SOMETIMES - NO NEED TO CATCH; NO NEED TO CHASE!

 This morning, on my friend Aileen's Facebook page, I saw a photo of a bouquet of Lily of the Valley.  Instant JOY!  My mother's favorite spring flower.  When I moved into my new house, she brought me some plants from her patch and every year I am filled with JOY when their fragrant tiny bells bloom.

After seeing Aileen's beautiful bouquet - as soon as I had a free second - I ran up to my parent's homestead - now their estate - and started picking as many blooms as I could.  I knew this was the last year I would be privileged to do this so I wanted every single one.  I planned to come back in a few weeks to dig more up but for now, I needed this last bouquet.  

The patch is about 4 feet x 2 feet and I was very intent on making a big vase full.  Suddenly, this came into focus.  It was the weirdest thing.  I had been in the patch for a good 5 minutes and never saw it.  I swear, it just "appeared".

How cool is THAT???  It's a Red Tailed Hawk feather.  I'm thinking it's a wee gift from my Mama...

BTW - can someone please explain to me why my family can't THROW THESE AWAY??????  Is there an arts and crafts project looming that I don't know about?  EVERY WEEK?  Just askin'...

Just another day here at JOY central.

Remember - you gotta...