The skies around here

Almost every evening I look to the west and wish I was out at the strip pits, so last night I went in the hopes of a nice sunset...I was hoping for a big sun, but instead I got clouds. Not that I mind. I thought if someone didn't know better and only glanced at the photo above, they might for second think those clouds were snow capped mountains...
Looking one direction, you see the above sky. Notice the streaks...those were really there. Nothing to do with my camera or altering the photo in anyway except a reduction in size.

Then looking to the west, this is the scene as the sun slipped behind that could....I really hope you will enlarge this one, if not any of the others. It was just glorious.
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We went down to see the Toot today...she is so funny. Roger will stretch out in the floor or on the couch and pretend to be asleep--sometimes not pretending...and Lorelei's eyes just light up. She heads right to him and will climb all over him or beat on him...along with laying down beside him and pretending to be asleep. She will do that for a few minutes, then get up and go on about her business of playing.

In a little while, if he is actually asleep, she will go over close to him and either lean on him, or on the couch, or whatever and stare at his face. Next, she will start beating on him, or go get something to beat on him with. Sarah and I sit and laugh till we cry...
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You will never guess what I fixed tonight, considering the temperature was in the 90's, but felt near 100º....I came home and fixed vegetable soup. And it was GOOD! Even Roger liked it, and he doesn't usually care much for soup in the heat of summer.

A run through the strip pits....

I made a run through the strip pits...or maybe I should call it a crawl...because that is what I did. Everywhere I went, there were herds and herds of these little white butterflies. I think they are called cabbage whites. I don't know what groups of butterflies are called, so I called it a herd.
At this one puddle/pond I saw this muskrat above...along with the 'ducks' below...
I'm not sure what they are called.

This body of water is maybe 20 ft. in length and probably 10-12 ft. wide at the most, and there is almost always something there. I saw frogs, but didn't try to take any photos...and sometimes I see turtles. I doubt the water is over two ft. in depth anywhere...and it is right beside the road. It is amazing the amount of life it supports.

Beautiful....

You just have to click the photo above and enlarge it to get the full effect of those blue eyes! I forget what Lorelei was 'talking' about, but I do know I was not succeeding at what I wanted to capture...I am not going to tell any more and just hope I can capture the facial expressions that I want some time soon.
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Above is Shelby and Keesha...when they were young....oh, so long ago. Shelby was such a tease...she would aggravate Keesha to death. Shelby was the bigger of the two, and with that she was extra long legged, and taller than Keesha. Shelby would get a stick, get right in front of Keesha and the minute Keesha would reach for it, she would whirl away....Keesha would end up so mad.

Now, Keesha, when we were potty training her, had this thing of when we would take her out to do her business, she would not want to come in when she was done. Or probably more to the point, she considered it a prime time to play...we would start to pick her and she would run...run behind a tree, to the other side of the car, to the other side of a flowerbed...just anything to go between us. It was just like a cartoon....you go one way and she would keep herself just opposite of you. Then, it would be us that ended up mad and aggravated...just imagine going through that when trying to leave for school, or work...or just wanting to go to bed.

One time when both she and Sarah were young, she led Sarah all around the neighbors house...we still laugh about that. The neighbors were sitting outside, and here Sarah and Keesha go by on the side walk, then in just a second here they come around their house....thank goodness for good neighbors.

We got Keesha from a humane shelter...she was so small she could easily sleep on a pillow. Sarah started teaching her to jump from the couch into her lap. As she got older, Sarah would sit out in the yard about 6 or 8 feet from the edge of the porch, usually she would get an old pillow and put it in her lap...and she would call Keesha and she would make a big leap into her lap.
She and Shelby were pups together...only where Shelby could not have chosen which of us she loved best...Keesha was a one woman dog. Oh, she liked the rest of us, but she really only had eyes for Sarah. Consequently, it was hard for Sarah to make the same decision we had to make for Shelby just a few weeks ago---she had to have her put down.
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Do any of you know that this is an okra blossom? Don't you think it is a really nice flower? I think the plant itself is pretty....but didn't take a photo of it.
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I was actually home for most of the day today, for the first time in ages. I am a home body, but been having things to do lately and just not taking the time to blog...and I am not sure when I will get back on track...