Morning entertainment

You'll  remember this photo of my bird feeder adaptation. 

What I didn't know, when installing it, was that I was helping the Cardinal parents. 

They are using this as a teaching tool for take offs and

landings with 3 or 4 young ones that are just learning to fly.

Momma Cardinal lands on it, to show them it is safe.

The first couple of passes, they just flirt with the idea of landing, go

on to the tree or the fence.

Then one made a perfect landing on the feeder, and 2 others kept

trying to decide if it was safe.

They ended up on the ground the first round or two.

Just now, mom and 2 of the young landed on the  feeder, but before camera could come out,

a truck passed and off they flew.

He's at it Again!

Jd was here by himself yesterday,

the other grandkids spent the day with their other grandparents.

So he started building with his 'planks'.

After a couple of false starts, he

managed this

And before he was through, he managed

to build

this

Which isn't as easy as you might think.

This occupied an hour or so of his

day.

So, that only left about 8 1/2 hrs for snacks

oatmeal

pizza

and the DSI

that he played games on for awhile.

And even 8 year olds can use a nap now and then

so by the time mom got here at

5:15pm

he was sound asleep.

The Chocolate Diaries

The Chocolate Diaries by Karen Scalf Linamen

I really think this book was meant for me to read at this very time. A dear family member has just gone through a very hard divorce, and I plan to share this book with her. I feel it will help her a lot.

It uses a lot of humor and chocolate to help get you through bad times. And it tells how helping others can help heal your hurt. Everyone needs help in some way, at some point in their lives, and this book shows the way to move forward.

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review” I am not required to write a favorable review.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

SAFE FROM THE PAST By Patricia Miller Mauro

SAFE FROM THE PAST By Patricia Miller Mauro


http://www.patriciamaurobooks.com/



This is the true story of the struggles of Patricia Miller, from the time her father and mother divorced when she was very small, until the time she graduated college. Her mother harrassed her father with threats of calling the police, if he was just minutes late returning Pat and her sister, Kim, until he thought it best to walk away, and not cause more mental anguish for the girls..



Then her mother married Bill, when the girls were in their teens, and things spiraled downward. Pat finally managed to enroll in college, and she was dropped off at the door with a whole $50, and told that she wouldn't be getting any help from her stepfather. Patricia proves herself to be the kind of woman who figures out a way to get what she wanted out of life, even when she didn't think she could do it, at times. Working in the cafeteria on weekends so she would have food when it closed on Sunday afternoons. Filing for a professor, to make money for food and supplies, during breaks from school. Sharing meals with friends, whenever invited.



This is a very compelling book, and a must read for anyone who enjoys a 'pull yourself up by your boot straps' story.

This book deserves 5 Stars....



I received a copy of this book through Litefuse, no other compensation was given. I am not required to give a favorable review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Updated my bird feeder...

When I built this, I used a block of Cherry that was already cut,

but after watching larger birds try and land on the small area, I started thinking

that maybe it needed a larger area.

I looked for a plastic or metal 5 gallon bucket lid, but didn't find one.

So I went scavenging in the discard bin.

What did I find?

We upgraded our Directv awhile back, and

we had  an old dish

so, after a few modifications,,

Here is the outcome.

This was taken about two minutes after I walked away,

and this landed on the ground to eat

what had fallen out,

while I was messing with it.

Now I'm waiting on the Doves and the

Purple Finch to show up.

I'm thinking I'll find another of those dishes,

and see about making another feeder

for the back.



Birds and Flowers.

I've been trying to get a photo of this Indigo Bunting for quite awhile.  He would fly

every time I opened the door.

So I slipped out the side door, and waited patiently

until he came back.

I'd have these feeders all aroun, if dh didn't complain about the fertilizer they leave, lol.

Cheap and easy to make and the post is an old fan stand that the fan no longer works.

The rest of the photos were not taken today.

Caught dh out of the house, so

I went to the other computer and uploaded several photos to this album.

It is hard to tell, but I think this is an imature Indigo Bunting

Taken in early spring.

Leave my feed alone, seems to be what this one is saying.

A Flicker of some sort,

he likes the peanut butter suet too.

I think this is a young bird, just shedding his down

a finch.

Blue Lace Leaf, you'll see a pink one in the background.

Darkest purple bloom

Hungry bird, he sticks around and still comes to feeders

even though he prefers the peanut butter and

seed.

This was in 2010, there was about 10 hummers flying around

I managed to get this shot with 4 of them, the other shots were blurry.

In The Garden



http://www.mygospellyrics.com/in_the_garden.htm

In The Garden

I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

And the voice I hear falling on my ear

The Son of God discloses.

Refrain

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,

And the melody that He gave to me

Within my heart is ringing.

Refrain

I'd stay in the garden with Him

Though the night around me be falling,

But He bids me go; through the voice of woe

His voice to me is calling.

Refrain

Of all the Gospel songs I've ever heard, I really think this is my favorite.

It speaks of peace, joy, love and promise.

Do you have a favorite Gospel song?

I'm headed to the shower to get ready for church, wish you were here to go with me.

Dove Hunting

I told you that the Ring Necked Doves are getting used to me being outside near them.

I was about 15 ft away, not a great photo, but I was trying not to move too fast, to scare him off.

I hunt with a camera, not a gun.

Oh The Games People Play Now,

Nope, this blog has nothing to do with that song, but now it is stuck inside my head.

It's hot, can't go outside,

don't feel like crafting,

and I"m bored with Facebook

and

Gardening Groups.

So

I've been surfing,

yes, that is what I said

Surfing...

I go to Blogs,

then choose one of their

Featured blogs

go to that one,

then choose one of their

featured blogs, and

just see how many

Interesting posts

I can find.

Most are pretty interesting,

but a few are

Amazing.

Every once in awhile, I run across one that

is just plain

AWESOME,

those I try to go back to occasionally.

The pictures are my own, not taken from other's blogs
And really have nothing to do with anything I posted,
Just thought they'd liven up things.
The dog is my sisters, his name is Manfred, he was 5 or 6 weeks old, he is now 3 years old, and is a handful.

Friday, and the countdown has begun..

This may be a rambling post, so stick with me.

School starts in 23 days for all the grandkids.

I discovered this on Tuesday, when I talked to one of the teachers from Jd's school.

Only one groaned when they found out, and think his was just his natural reaction to anything.

We've been having VBS at our church this week.  I volunteered to do sign-ins, I think it is about the easiest job there.  Once we get them signed in, I'm done, the rest of the night, someone else gets to see their smiling faces.  Tonight is the program, then tomorrow night, there will be a group there doing a puppet show for kids of all ages.

**

HOT HOT HOT

And I don't mean Hot Pink

100 degree + for the next few days.

That seems to be what I've heard since the middle of June.

Right now, I have the door open, to watch the

and these

I have 2 or 3 pair of Mourning Doves, and then there is at least a pair of Ringed Neck Doves.

I love watching them, and they have gotten to where they don't fly as quickly, when I am outside.

Guess they know where the food is coming from these days.

But now it is time to shut the door, turn on the AC and

watch this

Flashes and blurs

This is Petey, my grandson's dog, I'm dog setting while they are on vacation.

He weighs 11 pounds

*

He loves to tease

*

Flash who is a good 75 pounds larger. 

Flash isn't quite sure what Petey is

and

why

he gets

in his face,

At first, Flash would chase him, but after a few trips

where all he saw was a blur darting away

and there was no way that he was going to catch

Petey, he kind of lays back

until the

aggrivating little upstart

getsto be too much, then

off he goes,

but

Petey is halfway around the house, by that time.

So Flash comes back to the porch,

and waits for the aggrivation to go back in the house,

so he can chase the

dragonfly.

2 more flower pictures, to go with yesterday's canna

This is the ony hybiscus that I have, and it usually blooms

but this year it is a little less showy, because of the heat and dry weather.

also, my Black Iris didn't bloom, though they are still alive.

Hollyhock that came up volunteer beside the big flower pot.

I used to have a 'black one' but it didn't live but one year, guess I babied it too much.

I don't have a green thumb where flowers are concerned.

One year, when youngest daughter was about 3 or 4, her older sister

and I planted lots of seed while she napped.

Of course, when she woke, we were in trouble, so I took some old seed

dug a hole, and let her 'plant' flowers.

Every seed she planted must have come up,

and very few of the ones we planted

did. 

We ended up transplanting some of hers to our 'garden' to have flowers there.

Canna is in the earlier post.

Canna Bloom

I seldom get a photo that I'm really excited about, my photography skills are mostly point and shoot.

But this particular Canna just jumped out of the page when I put it on the computer album.

I didn't even notice that it had droplets of water on it, until I had it made into a post card to send to our library, for a youth program.

HuhOOOOOOOOOO Poor widdle puddy tat.....

I have several half wild cats around here, they show up for dinner, but don't try and touch them.  Biting or scratching will be the sign they want down. 
Today, while I was feeding them, I noticed one looked a bit strange, his tail was a bit short, like about 2 inches.  On closer inspection (from 6 or 8 ft away) I could see that the 'bone' was still there, about the size of a large needle, but the hair and skin was completely gone.  So, I have a Red Tabby Puddy Tat with a short tail, who won't let me get hold of him to doctor.  I am wondering what he got his tail caught in, but guess I'll never know.
I'll try and get a photo of it, soon, but not making any promises. Why do mom cats keep kittens away from us, until they are too old to tame? 

" Princess Planks"

Not to be outdone

the "Princess'
 asked for her own set of planks to build with, so poppy went to the shop, followed by 3 little tag-alongs

and they came back in about 30 minutes with

not 50

not 70

not 90

not 100

but

109

planks for her.

She had brought her 'paint' so she could

mark her

set, and the

boys couldn't

'accidentally borrow' any of them.

so we painted a spot on every single one.
And then she went to work.

After  a couple of collapses
of her taller creations

 she finally settled on

building a garage

And what fun is it, to build it

if

with

the

wave

of

your

hand,

it doesn't do this...

So simple, and yet so much fun!

A few days ago, while on vacation, my 11 year old grandson found something he couldn't live without. 

Keva Planks 

   They are apparently the new 'Lincoln Log'.

Anyway he had a hankering for a set, but 100 planks =  $50.00. He showed up yesterday morning, and asked poppy if he could make him something similar, so he and poppy went to the wood working shop, and started measuring. In about 1 hr, they had made 71 pine planks out of scrap lumber. Of course when 8 year old grandson showed up yesterday afternoon, he fell in love too. So now they are down in the shop,making more.  I think they've made 68 more already today.

Add Grave Digger and a couple of other monstor trucks

and you can see

how much fun 2 boys can have

with simple pieces of wood.

Who says they need expensive toys.

And they store in a small space, since they are all exactly alike.

The other good thing about this little project, poppy is showing the kids how

they don't have to spend money to have what they want all the time.

That homemade works

and they had the opportunity build something themselves.

Next project is some bird houses

for them to paint and hang.

this tower is

4 ft 10 inches tall.