Chet, Phoebe, and the Hula Hoop

On a pellucid afternoon in June, Phoebe came out of the garage bearing a purple hula hoop that dates to when she was young enough to like everything to be pink or purple. All she had to do was hold it up and let the beads inside it rattle to get Chet Baker's immediate and full attention.

Ruh ruh ruh ruh. Give it to me. 

Chet Baker, you're going to have to jump for it.

Not a problem. I am feeling springy on this cool evening.

I got it! I got it! oinka oinka oinka oinka

It is hard to carry in front of me. I will flip it over and run inside the hoop.

Oops. That is like having someone chasing me. And I am afraid it will go up under my tail, and there is nothing I hate more than having something ride up under my tail!

I will run humpty-backed to prevent that. Why is everyone laughing so much?

One of the ways to get something from someone is to give a mighty twist with your super-strong neck and wrench it out of her hands. 

You can bend a whole hula hoop doing that. But you will eventually get it. 

It was one of those evenings, the perfect conjunction of beauty, light and fun. Ahhh.

You may have noticed in viewing these photos that somewhere in the last five years our little girl has turned into something approximating a supermodel. Looks are good to have, they're fine and all that but we have confidence that she's going to have a product well above and beyond simple beauty. There's a fire inside her and it's not just in her hair. She's set to break out of the pack, and we can't wait to see what she'll do with her one wild and precious life.

This would sound like nauseating parental braggadocio but tomorrow is her SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY and I think it's probably OK to tell the world how wonderful Phoebe Linnea really is.

She knows much, much more about nature than any would suspect. She tries to hide it because she doesn't want to be the Ornithological Factotum of her high school, but it's too late. If anyone has a bird question they come to Phoebe.

If Phoebe tells me she sees a new bird in the yard, I drop everything, because it will be something really special. It started when she was about five and she told me she'd found a new butterfly. It was a Silvery Checkerspot, and she could tell it was different from the nearly identical Pearl Crescents that were everywhere.

She notices.

My little plan, it is working. Now, if we can just get baseball out of the forefront of her mind, we can continue the Science Chimp training. This may or may not be doable. Baseball is pretty much where she is at. And wherever you're at, there you are. And whoops! you're taking the whole family along.

Liam and Phoebe celebrate the Pirates' sweep of the series against the Kansas City Royals with a whiskbroom and the Jolly Roger. She wanted to take a full-sized broom but Daddy nixed that--too dangerous in the packed stands at PNC Park. She loves her brother and he loves her. And there is almost nothing that gives a mother more joy than seeing a sibling bond that strong and enduring. He knows how to make her laugh, that's for sure. And she includes him in everything she does without being asked. Just because she likes his company. 

Happy birthday, Beautiful!! and thank you for being a child of light.

All photos in this post taken with my new Canon  7D and its 70-300mm L series telephoto lens. Which I love so much, and which I got from Midwest Photo Exchange, a family-owned Real Photography Store. Call Sonnie at 

866-940-3686. He'll set you up.