Blogger Babble

These black-eyed Susans are so happy! They have REALLY taken over since we planted them last summer. They, along with the day lillies, will all have to be split and replanted in other places pretty soon. We (ok, I ) have been waiting for this! There is a very special area of the yard which we have deemed "the fairy garden" where the split out stuff will be planted. It is SO exciting to see the yard come to life with flowers and color. The couple we bought the house from said there used to be exquisite shrubbery and landscaping, but a family member ripped it all out when he was in throws of an illness. I'm hoping we can do it justice in getting some beauty and life put back in to it ... little by little. Part of that 10 year plan we keep talking about! :-)

This is Paul (on the left) playing "Corn Hole" with our new neighbor, Steve (on the right). The object is to throw a bean bag (which is actually filled with corn) into a small hole on the top of the platform. I have NO idea how the scoring works, or have never even picked up a bean/corn bag, but Paul really seems to enjoy it on the odd lazy summer afternoon. As true to form, he's darn good! The neighbor keeps telling me it is very much like playing horseshoes. It seems to be a mountain rage, every one loves playing it around here. His wife and he play a lot and they seem to be enjoying it greatly. I watch from the studio window as I'm am trying to get ready for the art show on the 21st. :-)

The butterflies are having an absolutely delightful time on the butterfly bush this summer. Well, it is HUGE now ... and sometimes it is absolutely covered in gorgeous butterflies. Not just the monarchs, but ALL kinds. We have a neighborhood kitty who lies in wait at the bottom of the bush ... or on the ledges of the brick ledge trying to catch them. She is a young kitty, so she is honing her skills. She needs lots of practice (thank goodness).

We are beginning to reap some veggies out of the garden! This is grilled country bread with grilled zucchini slices tossed in olive oil and fresh basil, tomato slices and ricotta topping. Served with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and it was DELICIOUS! Nice and light and ever so wonderful because we knew they (the viggies and herbs) were organically grown and cared for in our very own back yard! We didn't plant as much this year for a hundred different reasons, but we are enjoying whatever we get ten fold! Thank you, Mother Nature!

Paul dug some "taters" on Sunday. They were great too .... tender, sweet and yummy! We steamed some and coated them in butter and dill. Yum! I planted the red ones and Paul planted the white ones. Paul's yield is about 20 times greater than mine ... and his taters are very good and sweet! At least we can have potatoes and green beans! Plenty of both!

Sunflower house continues to smile! Mother Nature bestowed upon us a WICKED storm yesterday afternoon. It was filled with REAL wind and electricity, so we had a lot of our big sunflowers go D O W N. Our trellises for the green beans went down, along with a lot of other stuff. SOOOOOOO ..... hopefully the sun (when it finally comes back out) will pull everything back together again. Fingers crossed! According to Beth, in August you are supposed to fill a jar with one marble for every morning fog. They represent how many snows there will be in the winter. As each snow occurs, you remove a marble ... according to tradition, it should be right on the "marble". So far I only have 1 marble in the jar. That is promising ... I'm hoping we don't have a winter like the last one. PLEASE!

And finally, more dirt to spread! Charles will be arriving (Saturday, we hope) with his newly repaired tractor to spread this all out and even it up ... then we can plant grass and make it match the other side (only maybe the grass will not be dead like the other side). We've had less rainfall than normal, somethings are a bit dried out. Our grass in the front yard is actually crunchy when you walk on it! The good thing is we don't have to mow quite as often. The bad thing is it is brown instead of green. "That ain't right", as they say around here!

Paul announced this morning that I have only 15 more days to finish preparing for the show. Well, *expletive*!!! Now I'm in panic mode ~ officially. I love him for keeping me in reality though. SO, I will be working, working and working. The house will get dustier, filled with cat hair, and neglected. The blog will not be updated as often. The yard will be overgrown and the weeds will be in the flower beds. E-mails will go unanswered and more than likely there will be other things that become unexpectedly uber important. They will have to wait too. And then, magically, on August 22nd, it'll all be over and I'll be available to do all that other stuff. So, I am off to work, work and then work.

Only one last thing to say,

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN HALL!!!!!!!

We L.O.V.E. you buddy!

Hope you're having FUN!

Happy Weekend to all Y'all! Fill it with blessings!

Paul & Cheri