GOTCHA!!

I finally did catch one of the gals...torn about wanting to hold them, and knowing if I do I'll be scaring the wits out of them.
The "wanting" won.

FARMGIRL HAS 10 BABIES!!!

The day has FINALLY come!!! We have hens! Pete is trying to coax them into the chicken run...
no such luck!

I did my best to catch one for a picture! Those little guys are fast!

Hen house door...with a bit of vitnage tacked on!

The girls...so far un-named...until Ave gets home from camp on Sat.

One of our Isa Browns on her perch.

The girls...7 Isa Browns and 3 Aracaunas.
The birthing process has actually taken many years...I think I have always been a farmgirl at heart. My mom used to say I was born in the wrong century...but I thank God I am here "for such a time as this..." When raising a few hens is for MY enjoyment, rather than a fact of life and a way to put meat and eggs on the table.

FINALLY....out in the fresh air!

Sam has been looking forward to this day! He thinks chickens are for chasing!!!
NOT.

Graduation day!

Our nephew, Scott graduated this year, and we were all invited to his party.
My bro in law, Louis,(see photo above) can always be counted on to bring his karaoke stuff, so we can all make fools of ourselves. A sure hit at any of our gatherings!!!

Our nephew, Adam, enjoying the beautiful day. (can you tell???he's listening to the karaoke!!!!!)

My family: Celia, Camille (mom of the graduate), Kelly, my mother-in-law Donna, and Leigh.

Too bad the graduate didn't get his photo in here!!!
Congratulations, Scottie!!!

TWO WILD AND CRAAZZY GUYS!

Sam (on the right) and his friend Derek, decided to spray paint their arms silver. What can I say...except if that is the worst thing they ever do...well...won't I be a blessed mom???

Ave and Kearstin off to camp!

Ave and one of her bestest (since Ave was 5 years old)friends, Kearstin, are leaving for church camp tomorrow. The two of them will be competing in the Nationals there with a duet called "How deep the Fathers love for us". They sound incredible together. Pray for them as this is the 1st time Ave has ever competed...she actually is taking the place of another girl who isn't going to camp, so she just learned the song this past week. I digitally video taped them practicing this morning, but I have no idea how to load it to Blogger. Boo hoo.

FAMILY WEDDING

My cousin Leanne got married this weekend. Here she is with her new hubby.

Here is Pete, my stepdad, and myself, enjoying the reception.

My Aunt Carol and me...she looks so much like my mom!

Cousin Sheri and her boyfriend, Mark.

We DO love a wedding! And with MY family, there is always a Polka involved! Pete is only good for one dance an evening lately, so my choice is always the polka!
LOVE those Polish weddings!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Happy Father's Day, to my stepdad, Hank, pictured here with me at a family wedding last evening.

Here is my dad, with HIS dad, my Pepere, nearly 20 years ago.
Wish you were here.

Love,
Cindy

BARGAIN SHOPPING HERE IN MY HOMETOWN!!

Here are some of my finds from the Grand Opening this morning of the newest Goodwill, right here in the middle of my tiny hometown. On top rests my "gift with purchase"....A FRIZBEE!!!!
How cool is that?????

WHERE WOULD YOU FIND:

Gap
Ann Taylor
Laura Ashley
Abercrombie
Kathie Lee
Old Navy
Banana Republic
Victoria's Secret
Lord and Taylor
"Handmade by......."
Crate and Barrel
Smith and Hawken
KitchenAid
etc.etc.etc.
ALL UNDER THE SAME ROOF??????

TA DA
GOODWILL!!!!

SPRING CLEANING

Giselle(my firstborn) and I, all cleaned up after spending several hours weeding the retaining wall beds. Fortunately for me, Giselle is a teacher and has summers off, so she very generously gives of her time to come and help me with anything I might need in the gardens.
Thanks Giselle!

MUTANT ROSE ON THE LOOSE!

This here beautiful dark pink rose is supposedly my "Sharifa Asma", 'an English Rose of rare delicacy and beauty. Soft pink in color, with a touch of gold at the base of the petals', or so says David Austin. You tell me...does THIS rose look "soft pink with a touch of gold at the base of the petals"???

I have had Sharifa for perhaps 6 or 7 years, bought from an extremely reputable nursery, and have NEVER seen her bloom this color! Can anybody tell me...what's up with that????

CRAZY CAT

Here is Kissy again, this time rolling about the catnip. She gets all wild-eyed, then conks out on us for a long, afternoon nap!

Our pets are far more entertaining than anything that is on the boob tube!

New Magazine

Too much advertising, tis true...BUT the "feel" of the paper, and the quality of the photographs has made me forget about the obnoxious ads. I won't subscribe, but on occasion, I may pick one up. (who could resist this months cover, with those incredibly beautiful roses and the pink background)

lite and refreshing

My porch drink of the day: Lemon sparkling mineral water with cucumber slices. The ONLY thing that would improve this delicious combination would be a generous slosh of Sangria!!!

BIRTHDAY BASH

Birthdays at our house always mean the birthday person gets to pick what we have for supper (within reason!!) Ave chose pasta with a meat sauce and garlic toast. For her birthday cake I thought I would try a "scratch" cake recipe found in this month's Country Living magazine. After much time in the kitchen, the results were less than spectacular. The cake was just O.K., the frosting was good. Would I make it again...no way. I have done "scratch" cakes before, with much better results. Maybe I'll go back to my chocolate mayo cake recipe. YUMMY

VEGGIE GARDENS

Here is one lonely, bush cucumber, surounded by teeny, tiny beets, surrounded by marigolds, covered with fresh mowed grass!

My Heirloom tomatoes...maybe 4 or 5 varieties

This garden is a mish/mash of several kinds of veggies. We have some sweet yellow and red peppers, summer squash, zucchini, italian eggplant, and a winter squash called "Sweet Dumpling", which, I've been told, is sweeter than acorn squash, and looks like a white pumpkin with green stripes. I always have the best of intentions, but then again...so do the devil bunnies.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!

HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY!

Our "surprise" baby turns 14 today. Our final "hurrah" to parenthood. She has been a blessing to us, and we know she will grow up to be a woman after God's own heart.
We love you, babe.

FEEDING FRENZY!

When we built the farm 5 years ago, we had a smallish pond dug at the same time the basement was dug. Our son had caught 7 fish at a local river, and popped them into our new pond. Now, 5 years later, these 7 fish have become nearly 1000 fish...I EXAGGERATE NOT!! When we go out there to feed them their favorite fish food...aka...whole wheat bread...they swarm like a school of starving pirhannas! The pond looks like a bubbling cauldron of fish soup! We haven't actually eaten any of these fish yet, but plan on a fish fry this summer. The bluegill are looking mighty plump!

I am a porch person...

Can you tell???? Here is a little, round table, nestled between my 2 new(new to me, anyway) white wicker rockers. On it sits: several books I have going at one time, peonies taken from my mom's garden, birdhouse won as the door prize by my oldest daughter at a bridal shower last week, Trapp candle Mediterranean Fig, chapstick, and a pen to scribble in my Bible. If it is first thing in the morning, my tiffany blue coffee cup would be squeezed in there somewhere. The front porch is my favorite morning spot. The "bumblebird" feeder is just 2 feet from me, and if I am careful about my movements, they don't seem in the least bit bothered by my presence. Everyone else is still sleeping, and if I am there early enough, I get to see the spectacular sunrise. "Early in the morning will I rise up to seek Thee..."

We go through a flag a year, due to the wind on our little house on the prairie. But, I DO so love to see a flag hanging from the front porch!

Scenes from my garden

Perennial Sweet peas...they faithfully come back year after year, bigger and better.

Peony...After my sister passed away almost 4 years ago, a friend of her husbands gave me a teeny, tiny peony plant. It has grown up quite nicely, I'd say!

Here is a corner of my courtyard garden. I just planted a fall clematis that hopefully will climb the post.

Carpet rose in the backyard (one of 4)

This is my favorite time of year in the garden. Everything is fresh and new, smelling so darn sweet! First thing in the morning I take my cup of coffee and sit on the front porch and just take it all in. I wander in and around the gardens, picking at stray weeds (and thankfully, you can't really see the weeds in these photos!!!), deadheading my Jens Monk rose, and praising the Lord for His incredible creation.

And then there were four...

We are down to four baby ducklings from five. A baby and the mama disappeared yesterday. No idea what happened to them. We have seen weasels around the pond before, and Farmboy sat there with a gun for a few hours one evening a couple years ago, he was so angry about the weasel killing a couple of our ducks. But no luck. We had a female duck return today, but aren't sure if she is the mama, as the male ducks can't seem to leave her alone long enough to let her check out the babies. Farmboy says it's time for a male duck dinner...not sure if he is serious or not. But...those guys will NOT leave the girls alone. They are out-numbered!

On the brighter side, Aflac, our lone white duck, (female), returned a couple days ago after having been missing for nearly 3 weeks. No idea where she went. We kind of thought maybe she was sitting on a nest out in the field, but no babies came with her, so maybe she just took an extended vacation. Can't say that I blame her, what with all the lovin the males seem to want! (see for yourself...he has been following her around like a love-sick teenager!!!)

MAIDEN VOYAGE OF "PANCHO'S GIFT"

"FASTER, FASTER!" (anyone who really knows me, knows this is something I would NEVER say!!)

Here is our boat, ,inherited from my dad after he passed away in March, ready to be launched on it's maiden voyage in the Grand River yesterday.. What do you all think of "Pancho's Gift" as her name? Pancho was my dad's nickname for the past 40 years, so I thought it would be a sweet way to acknowledge my inheritance.

Our friend Craig, helping Farmboy get the boat ready for take-off.

Can you tell Farmboy is enjoying himself?

Those of you who know me, know "boating" is not my idea of a fun time...HOWEVER...it IS
Farmboy's idea of a good time. So...we have kept the boat, and we shall see what we shall see!

BOYS AND FORTS

Here is a tree fort my 17 year old son and his friends put together last fall. This spring they are working on a paintball field, out in the back 40. (which doesn't belong to us, per se, but to his grandpa, who doesn't mind the paintball field!) They are busy digging ditches, setting up traps for their opponents, and just generally having good ol fashioned fun. I don't care how "mature" they think they are, and how they think they have outgrown childlike ways....I know better, every time I look out my kitchen window!!

Farmcat Kissy Girl

Here is my farmcat, Kissy. We are thinking we have had her for maybe 10 years. She is our best "mouser/birder" out of the 3 cats. Not that we want her be killing off our birds...but the rodent part we sure do appreciate!

I can't believe I caught her in her "mouser" pose! She is really the one cat out of the three that belongs to me. She sleeps at my feet, and when I am out on the porch in the wee morning hours, it is Kissy, not Farmboy, keeping me company, all snuggled up next to me. When she meows, it sounds as if she is saying "hellooooowww"!