A Break From the Heat

This is one of my favorite reads right now and it has scared the living hell out of me. Fascism in America during the 1930's? Another reason FDR is one of my heroes. And the possible plan to end American Democracy as we know it? With what is going on in the world today, it's definitely one of those books that make you go hmmm. Yes, Jesse Ventura has opened up a can of worms with this book and if you get a chance to read it I am sure it will change your view of American politics.

This beautiful morning dove has built her nest a mere 10 feet off the ground in our plum tree. The children and I ride, walk and run by this tree daily and she remains oblivious to our comings and goings.

The reason for the delay in blogging has been due to my back breaking work in the garden. But the rewards of the hard labor are paying off and we have enjoyed such bountiful feasts from it. The prized crop, our butter beans, are blooming and I have already spotted several pods hanging. The heat has been oppressive over the last 3 weeks with temps reaching a record 104 this past weekend. The kiddies have been taking advantage of the wading pools and we try to hit my Daddy's pool once a week.

We planted one long row of cucumbers this year and I have already made 2 batches of sweet pickle. Here they are in their last boil just before they go into the jars.

The finished product! Just waiting for chicken, pasta or ham salads. If you're interested in purchasing a quart let me know. $8.00/jar plus shipping and handling. No overseas delivery, sorry!

Life is What Happens to you, While You're Busy Making Other Plans

Ah the spirit of adventure is deep in her roots. She rises each day before the sun to gain an advantage over us. While we're still happily sleeping away, AB is busy in her room plotting her strategy on how HER day is going to be. And you better believe it includes time spent outdoors.

Here we have one tired cowboy who had one heck of a day on the farm. He rode his motorcycle (with the Woody attire on) around for several hours in the hot baking sun, ran up and down the garden rows and then there were swimming lessons in the afternoon which completely wiped him out.

I had a true miracle occur over the week. I went to the outside freezer that we keep in a screened in bbq shack separate from the house. There on the concrete floor lay this hummingbird, fluttering awkwardly because he had tied himself up in cobwebs. I placed him in my hand and took him to our feeder. He drank for just a little bit and then I started taking off the webs that were tangled between his feet and wings. He sat there for about 20 minutes and then fluttered his wings, hovering above me for a few seconds then took off to the nearby pecan tree. What an incredible experience!

The garden is crankin'! Butterbeans to the left (with some volunteer watermelon plants) and the cucumbers are on the right. I enjoy my time out there. It's my own little slice of heaven. We'll be picking snaps over the next week and canning my share as well as selling to local friends and grocers. The squash and broccoli have done very well. I put up 6 bags of broccoli. My rugrats love it!

Another gorgeous sunset across the field. I never tire of them and every evening I'll look out the kitchen window to see what beautiful painting God has produced. And I give thanks for the many blessings he has given me.