Look on the Bright Side

 

I could swear I hear this little chick telling me to stop whining about the drought and be happy with the blessings I have.  Thanks to the miracle to hoses and sprinklers and CWLP and enough money to pay the water bill, Mark has kept the tomatoes going and we have a good harvest.  The zinnias are close by, so they're blooming too :)

Home Again Home Again

Just got back from Judson and Rachel's in their new hometown of Madisonville.  Going to see them now is like going home!  Thanks to Sharon, they have very very nice temporary housing while they are waiting to close on their new home.  We loved visiting with Laura, doughnuts on Sunday morning, and best of all--watching the BK big wheel speedway races :)

 Meanwhile, here in Central Illinois. . . Really nice volunteer combo of amaranthus and cleome.

Sunflowers and zinnias.  Most of the zinnias are being dried in silica for The Farm.  The sunflowers didn't dry very well--too big, too heavy, and they by the time they dried they had lost most of their color.   They do look cute with the zinnias though.  A second crop of sunflowers is in bud, so we'll see how they turn out.

 These are bright lights cosmos.  I've always loved these around the vegetable garden.  Back when the boys were little little and we lived in Nicholasville, we had orange cosmos growing around the whole garden.  Mark has been watering the garden, so it's doing pretty well.  And I've kept the containers pretty well watered, so they are okay too.

We cleaned out closets the other day and found a couple of bowling balls.  The cladium look happy here with the cyclamen.  The lakeside kaleidoscope hosta is not happy at all with the lack of rainfall.

This is little henry sweetspire, just one of the shrubs that is also unhappy in this blistering dry heat.

Mark cut these day lilies back the other day.  They had turned to straw. . .

Not sure the rhododendrons will make it. We lost one last year, and the remaining two are really stressed.  The big daddy hosta is giving up.  Lots of the beauty berries are drying up--so disappointing because the spring bloom was spectacular and it's loaded with little green berries that are turning brown instead of that pretty bright purple :(

We had a great weekend with everyone in Madisonville.  It's good to be back home safely in only four hours!  And so now it's back to watering what we can and waiting for the rain. . . Have a good week :)

Big Blue

This big blue pot was a big blue SpLuRgE! this season :)   Mark gave it to me at Mother's Day.  My promotion at work had just become permanent so he went all out. 

Mark spoils me that way.  I mentioned that I'd like to have a pick machine the other day.  And now there's one on the way through the mail to this big blue pot garden!

 Lori gave me the blue bird bath several years ago.  And while you can't see them very well in this picture, Kathy's daylilies are still going strong all across the front of the house. 

We are watering watering watering to keep the ground plants going in this hundred-degree-no-rain heat.  I am thankful that we can still water.  And thankful for a beautiful garden that reminds me of people I love.  And of course, most thankful for the BHITWWW :)

Happy Fourth of July

No red white & blue flowers today, but Happy Fourth anyway!  This was another Sunday practice bouquet from this past weekend.  Zinnias, phlox, buddlia, amaranthus, and foliages. . .

Back view of the foliages--caladium, bleeding heart, japanese forest grass, sedum. . .

Michigan 2012

Such a great time in Michigan last weekend.  This was taken at the Proven Winners garden near PJ's house.  Isaac and Jordan flew in to visit too!

Mama, Kynda, Rebecca, and PJ

Isaac, Jordan, mama, Rebecca

Mark & Ike

Sky Fire Coleus

Kyle Stories

When we were visiting last month, there was some altercation between these two loving siblings.  I know, it's hard to imagine.  Betsy was crying those big beautiful brown eyes out because her brother pulled her hair.  So of course, we asked Kyle to say he was sorry.  "NO!  Sorry to ME!  Sorry to ME!"

I'm not sure what really happened, but I do remember all those years ago that whenever I intervened on one brother's behalf, the other always had a point too.  I love these moments when they are getting along :)

Betsy Stories

 from facebook:

Rachel: Betsy, we need to clip your nails after your bath.

Betsy: NO, mom. I want them to be long like Cinderellas!

Rachel:  I knew that girly girl was in there somewhere. :)

 

Happy Day in June

Happy Birthday to my sweet mama today!  I love this picture of her with Betsy taken at The Farm.  Betsy makes us all look good in pictures :)

See what I mean?  Happy Father's Day to Mark and Warren.  We're going to Cheddars for lunch to celebrate.

Further proof about Betsy & her effect on photographs :)  And Happy Father's Day to Judson. 

Week Three of Abe's Army Training

So far, I've been able to keep up with the training walks and the gardening.  Well, most of the gardening.  There are too many weeds out there and still many projects left to carry out, but it's all good. 

V and I went to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  My mama was right, it was a really good movie :)  Take the time to go see it.  You'll be glad you did.  I love going to the movies.  A good story and  two hours that I don't have to do anything else.  Yes.

The larkspur has been gorgeous this year.  It might last another week, then I'm going to take the seeds and scatter them for next year.  Everywhere that gets an hour or more of sun a day is going to get it's own sprinkling of larkspur.  Because you can never have too much larkspur.  Or too many good Sunday afternoon movies. 

Wild Woman Walking

I loved Wild--From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.   Remember the line in the movie Hurricane?  "Sometimes you don't pick the book, the book picks you."  Well, a book about walking the PCT picked Cheryl.  She wasn't a hiker or an athlete, but the idea of walking this trail spoke to her.   She had lost her mom and her marriage and decided to walk over a thousand miles along the west coast.

A thousand miles.   I've thought about her so often since I've been walking lately.  If she walked 1,000 miles, I can do this little part!

To my mama--check your kindle for Wild :)

Sunday Practice

It was a beautiful Sunday in the garden!  Did I tell you that I'm walking Abe's Army again this year?  I'm hoping for two things this time around.  One, I don't want to be last over the finish line.  and two, I want to have a pretty garden as well as walk the Army.  Last time I was exhausted, either walking or sleeping all the time.  Thanks to Chad, I feel stronger this time around so maybe I can walk and garden at the same time :)  Hope your Sunday in the garden was a good one too!  

Peonies for the Kitchen

Beautiful peonies from Petals & Co :) 

I LoVe this cabinet that mama bought for me.  

It makes the perfect place for a bouquet 

to sit in the middle of the kitchen :)

Spring 2012 Garden Tour

Memorial Day Flowers 2012

I had a great time today.

Betsy & Her PaPaw

My old friends are back :)