Blue Ribbon

Well, the results are in ... Jim got a blue ribbon for his 'fog' photo. The judge made a very nice comment on the back of the claim ticket. It said that the photo had great light contrast but to try to get the focus in better.... I think it would have come out a little 'crisper' if we had sent it to Walmart to print, Jim printed it on his printer. You can see the printer lines if you look real close. Otherwise, it is an awesome pic, I really like the colors. We took some pics of some spider webs, too, some of those came out pretty cool.
No pics today... maybe the next post..... Take care everybody. (p.s. back to work in just 4 days, I am not ready. However, 1/2 of my bedroom is clean, the chicken house is ready for the 4 hens I am getting on Monday, and all the trash is moved away from the house which is getting ready to be painted. Can't wait for that project to be done!! And tomorrow is the last day I will have to be at the county fair. It has been a busy week!)
p.s.s. Did you know you can post a comment, here? Just look below the line, there will be the word 'comment' click on that and you can write a comment about the post. I am not sure, but you may have to sign in. If you don't want to do that, then just email me. I love hearing from all of you.

Fog and Roses

We woke up to fog the other morning, this is what it looked like from our front porch. (I wrote this three days ago, our computer would not let me download the photos until today. That being said, since then Jim has printed and entered this photo in the fair.... today (Wed.. Aug. 12th) is judging.... I...can't...wait, to see how it does.)

This is a rose that I have had growing for the past 5 years. It is some type of two-toned hybrid. The bud is a peachy color, then it opens to this. In years past it has made two blooms. This year it was frozen in the ice storm, burned by a fire that escaped my burn barrel, and the cat was 'helping' me clean off the back patio and knocked down a box (along with himself) onto it, breaking off one of the two stems to the ground. The silly thing has made 4 blooms this year. I guess it had a little 'encouragement'..... BLOOM OR DOOM!!

This is the same rose when it is finished. Hard to believe that it changes again to all one color!

And these are the beautiful white roses that Jim brought home to me yesterday.... FOR NO REASON AT ALL....

They are simply beautiful!!!

The Show After The Storm

Recently, we had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. It only lasted for 15 minutes or so, but, oh, the show after the storm was terrific! Click on the arrow and watch and listen.

You can hear the water dripping off the roof, the frogs in the background and of course the thunder. This is only a portion of the video I took, it was so amazing. The lightning just kept flashing and flashing, so the thunder was constant, but the frogs just went on singing.

I wish I would have remembered to use the night mode on the camera, it probably would have shown the outline of the trees better. I was sitting on my wicker love seat on the front porch while recording this event.

Summer Trips

Mid-May, Nick and I went to down to Alabama to attend a wedding. Jim's nephew, John, began his new life with a beautiful young woman Catherine. It was in her hometown and what a beautiful town it was. Right on the Gulf, flowers planted on every street corner, lots of beautiful big oaks and other trees, just a very charming and alluring area. We went to the beach, Nick swam and then took a kayak out, it was so nice. We had a great weekend (it was way too short), got to see some family that we hadn't seen in a very long time.

Then in June I spent two weeks in Michigan with family. My brother Ron, his two girls and his grandson, all came up from Phoenix so I made sure I was there during their visit. We got some great photos, some really good family photos and a wonderful 4 generation. It was so good to see the girls and my brother and especially that beautiful baby boy, Isaiah. He is a very happy and healthy baby. His grandpa seems to like him pretty well and I see that Isaiah is pretty attached to his g'pa, too.

Then, Jim and I went to Springfield, which I wrote about already. If you go to Jim's blog you can see the photos we took there. I sent that address to all of you in an email. Well, all for now. We had a short storm night before last, that I will be posting about real soon, along with a video.... wish me luck.

Springfield, MO trip

My honey at the pool

What a nice time we had!! Went to dinner at Red Lobster... pigged out on Lobster tail, Jim had the seafood feast. VERY GOOD! We stayed in the same hotel as we did 2 years ago. It is close to Battlefield Mall, but we did not go Mall Shopping, as Jim calls it. We got our eyes checked and glasses ordered, then we went to some Warehouse stores. One was for jewelry and handbags the other was clothing. We spent quite a bit of time in the first one... I bought a bunch of jewelry, all cosmetic, but really nice or just plain fun. They had some cool looking bags and handbags too, but since I just bought one from my friend in MI I really didn't need or want another one. We went to the clothing warehouse but it was so busy and way to packed with clothing items. I walked through, saw some comforters that I would have liked and for good prices, too, but, once again, I really didn't need, want or have room for any more comforters. Back at the hotel we sat in the sun, by the pool and went into the jacuzzi. We had planned on going into the 'cuzzi later that evening, but the place was flooded with kids until about 15 minutes before the pool closed, so I took a long bath instead.

We got back home just in time to have Nick tell us that the washing machine would not drain. Jim has already worked on it and decided to order a motor. Cheaper than a new washer, but is still 100.00 and a couple of days of no washer. I just hope that is all that is wrong with it.

Going to Springfield

We are going to Springfield in the morning, main goal is to get our new glasses/contacts. We will go shopping, dinner, and stay the night coming home some time on Sunday. Should be a fun trip, am taking my bathing suit as the hotel has a pool and a jacuzzi. Hee ha!! Always nice to get away for a couple of days with my honey.

Quick catch-up

After three years of searching on the internet to find the 'perfect' new location, we came to this area to look for land. We found this little house on about 50 acres of partially wooded land. It also has 2 spring fed ponds, and a small creek. We call the bigger pond 'the lake'. It is beautiful and I am down there nearly everyday. Most of the time I am fishing, but sometimes I just sit. I love to go hiking all around the property.
Recently, we sold off a few acres, nearly in the middle of the property, so that cut my hiking down a lot, but we are debt free and it feels good. We, of course, have to pay utilities, but no mortgage.... YAY!!
Our only son graduated from high school here, signed up for the Marine Corps Reserves, went to one semester of college, got called to duty during his second semester and spent 7 months in Iraq. Between the prep to go, time gone, debriefing when back, he was gone a year. He is home now, going to a different college, he has changed his career desires, as most of us do or did. He still has about 3 years left in the reserves, we are praying he doesn't have to go to Iraq or Afghanistan within that time.
All for now, next time I will post some photos.

Cool Beans, I finally got this blog thing going. I don't even know where to start so I guess I will just begin with "hello, I am so glad you decided to follow my blog. I hope you will enjoy reading the goings on here on my little Ozarks farm."