Houston, We have a problem!

Help me, mama. I'm Stuck!



Haha~ Gotcha! Just kiddin', I'm not stuck.



But I DO have a problem....
BIG dog.... Little Doggie Door!

Camp Cole

Cole has created a unique place to camp out. He set up the play Teepee in the living room last weekend & has been camped out there ever since. He has "everything he needs"... a nice soft bed (thanks to our sleeping bag), company thanks to a few friendly stuffed animals, a view of the tv, access to the Playstation, his DS is handy, and an easy exit to the kitchen and "outhouse." He's sat in there and read the entire book (abridged/kids version) 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' is less than 24 hours, too! He's determined to keep his big brother OUT of Camp Cole, but I have news for him.... that Teepee belonged to Ian long before he ever played with it.

Camp Cole has some outstanding advantages...it's a lot more economical than other camps because requires no gas to get there and has no fees, you don't get homesick, and Mama can still tuck you in at night, no 'skeeters or poison ivy, and best of all it's available 365 days a year!

Beetle-Mania

These are just a few of the bzillion rhinoceros beetles
Cole & his cousin found on the playground at work/church this afternoon after VBS. At first they were freaked out by the size and quantity of bugs all around them. They really are HUGE!!! But eventually, that little boy curiosity about all things creepy overcame their fears & the bug-party began. First Cole 'caught' just one. After studying it & learning that they don't bite or sting - he went back for more. This time he ended up with a female & 4 males. Hmmm...must be something irresistible about those 6 creepy legs & that hard body - cause the guys sure liked her! THEN they went back for more bugs.... 13 in all. All crawling around the plastic box like crazy - the males fighting with each other, and the females just trying to deal with the 'friendly' males. That makes 13 bugs X 6 legs=78 legs all making that creepy crawling 'let me out of the box' sound. EWWWW! One persistent beetle keeps getting out of the box. Cole almost stepped on it...which startled him, to say the least. The beetle is almost as big as his foot! Then later I was drying my hands on a dish towel & got a surprise...a big stinkin' beetle clinging to the towel. I'm surprised we didn't have bug nightmares! While all this has been fascinating and educational,... I don't think I mentioned how they stink. It's a real funky smell. The dog & cats literally run from them...all because of their smell. I think these bugs are headed back outside pretty soon! Rhinoceros Beetles....cool, but creepy.

UPDATE I : We let the first box of beetles go, but Cole caught 7 more the next day & brought them home. He wants to 'study them' & see how they change and grow. Ok -that's educational & interesting. We found out the study of beetles is called 'coleopterology' - COLE really liked that name....COLEopterlogy, get it!?! Anyway...everything was fine, the beetles are in a plastic shoe box with a lid. They stayed put all night long, & they seem happy to eat mulberries and grapes Cole provided. The livingroom smelled funky this morning, but I keep telling myself that this is just for a couple of days. BUT now we have a problem. 2 of them have escaped!!!!!!!!!! Cole found one...but we still have a huge stray beetle on the loose in the house. The cats & dog won't have anything to do with them...completely shy away from them. So we know they didn't eat it. All I know is if I step on it...or worse, it crawls up the bed, you'll be hearing about it on the evening news. It will be the scream heard 'round the world.

UPDATE II: I'm happy to say Cole finally found the missing beetle. It had somehow fell into an antique coal holder thingie on the other side of the living room. HOW it got inside the thing, I'll never know. Maybe it climbed up the mantle & fell backwards into it? It couldn't climb back out, so the noise of it's crawling/climbing/crawling gave away his hiding place. (Thank you, Lord!)

I'm even happier to say all the beetles have been banished to the garage. They really stink - so out they went. We'll keep them for a couple more days, then Cole will "release them back into the wild."

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!

15!

Friday, April 24th was Ian's 15th birthday. It's hard to believe that the baby I once held with amazement that God had actually given him to us has grown up so quickly. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday I rocked him in my lap. We've had so many 'firsts'.... first smile, laugh, camping trip (4 months old), first word (Kitty-cat) and steps (taken cautiously at 1 yr). First days of school, first time meeting your baby brother, first band concert, and now marching band and high school.

His mind is so full of creative thoughts and drawings...even if some of it is weird, it's his - therefore wonderful. I thank the Lord every day for blessing our family with him. He's a good kid on the verge of being an awesome man. Lord, continue to bless him, and keep him safe. Help him to grow in wisdom and strength. Help him always to seek Your will & plans in his life. Most of all ~ Thank you Lord for Ian.

Happy Birthday Ian!

Camping - sitting by the fire

One of the best things about camping - just sitting by the fire. Sometimes we talk, laugh, and joke around. Other times we reminisce about other camping trips and times in our lives. Sometimes we just enjoy the silence...but is it really silent? I hear frogs singing, crickets chirping, a whippoorwill calling, and owls hooting. During the day the hawks & falcons soar high above & call out, bees are buzzing, and there's always the sounds of kids playing nearby.

Thank you, Lord for a fun, relaxing,safe, and soul-renewing trip. Your world is an amazing place. Life is good, and camping makes us happy.

Around Camp

Camping is great - you get away from all the noisy things of daily life & it's demands, and are basically forced to spend close personal time together with your family. This can be good, or bad....I'm happy to say it was good for us. We played some games, read, just sat by the fire, the boys played in the creek, and spring at the Pocket, we cooked & enjoyed some good camping food - pancakes, biscuits, hot dogs, and even pizza!

Riley enjoys camping - but I think we wore him out. He looks soooo tired. But he wasn't too tired to beg for my biscuit one morning! *G*

More Hiking Pictures

Hiking the trail was such a peaceful, experience - sometimes full of surprises. Riley stirred up a small copperhead snake. EEEK! It was in the rocks nearby where we took this Keown Falls picture. I'm happy to say we parted ways with it with no harm done.

A unique little spring was along side the trail. It just bubbled up out of no where - clear & cold as could be, then it trickled down along the trail for about 10 yards & then water just disappeared back into the ground. The boys enjoyed tasting fresh spring water...especially on the way back down the mountain when we were hot & tired. Riley thought it was refreshing too...he laid down in it!

Camping - Spring Break '08

We went camping in the "The Pocket" a part of the Chattahoochee National Forest / John's Mountain Wildlife Management Area. A really lovely area - all springy & green with new life. While there we hiked up to Keown Falls...quite a hike for these short little legs! But well worth the effort. Blake & Cole also did some fishing. Cole has a unique way of carrying his fishing pole - inside his bookbag, sticking out like a radar. He was quite happy & proud of this wee little fish he caught, too.

More pictures to follow....

Wildflowers

We went camping last weekend for spring break. Although it was a bit early in the spring blooming time in the mountains, we were blessed to see some lovely wildflowers. Blake takes AWESOME flower pictures. He really takes his time & makes these pictures extra special. You can see so many tiny details on these flowers that you would normally just walk right past.
Here's a couple of collages of these flowers....
they include wild geranium (one of my favorites), trailing arbutis (which always looks bruised), birds foot voilets, foam flower, star chickweed & purple wood sorrell, fairy or dwarf iris, merry bells, AND an interesting looking unknown flower (the spiral looking one) we found. We can't find it in any of our wildflower books. If & when we figure out what it is, we'll post it's name.

UPDATE - the unknown flower has been ID'd as 'Lousewort' aka Fernleaf or Wood Betony. The Lousewort name comes from an old wive's tale that said cattle would be infested w/ lice after eating this plant. I'm happy to say that is not true, just an old wives tale. FYI - wort simply means flower...even tho' is sounds like an ugly wart.