December 31, 2018 ~ Preparing For The Weather

Word has it we’re in for high winds later this evening. Lord knows we’ve been up and down like a yo-yo weatherwise these last several months. Even these last couple of years the weather has been somewhat unpredictable and unusual at best.

In light of this, we take these warnings seriously and remove or bring in anything that could cause damage or suffer damage from being tossed about in the wind. Dean brought in our large trash barrel. Then we worked on the bird feeders, which are especially susceptible. They’ve lifted right off the large S hooks they hang from, crash to the ground and break. Being that a decent feeder is relatively expensive, we try to avoid that from happening. 

This past summer, I was thrilled to learn that a pair of Eastern Bluebirds had taken up residency in one of our hanging birdhouses. I was like a mother hen watching over that house! One day our forecast was warning of gusty winds. I knew they would rattle and klank that poor house around if I did not try to secure it better from where it hung.
The birds were not happy, but I did my best, and, thankfully, they were none the worse for wear. After that, I learned that it’s always best to secure each house firmly to a tree or post. 

I hope nothing serious comes of the winds. It’s especially unnerving when they roar through at night, like these are predicted to do. The house will be chilly no doubt from the drafts in this old, cinder block home. But at least we know it’s solid, and sturdy, and can withstand some extremely strong winds. What a way to bring in the New Year....

Wishing all of you a very inspiring, uplifting and positive 2019! 
                                   ~ ❤️ ~





November 12, 2018 ~ A Wedding Celebration

It hardly seems possible that just over a week ago we celebrated the recent marriage of my daughter, when it feels like just yesterday that I, myself, got married!

I look in the mirror and realize that, while mentally I still think I'm that 20 something girl, physically, time is marching on, making changes and taking it's toll on my not so young body anymore.

I watch my daughter and realize that now is her time, this is her moment to start down the road, to begin her journey into adulthood, just as each of us has done before her.

There will be joy and sadness, success and failure, impressionable and memorable moments in her life that will define, mold and shape her into a mature person in the way that only life and it's experiences can do. 

I watch, both with joy and trepidation, knowing that there will be happiness and excitement over little things, yet knowing that not all of life is happy and exciting. But if anyone has the courage and determination to live life to it's fullest, my daughter is surely one who will do it.... While I, now on the sidelines, will always be there praying, encouraging and cheering her on. ♥



 

 ~ ♥ ~

September 27, 2018 ~ Life Keeps Moving


Before I knew it, summer passed in a blink!
Flowers have bloomed and faded away,
Warm breezes have come and gone,
 Sunsets that were once late in the evening
are now on our doorstep not long after dinner!

Summer was a mixture of 
unusually hot days
and lots of sunshine,
bird watching, butterfly gazing 
and catching the scent of my sweet
Butterfly Bush through the open windows.


Summer was unhurried mornings 
relaxing on the back deck,
feeling the sun's rays wrap their
beautifully warm arms around me.
It was sightings of tiny newborn fawns,
the long awaited return of my hummingbirds
and nest building in my birdhouses.

It was rainbows on my kitchen walls
as sunshine glistened through my prism,
It was vases of flower bouquets
from roadside stands, fresh berries
and hot fudge sundaes
while driving through the country,
winding down after long, busy days. 
 
Then, slowly but surely, the changes came.
Those little changes like the color of the sky, 
the way the leaves look on the trees
and the lack of katydids singing in the night.
Sultry evenings dwindled, cooler mornings
greeted us as we stepped out the door.
And now, here we are, welcoming 
the season of Autumn, before I'm
really ready to let summer go....

 
 Yet, here I am, digging out my Autumn
displays ~ colorful leaf garlands, 
scarecrows, candles for the mantle
and a wreath for the front door....

And I hope, my dear friends, that this post
finds you all happy and healthy,
moving along productively in life,
much the same as I!
~ ♥ ~


P.S. If you have an iPad, iPhone or smartphone like me, you've no doubt realized how much easier it is to jump on the internet and do what once was only done from our computers at home! I recently found an app that's quite simple to use and allows the upload of information quickly and with ease. These days, that's a really intriguing idea to me, because I hardly ever sit down at the computer much anymore! And I'd rather do a short but sweet post, than to have no post at all, which, sadly, has been the case here.

I've tried repeatedly to use the Blogger app on my device, in an attempt to post quick updates here and there, but for some reason there's always a glitch and it ends up booting me off the post I'm trying to post! :/

So I'd like to invite you to join me over at my new page (don't worry I'll still post here from time to time), where I hope to keep in touch with you all much more regularly. And the nice thing is, it's computer friendly, too. Please stop in and say hello!☺

 

June 4, 2018 ~ Rolling Along Into Summer

View of our front porch, which I just adore!

For several weeks now I've had the pleasure of setting up my outdoor furniture, planting flowers and tending to things in the yard. Now I can relax some and enjoy the beauty of it all! 

A few days ago, Dean and I purchased a hammock (which might as well be called an outdoor bed, it's that big and comfortable) that we've had a few chances to enjoy since putting it together. What's great is that it's fairly lightweight and has wheels on the end so it can be lifted and positioned in the yard anywhere we wish - under the shade of a tree or in the sunshine. The first day we set it up was quite warm, so we opted for jumping on it under the shade of our big maple tree out back. 
Wow! It felt so good to just lay in the quiet of the afternoon after a busy day for me, and an even harder day of work for Dean in the great outdoors.
That evening, we ventured outside and sought the comfort of our new hammock once again, only this time under the beauty of our wide open, starlit sky. Amazing! For just a moment, we were lost in the hush of a balmy, breezy, almost summer time night and the cares of the world slipped away. And it felt, well.... wonderful!
While it's not always possible to "drop everything" and enjoy the day on a whim, having something to look forward to helps. A peaceful, dreamy moment of rest on our new hammock sure does remind us to take some moments to reflect on and enjoy life, even if it's in little snippets of time. 
Since this time of year happens to be our busiest in Dean's line of work, we try to remember that even though the days fly by so quickly, it's still important for us to find time for ourselves. And we like the new direction we're heading! ;)
~ ♥ ~

March 8, 2018 ~ Hope and Promise

March brings with it the hope of Spring. New life and rebirth. Beauty and color. The beginnings of bird song round about me as I step outdoors each morning to tend to my bird feeders. Everything seems so new and fresh. How uplifting! I'm ready for all this snow to be gone until next year.
I find that as my excitement mounts for the coming of Spring, I want to have my house in order so that I can be ready to start setting up my outdoor things as soon as the weather finally breaks. We're not quite there yet, but almost. 
The other morning I stood near the window holding my breath as I saw various birds peeking in and out of the holes of a few of my bird houses, seeking a safe place to raise their family. I remembered that I still had two of my smaller bird houses for the likes of Wrens and Chickadees still tucked away in the screen room. I dug them out and hung them up. You've heard of the saying, the early bird catches the worm? Well, I guess you could say, the early bird secures the house, too! With so much activity going on in their little community, I'm sure it won't be long before all the houses are occupied. That makes my heart happy!
It's nice to see brighter mornings and longer days. The sun has been moving higher and higher into the sky.... Some of our sunsets have been simply amazing. They chase away the far too many dull, dreary evenings we've been so accustomed to all winter long. We've hunkered down, kept busy and carried on, but, oh how lovely it is to be stepping into the hope and promise of Spring!
~ ♥ ~

February 12, 2018 ~ A New Week



Still not much sunshine, but I got up and got moving early today. I had a mission of grocery shopping to complete, and just didn't want to be out among the crowds and risk the chance of more exposure to germs! I arrived at the store just after breakfast and was so happy to be one of very few others who were shopping as well. I always like when I can move through the aisles efficiently and quickly without much hassle!

Interestingly, while out filling my bird feeders and suet log this afternoon, I heard, then saw, a pair of geese flying over, heading northeastward. That sure is odd for our area, and especially at this time of year, though I know we do have some geese that winter over in our parts a bit more than in years past. 

Joanna, our black lab, and I decided to get a bit of exercise and took a walk way to the back property line that overlooks a ravine. Imagine our surprise when we came upon 2 does foraging for anything they could find to make at least a bit of a meal for themselves. Despite our crunching footsteps through the hardened, dense snow, the deer did not even scurry away! The bigger of the two raised her head, pointed her ears straight upward and looked at us all while she was gently stomping her front hoof into the snow. Deciding not to disturb them any further, I led Joanna away, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw them still standing where we left them, content to eventually resume their foraging. A short time later, Dean spied one of them up in our yard digging for apples underneath the apple trees. 

With such severe cold and snow, I feel sorry for the critters outdoors. For several evenings we had a mystery on our hands of just WHO was getting into our bird feeders that are normally left untouched over night. Well, we finally found out over the weekend. Mama deer and her now grown twins, both of which are does! I must say, they sure do look much bigger when you're up close and nearly nose to nose through the glass with a deer! Not wanting to scare them into the road, we let them be, but from now on I have been bringing in the feeders at night time. I'd much rather put apples and carrots out for them to nibble somewhere in the safety of our backyard. And away from where, if left to keep coming, in warmer weather they will make a nuisance of themselves not only at the feeders, but in my flowerbeds as well! Not to mention deer ticks.... Of which I have already had 3, and thankfully tested negative for Lyme Disease. Now THAT'S some scary business....

As evening falls, I'm thinking of all the good "grub" (as Dean calls it) I brought home, and pondering on what to prepare for dinner. I think a bit of golden baked fish, gently steamed asparagus, and some deliciously sweet, canned peaches sounds good for dinner tonight. I guess I should scoot and get busy in the kitchen, my friends! 


Have a wonderfully relaxing and cozy evening!
~ ♥ ~

February 8, 2018 ~ Getting Back On My Feet

Right about now, the belief that we're anywhere remotely close to Spring, feels about like wishing for a miracle! We've had so many frigid, gray, snow-filled days it almost seems impossible, but it certainly is true. And news of the groundhog having seen his shadow.... well.....shush! We don't talk about things like that here in our house ~ Lol!!
Besides, it wasn't even sunny when Mr. Groundhog poked his head out. Now I ask you, how could he have possibly seen his shadow? According to my calendar, Spring is approximately 6 weeks away, and that's the hope I'm clinging to these days. Yes, I'm believing in miracles! ☺ How about you? If you're lucky enough to live in an area that's already experiencing some beginnings of Spring, oh, I'm so very happy for you!! Soak up some of that gorgeous sunshine for me, would you? 
 Fortunately, with such inclement weather outdoors, I've been making the most of my time indoors. Shortly after the New Year, I began going through just about every cupboard, closet and drawer in the house, to bring some semblance of order that has been much needed, but neglected while enjoying the previously beautiful days of seasons gone by.
Have you been lucky enough to escape a cold or the flu this year so far? I think I've had a mix of both in whatever has been ailing me this last week and half. Suffice it to say, after a good few days in bed getting plenty of rest, taking long, hot showers, eating comforting meals and soaking in the deep warmth of our wonderful wood stove, I'm on the mend and ready to tackle things around here. Now, it's my turn to nurture Dean back to health.... Yup, he got it, too. :/
My thoughts on the whole matter are this: you just don't want to get sick in the first place. Because once you do, there's really very little you can do to prevent it from taking hold and doing what it's going to do. That's just my take from our own experiences in dealing with this stuff. From the very tiniest, slightest symptom I felt right at the start, I took a very proactive stance with fighting this thing off. I really wasn't too worried as we've been eating super healthy and taking great care of ourselves for these last nearly 6 months with a new whole foods approach that has left us feeling absolutely, amazingly better in so many ways! (From weight loss, to more energy, to less bloating, to beautiful skin, to lower blood sugar levels.... the list goes on!) But, alas, aside from the days spent in bed getting every bit of rest that my body needed, none of the cold medicines, extra vitamin C, or even the hot showers making me "sweat it out" seem to have helped. However, something very basic and rudimentary did - drinking lots and lots of fluids! Now isn't that something we always hear when we're sick? "Drink lots of fluids, Dear!" Not only did it help my body flush out the toxins of this illness, it kept the chest and head congestion to such a minimum that I was truly pleasantly surprised. And that's my advice, should you, unfortunately, find yourself sick.... 
In the future, I think I'm going to be looking into foods and herbal supplements that boost the immune system to be specifically super strong in order that I may not even get sick in the first place! 
In the meantime friends, here's to hopes of sunnier days, warmer weather and beautiful hints of Spring as each day passes by. ☺ 
~ ♥ ~