quick post

As usual I'm running out of data so this will have to be quick.

Our church has been doing some overhauls lately. We got new carpet and also a new piano. Our old upright had gotten to the point of having to be retuned every week and was costing us as much as having a payment on a new piano. We got a good deal for a baby grand and with a fund raiser or 2 have been able to afford it.

We have a nice band-choir. I really don't know what to call them as we do mainly gospel but we do have a drummer, piano, several guitars and lots of singers. But we really have more fun in singing and worshiping each week. We can feel the Spirit move each week.

Our main piano player had major surgery lately so we have had a couple of stand-ins but thankfully she is back with us now. 

I really haven't taken any new photos lately and still looking for our baby hawks. The iris are winding down and with all the rain we have been having, they look awful. We plan to downsize that bed to 3 rows instead of 5 this summer. And also take out our smaller bed completely. We are getting too old to work ourselves to death on flowers any longer. 

On a crafting note. I have finished several redwork baby quilt tops and only need to get backing and then bind and tie them. I hope to get enough to donate to Children's Hospital soon. 

And as usual...I have to share some photos I love that I've found recently.

And as usual...

Full moon

Last Friday was a full moon. I wasn't able to get out and take a photo as it was cloudy and rainy but got one the next night.

I had a hard time taking the photo as it was where I had to try to focus without leaning on a tree. I shake too much unless I lean on a tree or something, but I finally managed to get this photo. I took this next one and thought at first when I previewed the photo that I had broken my camera. I didn't realize at the time I was shooting through the foliage on the sweetgum tree. So have a good laugh.

My iris have begun to bloom. I have to remember not to take our Kinzey dog out when I work in the bed as she plows through it like a bull dozer. Since we plan to dig the entire bed up after blooming this year, I'm marking the ugly white ones and some of the multiples of purples as they seem to multiply much faster than my special ones. We plan to downsize the bed into 4 rows instead of 5. It will make it more manageable. 

These last 2 photos are some of my special iris I plan to keep but will divide to have more blooming in a couple of years. 

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This is a short post. Have a bunch to do. 

And as always....

The Glory of God!!!

First great grandson

We have our first great grand child. He was a BIG one at 11 pounds and 22 inches. They have named him Kashdyn (I think that is how you spell it.)

We had a small scare at first as he wasn't breathing right so he was flown to Children's hospital in Little Rock. But he is fine now and back home.

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A few more photos of flowers

Our apple trees have really been blooming this year and we are praying we don't get a drought like last year and lose them. The old granny smith apple is really healthy this year too as we usually fight cedar blight in it. The smaller Arkansas black apple is supposed to be blight resistent.

The dandelions are in full fuzz. Immediately after taking this picture, our dog Kinzey snatched it up.

Our blueberries are loaded with blooms.

Another of our tulips

These are wild thrilliums I replanted into my beds. They have spread and are really blooming this year.

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This was our main meal yesterday. Grilled chicken, fresh asparagus from the garden, potato salad, and Greek stuffed olives. 

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I have been gradually cleaning and organizing my studio. I had 2 boxes of fabric stuck at the top of one shelf that I had forgotten I had. It was given to me from a dear friend in Texas. She used to make baby quilts. Well these are the perfect fabrics for my redwork blocks I've been making into baby quilts. 

Here is one quilt top I finished. I ordered some flannel backing to finish it with.

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I think these tiny wood house with reclaimed driftwood are so cute. 

And as usual....No words needed.

Spring is definitely here!!!

Spring is here!!! We do have a few cold days coming up and we usually have a cold snap right at Easter. Wind is blowing today and you can see the tree pollen in the air. So I have only ventured outside to snap a few photos to share. 

This is my smallest lilac bush and it is in full bloom. The big one has not bloomed this year. I think this smaller one is more protected next to the house and it smells heavenly.

I call these Maypops. Not sure the real name but they pop up overnight and put a flower under the umbrella. Later the flower turns into a fruit. I have been told they make good jam but never found enough to try it. It seems this year there are more than usual.

The dogwood are in full bloom now too. This one grows out the roof of our shed. We couldn't cut it when we built the shed so just build the shed around it. It blooms every year. 

The war on fire ants begins.

I heard our hawk earlier this year but lately they have been quiet. I think the female is setting her eggs now. The next has not grown much as it normally does each year so not even sure they are still there. 

This is not mine. I do have a tall stump that I'd like to transform into a gnome home. I just think this is so neat. I like the church on top.

This is also not my photo. but the bluebirds have been back for awhile now and are nesting in our boxes. I heard the mockingbirds singing yesterday and that usually means they are nesting as well.

past and present

Every year for the past 5 or so years I've taken this same photo. Sometimes I have my dogs in it. But this is the first taken several years ago and this year. It is our redbud trees and forsythia bushes in bloom.

as you can see in the first photo, there were no forsythia bushes. But I love the lighting in that photo so much. Late afternoon sun. It has been so cloudy the past few days so couldn't get as good a photo this year. 

Here are some more spring bloom photos. 

These are star flowers. Some are white and some blue and this time of year they cover the ground. Some call them fairy stars as they are so tiny.

These are tiger lilies just beginning. 

Our Asian pear. All our fruit trees have bloomed and now most have tiny fruit. Thankfully the cold snap we had didn't hurt them.

this is our brightest red bud tree. 

I planted these tulips over 20 years ago and they still come up each year and bloom. Colors seem to change year to year.

Our blueberries are loaded.

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I had seen this air cleaner on facebook several times that people (family members) were getting free. So I got one. It is made by rainbow vacuums. You have to go through a 2 hour sales pitch for the vacuum to get it. But it is worth it. It says not to use essential oils but I do and so far hasn't seemed to hurt. Essential oils are much better for you than the chemicals they sell which are oil based as well. I look so tired in this photo. This cloudy weather makes me ache and it shows in my face.

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As usual I'm sharing some photos I found online this week. 

I love how this tiny plant is so persistent in growing inside an old rusty lock.

This is an old horse drawn bus..

No explanation needed!!!

Lost post and old photos

Well I had a long winded post going and lost it all. I forget to save things while typing. Hard lesson to learn. Hopefully I'll repost most next week. 

Just have a few photos I wanted to share. I live in the gorgeous state of Arkansas. It has so many land features and climate changes from top to bottom. We are almost in the middle of the USA. 

Here are a few photos from around our state. We have 2 mountain ranges..one is the Ouachita National Forest and the other is the Ozarks. 

Not sure which this one is in. but it is called Whitaker Point.

And yes you can stand out there...kind of scary but so wonderful.

This one is called the Arkansas Pig trail.

And you can see why.

Then there is the Little Missouri falls. We live quite near them and they are in the Ouachitas.

And that is all for this week folks.

As always...