Monday Delights #28: Orioles, Roadtrips, Blossoms

photo of small turtle on soil Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

Here’s a bit of “Kawaii.” For some reason, this baby turtle tugged at my heartstrings. Just looking at cute things can help us feel more positive about each other. July is Social Wellness Month. So let’s do our part in connecting to others and recognizing our interrelatedness.

Something is in the air pushes me to focus on DELIGHT this year.

As a reminder of what delight can do for us, here’s a bit of inspiration from NPR.

July is also National Family Reunion Month.

Our grandparents, my Mom’s Mom and Dad affectionally referred to the nine of us The Magpies. We do like to talk.

My siblings, their kids, and grandkids celebrated the first Magpie Madness. Mom cried with sentimental delight, while I shed tears of sadness, unable to attend because a non-Covid virus caught me and dragged me under.

Here’s a photo CeCe took. She counted 54 people missing. I counted 57 people in this photo. Wow! That’s a lot of family. A blessing of biblical proportion.

Magpie Madness 2021

Here’s a few things that delighted me this week:

Orchard Orioles: Between the waterfall and the chokecherries, the Orchard Orioles cannot resist our backyard. The play in the water and feast on the fruit. I’m so glad we didn’t heed the advice of everyone who told us chokecherries are a nuisance tree. I love seeing the Orioles play in the water.

Road tripping: Three vehicles, two children, and a passel of grandchildren set out on a ten-day roadtrip. We saw the world’s largest ball of twine and carvings on a mountainside. We scrambled up cliffs and played ball on a Field of Dreams. We slept in tents and swam in lakes. We are delighted to be back home in our own beds.

That’s my glove. Yes, I still play catch. Running bases? Not so much.

New blossoms: Back home, this lovely lily greeted me at the front door. How very delightful.

The more I look for things that delight me, the more I seem delighted. There’s so much in the world that makes me smile.


I hope you find delight this week.

I know it makes me feel better to jot down a few things to remind myself how much delight I have in my life.

Almost 61% of those eligible in my state are now vaccinated. About 50% of Americans are vaccinated. Almost 100% of those hospitalized due to Covid-19 are unvaccinated. The epidemic is now about the unvaccinated.

Click here to see how your state is doing.

If you were hesitant, I hope you find reasons to put your fear aside in favor of protecting yourself and others. Some people are too young, others are immune-compromised or have other medical issues. Let’s be neighborly and protect those that can’t get vaccinated.

We’re in the final battles. At least in this country we’re making headway. Still, we have a ways to go for the world to get there.

I really look forward to the day that I no longer feel the need to update readers on this subject!

I hope this week brings you delight upon delight.

Please share what delighted you this week. Chances are you will delight me!