Rain, rain, rain...

It has been raining all day long, at times pouring. The ponds are filled to the brim, and they all look quite pretty. I'm surprised that the ponds aren't filled with ducks, but except for a few white egrets, and a dozen turtles, there's not a duck in sight. And frogs... there must be hundreds of frogs because we can hear them croaking as soon as the sun goes down.

As I type, there are four vultures out by the barn, perched on top of the hay bales. A couple of them are spreading their wings and drying their rain-soaked feathers.  The other two vultures are peering over the edges of the bales, probably waiting to pounce on mice that may have drowned in the deluge this morning. I was watching those birds with the binoculars but then decided that I didn't want to be looking at them if they did start feasting on a small bird or a mouse.

The cats have been sleeping most of the day... except for the moments when the thunder and lightning was the loudest. With one crack of lightning this morning, I fully expected the power to go out, but all that happened was a split-second of dark as the lamp next to the table here went out and then came to life again.

The mailman brought a surprise today... a packet from my friend J in England... she sent me a special section of "The Daily Mail" which is filled with photographs of William and Kate and their new baby girl, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.  I'm thrilled that they included Diana as part of the baby's name.  I'm sure that there will soon be new books available on the growing family of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. More volumes to add to my collection of books on England and the Royal Family.  God save the Queen. (Now there's something one doesn't hear too often in Texas.)