Psst... it's Easter!

Happy Easter! Many happy tidings and well wishes from ours to yours.
We celebrated today in our family's traditional way:
First, Taylor had to show Moma who wears the pants in this family:
Next, my dad, Taylor, and I shot some very nasty pinecones:
Then, we all sat down to a big dinner of deviled eggs:
Finally, my sister entertained us all with her many cool Facial Tricks and Silly Noises:
¡Vivan los conejos de Pascual!

City of Beckley!

Taylor has kindly agreed to showcase his lengthening rattail for us. I think it's going to be the curly, sexy, flying-in-the-wind-and-in-the-face-of-convention type of rattail:

Finally, we invite you to check out our city. We offer many amenities, including Sweet Treats Saturdays, a Beautification Committee, and a Mayor with the last name of Pugh.
www.beckley.org

A declaration of thoughts, being thought.

Our dog chases planes. She spots a plane, flying oh so very high up in the sky, and then she takes off across the ground, running and looking up to make sure she's still going in the right direction.
She also chases birds, which is more normal dog behavior. Yesterday she spotted a Great Horned Owl with a dying, squeaking rabbit flopping from it's claws. She ran instantly after it, with Taylor in hot pursuit, and after 3 miles and a highway crossing, she succeeded in cornering the owl in a tree, and somehow getting it to drop it's quarry, now very much dead. Then she systematically crunched up the bones to make it more consumable, and swallowed the thing whole.
This incident has served to convince me that my Power Animal can no longer be the Snowshoe Hare, as I have stated in a previous post. No, it cannot be, because Taylor has decided that his Power Animal is a Lynx, and Moma has decided that her Power Animal is some sort of Feral Canine, and both of those prey on rabbits and hares. I cannot be eaten by my own family.
And, I know, Taylor and I only heard of Power Animals through the movie 'Thumbsucker,' and we thought of it as a joke (and still do), but the thing is is that I am a firm believer in the phrase "Every joke has a heart of truth" (a thank you to my mom, for repeating that enough to make me believe it), so a change has to happen.
The dilemma is now this, and I'm going to pose it as a question you would ask on a first date that is going very, very poorly: if I had to choose an animal, what would I be?
And the answer is, I don't know, but here are some contenders:
Caribou- the females have antlers as well so they can protect their babies from rampaging bull caribou who only want one thing from the nursing mother (and we all know what it is that men want...)
Walrus- whiskers, overgrown buck teeth, and wrinkly skin is what I have to look forward to when I'm old anyways, so why not embrace it right now?
Stegosaurus with triplets- by the looks of it, I will be well at ease in the city life, and the babies are cutie patooties, so that's all the reasons I need!

Postcript: I am not a writer, I am a reader- and that is why everything I write sounds like something you have read, because I have a sponge for a brain. Hopefully someday I will think of something original, something that will be a mix of all I have read with some inspiration thrown in- and it will be grand.
I've decided that the greatest thing to happen for most people would be for them to have just one original thought in their entire lives, just one would be enough to convince them... to convince them to think, and to do something with those thoughts, because they would then be searching for the next original thought.
Or maybe they wouldn't- because I am also convinced the the majority of the world are not thinkers, but absorbers- and that is scary because absorbers are followers, and followers in large numbers are mobs, and mobs are lead by thinkers who know their followers are foolish and unthinking, and want someone else to do the hard work for them.
This we must be aware of, and fight against- we must fight against the dark thinkers, and against the lethargy that always wants to overtake the thinking mind, and turn it into an absorbing mind. But awareness, and recognition, of that danger is half the battle- most don't even get that far!
So take heart, man, and see that you are alive! And only once! And for not very long! Wasting time is foolish, but being a blank-sheet absorber- a sponge with no destination- is even more than foolish- it is stamping your foot at wisdom, and pissing at the feet of God. We must take vows of moral courage if we are to live this life well, and I take mine- to seek wisdom so that I may get closer to my goal of creating something new, and by doing that- to see God. Creation is devotion, and devotion is obedience, and I will obey Him who gave me my thinking, reasoning, rational mind.

Oh, to be an adventurous old lady!

It has been so long (21 days) since I last communicated with the World Wide Blogosphere that I am half-ashamed. But only half.

Moma, our fine furried friend, is a truly awesome animal. Look at this picture and see the truth of that statement. Not much is better than a sleeping puppy posing as a praying mantis:
We've been spending a lot of time cross-country skiing. There are only a few trails around here that dogs are allowed on legally, and one of them has a waterfall as a destination.
One of the best things about going out and skiing is that we have met a lot of really sweet old ladies and their equally sweet dogs- one such Grand Dame is 84 years old, has a bum knee, and still goes skiing almost every day. We first met her right near this waterfall:
Long before Christmas Taylor and I made up this really fantastic package and sent it to our just-as-fantastic friends, Scott and Claire, who are living in Italy for a year or so. And two days ago, we got it back. What the devil is that all about?! The stamp on the package said the address was wrong- but it isn't because they received a letter we sent them! Those Italians are just plain nutters!
So, dear Claire and Scott, here is a picture of what international mail did to your Christmas present, and we are saving it for you until you get back:
Also, as I am sure most of you are aware, there was a total eclipse of my heart... and also the moon.
And I need you now tonight, And I need you more than ever...
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight:
Going to the library is, and always has been, one of my favorite things to do. All the long aisles with high bookshelves, and the millions of options, and the collective smell of thousands of books- it's all so comfortable. Taylor and I have totally raided our library's collection of falconry guides (Taylor), how-to books on the art of composting toilets (both of us), and great novels by Margaret Atwood, Roald Dahl, and Julia Alvarez (me):
Squirrel says, "Howdy-doo-dee, friends, neighbors, and countrymen. I'm a reading fool!"