Thankful Thursday

While I am feeling incredibly grateful to be home with the fire almost contained, I still am not feeling well. That's why today's post is so late. I am so tired of these migraines plaguing me. They leave me weak, cranky, and feeling awful. However, despite all that, I still am grateful for having our world intact.

Our hummingbirds are still here, buzzing around our house.

Our flycatcher family, who has a nest under our deck, is within a day or two of having the youngsters fledge - after a total of about 30 days of incubating the eggs and tending to the nestlings. The day that the babies fly is always a joyful summer day. I was so afraid that they'd be harmed by fire as we evacuated. And now I'm so thankful that they're okay. This is one of the parents, talking to the other parent, just above the nest.

I am grateful that my garden of Columbines survived. Columbines are my favorite flowers, and among the only ones that I can keep alive in a garden. I'm glad that they didn't burn.

Our wildflowers didn't burn either. This is an extremely rare lily, called a "Wood Lily", that I've seen listed as being "threatened" around here. I found it shining like a beacon in an aspen grove today.

Shyla is leaping for joy to be back in her home romping grounds. Today, on our home trails, she had a BIG accomplishment when she confidently met a new dog nose-to-nose. I almost fell off my bike with surprise at her boldness.

And, her brother keeps getting better. He had a vet checkup today, and our vet thinks he's progressing amazingly well. I am grateful beyond words for that gift! In this photo, he is resting after I put him through another round of rehab. His exercises get harder and harder, and he goes straight to sleep after them with his sister snuggled against him.

So, despite my migraine woes, I can still feel grateful beyond words that we have a house, our pups, and our beautiful little slice of paradise to come home to.