Jumping Monkies

     When Duncan chases squirrels in the backyard, we marvel at his sprinting speed and when the little acrobats tease him unmercifully by keeping just out of reach on the ash trunk, we laugh at his attempts to get up the tree. The poor dog jumps as high as possible and probably wishes he had some chimp-like climbing ability.
  

     After photographing Dunc, I was treated to a visit by the neighbor kids and we played Jumping Monkeys  at the dining room table. The object of the game is to catapult all four of your monkeys onto a 12-inch plastic tree before the other players. The fun is fast-paced and requires some practice (especially by little hands) to get a good aim. Also it is important to use the correct pressure on the launcher, as three-year-old Lydia found when one of her monkeys landed atop the chandelier instead of on the tree. Laughter ensued and amid the giggles, I grabbed the camera and got a shot of Lydia's errant ape. It WAS a day for simian high jinks.

Boxing Molly

     Putting up the Christmas lights has become easier over the years because I have learned to label each string and the end of each string to correspond with a location on the house, fence or shrub. It has also become customary for Miss Molly to appropriate one of the storage boxes as soon as it is emptied. (Her occupation is temporary, however, because the box is soon relegated back to a shelf in the basement for the season.)

Pup in a Leaf Pile

     It was just after sunset and there was only a hint of light remaining on the western horizon. When I snapped this photo of the little girls at play in a huge leaf pile, it was dark enough that I did not see the dog. However my flash picked him up and later, when viewed on a monitor screen, I laughed to see his little face peeking out of the leaves. That friendly farm pup thoroughly enjoyed having playmates for the day.

The Nature of Thankfulness

     The meandering Meramec River in Missouri travels more than 200 miles, twisting and turning before it reaches the Mississippi. Close to the river in Crawford County, where we spent Thanksgiving day at a brother's home, autumn had stripped the leaves from the forests, opening up some delightful trails and vistas. An afternoon hike took us over rugged bluffs and leaf-carpeted valleys, where we enjoyed the fresh air, the scenery and a remaining bit of forest flora.

     A fallen tree boasted this lovely fuzzy moss that included delicate orange appendages (flowers?) - all brilliantly highlighted by the slanting rays of the late November sun. The landscape, the sky, and the warm still air seemed to be holding on to autumn while the inevitable grip of Old Man Winter loomed.