Fall in the Air

Fall is in the air.

 Sometimes it's the leaves turning color and falling, and sometimes it's little, fuzzy white seeds from dandelions blowing through the air.

This morning the dogs were barking loudly and Bow sent me out to see what it was. All I could see was a chipmunk who scampered under the storage shed. It was so small that even Nala did not choose to pursue

The persimmon trees have lost all their leaves already and are decorating themselves for Halloween.

In the pasture, I occasionally run into a family of deer who hurry to take cover in the woods.

Many of the butterflies that I meet are in very poor shape.

But there is a yellow butterfly who meets me at the same spot each day.

Sometimes it lets me come in pretty close, but it always flies away before I get in a really good shot.

I finished the painting of the Liberian chimpanzees.

The last part I worked on was the hands. Chimpanzees have such beautiful hands.

I hope that Bow is never reduced to asking for a handout like those chimpanzees in Liberia. Before I am done, I hope that I can leave him in a situation that is financially secure. I also would like him to be able to earn his own money, if necessary. It does not make sense to talk about personhood for chimpanzees and then completely rule out the right to work. You have to ask yourself what kind of personhood are these idealists envisioning for chimpanzees: Is it the same kind that humans have when they are wards of the State?