Beauty!

This was the most exciting thing going on a few weeks ago. Seriously, these tiny green sprouts and a sunny day really went a long way toward lifting my mood. There have been many more since these were taken.

They are the anxiously awaited sprouts of the peas I had planted at the end of February.

Since then there have been many more lovely things to brighten many more days.

Johnny-Jump-Ups

Bluets

Maple tree



Some kind of ornamental pear. (make it big and check out the lichen on the branch)


And of course, Daffodils! I don't know what kind these are, they were here when we got the place. There are several clumps and they are all really double like this.

Credit where credit is due:
With the exception of the peas and the maple, all photos were taken by my dear daughter Charlotte. ( who may have decided to be a photographer for real!)

I Just Love This Cat

She bring us gifts.OK, it wasn't so much a "gift" as my odd, fearless daughter pried it away from her. Why? you may ask...... To take pictures of it , of course.

After some searching of "alabama rodents" I finally identified it as....

a Pine Vole.

I had never seen one before. Have you?

Wood Ducks!

We had some unusual visitors this week. Hello cutie!

Isn't he handsome?

Such a cute couple!

(these are all shots of the same two ducks-- not a whole flock or anything)
According to one of my bird books, Wood Ducks are considered one of the most beautiful birds in North America! It doesn't say by whom. They are in fact quite striking. These pictures (captured by my dear daughter Charlotte) were taken from my garden about 100 feet or so from the pond. They may not be postcard quality but I sure am glad she got them!

Come on Spring!

Even the children of the house are busily planning for Spring planting!

This is very serious business...It has to be just so...

There! Can we plant now?

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

(WHY WHY WHY does Blogger keep randomly underlining my text?!?!)


Anyway, The last post I did that mentioned snow was after "they" had talked endlessly about the coming "winter storm" that was to bring an accumulation of 2-4 inches. It was barely a dusting. What a letdown.

This time "they" called for a "dusting" and we got 3 inches!

This is the end of the driveway.
This is the backyard.

In fact, this was the most snow my 18yo daughter had ever seen! (We don't count "the blizzard of '93" cuz she was not even 2yo) Here, she poses with her first snowman(snowperson? snowchick? snowgal?). . The kids had the best time! I don't know if I've ever seen them play so hard.

I think they look kind of conspiratorial here.

Wordless Wednesday

I REALLY needed that!

NOTE-Blogger likes to underline and color my text. I gave up repeatedly fixing it so it's kinda random.


What a glorious day! Warm. Sunny. Exactly what I needed. I spent the entire afternoon in the garden pulling weeds and generally tidying up. The kids ran around and played and got dirty just like kids lucky enough to live in the country ought to. My favorite was either when they were climbing on the hay ring like it was jungle gym crowing like roosters at the top of their lungs, or when Emily was walking around carrying and talking to the big snail I found.

All in all it was just a lovely day. Even the "weeds" were somehow inspirational:)Elijah looks like he has burst out in song!

Farm kitty basks


One final thing- here are some "after" pictures of the pond. I'll try to remember to take one from the same spot as the "before" and "during" pics.

Don't mess with my little girl

We live in the country. We shoot things. Things like- old refrigerators in the woods. You know, next to the abandoned trailer. I feel the need to point out that the trailer and refrigerator are not on our property, just very near it.

So anyway, this was the first time Charlotte ever shot a 22 rifle, in fact, it was the first day we ever had one. (my husband wants it known that he does have experience with this type of gun-he grew up shooting old appliances) Watch these short videos and you'll see why I am impressed with her skill. (oh...yeah...that IS snow, just not what was promised by our weathermen...I was bitterly disappointed...I don't want to talk about it)

Keeping Up Appearances

It's not so much that I have anything to say, It's just that I don't want to lapse into old non-blogging habits. So here are some pics my daughter took in the backyard to play around with our new camera.


We are still trying to figure out all the settings, so these could be better, but I've never had a camera you could zoom on the moon before.

Gray Rat Snake

First, let me say that I truly love living in the country. That said, I do NOT love everything about it. For example...

My daughter opened the back door and said in a surprised tone of voice " oh...hello", then she turned to me and said "gimme the camera gimme the camera gimme the camera". I figured the cat was doing something particularly cute, but no....


She is standing in the doorway here. That is the doormat. Yes, there by the SNAKE.
I'm sure he's very helpful, but, ICK. This is closer than I'm really comfortable with.












She then proceeded to STEP OVER it for more pictures.



You can really see how long it is if you click this pic.

~shudder~

Just a reminder...

to myself really. We do actually make progress here. The first picture shows how overgrown and shaggy this side of the property was when we got it. (although, it was taken before all the vines and brambles had started to green up in the Spring) The shadow line in the center of the picture is as far as you could walk. We didn't even know what the rest of it looked like until we started getting it cleared.

If you look closely at the "after" picture, you'll see the pond area at the back. Close ups can be seen of that area in my post about tractors.

Anyway, we just need to remember to give ourselves credit sometimes. But, by no means does this mean we are going to rest on our laurels and stagnate in a pool (or pond)0f self congratulation! No! We will press on with renewed hope for further and greater accomplishment! With that in mind, tomorrow my DH has promised to till my garden. Yay! I just love new beginnings, don't you?

Odds-n-Ends

I've been pretty scattered the last couple of weeks. Here are the highlights:

At home.

Away from home.

From Alabama to Enid, Oklahoma to Wilmington, North Carolina and back again in one week.

Saw this in OK. Oh, phooey! I forgot to turn this picture over and now I don't know how! Sorry!

Saw this in Wilmington. I know, I know, reeeaally bad picture through the windshield. But hey, you saw the itinerary, no time for proper picture taking.

(It's a battleship.)

Saw this on the way home. I bet they have a full bath in there. Maybe a hot tub too.

We got home just in time for this.

This is the annual "Thunder on the Mountain" fireworks display over the statue of Vulcan on Red Mountain in Birmingham, AL. We hadn't been in the last couple of years, but my older daughter lives on a street right under Vulcan, so we sat on her front steps to watch. Fun!

Oh, and I thought I'd show that not all of my garden critters are scary.

Cute, huh?