Happy Father's Day, Y'all

Sunday morning, and the rain is sprinkling away -- I just got dampened on my way in from the parking lot. This volcano is upsetting a lot of people but not ME! I love this weather. It is simply gorgeous and makes me so very happy!

This morning as I was drinking my cup of coffee, I saw a large, white heron -- or possibly an egret, I don't know -- but completely white, sitting on a low branch over the water. I stared at it for some time as it sat perfectly still, and then I carefully picked up my camera, and moving very slowly, went out on the deck to see if I could get a picture. But just as I came around the corner, it flapped away, with big, clumsy-looking wings.

It's about one o'clock, and I am just home from a visit to April and Austin and Tony and Emma, and then breakfast at Sully's. It is Father's Day, and I had momentarily forgotten that when I pulled the car over and headed in to Sully's, but I hit at a slow moment, and went right to a table. And once you are sitting down, the fullness of the restaurant does not matter! It's not as though I were in any kind of a hurry. It made it more interesting, in fact, to see all these family groups come in, all with Dad. Some of them, clearly, groups that didn't see each other that often, and some of them easy, comfortable families.

So April is doing very well. Austin is also growing up quite beautifully, although he was, of course, cuter before he got his big new teeth! He is eight now, and about to go into the third grade. And he is friendly and very well-behaved and a nice young man. Tony is also both more friendly and less, well -- less beaming. Which is better for me, since being beamed at was always slightly uncomfortable. Their house is very comfortable and welcoming, and I had a good time. Much better than I had at the shower, which was partly because Emma was there! A very cheerful and laughing and smiley baby. And very, very cute! It was hard to imagine a baby that was a mix of April and Tony, but she very clearly is, and it works very well for her. Large blue eyes, (both of them) with a slant to them (Tony) and a wide forehead, (Tony), and a dimple in the chin (April) and big dimples in the cheeks (April) with an indefinable air of Austin about her, as well.

And also because April was quite friendly and Austin was, too. I mean, he hid from me when I first arrived, but after a few moments of talking, he was eager to tell me all about his friends and his school and who it was fun to play dodge ball with, and who it was NOT.

Well, my Dad is up at the Retirement Home, but he does have a cell phone nowadays, so I'm going to see if I can get through and wish him a Happy Father's Day. And the same to all of you, out there in TV Land -- Happy Father's Day!