The full moon's morning greeting. Foto Friday challenge

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The theme this week for Rebecca's photo challenge was : Beauty in the Ugly.

I didn't see any "ugly" when I stepped out of my house early one morning. How about a photo whose theme is "Beauty in the Eerie".

 5:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

What a cool summer morning....but a Halloween sight.

Setting the mood  for the mystery of this day.

My favorite poet says it so well.:

The Freedom of the Moon

by Robert Frost

I've tried the new moon tilted in the air

Above a hazy tree-and-farmhouse cluster

As you might try a jewel in your hair.

I've tried it fine with little breadth of luster,

Alone, or in one ornament combining

With one first-water start almost shining.



I put it shining anywhere I please.

By walking slowly on some evening later,

I've pulled it from a crate of crooked trees,

And brought it over glossy water, greater,

And dropped it in, and seen the image wallow,

The color run, all sorts of wonder follow.

The Pool Deck-almost finished!

Remember when I showed you the first bit of construction on the pool deck Mike was building? He has almost finished the deck and walkway that connects to our front porch.

Here he is, back in April.

Do you want to see how it looks now? I'll walk you up...

Turn the corner and go toward the top deck.

One step up..

View to the pool.

View to the garden.

Now, look back down, toward the house.See the rectangle next to the windows? That is where our outdoor shower will be.

The last part of the project is to finish the handrail along the deck and complete the shower.
The new deck and walkway are not only a practical addition, but an interesting "architectural" feature as well. I think it is awesome. Mike works very hard, improving our property, and I appreciate it so much!

Change the World event update

We gathered at our Church garden yesterday for "Change the World" day. We have a small garden, but we gave all it has produced so far to the Community Kitchen.  They serve meals to as many as 350 people, 2 days each month. I pray that the garden continues to produce vegetables to donate. We were blessed by 2 inches of much needed rain this week and it has already made such a difference. The tomatoes have green fruit and so do the zucchini. It has been such a joy to work on this project!

Easter Revisited

I came across this picture this morning. I fully intended to include it in my Easter post but I had put it in a different folder for some reason.  I thought it was a cute idea, which I stole and simplified (from Martha Stewart). I took some pretty cupcake wrappers, shaped them with scissors and turned them inside out. Then I took half of a plastic egg, stuffed it with peanut butter-marshmallow cookies, and hot glued it to the wrapper.  Little flowers! I also filled some with Easter candy to hide with the eggs at our Church Easter egg hunt. I thought they were bright and eye catching. Easy and cute.

Change the World Day: a church project

We decided this year to have our very first Church garden. We wanted to grow fresh vegetables and donate them to local food kitchens. So far, it is doing very well, considering the weather around here. The United Methodist Church is having a "Change the World" weekend (May 14-15) and our potatoes happen to be ready to harvest.  You can get more information about this event here:
Change the World

What if one weekend all around the world, 11 million United Methodists focused on finding sustainable solutions to hunger? Change the World: May 14 - 15, 2011

 

Let's see if we can make a difference.

 Tomatoes and squash are growing and starting to bloom. The largest plants are voluntary wild sunflowers, and we just left them where they were.

 Onions and potatoes are ready to harvest.

Mike and I are retired, so we spent quite a bit of time helping with the garden. Mike is so good about doing a lot of the heavy work like moving dirt and mulch with the wheel barrow and using the tiller. Here we are adding more mulch to the rows. A soaker hose system makes it a lot easier to water the plants. We are trying to do this as environmentally efficient as possible. We don't want to waste water and other resources. Also, we want the garden to be organic, so we don't use pesticides or herbicides either.

If you would, please pray for the success of the garden, so that it can produce much needed, healthy food items. Also, please pray that the ideas behind "Change the Word" weekend will spread across the world. That way, with the help of many others, we can make a difference.

Thank you! I'll report back after next Saturday and let you know how our potato harvest went.

Foto Friday: April Showers (oh how I wish)

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I can't show you any April rain....

I can't show you any May flowers..

but I can show some different creatures who come to the water dishes and bird feeders that I keep out.

I like to provide extra water and food for the animals in drought conditions like Texas is experiencing.

A fairly large lizard....

A copperhead that came a little too close for my comfort...

A beautiful painted bunting...

As a matter of fact, one of my favorite things in the whole world is to watch a bird bathe in the bird bath. I love how they splash the water over their backs and preen their feathers. I also love to turn the sprinkler on low and watch from a distance as the birds fly through it.

Deer and bobcats come regularly to my tank, as do the wild pigs. My only problem is trying to keep my eye on my little dog Amos. I don't want him to suddenly disappear. I just want to help the animals who are looking for water, it's getting hard to find. Maybe we will get May showers.....soon.....


Dear Rebecca, I'm sorry that you are sick of the rain. I know how you feel. I remember one year that it rained almost every day and I felt stuck with 2 kids under 3 years old. We made a game of putting on rain boots and going to throw rocks into the many huge puddles. I kind of miss that right now. Hope you get a break soon.

Welcome news

I got to be there when this U-Haul pulled into the drive not far from my own house. He is back! My son, 22 years old, had been living across the state of Texas from me. He had recently completed his 1 year, mandatory training and probation for his job, right there close to the Mexican border. And you know what? He made it just fine and so did his Dad and I. But now he is back in his hometown and hopefully will complete the rest of his career in our County.

It is really good news and I'm thrilled to welcome him back.