Violet

I have been trying forever to get this African Violet to bloom. Well it finally is in bloom. Just three little flowers...wow I did it! One small step for mankind LOL.

The compost bins are taken down and in the front at the curb for garbage pick up tomorrow. The compost is in several garbage bags, also at the curb, but I haven't much hope that they'll actually get picked up. I expect them to be ripped open and left laying in the front yard....yellow jackets, hives, poison and all. I hope I'm wrong.

Ear ache today, went to doc...simple ear infection...oh no...I have a hematoma in my left ear. How'd that get there. Have ten day supply of antibiotics...and a ten day supply of probiotics.

No, none, zero, zip grapes on the vines. I pruned them back and furtilized them and loosened the soil around the bases. Second year of no grapes. Last year they were frozen out, this year, who knows.

I hope to continue yard work tomorrow. While I was picking up my meds, the garden shop near by had a very pretty blue bird bath. I got it for the South Garden which is fully in bloom and also has tomatoes, peppers, beans, lettuce and rhubarb free for the picking.

I have a whole ritual of exercises I'm doing daily and so far not causing any pain. Plus gardening, hoping to get a little healthier.

That's about it.

Flowers

I got this pretty bouquet of flowers from Jenny.

I flower pounded some of the petals and leaves and this is how it turned out.

I have a frame to put it in as I think I will hang it in my Spring Garden room.

Flower pounding is new to me. My sister had the idea for it so I got all the supplies

for when we meet the next time in the park. I just couldn't wait to try it out.

Summer Caretakers of the Garden

The garden at Elmore school where Owen went to school last year was in need of a summer caretaker so I volunteered for the job and take Owen and Hali along to help. We weed, hoe, water and pick whatever is ripe to take to Salvation Army. It's a lot of fun and we can play in the park during the watering time as there is a handy dandy sprinkler to use. The top picture is the vegetable garden, with corn, peppers, asparagus, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkins, watermelon and squash. The middle picture is the wildflower garden. I know the white ones are daisies LOL. The third picture is the butterfly garden with the milk weed in bloom now. I'm waiting for the butterflies to arrive in August.

After we were finished we went over to Tower/Atkinson park and did a few underducks and played a little baseball. Was talking to a very nice young man with two children, one of them was playing with Hali as she was about her age, the other was a toddling baby. He said they lived over at 618 Roy, can you imagine that. I didn't say anything about having lived there but I was happy such nice people were taking over the old homestead.

And last of all, of course, we had ice cream at Hansons. A pleasant evening.

Around the House

I went out to pick rhubarb for a pie I'm making tomorrow and thought I'd take some pictures of what is growing. I don't know all the names so it's easier to do a collage LOL. Upper left is Milkweed in bloom for the Monarch Butterlies that live here briefly before they migrate. In the middle on the May Altar is a bouquet of flowers I got today from Jenny. Bottom left is my Hosta garden in the dark. Next to the hosta garden is my compost bin which is very old and homemade and this year the yellow jackets moved in. On the bottom in a little picture is the very first African Violet I got to bloom, I finally did it right.

Kitty

July 4, 1997 to July 10, 2009

The Ten Best Things About Kitty

1. He loved Sparky very much

2. He was soft

3. He groomed himself very well

4. He had the softest purr you ever heard

5. He loved to play silly games

6. He sure enjoyed his catnip

7. He loved us with all his heart as we loved him

8. He was a cuddler

9. He liked to eat and roll in his oat grass but never ate the houseplants

10. He liked to lay in a sunny window and watch the Robin's nests.

Teddy Bear Picnic

Old Fashioned picnic at the library
Owen and his friend from last summer got back together today at the Teddy Bear picnic at Southwest Library.

Holding their 'rent a bear' Teddy Bears...ours got left at home

Hali enjoying her cookies and milk compliments of the Red Owl Store

Lots of fun, games and books and picnic lunch

Have You Ever Wondered

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.


So on this 4th of July holiday, take a few minutes and silently thank these patriots and others who have given so much for our freedom.
That's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Hail Columbia, happy land!
Hail, ye heroes, heav'n-born band,
Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
And when the storm of war was gone
Enjoy'd the peace your valor won.
Let independence be our boast,
Ever mindful what it cost;
Ever grateful for the prize,
Let its altar reach the skies.

Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.

Immortal patriots, rise once more,
Defend your rights, defend your shore
Let no rude foe, with impious hand,
Invade the shrine where sacred lies
Of toil and blood, the well-earned prize,
While off'ring peace, sincere and just,
In Heaven's we place a manly trust,
That truth and justice will prevail,
And every scheme of bondage fail.

Joseph Hopkins and Philip Phile