The first harvest....

Last week, I shared with you some strawberries that were a gift from Munchomom and family, grown near where they live.  They were good strawberries, but there is nothing better than having your own!

Strawberries on strawberries!

A couple of years ago, we set out three strawberry plants.  These are the first ones to ripen on those plants this season.

More to come.

The ripe ones were very tasty!:-)  It is a good thing there are some more green ones to ripen later!:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Another one....

This is another day to bring out this banner!

This is the last birthday in the family for awhile.

Yes, today is Machoman's birthday!  How is your singing voice?  Join me in a hearty chorus of "Happy Birthday!"

I know he will not be enjoying a slice of this today....

Celebrating with cake....

....but I know Munchomom will have something special for him!  The Munchkins will also probably have some sort of surprise planned.:-) 

Happy Birthday, Machoman!  We have loved having you in the family!

Wow!  You did a fantastic job singing that chorus!  Thank you very much!

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

The week-end....

I hope you have many good reasons to remember the past week-end.  Did it seem to pass as quickly for you as it did for us?

Eek!  A mouse!

I began the week-end by purchasing a wireless mouse on Friday.  So far, so good.  The touch pad mouse on this laptop has been a bit of an "overachiever," skittering all about at will and resulting in my losing entries of all sorts!  Of course, that means I have sacrificed that convenience, although the end result has been well worth it!

Is it THAT time already?

As our local schools begin the year by the second week in August, yes, it is time for graduations to take place.  So, on Friday night The Husband and I ventured out for the graduation of the daughter/granddaughter of good friends of ours.

No pictures of this one, but we did watch the Preakness on Saturday.  No Triple Crown winner this year, either, as Oxbow won this one!

Pentecost - and Confirmation.

Sunday was Pentecost, and it was also Confirmation Sunday at our church.  There were nineteen young people confirmed, one of whom was the son/grandson of the same family with the high school graduate!

Rolls!

 

 

We invited the family already mentioned to come for lunch on Sunday, and many of the rolls in the pan were consumed!

Oh!  Does that call for a recipe?  That will have to come another day.

I didn't mention anything about the rain, did I?  Or the bit of hail that came with Sunday afternoon's storm?  When all was said and done, we have had over two inches of rain in our rain gauge from the week-end!  Back to waiting for that garden spot to dry!

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

Pentecost....

On this Pentecost Sunday, the Mission Focus in the United Methodist Women Prayer Calendar for 2013 is the Moore Community House in Biloxi, Mississippi.

At my church, today is Confirmation Sunday.  It is a special day for a group of  young people and their families at our church.

I send you special Sunday blessings.

Still waiting.....

....for these to bloom....

Peonies

 

 

....while these are rapidly fading away.

Snowball bush

The snowball blooms have been really pretty, though all the rain caused the blossoms to weigh heavy, contributing to the drooping of the branches.

I heard someone mention this week that the peonies needed ants to crawl over them to take care of the wax covering over the buds.  Have you known that?  When we lived at the other property, the ants were very plentiful on the buds, but here - not so much.  If the wax coating isn't removed, the buds will not open, so I was told.

I hope you are having a good week-end.  Here, we had more rain last night, so the garden work is once again on hold.:-(  We'll get there!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

A book for you...

Wow!  Friday already!  Are you ready for the week-end?  Is there anything special on your calendar?  Around here, a series of high school graduations is underway, and we are fortunate to know several of that "younger set" which are graduating this year.

We are also hopeful that the weather forecast for "scattered showers" will have them scattered elsewhere, and that we might be able to take that first step to planting our garden this season!

That leads me to a discussion of this book.

Non-fiction.

 

 

Several years, while our daughters were students at Emory and Henry College, Barbara Kingsolver came as a guest speaker.  A marriage between her and one of the college professors ensued, and they lived for a number of years at her home in Arizona.  A decision was made to return to Southwest Virginia to her husband's farmland and to experiment living a rural life for one year.  That is to say that they would only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it.   This book, published in 2007, is written as a result of that year's experiment.

I became aware of the book when The Husband and I decided to return to campus for More Than A Vacation, an event for alumni/spouses held during the summer.  Developing the theme from the book as the basis of our activities, it was suggested that we read the book before we came to that summer's event.

Well, the experiment was apparently successful, as they are still residing in Southwest Virginia and have operated a restaurant - The Harvest Table - using the same concept for several years!  Ms. Kingsolver was even the speaker at the college graduation a couple of years ago, and she is often seen participating in campus events.

The book was especially interesting to me because we are real believers in growing vegetables and supporting area farmers by shopping the local markets.  I was also made more aware of reading ingredient labels and began to be more careful with what I buy. We are dedicated to gardening organically, and we have our own compost which is used to supplement the soil.

I hope you will find much to enjoy in this day! 

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

In full bloom....

I shared this picture with you earlier.

Knock-out rose.

Do you see all the buds on the rose bush?  Well, this is what we have now.

Full of blooms.

I brought some of this beauty inside.

Oops!  Sideways.:-) Rotate counter clockwise.:-)

There was also another Mother's Day gift from The Husband.

Another Knock-out rose.

This one is, of course, much smaller that the others, but it will quickly catch up! 

Here it is - already Thursday.  I hope you are having a good week and are planning for a good week-end that is fast-approaching.  We have a bit of sun this morning, once again.

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.