About Me

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Within the confines of this blog, you will find bits and pieces of the life and times of myself, my family and friend dear and near., far and wide, few and far between. You will find bits and pieces of my world, tho small to some, but huge to me. You will find everything from 'soup to nuts',; recipes, hobbies,crafts, gardenings,loves of my life, GrandLoves-a-Plenty, and even my pets... Sooo, if you can handle family life, enjoy the tour of my 'Stuffings'.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Click on the photos to enlarge

Yes, yet, another foggy 5:30 in my morning and
loving it as much as the deer as they graze in
the wet clover. The cool 56 degrees F. feels so wonderful.
A morning grooming in the dew feels Oh SO Good!
Good morning, girl~have a safe and fulfilling weekend.
I will see you again when I return.
Find a peaceful, cool place to settle in.
The temps will rise into the high 80's again and
the humidity is supposed to be a bear.
When I return, I will share my weekend.
Happy Trails

BlessYourHeart

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Visibility? Poor!

I stepped out onto the deck for a minute with dry sandals and came in with wet ones. That's how humid it is out there today.
Visibility was less than an eighth of a mile looking across the field.
The hummers, like the one on the reel hook, were perching rather than sailing and flitting through this mornings thick soup.
Not much was upright and happy.
Have a bright and sunny day.
Stay and play safe.
And
BlessYourHeart

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Down the Road

Click any photo for a closer look, and you will see what I see.
I took a long overdue drive to see my sister, Linda's, yesterday.
Going down and around the curves of Lake Shore Drive has grown some.
Shame on me to notice. It meant I had not been there in awhile and it's only a short distance away. How is it that it's been a summer ago?
My life is not that busy, just congested, I suppose.
Down Sister Drive, and I am there~~~there to hug my sister and give her my get well wishes, fresh picked raspberries and magazines to read while she recovers.
Much to my surprise, there she is to welcome me with her smile and " Well, where have you been? It's so good to see you. "
She has the most outstanding way of making welcomes wonderful.
Right down to her whimsical planters on her wall surrounded with bark, and her hand painted door.
Artsy, artsy, does run in the family.
The reason I was so surprised to see Lin walking around so well, was because she just had surgery on her foot. Nothing seems to slow her down for long. She reminds me of many others in the family with that innate ability to ' get up and go ' as soon as possible.
She also has a green thumb.
Take a look at that 3 yr. old clump of bamboo beside her, keeping in mind that we live in zone 3, for you gardeners.
Meet my brother-in-law, Jim. Normally, these two walk every single day.
It won't be long, and Lin will be right back at his side, step by step.
The peek out her picture windows draws you outside to see more.
We did not walk down to the lakes edge this time, as it's steep and at the moment, has no steps. I agree with her that it has got to change. Always a work in progress.
Here's a closer look at her Bamboo-gone-crazy! How do you take care of this so it doesn't get invasive? Any suggestions, cause I'm thinking of trying some.
Her Crab Apple Tree was loaded with promise and very busy with the birds and a chipmunk.
Oh, there he is~~he's got his eye on me, for fear that I may get one of his apples.
There you are, Chippy! Don't worry! Sour Apples are not for me.
From the house to the lake, the side yard is full of more Lily of the Valley than I have ever seen in one spot before. It was a gorgeous understory of ground cover.
Even the weed, Curly Dock looked lush.
The bark of the young Red Maple looks almost creamy and very white. At first I thought it was a Chalk Maple....
Nesting just above the driveway, was a nest with Mama bird. Neither Lin nor Jim noticed it before.
On closer observation, it might be a Yellow Throated Warbler. She never left the nest once, while I took her portraits. Her nest is about 20 ft. up from the ground. Most warblers nest much closer to the ground or even on it, so I was surprised.
So, what do you think? Is she a warbler?
This fledgling Song Sparrow would not move. He must have thought he was in his camouflage suit.
Now, what's that way, way up there?
Mercy, just the back side of a teenage Robin! Kids!
Thanks for tagging along. Lin is doing great, and I promised that I would not wait until she was hurting to return. She gave me a pretty rough time about not visiting more often. Though visiting at the farm when the entire families are around is great, it was nice sitting quietly in her own surroundings for a change. Walking around her yard with her was pure heaven. I enjoyed every second with her.
Life is too short. Now, go visit someone YOU love.
BlessYourHeart

Monday, July 25, 2011

Birds, Bees and More

Weird things, common things, all for you to see., starting with a
Rusty Tussock Moth Larvae on a raspberry stem. Quite the spiked 'do.'
Hummmmmmm

Hummingbird Antics~~~
Male Yellow-Winged Blackbird in the American Mt. Ash tree
Female Yellow-Winged Blackbird on the old moose antler
Male Cabbage Butterfly
Kid with Resin Turtle, BFF's
A pair of very Real Tree Frogs that were hiding under a box planter
a Dew Web in the early morning grass
Just a little closer, Mr. Bumble Bee...
Creepy, crawly, Wolf Spider of which there are thousands!
Wolf Spider and it's web within my Hollyhocks! I'm sorry buddy, but you have got to go!
Mealy Bugs and an Ant...outa here
Did you say, Cabbage Worm? Where, where is he? wonders the young Song Sparrow!
There he is, I'm right on him!!!!

50 ft. up the tree on high alert for the next storm...or is it just a Rumble in the Jungle with those lil boys again?
A very busy Pollinator Bee
very, Very busy
Click on the picture and you can see the headache this bee has.
A Virginia Ctenucha Moth loving my Phlox
Sorry folks. Too pooped to putter any longer.
Will catch up with your blogs in the morning.
Do forgive me.
BlessYourHearts

Friday, July 22, 2011

Take Time

Take time. Take a moment to slow down and smell the flowers, even if they have no scent.
Be amazed at the heights the Common Mullein can grow.
Take time for rewarding pleasure.
Pick some wild berries for your cereal and ice cream.
Enjoy the simple scents of nature and your gardens.
Reflect
Be blown away with the wind.
Gather
Love resting at your Home Sweet Home
Be the Queen of the Prairie
Bask like the Lilies
Take an evening walk with me, if you wish.
I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately, and thanking God for all we have. Our children and theirs, our brothers and sisters we don't see enough of, our friends.
Life is so full of detours, isn't it?
Enjoy the rest of your stroll through our yard. I know you must tire of the entries sometimes, and you can take it or leave it as you see fit. It is 'me'
Loving my Sweet Williams
Monks Hood and Bee Balm
Black-Eyed Susans with Bee and Inch Worm

Golden Lily (not recalling the names of any of my lilies), but they are all showing off this nearly end of July.
White Hollyhock with pollen collecting bee
Daisy Fleabane
Daisy Fleabane cluster
Creeping Jenny everwhere
Coral Lily
tons of Honeysuckle Berries (enlarge by clicking on any photo)
Loaded Honeysuckle Berry branches
There are patches of Ditch Lilies lining the driveway, surrounding the south and west of the house. They are everywhere but I love them.
Another Busy Bee on the Black-Eyed Susans
Orange Asiatic Lily
Lemon Lilies which actually smell of lemons.
Take Time to daydream. It's as healthy as swinging on the tire swing.
And JUMP, jump for the Joy of the Day!
We are off to play.
Have a wonderful weekend and
BlessYourHeart