Camping Spring Break 09

We just returned from a long weekend camping trip at the Pocket. Despite 'roughing it' - colder weather than expected, no handy bathrooms (The waterline was broken at the main bathroom, so we had to hike to the picnic area on the other side of the creek, or hide behind a tree), and just general camping conditions - smoke blowing into our eyes, and no electric or water - we had a wonderful time. Blake & I LOVE camping. The boys love camping! And even Riley loves camping! It refreshes our hearts & souls, and brings us closer together....whether we want to or not! *G*

What do we do when we camp? The boys play in the creek - even though the water was so cold is made your bones ache, according to Cole. (I washed my hair in it...Cole was right! Talk about a brain freeze!WOW!) We sit around and read, play games, and just generally hang out. We also go for road-trips - just riding around on country roads, enjoying the mountains, the scenary, and discovering treasures like wildflower meadows & trout streams.



Blake caught a trout, and Cole (at another creek) caught some kind of carp. Due to the recent rains, the creeks were almost overflowing & really flowing strong - pretty to look at, dangerous to cross.

I came upon the most facinating little bird along the creek bank - a Louisana Waterthrush. I've never seen one of these before. It was constantly bobbing it's tail as it was catching gnats, & bugs on the edges of the water. Really interesting to watch.
We also saw the giant Pileated woodpeckers, goldfinches, canadian geese, and heard various songbirds. At night the peeping frogs made quite a chorus of sound, as did the barred owls. It's soooo nice to fall asleep to these sounds.



Blake took some night-time photos - this one looking across a pasture towards a mountain came out really nice. The stars were awesome!
Cole made friends with a snail.
Ian was really getting into reading The Lord of the Rings, and painting some Warhammer figures.
Me...I was just happy to be there.

Squirrel World ~ Part 2

One week later - the squirrels are growing & seem to be doing really great. Ma & Pops have really been busy caring for them - but their TLC really shows. The squirrels are quite steady on their little feet, and getting more lively & can almost scamper around. They can climb & cling to things really well now. They still enjoy their bottles, but have started nibbling on peanuts & puppy-chow. It will soon be time for them to live in a cage, instead of their little home-made hammock-nest of towels because they will be chewing on things & climbing all over the front porch getting into mischief. But a cage will only be temporary... When they can crack & eat an acorn we'll know they are ready to be on their own. I think Ma is looking forward to that day...but Pops will miss taking care of his babies. But I bet they will hang around nearby ...because Pops always puts food out for the critters.
He keeps a never-ending buffet for the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, 'possums, and raccoons open 24/7, 365 days a year.

Squirrel World

This afternoon we had the pleasure of meeting Blake's mom's newest fur-baby friends...2 baby squirrels she had rescued. One had fallen out of a tree in the yard & was on the ground squawking in distress. High up in the oak tree above it was it's brother - also in distress. No mama squirrel anywhere in sight...a hawk may have got her. So Ma & Rusty rescued both of them after they determined the mama was indeed gone.
The babies are living in a hollow gourd on Ma's front porch and every few hours she feeds them warm goats milk.We estimate their age to be around 5 weeks. So far they are doing great. Their eyes have opened & they are getting more active.



I think this one was looking for a warm, fuzzy & funny-smelling place to hide....but for some reason, Ian just wouldn't let a baby squirrel hide in his arm pit. *G*






Baby squirrels are very difficult to raise. They just don't do well without their real mama, but we're hoping these little guys will make it. Meanwhile, we all enjoyed feeding them, and snuggling with them.



Look how precious they are with their little squirrel-arms wrapped around each other as they sleep.

Signs of Spring... (part 3)

What's has to be one of the most delightful signs of spring?

A Bluebird....

A bluebird enjoying a morning bath!






Blake watched this bluebird taking a bath just outside our kitchen window this morning. (Does that make Blake a "Peeping Tom"...or maybe a Peeping Blake?!)

It's been rainy & cold around here for almost a week. But today was BEAUTIFUL! The sun was shining, the sky was brilliant blue and it just feels wonderfully light & cool. And this little bluebird was having a a good time splashing around, tossing water drops all over the place. Flittering & fluttering - really relishing his bath. If you listen close, you can almost hear him singing "Oh What a Beautiful Mooooorning. Oh What a Beautiful Day..."


Blake told me he quietly went outside & hid in the bushes for awhile, hoping for a better photo opp....but unfortunately, the bird never returned.
*G* But at least now I know what my hubby does while I'm at work.

Signs of Spring...(part 2)

What else says 'SPRING!'?


The Redbuds blossoms.




It's funny - REDbuds bloom purpley-pink. In fall the leaves turn yellow. So who named them REDbuds? But either way ~ they're very pretty.

Other early spring bloomers we've seen - daffodils/jonquils, pretty but stinky bradford pears, bright yellow forsythia or yellowbells, and some violets are peeping up.

And a SURE sign of spring - camping and fishing fever have hit hard.
We're planning a springbreak camping trip for the 1st weekend in April. Let's hope & pray we have pleasant weather. We really need a good de-stressing camping trip.

Signs of Spring... (part 1)

How do you know it's spring? Well there are lots of telltale signs around here.

First - the peach trees bloom.


Then, the bees come a-buzzing around the peachtree blossoms.








Can you say BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

Their Own Sense of Style

My nephew went to his Senior Prom tonight. I took a few pictures....
To protect the innocent, this is the only picture I'll share...
but his shoes matched his vest,
and his tie matched the color of her dress.

It kind of made me speechless...

Room with a View?

Our old scarecrow has spent the entire winter underneath the mulberry tree. It has really gotten 'weathered' and I'm sure the shirt & jeans are pretty rotten by now. But someone thinks it's perfect. A squirrel has been hanging around the scarecrow, crawling in & out of it, and even tugged & pulled at the fabric...tearing off pieces for a nest, maybe?

The first time Blake noticed it, the squirrel was tunneling up and down the inside of the pants legs. At one point its fuzzy tail was hanging out the zipper area. THAT would have been priceless picture! THEN the squirrel turned around and had it's head poking out the fly/zipper area! Just looking around, checking out the view. Blake has been trying to get a picture of this comical squirrel. So far - this is the only picture of the the scarecrow & squirrel together, but we're patient...maybe that silly squirrel will pose for Blake again, soon. We'll keep watching.

Meanwhile, here's what I think our little squirrel is cooking up. I think its a SHE, being a picky female - wanting the new home to look just right before she invites her guy over. She's setting herself up in a squirrel penthouse and is getting ready for her hunky boyfriend, Super-Squirrel, to come sweep her off her little squirrelly feet, and take her to land of nuts & honey a-plenty,... where they will live happily ever after.

March comes in ..... like a snowy lion!

We had a wonderful blessing today - SNOW! We get snow so rarely that it's a treat for us. A fun day to enjoy. The boys are really hoping school will be cancelled tomorrow, but we'll have to wait & see.

A week ago we were seeing the robins & gold finches acting all twitterpated. The flying squirrels were literally flying all over our backyard at night. Everything in the air said 'spring is almost here'....


Now the early daffodils are drooping because of the heavy, sloppy wet snow on them. The irises are trying to come up out of the ground...but now they are not sure that's such a good idea.
Bare tree branches are outlined with the snow. The fig & peach trees have a layer of snowy-frosting that makes them really cool looking. It's hard to capture the beauty of this in the photographs...especially when my hands were freezing! But it's hard to wear mittens & handle the camera, so 'art' won, and the mittens stayed inside.



Cole had a blast time playing in the snow. He romped & played on the church playground until he was soaking wet. He changed into warmer, dry clothes as soon as we got home... then he romped and played in the yard until he was even more soaking wet & cold. But that's what a day like this is for! Look at that mischievous gleam in his eye - (lower left photo)....yes, that was right before he threw that big ol' snowball at his Mama. Rotten kid!

Get the Lead Out

Blake took some pictures of his brother molding bullets out of lead. Facinating process. The liquid metal is just so cool to watch. It melts into a puddle in the blink of an eye, and then goes back to solid in a heart beat. And for a little while, it's pure color looks like refined silver.

Kind of reminds me of Malachi 3:3... sometimes we've got to go through some heat in order to be purer and stronger.

Quilt Wrestling!

I'm currently re-quilting my dear niece Courtney's favorite quilt. It's a beautiful, brightly colors quilt that just needed requilting because the original batting had gotten all wadded up & messed up.
I'm just doing a simple 'quilt in the ditch' - nothing fancy, smancy...but this puppy it BIG! The biggest quilt I've ever tackled. So it's been a wrestling match to get it under the sewing machine & keep it moving via free-motion quilting. But the hardest part has been figuring out where I've quilted & where I haven't quilted. It's hard to find! I have to look on the back of the quilt & find the missing parts of the pattern. Every time I find an area that hasn't been quilted I mark it with blue painters tape, and then hope I can find that area when I get back to the sewing machine. But it CAN be done, and will be done pretty soon! I'm about 95% done with the actual quilting, and will be moving on to the binding stage next. I have a feeling its going to be one of those 'will I ever find the end' kind of bindings. It will feel endless! *G* (I'll post of picture of the finished quilt as soon as it's completely done.)


But it will all be worth it...for the learning experience of quilting a large sized quilt by a standard sized machine...which built confidence, and most of all ~ just seeing Courtney's happy face. =)


Quilt Wrestling ought to be an Olympic sport...
I bet I could take a Gold Medal!

Is it Spring yet?

Bobbin is wondering if its springtime yet?
The birds are acting twitterpatted. The Flying Squirrels are flying all around the back yard every night. She can't catch them, but they sure are fun to watch. And a few of the early blooming flowers are peeking out & showing off their pretty colors while everything else is still wrapped up in winter-drab.


Ethel just laughed with the wisdom of age. No, silly. It's not springtime yet. It's just Valentines. Everything acts silly & twitterpatted on Valentines!

Especially Blake....he picked these early daffodils for Valentines.

Happy Valentines Day!

Sleeping In

Sleeping in. Ah, what a wonderful concept. But with Cole, that has a whole new meaning. Sleeping in means sleeping IN something. He sleeps inside his tee pee during the summer, he often sleeps inside a sleeping bag on top of his bed, and sometimes it literally means sleeping IN...like IN a box. He's enjoyed this box for a week or so now. He has it full of pillows, blankets & a few select toys, as well as a direct view of the tv & full access to the Playstation. He even sits there playing Guitar Hero! Last night he fell asleep in his box, so Blake took this picture.
What a life!

This morning Riley was TRYING to sleep in too, but he was rudely interrupted by Bobbin. Bobbin decided she wanted to sleep in on TOP of Riley. Her usual sleeping spot just didn't suit her for some unknown reason, and Riley's must have look comfortable. She carefully crawled up on top of Riley, and began 'kneading' him... to soften him up? I must say, Riley handled it with grace and long suffering sighs. He just laid there & let her make herself comfortable. I'm really not sure if he completely woke up during the whole procedure. His eyes opened, but he didn't really look like he was awake. It really looked just like an old Looney Toons Cartoon with the great big bulldog & the wee itty bitty kitty. Maybe Riley & Bobbin have spent too much time watching cartoons when we weren't looking!















Something tells me that if Riley ever tries to sleep on Bobbin - it will be a whole different story.

Happy New Year!

May we all be
living fine in 2009!

Praise Banners

Early last summer our Pastor was busy getting ready for our new Contemporary Services in the Activities Center. One day the mail arrived & I gave him a junk mail catalog full of some really pretty Praise banners. He was pondering the banners, but quite put off by the hefty prices of them. So me being me, glanced at them and promptly said 'We can make those!' Within days I was drafting the patterns on my EQ program, and a team of ladies & I were making them. It was a lot of fun working together, and I'm happy to say we got them all ready in time for the first service, too. They are really pretty, and help buffer the sound in the gym a bit. New Years Eve was the first time I've been in the gym with my camera. I took the pictures while the youth were playing volleyball, so some of the camera angles are not the best.
Enjoy!