Just a few photos from life in the country lately...... The deer have been out in the early mornings while I'm taking my walk. Many mornings lately have been foggy which looks so pretty hovering around the garden. I went out one morning with my coffee just to check on the garden, set my mug down to pull up a couple of weeds that caught my eye and ended up working for an hour and a half! When I finally came back to my coffee it was full of dead flies. Eww. I saw this little green guy on my potting table. I used to hate lizards but now I welcome them in my garden because they eat the bad bugs. And this sweet mama bird. I had this new birdhouse set on the fence waiting ... Read more
Summer is Here and This is Where You Can Find Me
Hello, old friends! It's been a while. It was a busy spring and now we're moving into summer, ready or not. I'm ready. Spring brought soccer season, travel to DC to see our nation's capital and visit family, the end of another school year for both my son and my daughter who works at a preschool, two trips to Texas, annnnd a new baby boy born to my daughter and son-in-law in May! He's the sweetest little thing and my daughter and SIL are just the best new parents! I won't be posting pictures of him here so if you'd like to know what he looks like, just imagine the most beautiful baby boy ever and there you have it! Parents and baby are doing well, and we are so thankful to add this precious ... Read more
Back Home
I came home last night after being out of town the last few days. My "Sweet Home Alabama" sign welcomed me at the state line and even though there were a couple of more hours of driving to go, it felt like home was close. I was surprised at how many new signs of spring had popped up in just the few days I was gone. I snapped this photo of a field near our home. It's nice when you start to see familiar pieces of land. I noticed that this summer crop had been prepped while I was gone. Not sure if the seed is in the ground yet or not, but a plowed field is a sign that summer corn is definitely in our future! I opened my bedroom blinds this morning to see this pink burst of azalea ... Read more
Summer Garden Recap: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
As far as gardening goes, I've never had anything more than what I call a little "kitchen garden"--some herbs and a few veggies and melons, at most. So, I'm still very much a beginner. I haven't even had a garden for the last few years (other than herbs), and I was ready to get back to it, but I also remembered how my gardens usually play out. The season always seems to start out strong and lovely and makes me feel like I really have a green thumb, ha, and then it starts going downhill about mid-summer with the onset of heat, bugs, and disease. So, here it is-- the good, the bad, and the ugly of this year's summer garden! The Good! Late spring and the first half of summer were a ... Read more
Snapshot Saturday: Odds and Ends
Hello there! It's Saturday so I have some snapshots from the week, just odds and ends really. Summer evenings will be coming to an end in a few more weeks but the summer garden already came to an end last Saturday when I pulled up everything except my herb bed and tea bed. It was such a mess! Next week I'll post a summer garden recap. While I worked in the garden, the guys worked on a different project. Earlier in the summer, my son and his friends built a raft to ride down the widest and deepest part of the creek which only worked for about an hour, but they were so excited. The experience inspired the idea to build a small boat which the guys have been working on the last few ... Read more
Little Neighbors are Big Blessings
My sister, Katie, was the baby of the family and she was such a cute little girl! The neighbors thought she was pretty cute too. One day the lady next door called my mom to tell her how much she enjoyed hearing Katie sing "Jesus Loves Me" at the top of her lungs while swinging in our back yard! So sweet. I think about that story now as I have my own little neighbors to enjoy, and they are just so precious. There are a lot of children on our street, and they sing and play and ride their bikes all around the neighborhood. Here a couple of the sweet ways they've blessed us lately. Sunflower Day! Our sunflowers have consistently stayed turned towards our neighbors' yard all summer. My ... Read more
Squash Casserole
There's a saying down here in the South during summertime that goes.... “Better not leave your car unlocked at church on Sundays--not because of crime but because a church member might leave a bag of squash in your front seat!” So funny! But let me just say I've never turned away squash--I love it! When I set out to start a garden this year, I decided to keep it small, and it's been the perfect starter size--just enough for our family to eat. Considering I'm the only one in the family who really likes squash (my husband thinks it's vile), I've been happy to eat it all up myself! My 2 squash plants began yielding in late May and I've been getting 2 or 3 squash a week and that's ... Read more
Snapshot Saturday: Colors of Summer
Happy weekend! In scrolling back through my photos from the week, I was struck by the brightness and color of the season. I'm starting with my favorite little snapshot of the week. During an early morning check of the garden the butterflies were all aflutter, but I managed to catch a quick snapshot of this pretty one with her yellow wings, resting briefly on the dome of a peachy zinnia. I went out one evening to clip some blooms and loved how pretty they were just piled in my basket in every shade of pink. The tomatoes just amaze me with their colors changing through a range of green, yellow, orange, and red. It's just fascinating to observe the progression each day. I ... Read more