Such a Great Day

Today started with a surprise:  Diva and I were driving a few blocks from my house and found a young couple enjoying the beautiful fall weather: 

 

We spent about half an hour watching and snapping pictures.  I'm very proud that Diva, at eight years old, has learned to appreciate and respect wildlife.  I will never forget witnessing a dumbass tourist in the Yukon Territory hop out of his car, walk right up to a wild black bear, snap a photo, then turn his back and return to his car.  I was taking video of the bears (zoomed in from a reasonable distance and the safety of our car) and thought sure I would be handing my vacation video over to the authorities after the mauling.  Diva knows that the wildlife is here, in the city, because of all the building going on in the hills.  She knows that wild animals, no matter how calm they appear, can turn on you in an instant, and that they deserve to be left alone.  We sat quietly in the car until they looked our way, then took the pictures.  We never even considered trailing them, feeding them, leaving the car, or trying to get their attention.   Our patience was well rewarded:

 

In case you're wondering, that's an office building in the background, and we were in a parking lot.   The camera I used for these photos is new as of yesterday, and I'm still learning how to use it. So far, I'm impressed with how easy it is to maneuver.  Some of the shots could be more clear, but I was using the zoom feature for the first time, so I expect I'll get better with time.  I'm just grateful to have had a camera with me. 

After our wild encounter, we hit the mall.  We found everything we need to transform the bathroom (on sale, plus the clerk gave us coupons - major score!) had lunch, picked up some school clothes for Diva from Macy's clearance rack, and grabbed Halloween candy for tomorrow, along with a jar of Walker's favorite salt & pepper cashews.  When we got home we carved Diva's jack o' lantern and settled in front of the TV.  Right now, Diva is sacked out in her bedroom, Walker is getting ready for work, and I'm feeling all relaxed and happy.  Life is good.