We have a new baby due tomorrow. We don’t know if we’ll get a boy or a girl, but either would be wonderful. Rachel likes surprises, so when we got our ultrasound we told the tech not to give away the secret.

But now we’re in the last week. The long wait.

So we stay close to home, we walk, we talk, we try to figure out the last bits and pieces we need as we await our new arrival… and we walk some more.

Yesterday afternoon we walked out to the little swampy meadow along the edge of our property. I brought my camera and two lenses: a vintage Soviet lens called the “Helios 44-2,” and an old 135mm Pentax Bayonet lens.

Here is one of the paths on our property:

My mom has joined us for the week to welcome baby #10 into the world.

Along the path we saw some leftovers of summer and fall as the seasons fade from the green abundance of summer into the grey of winter. This orb weaver is still hanging on:

And this little Coreopsis:

And this lonely little pitcher plant:

The meadow itself is now brown.

There is a dreamy aspect to the Helios lens that I truly love. It’s not the sharpest lens, but it certainly has character.

The flowers are mostly going to seed.

Rachel is getting tired of waiting for this baby!

But Mom is a cheerful companion and a great encourager.

As we walked, we were stalked by a panther.

And an ocelot:

Can you spot the ocelot?

Then – terrifyingly – the two predators teamed up:

That little striped kitten was dumped on our road a week or so ago and has been adopted by the children, just like the black kitty.

“Dad – can we PLEASE keep her??? We’ll pay for the food!”

Oh well. I suppose not everything has to be brutally utilitarian around here.

The meadow is half-swamp and there are little crawdad burrows all over it.

As well as plenty of frogs:

My daughter was stalking wildlife:

And my older daughter was taking photos with my backup camera:

The weather today is beautiful and sunny. It would be a good day to have a baby.

We’ll just have to keep walking and see what happens.