Irises and Butterflies

These are a couple cards I made for friends. They are simple, and I like that. Sometimes I overdo art, and it ends up looking bad. 

Next are our irises. We have had so many this year. 

They really smell good. 

A random azalea. 

The morning sun was real nice. 

Goodbye. 

Not a Dog Person. . .

Except when I am. 

I was looking at some old pictures from my high school days, and I was remembering how much I adored this puppy that hung around for a little bit. I think I actually wanted to keep it. I have to admit, it was pretty adorable.

He was super soft. I remember that. 

This was the mom. They had showed up at our neighbors' house, and they ended up giving the mom and pup away. 

He's so cute!

Oh, my goodness! OK, I'm serious. I really have a real aversion to dogs. I think it's gotten worse over the years, but when I remember this little guy, I have happy thoughts. 

✌

Rain

Rain is coming down steady fast right not now, but not too fast. It's a dreary afternoon, but ever so green. We worked hard this morning to get stuff cleaned up at the pool club we're joined to. It was nice to be with people. Normal people. Getting close to one another, no thought of wearing masks, just being people like we were meant to be. Meeting new people is fun for me, and working while doing so makes it easier. I met two girls who are twins and 9 years old. Nine was my favorite number. I didn't want to turn 10. 

Now we're home. The house is dark and calm. A tiny little candle barely glows on the shelf in front of me. It is restful. I talked to my old room mate Alaina a little while ago. It's good to have friends you can keep up with even when you're hundreds of miles apart. 

The heavens are wet with water, and the earth is thirsty for it. I appreciate rain more now than I did when I was younger. The plants need it, and so do we. The rooster doesn't mind the rain. He's still crowing like anything. 

Well, that's it.

Happy Saturday, and don't forget to be thankful for the sun and the rain. 

Storm

 

Even a Scarecrow Can Face a Storm...Alone

Sometimes I ask people what I should draw. Sometimes they give me very interesting ideas. This idea came from a friend, and I am happy I decided to try to do it: a scarecrow in a thunderstorm. It is kind of difficult to capture things like that with a pencil for me. Lightning is interesting to draw, kind of fun actually. I like night scenes, even if they are hard to draw.

My Little Garden

This beautiful little place in the back corner of our property has been well-loved and cared for over the past nearly 11 years. I have definitely posted about it before. I was looking at this post and just noticing the differences and changes since then. It kind of gets prettier every year because I work on it every year. I'm always trying to improve it and make it a more lovely garden. Here are some pictures I took of it earlier this week. 

It's really difficult to capture it on camera because it's so green and busy looking. 

This is one of the newest parts of the garden that I tackled. Not too long ago it was just messy with vines and stuff in this area. Now there is a lot grass and other plants, besides the rock borders and bamboo fence I'm working on. 

Some tender oak leaves. 

Bamboo is very cool, and it is very heavy when you are lugging 4 bamboo trees up your long road. 

It's kind of weird, but I am very proud of all my grass. 

This path has gotten a little bit of attention recently, too, although it is hard to see that in the picture. 

A lot of green goin' on here. 

I have such a thing for bottles. They are cool. These guys are all lined up under a bench. 

And this one has moss growing in it. How cool is that?

Mico likes to hang out with me when I'm out there. She gets nice and comfortable or jumps around like a silly kid. 

She kind of looks like a Siberian tiger to me. Sometimes I think I should have called her Sibee. 

I am proud of pretty much any flower I can grow out there. 

More bottles 'cause you know, bottles are COOL. 

Yep. OK.

See ya!

Azaleas and Other Things About Spring

So, yeah, I've had some silly picture problems, all due to my stupidity. Oh, well, 'tis life, as one lady used to say. 

The problem was that my computer has serious issues, so I'm using another one. It's a great computer, but I can't upload my pictures onto it (thanks to my ingenuity when I decided to get rid of a cord for my camera). The other option of computers doesn't have internet. So...yeah. I just haven't been taking pictures much lately. Good pictures, that is. I also got a smart phone not too long (my sisters are just weirded out), and so sometimes I just have to use it when I really want to picture something. But, it takes pretty awful pictures. 

Anyway, photography is just another form of art for me. I love to capture things in a real and beautiful way. My phone can do that, sometimes, sort of. Today, I finally had enough: I needed to use some of that creativity that had been stuffed up. I grabbed old Baxter and went outside. I decided I'd just load the pictures on to the one computer and email them to myself. Sounds tedious. It is, but I guess I really wanted new pictures. 

Azaleas are among my favorite flowers. They usually start blooming around my birthday, so I kind of associate them with me. Haha! That's weird. Anyway, they are so pretty, and we have so many varieties. There are also lots of other things blooming, and just spring's glory. The other day I was thinking about how spring is like the world dressin' up with all sorts of colorful clothes and jewelry. I think it's just splendid. 

You're probably wondering when I'm gonna stop talking. 

When I first lived in Minneapolis, I thought spring up there was just amazing because you actually experienced a real winter. It is amazing. The 3 springs I enjoyed up yonder were wonderful. However, it's been 4 years since I really experienced a North Carolina spring, and it is AMAZING. I don't know, it just kind of explodes. You see spring comin' on, and then all of a sudden it just blows up. Green, red, white, purple, pink, yellow; and every day things seem to explode more. It seems like it becomes summer overnight. I love it. 

So, yeah. The following is my meager attempts at capturing that beauty I see all around me. 

My new phone. Dude. These things are monstrosatous. My old phone was so small and fit so nicely into my pants' pockets. This thing is just a bit much. 

And now for the azaleas. 

So many varieties of these things. 

Green stuff! I love it, and my feet love it. : )

I really love the white ones. 

The wild ones actually smell the best though, and they have their own charm. 

Road pictures in the spring are just so cheery. 

We have so many bluets growing by the road. they are really quaint little things. 

We still have daffodils. 

I always call these things English Bells. It would be cool if I knew the real name. Haha! Oh, yeah, the internet. I guess they are actually called King Solomon's Seal. That's a cool name. 

That is called phlox. It is very lovely. 

That is an iris bud, but it will soon be one of my favorite flowers, and it smells so good. 

Mom's little garden is very cute and has some veggies in it. 

This might be my favorite azalea. I love that peachy orangy color. And this bush--boy, oh, boy!--it is so luscious. I love it. 

I like butterflies very much, and I was happy to capture this little beauty on this particular bush. 

Yeah...the famous trees.

Some very pretty little violets growing at my little haven. 

Well, I actually have a lot more pictures, but I guess that's a good place to end 'cause too many is just to much. 

Well, happy spring, y'all! It's a beauty out there. 

✌

Technical Difficulties

So, yeah, I'm kind of not the most technological person that ever walked the face of the planet. I still haven't gotten my pictures onto this computer here, mainly because I was dumb enough to get rid of a certain cord that would have allowed me to do that. Yep, dumb, old lady at your service. 

I guess I feel particularly old now that I'm 24. I don't think that is very old really, especially after having an email conversation with my 90 something year-old great aunt. I told her I felt old at 24, and she said she could understand, but that 24 is "wonderfully young." She's right, but for some reason, I still feel old. 

Oh, well. 

So, here's an ancient picture from the archives of me looking about how I feel right now: tired. 

Oh, yeah. 

✌

Big Brothers

 

When I first met Jesse, he was 10 1/2, and I was very young. I actually don't remember that first encounter. It was almost 24 years ago. But Jesse has always been a good big brother. He always worked hard. In fact, he got his first job when he was 14 I think. He worked hard for his own needs, but he also worked hard for other people. Although he had his own friends, he still put up with me even though I was so much younger. He put up with all his little sisters and the younger brothers, too. As the oldest, Jesse had a lot of influence. He had good and bad influence, but I always thought a lot of him. I was sad when he left for college when I was only 8. 

Now Jesse is far away, working hard, going on adventures, and living his life. He's an uncle now, and one of the sweetest things I've seen is him holding one of his little niblings. The picture above is him holding our first niece Johanna. Seeing a big, strong man gently cradle a tiny infant is kind of beautiful. 

I have 3 other big brothers, too: Josiah, Micah, and Gabriel. They are each special in their own right. Micah also left me when I was 8, but he never came back. I won't be able to see him again until I join him in the Kingdom. Josiah left a couple years later, and he, too, works hard and has his own little family. Finally, Gabriel left the nest to start his own life. It's sad when the big brothers leave. We miss them all and love them all, too. Never take your big brothers for granted.