Some of the good stuff:

Mom's house wrens have little ones.
(I can't resist..."FEED ME, SEYMOUR!")

A butterfly (where the heck is my field guide???) paused in the afternoon sun, long enough for me to get a photo.
UPDATE: Hackberry Emperor

Mom has a wisteria, and it's growing these weird yet lovely pods. MINE doesn't grow pods...it sends out runners and is bent on world domination. These pods reminded me of the baby rats...same hair-do.

My girls dance and frolic among bubbles...in front of Dad's garage. Gulp. Yeah, I got choked up, because this is the building he practically lived in. But that sadness is beautiful too, because I am reminded of how much people loved him and miss him still.

My youngest thinks she is very strong. God, I hope she is. Because a strong woman is a beautiful woman.

Ditto for this photo.

This child, 20 minutes before this photo was taken, was bawling her eyes out because she and Isabelle were having a sleepover at Mom's (she's a bit of a home-body). I have a program tomorrow and I needed childcare. That cranky kid became a happy, dancing sprite. Beautiful.

Coming home this evening, without kids to make all the birds bolt as they run to the house to escape the cicadas, I got the chance to watch a robin fly home with a worm to feed the newest babies in the yard.

And a chance afternoon sunbeam through leaded glass can make a boring stretch of gray carpet into a painting.
See? Life is good.