Been Pickin'

Strawberries........

Hmm Mmmm... and they are soooo good!

This is the 2nd year for these strawberries and

boy are they making strawberries for

my father-in-law...

I can't get over how big the plants are...

Hubby and I (I guess) are pretty competitive....

he picked and I picked....

If you ask Hubby how many he picked -- he picked
the yellow bowl and the box full!

And I filled the icecream bucket!

Two days later we picked again..... I left while Hubby

was taking a nap and got a head start.. I'm

sure I picked the most that night!

Been busy with "LIFE".... planning parties, counting the days

of my present job - 3 days to go, getting organized, making

plans for the county fair and also trying to enjoy some

of our sunshiny weather!

Happy Summer Everybody!

Impromptu Photoshoot!

Last Saturday after the wedding another cousin was

trying to gather their family members for a 50th

Anniversary photo. After some difficulty

getting all family members together their

photographer couldn't make it.... they were

going to meet in front of the tripod.....

We had plenty of time between the wedding and the

reception so we met them at the local park on the

lake...... and hubby took pictures while we got

everybody organized and in place.

They were a very easy group to photograph!

Look what we got!

HAPPY 50th ANNIVERSARY!

A stroll in the park....

Ahhhh Shucks!

It is so hard to stay focused on:

exercising daily and eating right

keeping up on house work and home projects

getting those horses ridden a bit each week

keeping the growing grass and weeds under control

WHEN YOU ARE BUSY:

picking and eating strawberries.... mmm mmmm

planning parties and picnics

preparing for a new job

spending time outside 'til sundown

ONE THING IS FOR SURE -

I am sleeping well!

And Little Boys Love Tractors!

Mom and Dad had a large sleepover with relatives coming

for the wedding.... A niece and nephew stayed with

their children.....

The boys love the farm, love the pigs and love

the tractors!

I bet they will be telling their friends, I drove a giant tractor once ---

oh yes I did!

I found these beautiful flowers surrounding a birdhouse

in Mom's flower garden!

Little Girls Love Weddings

Sunday!

Sunday the end to a very busy weekend...

I have a few wedding pictures to sort through and

also an unexpected anniversary photoshoot.

This weekend we picnicked and partied...

we witnessed some "I Dos"

we congratulated a couple on their 50th Anniversary

We danced from early evening sunshine 'til midnight

and celebrated Father's Day with a relaxing Sunday....

Hot Pink Peony now fully opened

a wildflower appearing by the Hoefs Rock

and a Shasta Daisy

Happy Father's Day to my other half...

Sunny Saturday?

For the Moment the Sun is Shining this Morning!

I do See clouds in the Sky so who Knows

what the Day will Bring!

I have Three peony Bushes that Were Transplanted

a Year ago -- They came From my Grandmother --

Two of the Bushes have One bud Each

One Bud opened Up yesterday.

It is Small, Delicate and Precious...

Maybe the Second bud Will open Today!

We are busy with another family wedding this

weekend -- enjoy seeing those we haven't

seen for some time!

Have a Great Day!

Counting Our Blessings...

We are counting our blessings - it could just as well have been our

hometown and our homes.....

Yesterday, we started checking the weather channel at work to

see what was brewing..... the weather was quite strange all day

overly cloudy, then a peek of sun and extremely windy.

The little town names started coming -- two names well known

to me that is where my home is about 16 miles from where I work - a

tornado warning and did somebody say a tornado had been sighted

(I still don't know if one was sighted close to where I live -- but which

ever the case the weather was something to be aware of)

On the way home I pulled over to take a picture - this is where I was

coming from and where I work - as I left town it got real dark and started to

rain. To the south about 60 minutes a

town was hit by a tornado and the damage is astounding -- the radio

said they had gas leaks and powerlines down. One street the homes

were OK the next street there are no homes. It hit the high school, overturned buses and destroyed their community center.

I have a strange feeling that at the time I took

this picture there were folks watching their homes

and belongings just up and disappear.

The weather was fairly calm when I arrived home -- we had

a few things blown around the yard and a "weak" tree

toppled into the driveway. I was ready for a nice evening

at home catching up on some outside things.

The radio had warned that another storm was coming through

but it sure didn't look like it..... and then it started to

sprinkle.... and sprinkle some more....

and then we had a gully washer!

The sun did appear and it was quite strange we did get a lot of rain
but a short time later the grass didn't seem very wet....

It still seems pretty windy now as darkness has come - I sure

hope the storms are done...

Today I counted my blessings.... we take our day-to-day

activities for granted and even when mother nature

gives us a little reminder of her power we still try

to go on with our day..... Sometimes Mother

Natures' strength speaks very loudly!

My thoughts, prayers and well wishes are with those

Minnesotans all over Minnesota that were hit by this storm...

it traveled far and wide over the state!

All Creatures....

All things bright and beautiful

All creatures great and small

All things wise and wonderful

The Lord God made them all.

It seems like it has been raining here for days -- we

need some sunshine!

The last 3-4 weeks we've squeezed dog training in

in between showers -- we did so again tonight and

after some sprinkles and a beautiful rainbow Lenny

and I were able to finish out tonights' class.

Lenny seems to be enjoying his class....

On the drive home I stopped to take some pictures of

the rain coming in the distance

and caught the spraying helicopter in action! It is quite

interesting to watch as the pilot manuevers over the fields

and then lands on the platform which is attached to a truck

to fill the sprayer back up.

Once home I found the horses out in the pasture eating some

of that wet green grass!

I had to check on the peonies - it looks like the flowers will be a bright

pink color.... when they are ready to open up!

A friend told a story the other day -- once returning from a night out

the babysitter asked about the delicious beverage in the fridge and

even asked for the recipe.

The friend thought for a moment and wondered if the babysitter

had unknowingly drank a wine cooler....upon second thought

Oops!

Tonight on my walk around the yard my camera found the hummingbirds

at the feeder --- I'll share the pictures with you in my next post!

Flag Day and Other Tidbits!

I'm a little behind in my posting -- but before the day

is over be sure to remember the flag!

A PRICKLY SITUATION

Our young'un, Smoke, over a week ago had a go around with

a porcupine... Not sure who won -- kept looking throughout the

pasture expecting to find the stomped remains of a porcupine - but

never did.

Smoke's front leg was covered with quills from his hoof on up to

his knee. I started out counting as I removed them until I

got to 30 then I quit because it looked like I hadn't done a thing.

He was lame with a slightly swollen leg for about a week and

that was after we sedated him, removed what we could and

a double dose of penicillin.

A week later he is still a bit tender and the quills that

broke off are slowly finding their way to the surface.

Hopefully he has learned his lesson.....



SURROUNDED BY WEEDS

Last year my Hoefs Rock was surrounded by beautiful wildflowers -
I mowed them down last fall and threw out some more
seed this spring with hopes that I would have the
beauty of wildflowers again....



NOT..... I have plenty of weeds - that icky milkweed and more.
I plan to pick some of the weeds and plant some other
flowers for this year.... then what?

Maybe dig it all back up this fall and replant the
wildflowers.




ANOTHER TIDBIT:


A week ago I found the "FLEA MARKET STYLE" magazine I
had looked all over for... I came upon it at a Walmart store
by accident. It is a wonderful magazine...

I will be submitting "Tigger" and "Greetings" --- the pictures
to the Animal Shelter calendar contest. Thank you
for your input.


Have a great evening!

GREAT QUESTION:

Regarding Smoke -- about having a vet help us with the quill removal. Yes a vet was needed. Smoke was no longer willing to stand after the removal of the first 30+. I met up with our lady vet and purchased for $40.+ a shot to make him sleepy and some pencillin shots. The shot lasted for a good 45 minutes -- but we still had to work fast. He remained on his feet

but didn't care that we were removing quills --- most of them would bleed once the

quill was removed.... Quite an experience....