I doubt I would ever style my car with leopard print

But I do like this NPR story.

And the sentiment behind it. Do you own your stuff?

Thanks for the Challenge

Yes, Zilla, I do know the name of the butterfly. It is a Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui.

Of course, I didn't know when you asked me, but I have garnered quite a collection of online resources in my 12 years as mother of children who ask nothing but questions. Look at this wonderful UGA site. I needed other pictures to make the identification, but I just happened to have them, since Princess was trying to capture her image for the Neshoba County Fair Photography Competition and took about 50 images of that butterfly and zinnia. She wasn't pleased with any of them. See why I need so many extra external hard drives.

Once you finish identifying butterflies, you can also identify birds, frogs, lizards, turtles, insects, plants, and fungi. I would have to say that it is a most useful site for my questioning, nature children.

An Upgraded Zinnia

I've been having one of those time sucking days. I usually devote either the morning or afternoon of every Thursday to payroll activities - time cards, check writing, tax paying, employee bill paying, insurance and bank reconciling, and balancing the ledger - you know, stuff. This morning, because I had the audacity to install, on Wednesday, the operating system upgrade I purchased back in November, I couldn't use my accounting program, not locked out, just incompatible.

The software company has worried me for years about updating my software, touting all the bells and whistles of the newer programs. I always say, "This one works, there is no need. I'm fine just where I am."

It's not that I'm cheap. Well, maybe a little. But, I usually keep software (and a computer) until it ceases to do the job for which it was purchased, then I'll upgrade. This morning completely unaware of the potential problem, I began my usual routine and every time I opened a bank register, I was frozen - clicking no longer permitted. Some keyboard sequences were permitted, but honestly who knows every single keyboard shortcut for every single task and the menus wouldn't descend so I could cheat.

I upgraded.

And as an added bonus, I was able to spend that money online, so I didn't have to speak to a customer service rep. who would have probably had a good, "I told you so" laugh.

After that disaster was managed, I checked my other programs so there would be no other last minute surprises. Photoshop 7 (I think it is 6 years old, which is practically unheard of for an Adobe product) no longer works. This is a BIG, expensive problem but shouldn't effect my pictures here, since they come straight out of the camera, unless I crop weeds, mess, or something else ugly out of the picture and I usually do that in iPhoto, not because y'all aren't Photoshop worthy, but because I try to limit my non-work computer time and I tend to get a bit obsessive-compulsive once I get started.

Now, many are asking yourselves why I updated my operating system in the first place. I was given a fabulous deal last time I bought a LaCie external hard drive because of Leopard's new Time Machine feature which works so well with LaCie products. I was tempted.

Many more of you are asking what the zinnia picture has to do with this post. I just don't know, except that when I mulling over my options, I walked out to the garden and saw it. I like thinking about pink zinnias rather than expensive upgrades.

Perhaps this is an upgraded zinnia.