A Day At the Races

The butterflies came back yesterday, working hard to get a sip of nectar in a strong breeze.  I don't know if the darker one in the bottom photo is another species or just an anomaly of coloring for the tiger swallowtail.  The lilacs are a big buffet for all sorts of insects and birds, and I've got a front-row seat in the kitchen for all of the action.

Perhaps the barn swallows read this journal and took my suggestion.  Yesterday they appeared in, of all places, the barn!  Several swooped through the big dormitory room and others scoped out the back hallway, one waiting patiently on the closest fence line for me to finish filling the feed bucket at the end of my chores. The barn would be the safest place of all for them to construct their nests, and they'd be in good company.  Like women at a quilting bee, the nest-building sparrows chatter amongst themselves, sometimes with voices raised to the point of drowning out the swoosh of milk into the bucket.  What with the mice running over my feet on their way to do mouse business and the ground squirrels popping in and out of their burrows and the busy, busy birds overhead, the goats, Poppy, and I are in the minority in this little community.

I could have called this entry "The Lost Weekend."  No, not spent in an alcoholic haze like the old Ray Milland movie, just sitting in front of the TV watching races (hence the Marx Brothers' movie title).  Yesterday I spent four hours watching all the hoopla at the Kentucky Derby, culminating in two minutes of heart-pounding race.  I know I'll do the same thing in two weeks when they run the Preakness at Pimlico, the second jewel in the Triple Crown, and later at Belmont, the third.  My family has strong ties to Santa Anita Racetrack and horse racing in general.  As much as I love NASCAR (I'll be watching that today), seeing magnificent animals run nearly brings me to tears.  Of course I put down an imaginary bet (any competition can use a little spice), but racing, to me, is never about the money.  That's a good thing, because I sure didn't win yesterday.  Oh well, I have high hopes for today.