Your Votes, Please!

1.  Who is happier?

Her Royal Highness who's piggy tails are falling out?

Or Human Resources, who just received Papa's guitar in the mail?

2.  Which would you rather be?

This beautiful butterfly (who was a caterpillar not too long ago) that just crawled out of her cocoon?

Or this photogenic little Praying Mantis that the Attorney found?

3.  Who is more tired?

All of these hard working guys?

Or, her Royal Highness who gave up naps over a year and a half ago?

4.  Which is most disgusting?

These bagworms that the Apple Farmer found in the Orchard?

Or this four inch spider that the Apple Farmer and his good friend Albert found in the cistern near the frog pond?

5.  Which do you feel most sorry for?

Petunia, who is going to get a bubble bath?

Or, Taffy, who hates thunderstorms?

Brambles, Brambles Everywhere!

Its Blackberry season now!

They are BIG and beautiful!!  The rain has been very good to them this year.  In fact, the primacanes - next year's producing canes - were soooo long that I had to go in with pruners to be able to reach my fruit!

We picked a full gallon of these luscious fruits and when we got home we washed them, spread them on baking sheets and they are freezing in the freezer.  They will be perfect in my Lemon Berry Cake recipe!!

And they all lived happily ever after!

Not really, because while I was picking and her Royal Highness was taking a little break, she pulled the key to the golf cart out and dropped it in the grass.

So we looked...

And looked....

And found a caterpillar....

And looked some more....

Until we finally decided we needed some divine intervention.  So we prayed for help.  And while we looked some more, Her Royal Highness asked me if Heavenly Father had a car.  I told her he didn't and she immediately asked, "Then how does he get to 'pwaces?'  Does he walk or 'somefing'? 

And then we found the key! 

Her Royal Highness said a prayer to thank Heavenly Father for help us find our key.  I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father allows us to teach our children about little miracles!

...And they lived happily ever after!!

Artichoke Harvest!

I get something yummy with my lunch today!

I don't have to share 'em either - No one else in this crooked little house LOVES them like I do!!

They are still small, but who's complaining!!  I can't believe I grew them in MO!!

She Loves Bars!

Swing!

Lift 'em up!

Dismount with a back flip!!

Dolly Meets Skipper

Amish Auction

My neighbor Joe came over last night and wondered if there was a chance we could pull the trailer down to a big annual auction down in Jamesport.  I had no problem with it, except a little bit of worry that I wasn't going to be the only truck and trailer trying to maneuver around in a massive auction.  But since I could really use the practice, I told him I would help him out!  And practice I got.  I backed, and squeezed and maneuvered my way around people and trucks and trailers and through narrow passages!  I'm certain my dreams will all be of me driving that big trailer down the highway in reverse!

I've been to a couple of auctions that are geared more for the Amish and they've been fun to see, but I've not been to this one, which lasts for a couple of days!  This auction is huge!  What fun it was to go and see all of what was there!

I especially got a kick out of all the young men, Danny and three of Joe's boys - some married, some single - teasing about the garden tools they had to buy because they were now supporting a household, or the marrieds, teasing the singles about their auction finds, hinting about future weddings!  Danny got three old wooden interior doors and he maintained that they were for a bachelor pad only.  Hmmmm!

One of These is Not Like the Others...

OK - I'll give you a half of a point for guessing the green egg.

But I was really thinking that the BIG egg was more obsurd in this grouping.

No dead hens laying around anywhere today.  Lucky hen, whoever she is, survived.

Do they even manufacture an egg carton to fit eggs this size?

All Racoons Go to Heaven

This afternoon my boys called me to the front door and told me to check out the coon that decided to visit Taffy's dinner bowl.  You guessed it!  I had another Missouri moment.  This sort of thing would have never happened if we still lived in California!

It is very rare to see anything like this at my front door and of course a picture was warranted.

However, there is a reason that you don't see this happening in the middle of the afternoon.  Coons that come out during the day are sick, and this little fella was surely sick.  He could hardly walk straight.  I knew  what I was going to have to do and I wasn't very excited about it.  It isn't good to risk our farm animals to whatever illness this little critter is carrying (distemper?  Rabid?).  The bigger concern is my cat-hugging-dog-loving-chicken-snuggling toddler who might happen upon this fuzzy wuzzy coon and try to pack him home so she can force feed him twizzlers. 

So I did what all good Apple Farmer Wives would do and drug out the shot gun.  The Apple Farmer's advice to me over the phone was to make sure I was standing outside when I shot because he didn't want me to blow out all of the windows in the house.  I guess I over estimated my aim because I only loaded up two shells and didn't take any extra with me. 

I did get him the first time!  The last two shots were for eating my dog food and trespassing my property!!

  JUST KIDDING!! 

I did get him the first time though, but I was a tad too low.  He got up again but dropped just as I fired the second shot.  The third shot put him out of his misery and gave him his ticket to get to racoon heaven.  He is now happy as he can be up in God's corn patch (not mine!!!) eating all the sweet corn he could ever want!

New Hair-do

We had some errands to run, so I start to put her Royal Highness' hair in a quick pony tail, and No way Jose is she having anything to do with it.  She wants a pony tail at her forehead.  No way Jose am I having anything to do with it so I rubberband it in the back and tell her to get her shoes on.  She pitches a dramatic temper tantrum.  Her Daddy walks in on it and sees that she is willing to pull the pony tail off of her head than to wear it where I put it.  He pulls out the rubberband and sticks it on her forhead.

This is how she looked as we left to run our errands.

We are so proud!

Fishing- Kitty Style

No little birds were harmed in the making of this post. 

This bird house happens to be vacant at the moment!

Christmas Break of 1989

During my senior year in high school I had the opportunity to help Pat in her flower shop.  We worked very long hours, drove home after midnight and got up a few hours later to make our way to the flower shop and do it all over again.  Pat taught me how to put the FTD arrangements together and after a while they became very simple to arrange.  I remember arranging greenery and red carnations while some of Pat's very talented designers put together the most beautiful arrangements of flowers I had ever seen.  I loved every minute of assembling and watching what next was to emerge from each new vase that was placed upon the work space.

I haven't had the opportunity to work in another flower shop, but to this day, I still know how to tie bows exactly how Pat taught me!  This skill has been so handy in so many ways!  And although I will never be able to work the magic that her amazing designers did, I do have a lot of fun putting together little arrangements with the pretties that I like to grow in my garden.  Out of a simple opportunity to earn a little money over Christmas break, I never imagined that two weeks could have ever had such an influence!

Dolly Again!

It's Dolly again!

She still is not dead - she's just waiting to see how she's gonna be loved on next!

The Little Things

They say that its the little things in life that matter.

Well, if that statement is true, what do you make of this?

....And this?

Hello Dolly!

I promise it isn't dead!

Which usually is the case for critters around this farm that get named!

And this one has been named...

...She is aptly named Dolly.

And if she really hated being packed around like a rag doll,

I would think she would take the first opportunity she had to run away from her overbearing, smothering little mommy!