day.

1.  None of my children live within the same state where we are, so holidays aren't often celebrated together.  Chaplain Dan's military assignment brought him to within 100 miles of us last weekend, so we happily hopped on a couple of Los Angeles freeways to drive to where he had a couple of hours free before he returned to Arizona.  So I got to spend a bit of Mother's Day weekend with my first born.



2.  I posted the above photo on facebook on Mother's Day and was delighted to see that it received more than 100 likes/loves from friends.  Yeah, I know it's facebook, and it's not like it's hard to 'like' a photo, but it still made me happy.

3.  Although they are spread out across the US (and sometimes the world), my four adventurers always check in with me on special days.  I wonder if they know how much those phone calls mean to me.

4.  I always love a sunset.  May and June are great months to photograph sunsets here because the seasonal fog which creeps in most evenings creates interesting shapes in the sky as the sun sets.  This photo was snapped from the car as The Professor was driving home from our meet up with Chaplain Dan in Orange County (#1).


5.  I hope you like bug and caterpillar pictures!  Here is a monarch butterfly caterpillar (larva).  In spring they are usually crawling all over our milkweed plants and devouring all the leaves until nothing is left of the poor milkweed.  Evidently this one was either scouting for more leaves or searching for a spot to build its cocoon as it was meandering aimlessly around my patio which is completely devoid of milkweed.  Which end is his head and which his tail?  Why would I choose caterpillars as a fave?  Well, I like them.  They're cute.  And they're fun to photograph.



14 comments:

Jerralea said...

Wow I've never seen a monarch caterpillar up close before. How cool!

I'm always snapping sunsets too. It's addicting.

Just having our kids check in with us makes me happy, too.

But I am glad that you got to see your first-born adventurer!

Barbara H. said...

So glad you got to touch base with your kids this weekend and even get a few hours with one. Those phone calls do mean a lot.

Caterpillars aren't my favorite things, but they are intriguing displays of God's creativity.

ellen b said...

So glad you could see #1 son. Wonderful photo of the two of you. That caterpillar is very cute!

Deb J. in Utah said...

Great pictures of the caterpillar. So glad you had such a nice Mother's Day. It is always worth a drive to spend time with those we love. Have a great weekend!

Gracie Saylor said...

Great photos, Willow.! I love the photo of you and your eldest :) and think the caterpillar is strikingly beautiful...and the sky so pretty, too. xx

Mereknits said...

That is a beautiful photo of you and your son. Love the caterpillar, I think I would have scooped him up and set him out by the plants he/she is quite beautiful.
Meredith

Wendy said...

How lovely to be able to catch some time with your son. I agree, they can be far flung and busy but it's always lovely to hear from them. Great photos of the caterpillar but it wouldn't have stayed there for me - I'd have moved it into the garden.

snoopydogknits said...

Family times are so precious! That caterpillar is amazing. Such beautiful striping! Ros x

Susanne said...

What a great mother/son picture. So glad you were able to spend time with at least one of your kids for Mother's day weekend. Look at that big caterpillar! I love sky pictures and would constantly be snapping if saw those kinds of sunsets on a regular basis!

Marg said...

I know understand the meaning of children living afar.....ours live in Truckee CA.
I jumped in my car on March 22 after it was declared that the new one was arriving early.
The best five weeks in my life.

Faith said...

how wonderful that you had some time to spend with your first born boy! great pic, too!! I love that my daughters will still call or text me when they are away from the house...of course i am not an empty nester yet but both girls are gone today (my oldest is at a wedding on the north shore until tomorrow and my youngest is in NYC for the day on a Russian 4 field trip from school. She will be back later tonight but she did text that all is well. Makes my mama heart happy as I'm sure all those phone calls from your 4 "kids" makes yours happy :)
Great list of faves!!

Mrs. Wren said...

I'm so glad you got to spend some time with your son for Mother's Day! I don't know if I have ever seen a monarch butterfly caterpillar before, but they are even kind of pretty before they turn into the butterfly! Love your photos :)

Mia said...

Little Man is sitting here cooing about the adorable caterpillars and Princess was wondering how karaoke went-- and by karaoke she meant Paramount Ranch. :)

nikkipolani said...

It's a good thing you like road trips with your kids spread far and farther! I'm sure you are enjoying the cooler days (while they last) along with those lovely sunsets ;-)