{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ June 28, 2015

Joining Like Mother, Like Daughter for {phfr}!

{Happy}

Dave's brother and his wife are visiting from the west coast.  We don't get to see them very often, but we are enjoying our time together.  Last Wednesday, my mother-in-law joined us for dinner.  It was a rare occasion for us all to be together.

Dave, his mother, his sister-in-law, and his brother

Our quirky and adorable Hannah and her grandmother are so much alike.  They each view the world through her own binoculars and neither cares if it makes her unusual.  Lots of strength of mind is represented in this photo.

{Pretty}

Our town is home to a couple big insurance companies, and one of them maintains a beautifully and immaculately kept garden for public use.  I think it's one of my favorite places.  A sample of the gorgeousness~

Thanks for stopping by!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ June 21, 2015

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?  It's been almost nothing but rain and gray skies around here for the past six weeks, though yesterday was clear and sunny. . . and very hot!  The problem is that it's hard to keep up with outdoor chores.  Also, the poor vegetable garden is kind of scraggly and waterlogged.  But first, some {pretty} and {happy}

{Pretty}

The zinnias are blooming!  Have you ever grown zinnias?  My goodness, they are so hardy and robust they are almost fail-safe.  The soil here is not great, it's been cloudy and too wet, yet these little beauties practically spring up overnight from seed and then bloom profusely until frost in the fall. They aren't even picky about spacing or depth of planting.  And then they oblige with lots of color and blooms that are great for cutting.  And this is just the start!

The dahlias are also about to bloom.  I've never grown dahlias before, but I'm excited to see how these do.  Honestly, when I put those dried up, dead-looking roots in the ground, it seems impossible that anything should come of them, but look what happens: lush foliage and the first bud. It really is a little miracle.  Gardening is an act of faith!

{Happy}

On to the vegetable garden!  We have the first two wee tomatoes~

~which is encouraging considering the awful weather we've had.  In fact, some of the tomato plants are thriving, like this:

Though you can't see them, there are several blossoms!

{Real}

. . . and some are not, like this:

It's still alive anyway.  We bought all our tomato plants at the same place and planted them at the same time in the same garden.  They are literally a few feet apart, yet we have flourishing plants like the one in {happy} and spindly plants like the one above, and everything in between.  I'm blaming the weather.

{Funny}

A mouse surprised me and I surprised it when I went to do some weeding in the flower garden.  It scurried away and hid with its face toward the retaining wall but left his hind end sticking out.  I just left it.  I don't care if the mice live outside; it's only when they come into the house that they are a problem.    

And yes, the weeds are {real}-ly that bad.  Weeds, of course, love rain, but the rain, of course, keeps me from keeping up with the weeding.  It's almost under control now.  I will take dominion!

Join Like Mother, Like Daughter for more {phfr}!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ June 14, 2015

Hello, everyone!  As usual, I'm joining Like Mother, Like Daughter for {phfr}!

{Pretty}

There are two, possibly three, herons living at our pond this summer, judging by the various shades of blue/gray we see.  I hope to see babies soon, but no luck so far. These birds are so different than the raucous geese who splash around in the pond, announcing their every arrival and departure.  The herons are silent and hardly ruffle the water when they catch a fish.  The only way to see them is to happen to glance pond-ward at just the right moment.  Then you might see one swooping noiselessly above the water or perching on a stump, like this one.

{Happy}

My husband the turtle lover spotted this gal in our driveway.  She made a dash for the woodpile when she realized he was intending to pick her up.  He did, but no harm came to her.  Turtles always look like they are smiling!

Dave says you can tell him and her box turtles apart by the bottoms of their shells and their eyes.  Boy turtles usually have a red ring around their eyes and the bottoms of the their shells are concave.  Girls' shells are flat and their eyes red ring-less.  I take his word for it.

{Real}

It's broken.  In two places. 

He'll be wearing a cast for at least four weeks.  Thankfully, no surgery is required.  He had them wrap it in green to match the liturgical color for the season of Pentecost because he's cool that way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We have had some big storms this weekend, some of them severe enough to drive us to an interior room when the tornado sirens went off.  We have had more than two inches of rain in two days, which is nothing compared to some of Texas and Oklahoma, I know, but things are pretty soggy out there and the pond is the fullest I have ever seen it.  

Thanks for stopping by!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~June 7, 2015

Hello, there!  I did not mean to disappear last week, but it's the way things fell out.  I'm glad to be joining Rosie at Like Mother, Like Daughter for {phfr} this week.

{Pretty}

Masses of vivid, multi-colored geraniums at the local nursery.  I wished I could have rolled up the entire greenhouse and taken it home.  Gorgeous!

{Happy}

I recently used my pressure canner for the first time since we moved here last summer.  I made vegetable beef soup from a leftover pot roast plus a few odds and ends.  It's thrifty and tasty, a good combination!  I love having jars of homemade soup on hand for busy days.  Our garden is in full swing now, and if all goes as planned, I will have veggies to can this summer.  Since this is our first year of gardening at this location, the soil is not great, so I'm trying not to get my expectations too high.  We shall see . . .

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I have wanted to do a fairy garden for the past four summers but, for one reason or another, just never managed to actually get it done.  Well, I finally did yesterday, and I love it!

I bought the miniatures at Jo-Ann (40% or 50% off~ I can't remember which), the asparagus fern at the nursery for $2, and the rest I scrounged.  I dug up some of the copious moss in our lawn and used a couple small impatiens I planted from seed.  I had saved the rocks that we weeded out of the garden all spring and used those for the walkway.  The big rock came from the garden too.  The soil and wagon we already had on hand. The wagon is really Hannah's from when she was a little girl and would take her dolls for rides in it. She hasn't used it for many years, though, so I "borrowed" it.  Dave drilled holes for drainage. So, all told I spent less than $20.  I think my fairy garden is sweet and whimsical!

{Funny}

As I was passing through my bedroom, I glanced out the window and was greeted with this sight:

A flying lesson!  The fledglings did not seem eager to begin.  Two adult birds flew from branch to branch, twittering.  "See?  You just do it like this.  It's easy!  C'mon and give it a try!"  I never did see the little birds attempting to fly, but I suspect they eventually screwed up their courage and tried.  

{Real}

This is the result of a scuffle with an uncooperative horse.  The horse won.

Dave says the falling didn't hurt, but the landing did.  He's got an immobilizing splint and an upcoming x-ray to determine if it's broken or just sprained.  Either way, it looks nasty and feels worse!