Summer is Winding Down

 It won't be long before the butterflies will be heading south or where ever it is that they go.  I have enjoyed seeing them around my house this year.  I don't know what this flowering vine is that is growing around this Sycamore Tree.  The butterflies were enjoying a feast of sweet nectar from it.  I am not ready for summer to end.  I am ready for the high temps and humidity to end though.  We are currently in a dry spell with hot days and cool nights.  The day is getting shorter and the night is getting longer.  I prefer the long days with the sun being out. 

Fall is right around the corner.  The leaves are turning their fall colors.  It's been really dry the past few weeks so I'm worried that the leaves will not be at a beautiful peak color this year.  Getting to see all four seasons change is one of the many benefits of living in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.  

Angela

Happy 12th Birthday to my Sweet Girl Jazz

 It is hard for me to believe that my sweet girl is now 12 years old!  I actually had been telling everyone she was going to be 11 years old on her next birthday until I found her birth certificate.  Imagine my shock and Jazz' shock to find out that she was already 11 years old and turning 12! 

Happy Birthday Sweet Cheeks!  Jazz actually turned 12 on August 4th.  

Angela

Flowers

In the spring my husband and son planted some more zinnias in the yard.  I just love them!  The butterflies love them also!  Every time I go by them they are covered with all different kinds of butterflies.  The best thing about them is the deer don't like to eat them which is why I can have this type of flower in my yard.  I would love to plant our hay field in these flowers.  I can imagine how beautiful that would be!  

Angela

We have flowers!

Yikes!  I just found this post in my drafts from August!  So I'm going to go ahead and post it late because I already had it ready, but forgot to post it.  
 

 This year I decided that I wanted to plant some wildflowers beside the kids playhouse instead of planting flowers that usually either get eaten by the deer or overtaken by weeds.  These are perfect!  They did look weedy for awhile until they started flowering, but now that they are starting to flower they are absolutely gorgeous!

 The package I bought was the zinnia mix.  I really like the variety of colors they are producing right now.

 I took the first 5 or so pictures a week ago and the rest I took tonight.  You can see that more flowers are in bloom now and the ones that were already in bloom are still looking beautiful.

 I took these tonight.  There are a lot more flowers that are budding and will be in bloom in a few days.  I can't wait!  Hopefully the deer won't have a feast on them and I can enjoy them for the rest of the summer.

 I'm not sure what type of bug this is, but there are a few of them enjoying these flowers also.  I was impressed with how long this bugs legs are.  They are very long.

Angela

Blue Rose

Having four visiting family members, the wife was very busy, so I offered to go to the store for her to get some needed items, which included light bulbs, paper towels, trash bags, detergent, and Clorox. So off I went. I scurried around the store, gathered up my goodies, and headed for the checkout counter, only to be blocked in the narrow aisle by a young man who appeared to be about sixteen-years-old. I wasn't in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there. This was when he waved his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm over here." It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged, and also startled as he turned and saw me standing so close to him, waiting to squeeze by. His eyes widened and surprise exploded on his face as I said, "Hey Buddy, what's your name?" "My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly. "Wow," I said, "that's a cool name; I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Steve."

"Steve, like Stevarino?" he asked. "Yes," I answered. "How old are you Denny?" "How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle.. "You're fifteen-years-old Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by." I acknowledged her and continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles, and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement because he was the center of someone's attention. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section. Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him. I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said something I have no idea where it came from, other than by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow, and pink roses in God's Garden; however, "Blue Roses" are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness. You see, Denny is a Blue Rose and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a blessing from God. She was silent for a second, then with a tear in her eye she asked, "Who are you?" Without thinking I said, "Oh, I'm probably just a dandelion but I sure love living in God's garden." She reached out, squeezed my hand, and said, "God bless you!" and then I had tears in my eyes. May I suggest that the next time you see a BLUE ROSE, don't turn your head and walk off. Take the time to smile and say Hello. Why? Because, by the grace of GOD, this mother or father could be you. This could be your child, grandchild, niece, or nephew. What a difference a moment can mean to that person or their family. From an old dandelion! Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. "People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Author Unknown

Spring is Here!

But will it stay?  Unfortunately, NOT!!!  I took a few pictures around the house Saturday as the temperatures were in the higher end of the 70's.  It was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.

 

 

The daffodils are in bloom.  They are absolutely gorgeous and I love seeing some green and color around here after this long winter of naked trees and gray.  Well, we have seen a lot of the white stuff, snow, but it still is nice to see some color.

In the picture above you can see where the daffodils are on the creek bank which is where my Little Man loves to play at times.  He loves that old tree and moss covered rock.  We didn't plant the flowers there.  They were already there when we bought our farm.  I keep saying I'll move them, but I never do.

These daffodils are growing randomly in the front yard.  Probably from where we bull dozed the yard a few years ago.  They just come up unexpectantly every year.

I took a little ride behind the house to see what was going on at one of my favorite areas back there.  I would like to have a picnic table back here.  Too bad the ugly gas well is right in this area, but I won't complain because the gas is what is keeping our house nice and warm and it's FREE! 

This is what it looks like from the side of the hill looking toward our house.  You can see my Young Lady driving the go cart around the yard. 

The picture above didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.  It is supposed to be showing you where a spring actually starts in our yard.  It has a lot of water flowing from it right now.  In the summer it will dry up as it usually does. 

I really like the view from here.  You can see the front of our yard and our hay field.  You can also see some of the neighbor's field. 

And last but not the least is a picture of the sweetest girl around!  My Two!  She is still getting along pretty good considering she is around 14 years old really soon.  You can see her white face is showing up more and more each day.  She also has mud on her paws from where she was walking in the creek to cool off it was that warm Saturday!  The warm weather has since left us and they are saying it will snow again tomorrow.  I'm so ready for spring to come and stay!  Goodbye Old Man Winter!  It's time for you to go!

Angela

Birthday Treats!

My birthday was earlier this week!  My husband brought home some sweet treats for us to enjoy after dinner.  Since my birthday was on a week day I decided to cook dinner at home and we'll celebrate my birthday with a dinner out at some point when the weather is cooperating.  I made homemade lasagna for my birthday.

The cupcakes were really good!  My husband also brought home a dozen roses for me for my birthday.

I put them in a vase he bought me a few years ago that has the roses on it.  The vase is a West Virginia Glass vase made right here in West Virginia with the radiant rose pattern on it.  I have a lot of pieces from their collection.  When my husband and I were dating we went to a flea market where he bought me a tea pitcher along with 6 tall tea glasses with the radiant rose pattern on it.  I've been collecting them every since then.

We were going to go out to dinner and celebrate my birthday today, but it snowed again.  The roads are icy so we stayed home.  I'm used to waiting because of the snow and weather.  When I was a kid in school it always snowed on my birthday and the school would be closed.  Old Man Winter always seemed to give me the present of snow!  He still does as it snowed on my birthday again this year. 

Angela

Wordless Wednesday

Yard Flowers!

My Little Man loves to plant flowers!  Unfortunately, he likes to plant them where he wants to plant them! lol  Two is looking like she is saying look what that boy did!  hahaha

Angela

Wordless Wednesday ~ Spring in West Virginia!

Angela

Mountain Laurel

The Mountain Laurel's were in full bloom throughout Canaan Valley, West Virginia while we were on vacation.

These shrub type bushes grow wild throughout the mountains in West Virginia. The Mountain Laurel is a species of flowering plant in the blueberry family. They can be found as far away as Maine to northern Florida and also in Indiana and Louisiana. The Mountain Laurel is the state flower for Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It is the namesake of the city of Laurel, Mississippi, founded in 1882. All parts of the plant are poisonous!

Angela

Flowers for Leontien

Today I am linking up with A Rural Journal whose hosting a wonderful event today for Leontien who is battling cancer. It's called Flowers for Leontien. I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures that I've taken.

First I will show the Dancing Ladies. I love this flower. This particular flower was at the University of Kentucky Hospital when my father in law was there. They belonged to a lady who was a volunteer at the hospital that was so full of God's love she made you feel safe and secure. I pray that if Leontien sees this flowers she feels the Love of God that I see when I look at them.

I took this picture near my house. I love the orange color of the flower with the beautiful butterfly.

The flower isn't so much beautiful as the butterfly but I love this picture.

Everyone loves daisies!

And the bees!

Leontien, I don't know you that well as you had just found my blog and I yours about the time that your cancer returned. I just want to let you know that we all are praying and thinking of you today. I pray for the strength you need to fight this battle. Don't forget to use your sword and shield in this fight. You are loved!

Angela

Hens & Chicks

Remember a few months ago I showed you my hens and chicks that something had ate? I was worried at that time that they wouldn't come back this Spring. I read that they would come back so I've been waiting patiently to see if they would come back. I'm happy to report that they are coming back!

Here's a close up of the little chicks.

Looks like all will be fine and my pot will be full of hens and chicks once again!

Angela

What's Eating my Hens & Chicks?

A few months ago this is what my hens and chicks looked like in one of the strawberry pots that I have them in by my house.

This is what they look like now. Something has knocked the pot over! The strawberry pot is a total loss! I am not going to move it until the Spring because right now is not a good time to be replanting the hens and chicks. They should be fine until then.

Unless...... Whatever it is that is eating the hens and chicks in my other larger strawberry pot decides to eat the ones in the other pot!

Can you see that? They have ate them down to nothing! This pot was full of hens and chicks. So full that they were crowded!


Not only did they eat the ones on the top of the pot but they ate some that are on the sides of the pot! In the 15 years I've had my hens and chicks I've never ever had anything to eat them. I honestly thought they were deer resistant but apparently they aren't! I've done a little research on the matter and I found someone else that has had the same thing happen to them. You can go HERE to read their story. I am relieved after I read their story because they said that theirs actually grew back so I am hoping that mine will too!

Angela