Perserverance

noun ~ 1. steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement

This is the term my children learned this late morning. It was in persuit of riding our deck of all things helicopters. This year, we seemed to have an over abundance of the kind pictured here. They are EVERYWHERE and clogging the little gaps in between our trek boards. We spent awhile, with plastic knives in hand, scraping out the cracks. After about 45 minutes, half the deck has been cleaned out. Hoping to finish sometime in the coming mornings or evenings as the afternoon sun can be a bit hot.

I'll be the first to admit though, this style is a lot easier on the feet than the kind that end in a very sharp point. It feels like stepping on knives. These though, are being plucked from everywhere. There are even gazillions of them in the nooks and crannies of my van, Kevin's Honda, cracks in the driveway. They're sprouting in flower beds and corners of patios that haven't been swept well.

It was kind of neat to watch them come down, a few weeks ago. Nothing like a strong wind to bring so many down, at one time, it looked like they were raining down. Occasionally, you'd need your wipers on because so many were coming down so heavily.

Ah, nature!!!!