First I just want to say thank you for the fantastic challenge you presented this week.  It was very inspiring to me.

 I find that when you are in one place for a long time one often forgets the true beauty in the things surrounding them.  With that in mind, I went for a walk  as I often do, but this time I took my camera. However, before I could even get off the front lawn, I found this little guy. While he seemed quite content with the weather, I found a few other subjects already surrenduring to what lies ahead. Some were quite graceful, and others had already given up.  There were also a few however who refused to let go of the warm glow of the sun and held on with a thistle like grasp  I found many that had taken the day off of work to hang around , bask in the sunshine, and even one who took the day off to go swimming.

Just as a note, I have walked  & driven this path many times before, but never have I enjoyed the journey quite as much as I did today.  It was actually quite relaxing.