Psalm 128:2

For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. King James Bible

Summer lovin'

Say hello to my little friends. A local welder does these adorable flowers and dragon flies. I LOVE them. Got some for my sister for her birthday. He's got some three times this size, too. Like 'em? Call Rion at 363-3184. Tell him Rani told you about his metal lawn art. The columbine has pretty much taken over this part of the landscaping. I need to do some moving around I think.

Can't remember what this is called but it has also completely taken over my landscaping near the garage. I do like the purple, though.

The big kids went fishing with dad today. See the BIG fish they caught? Squint if you can't. Yep fish appetizers here today:) Dad was cleaning it and Lee says, only two tiny pieces? Dad laughed.

One of my free perennials. Thanks Grandpa Geno! It's beautiful. It's a golden something or other.

Another freebie...no idea what it is but them yellow flowers sure are fancy.

This is called Yarrow, I think. Mom gave it to me. It has gotten completely out of control. I have no idea what to do about it. I hate doing plant abortions. I have got to find somewhere more appropriate for this stuff.

The garden in it's entirety, is that a word?

Rhubarb, spinach, lettuce and carrots and onions that need to be weeded, badly :( At the end past the peonies there is some dill growing and then some big onions.

Here's a shot of the cukes and the melons and more big onions.

Strawberries with feet? Wonky, I tell ya. Dern camera doesn't focus real well one -handed.

Double berry goodness!

Beautiful berries, if you look close enough you can see a critter bite on the red one.

The garden is sure filling out with this warm weather we're having. We have a strawberry patch and if we can get to 'em before the critters, they taste mighty fine. They are pretty wonky looking berries, we got double berries and footed berries but no real regular looking berries, hmmm.

Hope you are getting some sweet summer lovin' at your garden, too!

A Pee Party?

Golden Showers Garden Party

The Crunchy Chicken has another challenge. The comments suggest using diluted urine on your garden could help your produce PRODUCE!

Hmmmm...

Not sure I am up to the challenge but, we may have people over that weekend. Do you think if I asked them to pee in a bucket (for the good of the earth) they would call me crazy?

Probably.

Reflecting a bit on HIS amazing creation...and how blessed I am because of it.

Today there was absolutely nothing on the calendar. I have not seen a tiny square that white in a long time.

This morning I felt restless. I wanted to do something, anything. But, I was tired. I wandered around the house and finally settled down in the easy chair and watched some of my dvr'd shows. I felt pretty lazy and unproductive.

Then dh and ds went to the pumpkin patch and brought home the most beautiful gourds and pumpkins. Sometimes I can't believe the shapes and colors God can make. Last Saturday, at the Apple Orchard we saw this turkey with the most amazing colored head; periwinkle blue and purple and red. It was amazing.


Later, I was walking through the kitchen, the same kitchen I walk through every day a million times. I saw my plant, the same plant that has been there for 5 years. But today, I noticed this...
a beautiful blooming flower. I was shocked. I called my husband over to look at it. We found another one, white petals with tiny stippled purple dots. Wow.

After school dh wanted to go and collect some colored corn from his uncle's field. The kids love going out into the corn field. We had a great time trying to guess what color the kernels would be before we tore back the husks. Again, I was amazed by the glorious colors in God's creation. The colors were so vibrant and beautiful. Dd was the photographer for a couple of these...(see the Goodyear Blimp, incognito as a prego?)
These are the two colorful little creations that God has given me, aren't they beautiful? On our way home we saw a helicopter spraying the fields. Talk about modern agriculture. We pulled up along side the road to let ds and dd watch for awhile. I couldn't help thinking how blessed my life has been. I am alive and well. I witness beautiful colors and amazing creations every day. How lucky am I?

Thank you Lord for your amazing knack for design!

P.S. Kris - I am gonna need your help carving these ginormous pumpkins this year!!!

the next top models for Burpee seeds...

Man, I love Sunflowers! This one was a surprise. We didn't plant any this year, but we had several little leftovers from last years crop. Only two survived, this one and one in my veggie garden. The veggie one was felled by the recent rain (I read you had this problem, too, B).

I wanted to take pictures of them with the kids, but they grew much too tall. If I only remembered the variety, I would send a photo into a seed company for next spring's catalog...

gotta lotta squash?

Thanks to a great friend I found this site with extremely simple instructions (including pictures)! http://www.pickyourown.org/freezing_summer_squash.htm

How to Freeze Summer Squash (Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Crookneck, Pattypan, Straightneck, White Scallop, etc.)

If you like frozen squash in the winter, just imagine how good it would taste if you had picked a firm, fresh squashs yourself and then quickly froze them at home! It is also one of the simplest ways to put up a vegetable for the winter. Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. The squash will taste MUCH better than anything you've ever had from a store.

Good Luck!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

Contrary to say the least. I believe we planted seeds in the garden in May and then completely forgot about that little patch of land until just recently when we had to TILL the weeds. AMAZINGLY enough, my dd took these shots of the lettuce and carrots just this morning. Talk about miracles...

one act review...

Yesterday afternoon I attended the High School One Act Play. Mostly because my niece was involved, but also because they usually do a very good job at entertaining. This year the title alone is enticing. "The Pro-Life Handbook" written and directed by Cory Allen Heidelberger asks the defining question of it's viewers; Is South Dakota a pro-life state? In the writer/director's own words, The show thus addresses how South Dakota's approach to all sorts of issues -- e.g. jobs, health insurance, education, agriculture, drinking -- would change if our politicians and voters sincerely and consistently treated "life" as their primary value.
It takes real life events that people have read about in the news in the last 6 months or so and forces the audience to think about both sides of the issue. It was intriguing and I found myself encompassing many emotions as I watched. At times I became defensive, other times I found myself giggling at the hypocrisy. I was saddened and moved by a couple of realizations that I had never made before. In the end it was entertaining as usual and this year I felt like I learned a thing or two. If you can give up 40 minutes or so of your precious time, check them out at the Brandon Valley Performing Arts Center, Region I-B One-Act Contest on Thursday, January 25, 9:35 a.m. You won't be disappointed.
Oh and if you do go and you want to review it, you can leave your two cents here.