27 Years Ago Today.........................

We were wed!

Through thick and thin, we muddled through
the good times and the bad...

We're going out to dinner tonight
to celebrate.

"...and they lived happily ever after."

COME SEPTEMBER.....

Thank goodness, God threw a switch on our heat and humidity and September has gifted us with cooler temps, low humidity, ……a bonus for sleeping with the windows open.

The blogging inspiration fairies abandoned me in August, which brought unexpected health and other problems with our pets, family, and two of my dearest friends. I've been shell-shocked and bereft until recently, when things are finally starting to look up.

And although we have not had weather as bad as Mary or Jayne have experienced, between the heat and my neglect this summer, our garden has not been the garden of which I'm usually so proud.

Being a gal who is descended from strong stock, determined to set aside the negatives and let nature do some healing - I worked outside in our gardens weeding and mulching, and worked on our waterfall fountain/pond. The sound of the waterfall does the trick. Nature heals.

This month we are celebrating our 27th anniversary. We gifted each other with bright red Kayaks and we're looking forward to spending more time out on the lake enjoying nature.

August did bring one very nice trip - a week in Florida with our granddaughter. She taught me how to text message, how to download and maniupulate files on an MP3 player, as well as some very cool sudoku tips. We enjoyed the beach, collecting shells, swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, visits to the Mall and bookstore. A trip to Mote Aquarium on Longboat Key to see how dolphins and sea turtles are rehabilitated was one of the highlights of our time together.

I'm trusting that during September, things will continue to stay positive for everyone. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and I am so very thankful for answered prayers.

BARNS ALONG THE WAY……

Each day I pass by quite a few barns on my way to work.
One day I had a 'lightbulb moment' and I finally decided to count them.
There are no less than 25 barns…most of which are in varying states of disrepair.

I’m a bit of a barn freak…I pretty much love
all of the barns I see, whether they’re in good shape
or bad. There’s something magical about a barn, about what
could be inside the barn. And the decrepit barns always make
me wonder how they must have looked in years gone by, when
they were new. I think old barns have character.

Here is a sampling of some of the barns I pass by each day.




















TONS upon tons the brown-green fragrant hay
O'erbrims the mows beyond the time-warped eaves,
Up to the rafters where the spider weaves,
Though few flies wander his secluded way.
Through a high chink one lonely golden ray,
Wherein the dust is dancing, slants unstirred.
In the dry hush some rustlings light are heard,
Of winter-hidden mice at furtive play.

Far down, the cattle in their shadowed stalls,
Nose-deep in clover fodder's meadowy scent,
Forget the snows that whelm their pasture streams,
The frost that bites the world beyond their walls.
Warm housed, they dream of summer, well content
In day-long contemplation of their dreams.

Roberts, Charles G. D. (1860-1943)

More views from Fordhook Farm…….

I had such a hard time deciding which photos to post yesterday, so thought I’d add more today. Here for your viewing pleasure….



Hidden Pathway



A bit out-of-focus, but I couldn’t resist…….



Antique Seed Barn



Purple Smoke Bush – (I thought the foliage was so pretty)



Side porch view



A Carolina Shade Garden



Ligularia Dentata Othello (for MaryPat)

Saturday at a Special Garden......

Yesterday and today, Fordhook Farm
home of W. Atlee Burpee, scion of the famous Burpee Seed Company, celebrated ‘Fordhook in Bloom” and was open to the public. The property, 60 acres dating from the 1700s, is vastly beautiful and includes a large farmhouse, a huge antique seed barn, spring houses, greenhouses, a cook's garden, test gardens, a pond, vegetable and kitchen gardens, just about everything a garden-lover could want. There were garden tours and plant sales, and hot dogs, hamburgers and cold beverages, served at tables decorated with beautiful bouquets of flowers, under the shade of a huge white tent. The heat and humidity didn’t seem to keep the plantaholics away. For sure, it didn’t deter us.

This wonderful place, (which is right around the corner from my office), is open to the public only a few times a year. The main farmhouse, The Inn at Fordhook Farm, was in the past a Bed and Breakfast, but now is only used by the family for out-of-town guests. We were tickled when we found it open to the public today. Rumor has it the inn is haunted by the ghost of a Hessian soldier, but we saw no signs of him.

Our trip to Fordhook Farm was a refreshing way to spend a hot, muggy, sunny Saturday morning in August.

Enjoy the photos!

THE Lord God planted a garden
In the first white days of the world,

And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.


So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the wren,


For there in the cool of the even
God walked with the first of men.


And I dream that these garden-closes
With their shade
and their sun-flecked sod
And their lilies and bowers of roses,
Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden

Under the olive-trees

Where the angel of strength was the warden

And the soul of the world found ease.

~~~~Dorothy Frances Gurney

I took a little break....and now I'm back...

This past week, DH and I took a little trip down to the Chesapeake area of Virginia. Jim had an appointment in Virginia Beach, and I went along. Our grandson Randy is stationed in the Navy in Norfolk, so it didn't take much convincing to get me to visit.

While there, we spent a lot of time with Randy and got to see his new apartment.
His new bride Beth had to work most of the time we were visiting, but she enjoyed the Bride's Box that I painted for her as a wedding gift. I was worried about her reaction. I shouldn't have been.

Besides just hanging out together, we spent time sightseeing. I am reading Chesapeake, by James Michener, and since we were in the vicinity, I wanted to go see Jamestown. We also visited the Cape Henry lighthouse at Fort Story. When we checked out the lighthouse, we had no idea it was on an Army base. The security we had to go through in order to get onto the army base to see the lighthouse was an experience in itself.

Here are some pictures - not in any particular order... of our visit...starting with the Bay Bridge tunnel.

Sand Dunes at Virginia beach..

Jim, my DH, walking up the steps to get to the entrance to the Cape Henry lighthouse. There were over 64 steps.....

The exterior of the ancient lighthouse. I can't imagine having to lug all these stones up to the top of the hill where the lighthouse stands.

On the way home we stopped in Cape Charles, Virginia. It's a sleepy little town that is full of charm, a place for summertime visitors..yet it was not at all crowded. Here is something I learned about the Chesapeake Bay.... If you click on the picture, you can read the words...

And an Osprey couple at Cape Charles I couldn't resist....

Another picture of a lighthouse at Cape Henry....

Do you think the Navy has made Randy a bit of a neatnik? I couldn't resist taking this photo of their shoes all lined up inside by their front door.

The beach at Virginia Beach....very 'duney' and natural. So pretty and peaceful. The beaches were wide and deserted of bathers.

The sign at the entrance to the Old Cape Henry lighthouse, the nation's first.

And last but not least....our sailor...Randy, and yours truly...known to Randy as "Mimi". We're so proud of him..so very young, and he has already done one tour of duty in the Persian Gulf.



So long till next time Sailor! Job well done!

Eight or Sixteen (or more) Random Facts Meme

I've been tagged twice today to do a "meme" ..... by Nina of Nature Remains as well as by Mary C. from Mary's Corner of the World.

I haven't done this before, so I hope I do this right. Here are the rules for Eight Random Facts Meme:

Players start with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their blog about 8 things, then post these rules. At the end of the blog they must choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names, then leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged, and to read your blog. Because I've been tagged "twice" today, I'll bend the rules a bit and leave 16 little-known facts about me. I hope this isn't too boring folks!

OK....after much thought... "drum roll"............here are the exciting (not) facts about little old me.

I am the youngest in a family of 4, two boys and two girls.
I am the only one who never smoked, thanks to my older sister giving me a puff when I was about 7. Never again, thankyou! ;-)

I always wanted to be a nurse when I grew up. But instead I married my
high school sweetheart and gave up that dream. I do regret not having gone to college.

I can roll my tongue. It's a genetic trait.

I've lived 5 miles from the ocean on each coastline of the USA 2 separate times in my adult life...starting in New Jersey and ending up in California.

When my children were small, I used to make my own jams and grow my own vegetables. I rarely cook now.

In my family tree, I am related to President James Monroe on my mother's side.

My maternal ancestors arrived in this country when the Dutch settled here in 1634.

I love to paint and wish I had more leisure time to do it. I started out as a decorative painter and am now moving towards painting on canvas....oils, acrylics, beginning watercolors.

I am math-challenged when it comes to algebra, probably one reason why I do not have a college degree - since it is a prerequisite for getting into school. I am sure I would love most all the college courses *except* math.

I had to wear orthodontic braces twice in my life -- once as a young teen and again as an adult.

I have a 20-year old grandson in the US Navy, stationed in Norfolk, VA.

My daughter turns 40 on Monday. GASP!!!!!

I used to sew my own clothes.

I taught myself to read when I was about 4 years old, thanks to my older siblings showing me how to make words with alphabet blocks.

I can knit and crochet and I love to hand-quilt, but I haven't quilted in awhile.

I can still take shorthand. Does that ever date me?!!!!

I can make my own bar soap from scratch... not the kind from a kit.

I never learned how to swim. I can do the doggie paddle, that's all.