The Mulberry Kid!

Can you tell Cole likes mulberries?
Our mulberry tree is LOADED down with berries this year. Blake is battling the birds & squirrels over them. Cole just trots down to the tree & stands underneath it eating them to his heart's content. It's messy, but worth it.







Our peach tree is loaded down, too. Blake had to prop up the limbs, but they are still in danger of breaking the tree in half! And these are not even ripe yet. WOW!

I think all the fruit trees & flowers are producing 'double' to make up for last year's drought & it's stresses. Our perinneal flowers have quite an abundance of blossoms this year, too.

NEVER in my life did I EVER picture me saying....

"Poots are bodily functions, NOT WEAPONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"






(Don't even think about asking why I had to say those words.)

The Sweetest Moment

This is my favorite photo in the whole world.

We had just brought Cole home from the hospital, and Ian wanted to snuggle with his new baby brother. It's now almost 10 years later...they don't snuggle much anymore. And if they do, it quickly turns into something loud and extremely rowdy... and usually involves a lot of pillows being hurled at each other.

But once upon a time...this sweet, precious moment happened ~ and I captured it forever on film.

Hello Spring Babies

Spring-time is always considered the time of new life, births and new beginnings. I was born in spring, as was Ian. I love driving past pastures full of new calves, and playful colts. I love springtime!

Blake was walking around the yard taking pictures of some violets blooming when he noticed this wee tiny little preying mantis. It's only about 1/4" long - a new baby! He literally followed this baby along the ground as his crawled across the grass and leaves until he got this great picture.

These are some baby wrens that nested in our garage last spring. We watched the mama bird make her nest, and worried about Bobbin catching her or being drawn to the sounds of the babies in the nest. They got REALLY crowded in there (5 little wrens in one wee nest!), so we worried about them falling out & becoming a Bobbin-buffet. I'm very happy to say they all survived to fly away. No Lunch for you, Bobbin!

I need to go check the nest this spring....Mrs. Wren might be back!

Happy Spring, y'all!

Orange wildflowers

I don't usually care for the color orange. It just doesn't do anything for me. I don't own any orange clothing, and I don't think I've ever used it in a quilt...but if I did, it was a VERY small amount. But when God uses orange its pretty nice.

This is some Flame Azalea. (top left) It's a wild bush honeysuckle kind of plant. Pretty spectacular to come upon it out in the woods. It really stands out.

And this is an Orange Fringed Orchid (middle)- a pretty rare wildflower we found in the mountains. It was blooming next to this large Carolina Lily (bottom) & we almost didn't see it. But once we took notice of this tiny orchid we were quite impressed! *G*

God's pallet of colors never goes wrong.

Pink Lady's Slipper

This is a Pink Lady's Slipper. It's a wildflower that's considered very uncommon. It's not quite on the 'endangered' list, but it is protected in many areas. We 'discovered' them in the woods at Ma & Pop's house last year. Blake has been making regular trips into the woods lately hoping to find them in bloom. Pink Lady's Slipper is an orchid, and has to have certain conditions in order to grow, bloom, and thrive. A special symbiotic fungi is required for this plant's survival - so if you try to transplant it, it usually dies.
So there's your wildflower biology lesson for the day. Enjoy!