Maurice Chevalier was right, in Gigi: Thank heavens for little girls.
There is a barrier protecting my boondocking site in a national forest near City of Rocks State Park (Silver City, NM): an inconvenient location and 7 miles of a narrow gravel road. Thus I have seen absolutely nobody out here.
Yesterday I was surprised to encounter a small SUV, carrying Dad and a little darlin', maybe 4 years old. They were looking for wild turkeys. We talked about the road and mining shacks for a couple minutes. The cutie pie said she liked my dog, Coffee Girl.
Perhaps Dad is imprinting a love of the outdoors on this little girl. Twenty years from now she might turn out to be a "camping mom", a horsewoman, or maybe even a mountain biker! Her husband will be fortunate in this regard, at least.
I have no way of knowing whether they found their wild turkeys, but Coffee Girl and I did, the next day. Those things are huge! It was down in a slightly-wet creek right alongside the dirt road. We got within 20 feet of it. It scrambled off, climbing up a steep hillside.
If this blog still has any flowerologists in the readership, help me with this one:
Comments
Kelly
Maybe it's cuz there is a little girl in the story and she might grow up to be a mother.
No, no, no, that is too much of a stretch. Specially since by then she might like Bed, Bath, and Beyond so she would be on your Bad List for sure.
Oh, I know. Bet they were looking for that wild turkey to catch for the Mother's Day dinner the Dad and daughter planned on making together.
Could that be it?
I know that is how it worked for me and my siblings.
George, it was a pretty bad title. But I was thinking ahead to what kind of mother the little girl would grow up to be.
I do enjoy your site as it seems that so often there are golden nuggets shining in between the written words. It seems to be what is figural for me. Hope I don't overdo it. I have two additional comments, if I may indulge.
First, your post mentioned if this experience with her father would help her be a better wife, yet your underlying thoughts afterward seemed to be about her potential motherhood. I am always intrigued by the relationship between the two and have come to the conclusion that this is a source of great conflict for many women...where is their first loyalty. A good mother sometimes means that she becomes a bad wife.
Secondly, I can't resist putting in a good word for wild turkeys. We live in a society where to be called a "turkey" is a derogatory term. We do tend to look down upon the natures of other animals (hubris.) I don't usually recommend books because there are thousands of good ones, but this one, to me, is exceptional. "The Light in High Places" by Joe Hutto. He raised a brood of wild turkeys and the book is essentially a journal and one can only learn to deeply appreciate these animals and to appreciate people like Hutto who literally became their mother for over a year, making all the necessary adjustments to his own life. The book takes the reader all the way to the end, the process of separation as they reached sexual maturity. For anyone whose heart is in the wild, it is an exceptional book.
The one about the wild turkeys is called "Illumination in the Flatwoods."
I think it's safe to say that the flower in question is wild lupine as Spotted Dog Ranch said...
Cheryl (Desert Diva)