Don't know why I chose this photo tonight. Guess I just wanted to post something before I head upstairs to bed. Tomorrow starts a new week. I'll need to go to the grocery store because I decided to stay home and pick blueberries on Saturday. Soon it will be time to pick cucumbers and make pickles. I think I'm going to miss the camera...
I've been doing slightly better than normal keeping up with my gardens this summer. Sara and Alysa have been helping me dead-head marigolds and the rain of the past couple weeks has given me a rest from everyday watering of the vegetables. The cats would help if they just knew what to do. Instead they follow me out to the garden or come meowing in the midst of my job. They're always looking for a little attention. Even marigolds don't keep Oreo out of the garden and the dive-bombing Barn Swallows don't deter the cats either. I think my animals enjoy this time of year as much as I do and just want to share the time with me.
When I was a little girl we used to catch a fuzzy seed floating past in the breeze, make a wish, and blow it back into the air. I used to wish for a baby brother (I thought it would be fun to have a baby in the house) but I never got one. I recall wondering where those tiny seeds came from and where they were going. Sometimes I feel like one of them, tossed around by the wind, hanging on for dear life, never really knowing where I am headed. I'm sure those little seeds aren't concerned about their destination. Somehow they trust that the One who made them is in control. He will take them safely to the journey's end. I have to wonder why I struggle so to hang on when He has me safely in His arms.
It has been a different kind of week. With Ben and Hannah gone to camp the house has been quieter. There seems to be less to do and yet more at the same time. I have accomplished only a few of the tasks I had in mind to do while they were gone, forgetting that I would still have two little girls here with me four out of the five days. I thought maybe I would have a chance to do a little visiting but I didn't plan ahead and Monday passed me by. On Tuesday I took the girls over to swim at Rachel's house. (Thanks Rach, I needed that!) Yesterday I slept longer than I wanted to and too soon it was time to get the girls from summer school. We popped in on Shelly before heading home and interrupted her plans. (She was very gracious and didn't throw us out.) Today we stopped at the library after school and found that they were just finishing up a presentaion on birds. (We did get to hear about and see the Barn Owl named Melinda.) Late tomorrow afternoon we'll head back up to get the kids from camp, watch the closing ceremony, and return home. It will be dark when we get back and the week will be coming to a close. It's not been a bad week just different than I had anticipated. Now I'm looking forward to next week and hearing about my kids and their vacation adventure.
I'm having more fun watching the bugs in my "Ugly Garden" than looking at the flowers in the others. There must be a million grasshoopers and, ya know, they all look just slightly different. They are brown, gray, bright green, and stripey looking. Some stare into the camera with a funny, curious look in their eyes and others hop away before I can get anywhere near them. 
I'm not sure what they're eating in there but I don't think it's caterpillars. They're likely eating anything green and growing, grass, flowers, weeds... I wish they'd finish off some of those pesky Japanese beetles!
A grasshoppper could never be lonely in that milkweed patch! There are not only plenty of other hoppers but frogs, toads, bees, beetles, and caterpillars, not to mention a cat or two who like to take naps in the shady milkweed forest. It also makes a super grasshopper playground! Lots of stems to climb, leaves to bounce, and flowers to swing on. Pure grasshopper adventure! Then again, maybe the milkweed patch is just a nice cool place to hide from the birds who are looking for a tasty grasshopper snack. (Too bad they already made a movie!)
I decided Jazz and I should go for a walk this afternoon. We didn't go far, just a short ways into the orchard, around behind the house and back home again. I need the exercise and Jasmine enjoys going along. In one section of trees there are clusters of tiny"scambled egg" snapdragons, at least that is what they look like to me. They grow where the grass has been sprayed and is dead and brown under the trees. They add a splash of color to an otherwise all-green landscape. I'm not used to taking summer walks in the orchard because it is usually so busy with workers, but this year, with immigration being such a hot topic, it is much quieter. The apples look very small and some trees are dying. I suppose it has to do with our very hot and dry weather through the months of May and June. Hopefully we get enough, but not too much, rain the rest of the summer and some workers to harvest the crop once it is ripe. 
I went searching for more monarch caterpillars in my milkweek patch this afternoon and found a new friend instead. He was feeling rather sleepy until I put my camera right up close to his face. He looked up and gave me a big smile before he turned and looked the other way. What a great place to hang out and take a nap on a summer afternoon, a milkweed leaf. 
Just imagine being tree frog size and stretching out for a snooze in your milkweed leaf hammock. The bird sized bees buzzing overhead, grasshoopers bouncing on your bed, and caterpillars stopping by for a snack. Just the right amount of sunshine and shade... Ahhh.... this is the life!
We discovered a new friend in the milkweed garden yesterday, a ladybug. A few years ago we were innundated with swarms of these pretty little creatures, but this one seemed to be all alone, just crawling up and down the stems of thses white flowers. Funny how we tend to think of some bugs as friends and others as enemies. I don't usually mind a ladybug crawling up my arm but I don't even like touching those yucky Japanese beetles!
I wanted to go out and run through the back yard, letting the water drench my hair and clothes like we used to when I was a little girl, but the threat of lightening kept me on the back porch. Lucky for me one corner of the porch likes to collect a puddle of water where I could cool the bottoms of my feet and splash my toes in the water. Mmmmm... nice!
Hot and Hazy, Feeling Lazy
At the doctor's office my plans were rearranged just slightly by the fact that the appointments weren't until 1:45 pm. (How did I do that?... ha! Today is the 10th, must have gotten the time and date confused...) Okay, so I run home, grab some lunch and the swim gear and head out early so as not to disappoint anyone. The kids spent some time in the pool, ate some lunch, rode the zipline and we still had just enough time to get back here for the appointments. Phew!
These little creatures have invaded the back yard of a friend where we stopped while running errands yesterday. These tiny toads seem to be everywhere and are no bigger than my fingernail. (That's my husband's hairy arm, not mine!) I have to wonder how many we squashed just walking through the grass...
I suppose they make tasty snacks for hungry birds and snakes but I imagine one would need to eat several toads to constitute a good meal. Hmmm... do they taste like chicken too?
As I was went from plant to plant in my rather scraggily looking milkweed patch, I spotted another little creature, one I have been waiting for, a monarch caterpillar! I have seen the butterflies flitting about and have been eager to find the next generation. This one is nearly ready to crawl off and find a safe place to finish his journey to becoming a butterfly.
The milkweed patch, which is really rather an ugly garden, is full of life. Bees are buzzing, beetles are chomping, caterpillars are growing and grasshoppers are hopping. Sometimes the ugly isn't so ugly if you take a closer look, unless its a Japanese beetle!
Simple Pleasures
I have an awesome God who loves me more than I could ever know, and who gave His all for me. If that wasn't enough, He has given me a wonderful family and a beautiful home. He has surrounded me with plants and flowers, birds and bugs, with fresh air and sunshine, and given me more than enough to eat. 
Oh that I could remember to be thankful for each and every day, to soak in all that surrounds me and realize the tremendous gift that it is! I can see... I can hear... I can feel. And I can know He loves me.
Sometimes God answers the simplest prayers, like mine this morning. "Please, God, send the hummingbird." I had my camera ready and suddenly, there he was! I had time to snap one picture before he was chased away by the female. These little birds stop by my feeder often during the course of each day but I'm not usually ready for them or they disappear before I have a chance to take a picture. Thank you, Lord, for that little blessing this morning!
These pretty little flowers grow along the side of the road not far from here. Once in a great while I will stop and pick a bouquet to take home and set on my table but I haven't done it yet this year. The purple colored Sweet Peas are among my favorite flowers and I have often said I should plant them at home, maybe along the hedgerow, but we still don't have any. One year Ben and Hannah planted some where I now grow my spinach and snow peas but they didn't do well there and now they are gone. Maybe some of God's blessings are meant to be enjoyed at a distance, little treasures that make us smile as we pass by. I can't have everything in my own possession but if I set my mind to, I can enjoy it in the hands of others and be happy too.
Without any cats around to bump against my legs, I was finally able to catch one! (Okay, two.) It's a good thing a I have a relatively moderate fear of being stung. If I sit still and stay calm, it is possible to get a pretty good shot of one.
I have a nice little milkweed patch which I am watching for monarch caterpillars. I've seen the butterflies flitting about but so far no eggs or crawly things. I'll just have to keep my eyes open, I guess. In the meantime, they are a good place to watch bees too.
Just about two weeks ago my parents recieved a phone call from one of my father's many cousins. In the course of the conversation they were informed that one of my dad's elderly aunts lives in a nursing facility very near to where we had today's family picnic. Aunt Margaret is a very sweet 93 year old lady (she's in the center of the photo) with a wonderful collection of her own paintings hanging in her room. (Oh yes, and a couple on the dining room wall too.) 
Maybe you can see where Priscilla gets some of artistic abilities? Aunt Margaret seemed happy to have some family come to visit her, even if she was just a little bit confused as to who Priscilla and I were. Dad played a couple of songs on his banjo and harmonica and he and Mom sang too (Priscilla and I listened). Aunt Margaret held my hand. She looks and acts amazing for a woman her age and makes me miss my own grandma just a little bit. I'm hoping I get a chance to go back and visit her again someday soon.
We have not had a good soaking rain here for about two months, so complaining about rain today would be nothing short of criminal. We desparately need water on our crops and we got a slow steady dose of it this afternoon. Instead of being grumpy about wet weather, I am very thankful that my Uncle Chuck rents a pavillion in the park each year. We have had many wonderful family picnics there the past (can it really be?) fourteen years or so. Today was fun too, only it was mostly inside fun. The kids did ride Uncle Chuck's famous bicycles and also tried out the stilts outside in the rain, but the rest of the action, including a game of jump rope, took place inside.
With Hannah to bolster my confidence, and shield me from angry parents, I braved the wilds of the backyard and actually got a picture of these little darlin's. Aren't they pathetic? It looks like only two of the three eggs hatched, not much extra room in that nest anyway... Now that I have accomplished this photo opportunity, I can once again relax and leave the mama mockingbird to raise her young in peace. Thanks, Hannah!
In case anyone would like to see my previous photos here they are. First I found three eggs, then I found two babies, (and some mad parents) and now they actually look like real birds! My husband thinks I'm too curious, but I'm having so much fun and learning too!
I spent a little bit of time in my parents back yard last night and "caught" a few birds. While my sisters and I were growing up our mom did daycare and always had a house full of children. They ran and played in the back yard, splashed in kiddie pools, and rode their "bikes" in the driveway. Dad grew a huge vegetable garden and with all kinds of yummy things.
After we grew up and got married, Mom and Dad's backyard was the place for family gatherings. We had cookouts, played soccer, tossed water ballons and made all kinds of racket.
Now the house is still and Mom and Dad spend quiet hours watching birds, squirrels and rabbits in the backyard. There is even a little chipmunk who lives by their garden house.
Mom and Dad were gone to do their service at the nursing home last night and as I sat in the backyard, I found it strangely unfamiliar even though this is where I grew up. It felt as though I were in my own grandmother's backyard instead of my parents, silent and still aside from the birds and an occasional chipmunk or rabbit. They say that time changes everything... I guess they're right.
Last year my son, Dave, planted some lavender in small flower garden near one of our barns. It attracts all kinds of bees and yesterday afternoon I went out to capture some on the camera. It seemed an easy enough task but Oreo decided that as long as I was squatting down close to the ground, he should visit me.
Each time I went to click the shutter he would bump up against my knee again and knock the bee out of focus. I finally gave up and went on to find another subject, marigolds.
I've decided that as much as I might like to watch the birds in my yard, they are much more likely to be watching me. The nest down in the apple tree belongs to a pair of Mockingbirds. They do not appreciate my interest in their babies and I do not like being dive-bombed by birds, so I am keeping a safer distance. I enjoy the little hummingbirds that visit me each day but they sure are hard to photograph! The barn swallows have a rather large vocabulary and I like listening to them "talk" when I sit on the porch in the afternoon. I'm not yet sure what kind of bird this is but I know a very nice "bird woman" who could probably tell me.
