The Beauty and Humor from Above

The Balloon flower filled with rain looks like it's the perfect place for fairies or angels to float & play. If you look really close - you might see one. (Other than cropping, & a tiny of bit softening, this picture was not photoshopped.)
Daisys....such a pure, sweet, simple flower.
Blake took this picture of an 'althea' or 'rose of sharon' -simply lovely. (Again, other than a little cropping, I have not photoshopped it.)

So many beautiful flowers. God is such a wonderful artist. Just look at the vast variety of flowers...His endless creativity is amazing. And if this is an example of the flowers on earth, just think of the endless variety & infinite beauty of the flowers we'll see in Heaven.

Fireflies....proof that God has a sense of humor, because how else would you explain a blinky butt. I hope there are 'lightning bugs' in Heaven, too.

Peaches & Apples & Berries, OH MY!

Our fruit trees are over burdened this year. (Click on the pictures to see a bigger/better view.) It's to the point that we've re-named them a "Weeping Peach Tree" and "Weeping Apple tree!"
The peach tree is propped up on one side to keep the limb from breaking, but it's still drooping to the ground. The day after these pictures we had some rain (Yeah!)...now the peach tree limbs are brushing the ground!!!! And they still have some growing to do because they are not ripe yet.
The peaches are little 'Indian Peaches', not the big ol' grocery store/south GA kind - but they have still overwhelmed this poor prolific tree!
Here's some blueberries, too. They make such pretty pictures.
The fig tree has a bumper crop this year. too. I always know when the figs are ripe because the crows & squirrels start hanging out around the tree, squawking & carrying on like it's party time. And when you consider the fact that sometimes the figs fall off the tree & ferment on the ground....then I guess it really is party time!

Happy 4th and Happy 10th!

Cole's birthday is July 6th, but we always have a family gathering on the the 4th of July - so we celebrate his birthday early. (He was too stubborn to be born in June when he was due, and too stubborn to be born ON the 4th as I had hoped 10 years ago when I was HUGELY pregnant and miserable.)
Here's a few pictures from the birthday celebration AND annual family pyromanic bash. I had fun trying to take pictures of the fireworks. I especially like the pictures of Blake & Cole playing with the sparklers. One picture (3rd one) shows an odd green image near the fireworks...what is this??????? Has 'George' the ghost at Ma & Pop's house finally decided to get into the act?


All in all it was a really fun day. I think Cole enjoyed his birthday 'cake' of rainbow sherbert. Lord knows he's LOVES ice creams & sherberts much more than cake (just like his Pappy), so that what he had. We made homemade pizza for everyone - always a hit. And he was delighted with his presents...Lego Indiana Jones for PS2, some movies & books, and ALL the boys had a blast playing with the Nerf 'Rocket Bazooka Launcher'...they made it a game of 'tag'! No blood or guts happened during this game - so it must have been fun for everyone.

I can't believe my baby is 10 years old! He's such a good kid, and we are so blessed by his silliness, creativity in building things, and wonderful questions about the world. Thank you, Lord, for sending this sweet child to our family. He's a delight....most of the time. *G*

Happy 4th of July Y'all! And Happy Birthday Cole!

A Family Outing

The family decided to go for a little hike at a local state park today. While climbing around on some rocks out in the creek (which is really the size of a river, IMO,) I saw bunches & bunches of these wee tiny little froggies. They were so tiny! The hand holding one in the picture is Cole's small hand, to give you an idea of scale. About the size of my pinkie nail! Maybe they were new froggies... just recently tadpoles?







Due to last year's drought (which is still happening, but not quite as dramatic as last year - yet), the water is down. This is a picture of the old historic mill in the park. It dates back to 1845 & was a textile mill (built by slave labor), later used to make uniforms during the Civil War. Union forces put it out of business. Grumpy ol' Yankees!
We left the trail once we got past the old mill ruins & were walking/climbing our way down the creek via rocks which were in the middle of the creek and should have been underwater. The rocks you can see in the mill picture should barely be visible - more like rapids, than dry path ways. Well, it wasn't exactly a pathway...more like a challenging obstacle course at times. I'm VERY happy to say I didn't trip or fall into the creek. Nope, not even once! (I think that's a record! *G*) Riley had some difficulties navigating the rocks, but he managed to keep up. You would think it would be easier for him - having 4 legs and a lower center of gravity. BUT I think he was worried....a thunderstorm built up & gave us a nice shower while we were quite a ways down stream. Riley turns into a quivering wreck every time it thunders. So instead of romping in the water like he usually does, he was rather distracted. He's quite the weather-dog.

So, despite the heat, and then getting soaked in the brief, but cooling rain, we had a nice day hike. Even Ian managed to enjoy himself...grumpy ol' teen.

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.