After the boys grew up and moved out I would frequently go back home to visit. Sometimes I would stay a weekend; sometimes days. The drive is long so I rarely went back just for the day back then. I had no dogs in the house then. My two spoiled cats didn't mind the peace and quiet as was obvious by their lack of notice as I ran out the door for a weekend away. 

Once I got back to having dogs in the house my trips anywhere were limited to times when a friend could stay at the house with my pack. (Yes, there were several) That friend passed away almost ten years ago and since that time I have stayed away from home overnight, approximately twice. Crazy, I know, but who in the world allows you to come for a visit with a pack of dogs of all breeds and sizes? No one with any sense at all, that's who.

Boarding them was out of the question for many reasons. It was just difficult and did not happen.

Last winter the number of dogs in my home fell to two. It had been years since there I'd had so few.

My mother, who has always had a dog in the house, lost Maggie several years ago. She was the largest Lab I had ever seen and she was good company for my mom for many years. But Mom's never gotten another dog. The fact that I've had so many, confining me to home for years, has always bothered her. 

Mother's Day she told me she sure wished I'd come to visit more and didn't have to leave to get back home at the end of the day. When I went into my normal routine about the dogs she blurted out "then why don't you just bring them with you?"

Boom!  You could have knocked me over with a feather. I don't think she realized what she had said until it was out of her mouth. Practically my whole family (about a dozen people including the kids) almost fell from their chairs in shock. I looked around and everyone's mouth were agape, including mine.

I didn't think I had heard her right, so I confirmed. She had indeed said, "bring the dogs." I told everyone in the room they were my witnesses and they agreed, still shocked. 

So the 4th, the dogs and I made a trip....over the hills (and flooded river) and through the woods to Granny's house we went! Don't have to ask us twice.

Guess who was super excited to go bye-bye? (Besides me!)

We weren't three miles from the house and nosy ole Frank was in the front seat checking out every little thing and Roman splayed out across the whole back end of the car. They were ready for the ride. 

I have well behaved dogs and knew they'd travel well but I worried how they would react in a place they had never been. And my mom, well, she keeps a nice house. The boys are big, Frank's so nosy, Roman's like an elephant in a china shop, so, I was understandably hesitant. But I was as excited as they were. I felt like a kid on her way to the swimmin' hole. 

Obviously the worry was for nothing. Both Roman and Frank bounced right in the door at Mom's and made themselves right at home with no hesitation. Frank found his place on the couch soon enough. 

Mom made a pallet on the floor which Roman promptly made use of.
 

My mother wasn't long spoiling the two, that's for sure. Roman would lay there all day for those belly rubs, and he did :-) I think my mom misses having a dog, just a little. And that's okay because we plan to visit more and she can get her dog fix then. I am sure the boys will be ready, any time. 


At some point Mom was crocheting and watching the tube whilst she and Frank munched on club crackers and cream cheese. Claire managed to get a couple of shots of Mom walking Romey. They got along fine. 


When Mom saw Claire honing her photography skills she busted a move and did a little modeling for her whilst Roman sniffed everything within reach. Mom and her towel. Way to accessorize there, Sal. :-) 



At just like that, Mom and Roman are both bored, done with the scene, and on their way. "And there you have it," as Sally might say.


I didn't take a lot of pictures during my visit. Well, not my normal bazillion but I did get a few. Like this little monkey making fun of his auntie always with a camera in her face. 
 

Giving me his meanest super hero glare. 


And of course, his adorable mischievous smile when I call him out for being the most precious super hero I know. 


No images or description can convey what a character this little man is. He must be experienced to be truly appreciated. In the words of my friends the Hoods,"Crackup," but honestly, that doesn't ever cover Hudson. 

Frank: this goofball had a blast. He rolled and scooted in the grass for three days and sneezed the whole time. His apparent allergy didn't seem to matter as he was nose to the ground like a bloodhound covering every inch of Mom's yard. I swear he left ruts all over Mom's yard, and Marcy's, from scratching and slinging the grass out behind him like fishtails. 

He's excited, can you tell?
 

Even with Mom living so close to the road she has wildlife galore in her yard these days. Deer bed down beside her house. Coons and opossums come to her door to eat cat food. Feral cats show up too. Large birds and a multitude of squirrels litter nests throughout the wooded area behind her home. Smaller birds light on the railing of her deck. According to my mom a groundhog large enough to keep her from letting Hudson play out there, is roaming the back yard. She deals with all of them just fine. She feeds them and enjoys them. All of them, except for these. 
 

No, not the Crocs, but the little house wrens that get into her garage. This one is looking for the nest that used to be in the garage. Mom removed it after the last clutch was hatched and the fledglings had flown the coup. She digs wildlife, but no birds allowed in the garage, no sir. After the trippy experience she had with birds as a young child, I can't say I blame her. Mama wren was confused none the less. 

As we sat on the front porch late one evening, talking about the wildlife, up popped a sizable rabbit in the filed across the highway. I say sizable because neither my mother nor I had glasses on and actually saw it from several hundred feet away. I was able to see it through the camera lens but still he wasn't close enough to get a decent shot of. 

We were actually waiting on the deer. 

As Mom was telling me about the deer we watched a mama coon, followed by what looked like five babies, come out of the tree line across the field. (Probably the fat old coon eating cat food at Mom's back door!) Again, too far away and too late in the evening to get a decent shot. 

And just when I was complaining that I didn't have enough light, Mom says, "Hup, there she is."

And there she was. 


All super-cautious-ninja-deer. Got those big ole' ears moving like radar. 



She finally got comfortable enough to eat. 

And scratch her butt.


And eat some more. 


But then something away from us got her attention and she was all ears again. 

 
It wasn't but a minute and she was looking at us. No one had said a word. The dogs hadn't even snorted. What ever it was that caught her attention, this here was the last we saw of her before she bounded into the trees. 


And then came the sunset. First images I ever shot were of sunsets across from my Mom's. They are still beautiful. 

Yes, I love some of the things you can see in clouds; I'm one of those weirdos. 

And the closer I look the more I see. 



Suddenly the sky looks like the terrain of a molten planet, with smoke and vapor rising. (Well, yeah, so what do you see?)



And then, there's Prairie State making clouds of its own.


Sigh........