Mr. Frog

Check out the size of this frog. He is huge! He was soaking up the sun yesterday afternoon in front of our car when we were leaving for piano practice. We, of course, could not resist taking a picture of him.

Yesterday was a nice day. Temperatures were in the lower 70’s with sunshine. My plants looks (maybe) just a little better but I do not think they will make it. The tomatoes look strong but the cucumbers look the worst. The squash may be okay-not sure yet. Lesson well learned. I suppose it was too hot when I transplanted them. Maybe if we had waited until the sun went down to transplant them, it would have made a difference. Not sure.

We had a nice visit with the Horn’s yesterday. We ate pizza and a strawberry crisp she had made from her fresh strawberries. It was delicious. We walked around her yard looking at all her flowers that were up. Her chicks and ducks. Everything. I love doing that. Just walking around with her looking and talking. I am so thankful she is my friend.

We hope to finish science this weekend. We are on our last definitions. Today looks to be nice. The sun is shining. The garden is still too wet to work in but we have plenty of other things to do. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 24, 2011 4

Trout Fest

Remember a similar picture from last year. Same little girl perched on the drainpipe. Obviously she really likes the spot.

Now its brothers turn to sit for a while. We really had a nice day with about 90 people showing up all total. After we came home from the fishing we worked in the upper garden. Hubby tilled, and the girls and I set out the plants. They looked great. But then they wilted badly. We watered them when we planted them, again the next morning and again yesterday evening before we went to church. Last night the Lord watered them for us so we are hoping they look better now. I haven’t went up to the garden yet to check on them. If they do not perk up, I am afraid they will not survive. We’ll just have to wait and see.

We plan on going over to the Horns today for lunch and some play time then on to piano practice. I don’t think I told you all but we have ducklings now-12 of them. They are very shy and it is hard to get a picture of them. Mama duck keeps them hid most of the time. I’ll keep trying though.

Time for us to get busy. I have a load of clothes to hang out on the line and several more to get done. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 23, 2011 5

Free At Last

Our chicks. Look how big they are getting. Today we finally finished their fenced in area and let them out from their little house. They were very excited and loved pecking in the grass and dirt. They are so much fun to watch. Now when Daniel comes up, he will be able to see them much better.

Today has been nice here. We worked on the fence and made the gate. Then Hubby and I went to get haircuts. A lady from our church cuts our hair. She does it at her home and always has home baked goodies to share with us. It’s like a visit instead of just a hair cut. We always sit around eating a snack, drinking coffee and talking after our hair is cut.

Tomorrow is our church’s trout fest day. Hopefully I will get some good pictures to share with you all. Maybe, after we get back, our garden will be dry enough to do some work in it. I hope to get the plants in the ground from the greenhouse. They are definitely ready to be planted. Next year, though, I don’t think I will plant any pepper or broccoli seeds. They just did not do well at all. The tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers though are huge.

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

May 20, 2011 3

Little Tomatoes

Aren’t they so cute! These little guys are on the big tomato plant we bought. Makes my mouth water just looking at them. Today has been dry at least. No rain. We were able to hang clothes on the line. YEAH!

We received a wonderful blessing yesterday. Billy gave us a quarter of a beef. You will notice on my canning log a new entry. Thank you, Lord. My computer is out of commission-so sad. Dave says he thinks it is the hard drive. I will be using Hubby’s computer for a while. I miss my computer already. Hopefully, we will be able to get it fixed before too long.

Time to take one of the canners off. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 19, 2011 4

Fire Pinks

On one of the rare occasions Sunday that the sun actually peeked through the clouds, we happened to be at Smartview Park. These beautiful fire pinks were blooming everywhere.

I thought you all might like them. We are always looking for different types wildflowers and quizzing each other to see if we can remember their names.

Today is STILL overcast and foggy. We had rain most of the day yesterday and more last night. Our temperature this morning was 40 degrees. I finally decided to just go ahead and build a fire. I washed a load of clothes on Monday and hung them up inside. This morning there were still not completely dry. It takes a long time for them to dry if I don’t have a fire and besides the house was a little chilly and damp.

Time for school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 18, 2011 4

Rocky Knob Picnic Area

Some pictures of the area we went to Sunday for our picnic. The rocks formations are very pretty.

They have lots of picnic tables set up all around the picnic area. We hope to go back soon when everything is not so wet.

Being wet, however, did not stop adventures. Daniel had a wonderful time playing. Today is wet still. We had lots of rain pass through last night and it is still extremely overcast with fog. A little chilly this morning, mid 40’s. I think the rain makes it feel much chillier. We are working on school today. We are almost finished with history and science. YEAH! Well, I better get busy. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 17, 2011 3

Parkway View

We had a really nice weekend here in Floyd. Dave, Jess and the boys came up to celebrate Hubby’s birthday. Jess and I went to a yard sale in town. Later that evening they took us all out to eat at a local Mexican restuarant. We had a great time. On Sunday we went on a picnic down the parkway. This is a picture we took from one of the lookouts.

Today, we went down to watch the boys while Jess went to her doctors appointment. All is going well with her and the baby. Thank you, Lord. She will find out next month if she is having a girl or a boy. Daniel said they don’t want any “gwirls” there. Jess told him “but what about Mommy.” Daniel said “You’re not a “gwirl” , you’re Mommy. We are just praying for a healthy baby-boy or girl.

We have been getting lots of rain here. We have had a little sun this evening but mostly overcast. We still do not have our plants in the garden yet. It has just been too wet. We don’t have the brush pile burned or the lower garden tilled. I still have lots of flower seeds to get in the ground too. Oh well, all in God’s time.

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

May 16, 2011 3

Snowball bloom

We have a very small snowball bush that was given to us last year by a friend from church. I was not sure it would survive the winter but it did and now has one beautiful bloom on it. It also has several new starts coming up from the root. Next year we are hoping for lots of bloom.

Yesterday the girls and I went to big town. We needed chicken feed and a few other things. We went to Books-A-Million, which is a big treat for us. We used to have one in Christiansburg but they moved to Blacksburg. The girls had some money they had been saving. They each bought a new book with their money. I found this documentary in the bargain DVD basket. I am thinking of using it some for next year’s history course.

We have had several days of fog and rain. Today, though, the sun is peeking through the fog. Hopefully the weekend will be nice. Dave, Jess, and the boys are supposed to come up for the weekend. Our church is having a clay shoot tomorrow. Dave is going with Hubby to shoot and the rest of us are going to a big yard and craft sale here in Floyd. We hope to picnic Sunday and celebrate Hubby’s birthday.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 13, 2011 4

Baby Gooseberries

Our gooseberry bush promises to have lots of fruit on it this year. We’ve glad as we really like them. We spent today making a swing for our neighbor. She is in her upper 70’s and loves to swing in her yard swing after working in the garden. We first intended to repair her old swing but it was just too far gone. Hubby made her a new one exactly like her old one. We took it down and hung it up for her. She was very happy. We so enjoy doing things that make others happy.

Today has been a nice day here in Floyd. A slight breeze with warm temperatures. You all will not believe how much our plants have grown in the greenhouse. I will try to take a picture of them soon to let you see them. Well, it is late and we are all hungry. I’m frying chicken for supper with gravy, corn and biscuits. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 9, 2011 2

Goslings

They sure have grown! Every time I see them they look so much bigger. We discovered this morning that we have a female mallard duck nesting on the island now. We are so excited! We have wanted ducks to nest there since we moved here. We’ve not sure why the ducks and the geese have decided that the island is now nest worthy but we sure are glad. There is a big difference between the ducks and the geese. The ducks are more secretive and the male is less aggressive. Papa Goose is always on patrol, keeping away all others.

I know it has been a long time since I made a post. I have been busy this week helping Hubby with a job he had building a fence. The girls took their school books and did school in the van while I helped him. Last night the girls had their piano recital. It all went very well. They did a good job on their songs. We have been busy this morning getting the yard mowed and other things that needed doing around the house.

On Tuesday, I attempted to make homemade cottage cheese. It DID NOT turn out. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I followed the directions I got from the internet. I think I need a different recipe. Have any of you all ever made cottage cheese? I sure would appreciate all info I can get.

The girls found new kittens today in one of the old buildings. It is always so exciting for them when they find new kittens. These belong to one of our wild cats so we have no idea if she will leave them where they are or not. Only time will tell. We have much to do so I better get busy. Enjoy your day and God bless.

May 7, 2011 2