BLACKBERRY WINTER ON THE HORIZON?????

What a beautiful morning,I woke and just layed there listening to the sounds of birds twittering as they ate their breakfast from my feeders.
I did the outside chores and hated to come back inside,but there are cakes that need to be baked!
While the last ones were in the ovens I lifted my weights,I can definitely tell the difference in my arm strength after doing this for a couple months.
After lunch I re-filled the bird feeders and waited for hubbie to get off work early so we could get our church work done.
I had forgotten how hard it is to do the whole church at one time,whew!
When we got back home hubbie took a nap and I took the newspaper outside to read it sitting in the warm sunshine.
I took a walk and was glad today to have my telephoto lens on my camera with me.










As I walked around our farm pond I saw this huge bird up in a tree top. My best guess is it is a Green Heron. This is the first time I have seen one of these around the pond. He was so intent in staying in this particular tree,clumsily fluttering from limb to limb without ever flying away it makes me wonder if maybe there is a Mrs. and maybe a nest nearby?
Mr. and Mrs. Tiger Swallowtail are enjoying this nice day on the banks of the pond,notice how much lighter yellow Mrs. is, I also learned when looking them up that the Mrs. can also be black. Ever wonder why God chose to make male and female different colors??Mr. Redwing Blackbird is also taking in the cool breeze coming off the water of the pond.
After my walk I had a bowl of cereal for supper and started icing cakes.
I also stamped my Avon books with my name and number and the date to order by.This pic was taken about 5 miles down the road from our farm yesterday afternoon. A lone storm formed with hail and high winds. Thankfully it moved southeast away from our place, but it dropped a good amount of hail before it moved on. It will be interesting to here from people at market tomorrow that live in that area and how much damage they had.
Unfortunately for the people farther south the hailstones got larger,some even golf ball size.
Guess what's blooming now???????????? Ever heard of Blackberry Winter?????????????
Thankfully the blackberry winter predicted for this weekend is not going to be damaging. Sunday and Monday the high temperature is only going to be 63,(that's a 20 degree drop from today)with night temps about 40,if this forecast holds it won't be a bad blackberry winter.
Heading for an early bedtime for a change tonight.
Thanking God tonight for the wonderful colorful canvas of nature He has painted for our enjoyment.
Good Night and God Bless.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

Today is National Day of Prayer,make sure you say prayers today for our country,your loved ones and yourself. Pray that 1 lone person will not have the authority to tell the whole country that this will be the last Nationally recognized day of Prayer we can have.
As I drove to market this morning at one point on a usually very busy section on highway near town I found myself all alone on this 4-lane highway. I don't travel this way most days because this road is so crowded. I picked up my Avon order and that is how I wound up on it today. I could not believe I was the lone vehicle going or coming at this time of morning! A sign of the downsliding economy for sure!
Slow day again at market,I bagged my Avon orders and visited with neighbors.
Ran my errands afterward and found some fresh half-runner beans and bi-color corn at the fruit stand along with another gallon of strawberries.
Unloaded the van and broke the beans for supper. My supper of fresh green beans and corn on the cob followed by fresh strawberries and whip cream was delicious.
On my walk today I noticed more and more blooms.This patch of Fleabane grows on a bank below the new well house. As the name suggest it is said to be an insect repellent. Starlings use it to line their nest to keep mites away and people used to mix it with bed straw to keep bedbugs at bay. But butterflies love it. The dainty little blooms are very attractive as they blow with the wind.
Carolina Buttercups are plentiful in our pastures. Hubbie has been bush hogging the last 2 evenings,largely because of these little buggers. They are nice to look at but they do tend to take over the pastures this time of year.
Below is what the pasture looked like in spots before the bush hogging began!



This Elaeagnus berry tree is in full bloom and I noticed there are several new ones around in the area of the larger one. More berries for the birds this fall.While I admired this huge Black Cherry tree full of blooms I spotted this Red Admiral butterfly enjoying the sweet nectar of the flowers.The wood from this tree is prized for furniture making and the berries can make jam or wine. In Appalachia the berries were added to wine to give it a special flavor and they called it cherry bounce.
We did not work at church tonight because the church has been open all day and will remain open for anyone who wishes to go in and pray on this day.
Hubbie will take half a day off from work tomorrow and we will get our work done then.
We watched Survivor on TV and just rested tonight.
Join me in bowing our heads for 1 last prayer before this day comes to and end!!
Good Night and God Bless

YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN GOD MAY BE WATCHING

Today has definitely been a workday for me. Started early with yoga,hopefully for energy!
After I made me cake deliveries I stopped by Lowes to pick a rose for the empty pot in the front yard. Found one that smells heavenly, and of course found 2 more plants I just had to have. On way home ran my van through the carwash, sometimes it gets embarassingly dirty!
After lunch I did that load of laundry left from yesterday and hung it on the line in another partly sunny,very warm day.
Then I planted my new plants and fertilized all my potted treasures!
Man is it getting warm,83 degrees and the humidity is going up,you can feel it!
Hot or not sewing must be done, so with fan going I went to work in my shop.3 hours later I had 7 jean aprons and 4 strawberry placemats to help the "catch-up the crafts" goal for May. But that is just the beginning.
I'm still not familiar with where I put everything after the big clean up and organization of my shop,but it is so much easier to work in there now!
I took a long walk this evening after supper,I have to get back into the habit of my daily walks, I feel so much better when I take them.
Took some photos to share later,it is too late tonight and I am tired.
I payed bills while daughter baked and then I iced all my cakes ,wrapped and labeled everything. It is midnight and I am headed to bath and bed.
God is so good all the time,shhhhh GOD just might be watching over us!!!!!!Can you see the face in the clouds????
Good Night and God Bless.

PATIO PICS AND LINE DRYING

Had a routine morning on housework Tuesday. Ahhh, at last I can hang out laundry,first a pile of lumber ,then the weather, then a pile of gravel, more weather,but finally the area under the clothesline is clear and it is a beautiful spring day on a Tuesday!
Laundry hanging on the line gives me a nice nostalgic feeling.

I decided to give my floors a good cleaning today with a vinegar and water solution instead of the regular swiffer.

I took a break after lunch and went to vote. I always try to exercise that right at each election. One of my cousins is running for Appeals Court so I had extra incentive this time anyway.
I did 4 loads of laundry and have 1 more to do in the morning so I can hang sheets and bedspread on the line to dry.
I finished cleaning the floors and did the weed eating around the new patios and porches.
Speaking of which I am behind on posting pics of Aprils work,so here they are.This is the new larger patio and we've already enjoyed it in the warm sunshine.This is what I did with the cement stepping stones with the different designs on them.
The round ones have hummingbirds on them. I was impressed at how intricate the designs are,they had some painted ones on display where I got these and they were really pretty. Maybe one day I'll get some to paint.My front porch already had a flower bed in front of it but I have tried Iris,which there are a few left, and azaleas ,which there is one left,but nothing seems to do well here.
Probably due to the dogs jumping off the porch right into this bed everytime they leave the porch. I solved that problem with pots filled with perennials,that hopefully will come back from year to year.Dolly seems to be admiring my hard work! I love doge, they never criticize!!
Had a call from my cousin's daughter earlier today, wanting to know if I wanted another dog. She had rescued a nice dog out of the road in front of her house this morning. It was so dirty and matted she had taken it to the groomer already.
#2 son has been looking for a dog so she brought it over tonight for him to look at. I think it is a cocker spaniel / Poodle mix. It was a very nice dog but the groomer had given it a poodle haircut and son did not want it. If it hadn't have been a male, I would have another dog tonight. It had such a sweet disposition and was so well behaved and lovable. There was no way Bernie would tolerate another male dog in his space.
Hopefully Amanda will keep the dog, she acted like she sure liked him and I know she will give him a good home.
I baked 34 layers tonight ,that is more than normal,but I've had several orders for mother's day. I had to ice chocolate cakes tonight for a delivery in the morning.
Finishing up after midnight feels like old routine again.
Thanking God tonight for my health and ability that He provides me with everyday.
Good Night and God Bless.

MAY GOALS

Slept in a little this morning as I spent quite awhile awake in the pre-dawn hours searching for whatever it was the dogs were barking so at and then must have turned my bad knee the wrong way because when I got back in bed it hurt so bad I had to rub it with cream and put the heating pad on it to ever get back to sleep,uhhh!!!
It rained almost an 1 1/2 inches last night and is still raining this morning. After cereal and tea I worked on my Avon order while hubbie went to pick up g-son from pre-school.
I got finished about the same time they got home and we went to Sam's Club for a few things and ate lunch there.
Ran into a friend,who said her daughter's family who lives in Nashville,Tenn. almost got flooded out. She said their yard was flooded but luckily the water didn't get into their house.
Some of the pictures of that flood are unbelievable,more than 13 inches of rain fell there from the same system that came through here last night. Downtown Nashville was under water,they evacuated the Opryland hotel where we stayed years ago when we went to Opryland.
I'm sure when they built I-40 they thought it was above any flooding danger and has been until now!
The death tole keeps rising as the waters start to recede,it is now at 28. The Cumberland River is supposed to crest 11 feet above flood stage,wow!!!
Thank God we didn't have that much rain here,but you never know when it will be you that is in the severe weather.
On the news tonight they had a story about the years past that had such a severe winter as we had and they also had a severe weather summer,so we'd better get ready for anything.
Here we enjoyed a great afternoon as the rain moved out and the sun peaked out.
Traces of the last raindrops linger on this snowball bloom.
The azalea blossoms were mostly on the ground after the hard rain,but they sure have been pretty while they lasted.



Our potato patch needed the water and hubbie's tilling,and side dressing with fertilizer was just in time.
These girls didn't mind being shut up in the upper pasture with all this fresh green grass, with even some bouquets of buttercups to go with their dinner.

This cottonwood tree's blooms create a purple haze against the clearing sky this afternoon.
There was a sweet refreshing smell to the air as I did my evening chores and checked on all my recently potted plants.

While g-son took his nap this afternoon,I did my month end paperwork and April is now officially over. My market business is really down. I looked back in my records and had to go all the way back to 2002 to find an April to match this April's totals. Makes you kind of feel like you're backing up!!
But I will keep the faith in the knowledge that it will get better! And I am very thankful for what I do make,as I know I am a lot better off than a lot of people right now.
As I sat out in the sunroom and watched darkness fall tonight I thought about how hectic
the last several months have been for me and how nice it felt to have the time to just sit and enjoy the quite peaceful evening with the satisfaction that I've pretty much got all my spring goals done.
My May goals are: (1) catch up my sewing crafts at the curbmarket
(2) get a physical
(3) go to the dentist for new denture and partial
(4) start organizing all my old photos
(5) get my garden planted
May looks like it will be a pretty easy month,not nearly as daunting as some recently passed months.
Thanking God tonight for sparing our area from the flooding rains and so thankful for all my blessings of the day.
Good Night and God Bless.

ODE TO WILLIE

Church was enlightening this morning,we are still in the book of Romans in verse 4.
Even before I got to church I saw the work of God. Yesterday at the end of market day one of my neighbors who knows I always put the flowers in church on Sunday mornings ask if I wanted what she had left. I said sure and when I went to get them she had 1 bunch of yellow scotch broom, and 2 small bunches of native orange azaleas. I wrapped them in wet paper towels and put them in a vase in the back of the van. On my way home I had to slam on my brakes to avoid an accident and a rack of crates with some groceries in them fell over on the flowers. I got home and cut the bad smashed ones off ,but the rest still looked pretty sad. I put them in a vase and left them sitting outside,thinking maybe the rain would perk them back up.
Well when I looked outside this morning they were beautiful,so I rearranged them and figured these really should be in church this morning. While I was setting them out the preacher came around and said how nice they were and after service several people commented on how lovely the flowers were. I said God must have thought they would look nice also because He sure perked them up overnight. Wish I had a before pic, then you could see what I mean.

Now for some sad news on this Sunday. One of our long time canine friends passed into that big doggie heaven in the sky last night. Old man Willie as you will remember started having problems about a week ago. At first we thought it was his arthritis kicking up as some canine asprin had him feeling better after hubbie had to carry him from the pasture to the porch early one morning. But as the week went on he began to have more problems and we realized it was getting close to his time to depart this world. Willie was probably 16-18 years old, we're not sure how old he was when we got him back in the mid 90's.He has lived a good long life and should have no regrets,except maybe for the people he bit during his later years, they weren't hard bites,just enough to let you know he meant business. I started looking for his replacement well over a year ago and found Annie,who has a disposition a lot like Willies.
This was in the winter of 2008, he loved the snow and cold weather.He also seem to love g-son and attempted to get in his way when he thought he was doing something he might get hurt doing.

Here he is in the spring of 2008 on patrol of #2 son's property before his house was set up. I never saw Willie cross the highway although he spent a lot of time at #2 son's which is close to the road.

In the fall of 2008 g-son's Halloween Tiger costume didn't scare Willie who was still protective even of the tiger!

This was taken this past January ,Willie again on patrol checking out our washed out driveway after a heavy rain.
He didn't venture far from his big cushion on the front porch.

One last pose from Willie was in one of our February snows this past winter.
All in all Willie was a good dog,he was a watchdog who protected his domain very well. As I moved things around on the front porch this afternoon in the absence of his cushion and food bowl,which he was very protective of except in one case.
This is one last memory I'll share.
Several years ago we began to smell the strong odor of a skunk. We finally saw him around the farm and were trying to figure out how to get rid of it. We knew the critter was coming very close to the house because the smell was so strong on the front porch it would gag you.
One night after dark we heard a noise on the front porch and knowing Willie was out there I kind of dreaded opening the door to see what was going on.
As I slowly opened the door,I saw Willie sitting crammed as tight as he could get against the storm door. As I looked in the direction he was looking, there was the skunk,eating out of Willie's highly protected bowl as Willie sat and helplessly watched. That is when I realized he was a lot smarter than I had given him credit for, smart enough to know not to tangle with a skunk.
We started putting up the food bowl and the skunk left on his own thankfully soon after that night.
Rest in Peace Willie!!!!
God is in control of all his creations!
Good Night and God Bless.

DEVASTATING OIL SPILL GETS WORSE

Had a pretty good market day for a change,even before the large 10 cake order got picked up.
Ran errands and came home to just chill out for a while,I don't feel well at all.
After a short nap and a tomato sandwich I feel some better.I think I'll make it!!!
It is raining tonight after a mostly cloudy and warm day.It is still 67 degrees at 11:30.
All I have heard on the news is bad news about the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Now they are saying not only is it going to effect the gulf coast but if they don't get the spill of oil into the ocean stopped soon it will get caught up in the gulf stream and come around Florida and up the east coast.
On April 20 at about 10 pm the oil rig explosion was one of the worst in history,killing 11 crew members who have never been found.This had to be a nightmare for the people working here out in the middle of the ocean.
Luckily for the workers there was a supply ship there and many of them made it to the ship.
As they fought the fire the whole rig sank into the water. BP Oil sent robots underwater to shut the valves and stop the flow of oil,but their attempts have been unsuccessful so far and they have been working for days.
As you can see in the diagram on the right,there are 3 leaks that are spewing over 5,000 barrels of oil into the gulf waters daily.
As birds fly over the oil and a boat drives through it,I can't imagine how devastating this could be when it covers the coastline and all the wildlife get covered in this oil.
It is unbelievable that only a few weeks ago our president was pushing a bill to increase offshore oil drilling and BP execs were assuring us that something like this could never happen because of all the new technology. I think someone had no idea what they were talking about because now those same execs say they don't know what to do and why the valves won't shut off the oil. If this was their idea of an easy cleanup they were way off base,trying to contain miles of oil slick with 100's of feet of boom doesn't make sense.
Even the booms they put along the coastline had waves carrying oil breaking over them.
The heart breaking pictures of the birds and other wildlife won't be pretty. I remember the Exon Valdese oil spill in Alaska and the pictures of birds, I hate to think this has happened again. This guy is one of the lucky ones who will get cleaned up , my guess is for every lucky one there will be 100 unlucky if they don't get the oil stopped quickly.

The news that this may even spread to the North and South Carolina coast is very disturbing to me as I have visited all parts of these and there is so much fragile area in these coastlines the thought of it being covered with oil sickens me.

As April ended with this bad news that is leaking into May we can only pray that God take control and have His way with this situation. There are martyrs in all situations and these oil covered wild life just might be sacrificed to force men to see the evil of their ways. We can only pray!
Good Night and God Bless.