We will have blueberries....

After receiving record-breaking rainfall for the date of April 28, the sun made an appearance on Monday afternoon!  More is expected today, though there is rain once again mentioned before the week is over.

I am certain we will have blueberries, even though we might be later than we would like planting our vegetable garden.

Beginning to bloom.

More blooms on the way.

Even more.

We have enjoyed a good blueberry harvest for several years.  Hopefully there will not be a late freeze that will damage the blueberries this season.

We may even have some cherries.

Full of blooms.

Hopefully there will be enough cherries so we won't have to fight so much with the birds.:-)  I believe there is a mockingbird who thinks the cherry tree and the blueberry bushes are just for him!:-)  He has not ever been very happy when I have gone to pick blueberries.:-)

On my last post, I mentioned the likelihood of having that first ripe strawberry by the end of the week. I think I was a bit too hopeful.  It will probably be another week before we have any ripe strawberries.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

More of spring....

Happy Monday to everyone!  Did you have a good week-end?

I, for one, have been happy that this spring has been "late."  The lovely blooms on the dogwood trees have lasted through the month, and our fruit trees have done nicely with their blooms.  I have already shown some pictures of those trees blooming, so today I want to share a few other things around here.

Columbine

Berries on the holly

More columbine

Azaleas

Strawberries!

Snowball bush

Dandelions, of course.:-)

Do you know what this is?

The week-end brought us over four inches of rain in our rain gauge.  Our area has received more than 11 inches above our average rainfall for this point in the year.  Needless to say, the spot for the vegetable garden is definitely too wet to plow!  We have no idea when we will be able to plant the vegetable garden.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Beauty and inspiration....

Worship center

I have once again made a trip to Lake Junaluska for a Conference United Methodist Women retreat.  This is the worship center that was prepared for our services.

To me, Lake Junaluska is a place of beauty and inspiration.

The Labyrinth

The Labyrinth provides an opportunity for personal worship and reflection.

On this Fifth Sunday of Easter, the Mission Focus as listed in the United Methodist Women Prayer Calendar for 2013 is MacDonnell United Methodist Children's Services, Houma, LA.

I wish you a blessed Sunday!

Time for another one....

Do you remember back in March when we celebrated Country Man's birthday?  I mentioned then that he had started off a series of birthdays in our family.  So - today we have a repeat of this.

"Whose birthday is it today?" you ask.  Please join me in wishing The Husband a very happy birthday!  For two days I was an "older woman.":-)

Maybe he will have a chance for something like this.

Hopefully he will share some of it with me.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Some favorite books....

It isn't often that an author who writes books suitable for older readers will also be able to write some suitable for younger readers.  Today I am sharing an author with you who has done just that.

Books by Jan Karon.

I became a fan of the Father Tim series by Jan Karon as soon as I read the very first one!  It soon became my mission to keep up with each one, as soon as it was printed! 

There are also children's books that she has written.

Who among us doesn't need encouragement?

Cynthia Coppersmith's contribution.

You have probably learned by now that it is difficult for us to part with books!

I hope you will enjoy your week-end.  After several pretty week-ends in a row, there is a prediction for rain  here.  A perfect time to curl up with a good book!  I hope you have a good one to read!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments. 

What is today?

On this day, we are bringing out this banner again.

Another birthday!

We wish City Girl a happy birthday!

At birth!

I will not mention her age, but City Girl has changed a lot since this picture was taken.:-)

Oh! Incidentally, this person has changed a lot since THIS picture was taken.

This is City Girl's mother!

Yes, it's true.  City Girl and I share a birthday!  I am still trying to understand how she continues to have birthdays when I am still the same age.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

Buzzing....

One day recently, when I stepped out the front door, I immediately heard the sound of buzzing.  It didn't take long to discover the source.

The blooming holly bush!

There were MANY buzzing insects of various types making their rounds on the blooms of this bush.

Holly bush with berries.

Those insects were certainly doing their job!  They would fly from one holly bush to another, intent on the process of pollination.  Now, I am no "spring chicken," but this is the first time that I had observed this process with these holly bushes.  There are not many red berries in this picture, but already there have been more appear on the bush!

Mother Nature at work!

I hope this Wednesday is a good one for you.  There is a birthday we are celebrating here today.:-)

Shadow!

 

 

Our cat is 21 years old today! 

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate  your comments.

More signs of spring....

Happy Tuesday to everyone!

There are those of you who follow this blog who live in the area, then there are those of you who live in areas that are still covered with snow and ice.  For you "locals," hopefully you have been enjoying scenes like these.

Dogwoods in the neighbor's yard.

Love the flowering crab apple tree!

Sweet blooms on the curb across the street!

Yes, we are having some lovely blossoms at this time.  The cooler weather we have had for the past few days has helped the blooms linger longer. 

Those of you in the colder areas - never fear!  Spring will come to you!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Earth Day....

Today is Earth Day, and there were many activities around here scheduled this past week-end to celebrate.  The weather was beautiful, and I hope there was good participation in the various activities.

Earth Day brings this book to mind.

A children's book from the UMW reading list a few years ago.

Isn't it a beautiful book?  Truly an excellent choice for reading to children to impress upon them the importance of taking care of our earth!

This is another one that comes to mind.

A favorite author.

Many of you may have read Barbara Kingsolver's fiction.  This is non-fiction, and I will be blogging about it more in the future.

There are those who make a point to do something special in observance of Earth Day.  What about you?  Hopefully we will make some progress planting some flowers.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Fourth Sunday of Easter....

On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, the mission focus as listed in the United Methodist Women Prayer Calendar for 2013 is Wesley House Community Services in Louisville, Kentucky.

Our Conference United Methodist Women have chosen "Fruit of the Spirit" as our theme for this year.

            "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

               gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law."

                                                                                                 ~Galatians 5:22-23

I send along wishes for a blessed Sunday to each of you!

A reference....

On this day, I want to simply refer you to a blog that I follow.  I found it to be comforting and reassuring when I read it on Friday, and there are good words for us to remember, especially at this time.  You will be able to locate it if you enter Susanbranch.com in your search line.  I think you will agree with me.   It is an excellent time for us to "count our blessings."

I wish you a week-end full of special, meaningful things and time with those you love.

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

Always popular....

I have been retired from the classroom for ten years now.  Many things have changed in that time.  In those days, the local PBS station aired episodes about this strange school bus.:-)

Was it really magic!

That Ms. Frizzle was really busy with taking her class on field trips.  They went to some very unusual places!  Our Munchkin #1 has really enjoyed these books.

Videos

Videos such as in this last picture are not the norm these days, so it is easy to see these have been around for awhile.  DVDs have replaced the VCR tapes.  I liked to be able to relate the showing of videos to something we might be currently studying.   Hopefully it would help make the concepts seem more real.

This has been a hard week for news.  Prayers for strength and comfort are needed for many!  May the week-end ahead bring some days of peace and calm.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

More on the wall....

As I seem to be on a trend of showing some of the decor around here, there is some more to share.

The Husband was a rural mail carrier, and there were a couple of talented artists on his route. We were really pleased when one of them gave us this print.

Lighting wasn't right when the other dogwood pictures were taken.

The reflection from the windows in this room makes it tricky to get pictures.  If you look closely in the picture to the right, you will be able to see the shadow of my hands holding the camera as I took this picture.

A sideways view.

I had to take this one with a sideways view because of the lighting situation.  Anyway, this print was purchased at a Habitat for Humanity Silent Auction that our church held a couple of years ago.

More Iris.

This was purchased a number of years ago from a parent of a child at the school where I was teaching.

Memorial Chapel at Emory and Henry College.

This picture was a gift from the Muncho couple.  This chapel was opened in the fall of my freshman year there.

Pat Buckley Moss has done this view of the chapel.

Pat Buckley Moss did a couple of things that the college sold to benefit a learning center.  Perhaps there will be a day when the other one will make it to the blog.:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Spring continues....

Before I begin the subject of today's post, I want to take time to mention that my thoughts and prayers continue to be offered for those who have been affected by the events in Boston on Monday afternoon. 

Continuing on around the house, there are some indications that spring has arrived.

Iris will soon be in bloom.

Souvenir brought back by City Girl.

Did you know the Iris is Tennessee's state flower?

And - of course, the dogwoods!

 

The bunny mugs have given way to these more seasonal ones.   We have mugs for just about every season of the year!:-) 

 When City Girl was in high school, she attended a Mu Alpha Theta (math) convention in the Tampa area and brought back the mug as a gift, so it has been around a number of years.  How old do mugs have to be before they are considered "antique?":-)

The dogwood has such a significance for our area during the month of April, so of course I have to have mugs showing dogwoods!:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate  your comments.

More outside.....

We have some blooms! 

Tulips!

 

 

This is the best these have looked since we set them out a few years ago!

Our wonderful rosemary bush in the background!

You can see that this group is backed by the rosemary.   It has done well all through the winter.

Asparagus!

 

 

 

 

 We have harvested our first asparagus this season.  A lone asparagus spear, and it was good with our scrambled egg the next morning for breakfast.  Yum!

More signs of spring abound!  More on that in the next post.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.