January: turned 61. Ho hum.

February: Coyote caught on camera in my backyard.

March: Granddaughter turned 3. Took grandkids to the circus for the first time and let them ride a camel.

April: So fortunate to be witness to the resident Trumpeter Swans mating dance

https://youtube.com/shorts/Q0RnFCJBcF0?si=QXDNYUeTX9S7Olts

May: Visited the Great Blue Heron rookery on the Mississippi River where dozens of herons, egrets and cormorants nest each year. A truly unbelievable site!

https://youtube.com/shorts/BWTbT0urEbs?si=E4bk3ZuJK-_aijAF

June: Five cygnets (all five matured and migrated in the fall) and a dozen new wood ducks!

Also in June: Took my first public bus ride since moving back to the city to my first political protest. I was brought to tears seeing the thousands of people who showed up, despite the political assassinations and attempted assassinations that had occurred overnight. It was good to see I wasn't alone in my thoughts.

Also in June (it was a busy month!): Crossed Colorado off my list of states visited. Three states left to visit. Saw Mount Rushmore for the first time. The Presidents were crying, for good reason.

July: What I thought was food poisoning ended up with my being hospitalized for four days with sepsis resulting from a perforated colon from diverticulitis.

Grandsons turned 1 and 6.

August: Still recovering. Made first attempt to conquer my fear of heights by taking the space tower ride at the state fair.

September: Since the sepsis, I realize I can no longer consume beef (not that I can afford it anymore) and my lactose intolerance is at the worst it has ever been. Sigh.

October: Best picture I took this year. I thought it looked like an oil painting. Or the cover of a jigsaw puzzle lol!

November: NORTHERN LIGHTS!! I'd only seen them twice before in my life and nothing like this. And these pics were taken in the heart of the city! By far, the most magical night of my entire life.