Flower Friday

A couple weeks ago I saw that someone had a blog post on "Flower Friday". I really like that title/idea since I'm always posting about my posies. If you do not enjoy looking at flower pics you should avoid this post at all costs. If you do like them....grab a cup of coffee I have plenty of pictures to share this week. 

The following tale emphasizes that you need to keep your eyes peeled for plummeting flower prices and score some great bargains. My first picture is to show how I have no real self control when I stop in the hardware store and all the perennials are only .50 and flats of annuals are $3.00! For under $20 I came home with 5 flats of flowers! "You seriously just can't beat that" my exact quote to my husband. He just smiles and shakes his head and says "Great score honey." Love that man....

Most all of my perennials are starts I have from when we moved a year ago. They are not all lush and super wonderful this year with such dry conditions but they are established well and will be nice and full in the years to come.

 Black Eyed Susan

 I got this Russian Sage  (and another) on clearance last year right in the middle of summer!

 Purple Cone Flower

 Shasta Daisy...these are an example of a transplant that is established well, but not nearly as tall and full as it should be...I keep reminding myself of the long term plan.

 These are my lovely Cosmos! I LOVE them. I planted Dwarf Sensation (grows less then 2 ft.) and Candy Strip Cosmos. They are just coming on...so many beautiful blooms to come!

 My little Zinnia Patch I planted two varieties. A "daisy" looking zinnia and then a "ball" like zinnia (Can you see it in the background?)

I LOVE anything that is galvanized! I also love this OLD chair. When I bought it for less than $1 it was in pieces...but it was all there. It was nothing a little wood glue wouldn't fix.

 This beautiful rose bush was something the previous owner had planted. Such gorgeous HUGE blooms it gives me all summer/fall...I'm not a huge rose lover, but I LOVE this gal.

 I do enjoy Knock Out Roses. Disease Resistant and bloom Spring to Fall, no pruning needed. Workhorses in the landscaping without the high maintenance..Yep I like that!

 Here is another transplant from our old garden. Tickseed. This gal has been blooming since Spring! Those bright orange-yellow blooms are so cheery. I can't help but smile when I look at it.

 This little annual is a Proven Winner variety..sorry can't remember the name, but isn't it lovely?

 Phlox...so cute! I enjoy these little snowballs of color.

 This year for my annuals I went with HOT pink and yellow for my theme.

 My veggie garden gets some splashes of color...I have a little sunflower garden facing the house.

 I have about 5-6 different varieties ranging from 2ft tall to 5-6ft tall. My taller ones are not blooming just yet but all the smaller varieties are showing their stuff....

 The little yellow sunflower in the middle is called "Vanilla Ice" I just adore her. The sunflower at the very top (darker yellow) is called "Maya"

 Between all the flowers that are in bloom and our garden the honeybees have been mighty productive! I checked the first honey supers on May 28th and one hive (Bee Bellair) has the first super filled except for three frames. The other hive (Honey Hotel) still has some work to do with 5-6 frames left. I didn't want to miss any opportunity to collect honey. In about one month they have nearly filled or halfway filled the whole super! So I decided to add a second honey super to each hive on June the 30th! I actually added a deep box with 5 frames in each to start. It's what we already had, on hand, and besides being extremely heavy (good thing I have a STRONG Hubby) when it's full of h honey I don't see any reason not to use what we already have. Harvest time for honey in sometime after Labor Day so my girls still have a ton of time to be collecting.

 One thing I was concerned about after we placed them in this spot, was the fact that they are not getting direct early morning sun. Apparently that is not an issue, and the indirect sun is getting them out and working just fine. They are actually in dappled shade 100% of the day, which I think they like. It keeps them from having to work overtime keeping the hive cool enough. In turn more bees can be out collecting pollen and nectar and making us more honey! I'll keep you posted on their progress.

VBS/Day Camp

Our second camp was Vacation Bible School (grades pre-K to 2) & Day Camp (grades 3-6). I taught the 2nd graders this year (my first teaching experience with Day Camp). I had 15 kids who were all very well behaved and were honestly a real pleasure to have all week. Zach was even in my class, but he didn't seem to mind his mama was teaching. Here are a few pictures that sum up our week.

The theme was Incrediworld Amazement Park.....

 In VBS & Day Camp the focus was on the 6 days of creation

 Here is Zach with some sort of furry creature on his shoulder, compliments of craft time

 Caleb is practicing his singing...he's the goof in the yellow tank

 Zach showcasing yet another craft project....these little inventions were so cool!

 Julia is practicing for the program (she in all the way on the right in the 2nd row)

  Here Caleb is showing how well our week went at CAMP #2!

Lance was there all week as well. He got to hang out in the "teen room" for his class time. Our paths just didn't cross all week which equals no pictures of him.

Happy 4th of July!

I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that it is JULY....ya know month number 7!! What? Seriously this summer is flying by at a break neck pace! Since I haven't did a little photo tour in the garden lately I thought we'd inspect and see if things are "Knee High By the 4th of July".

 Raspberries, rhubarb (left),  chives (middle)

 Cabbage

 Carrots

 Black Raspberries

 Sweet Corn (we planted 3 different varieties)

 This next shot is my FAVORITE!! The honeybees have been working overtime amongst the sweet corn this past week. If you look at the bee's legs, you will see a little yellow blob. That's her pollen pocket (where they carry the pollen). It's such a joy to me to see them working.

  Grape Tomatoes

 Green Beans

 Onions

 44 Tomato plants

 We have lots of green tomatoes!

 Pumpkin patch!

  I have 3 varieties of pumpkins planted....aren't these little guys so cute!

 Here is a shot from the south side of the garden...you can see our potatoes plants closest to you. They are starting to die off...which is normal, so I'm told.

 Here are my little watermelon vines. The watermelons are suppose to be little personal sized melons. I don't know if they will actually do anything though...I think they are not in best place. We planted them before there were leaves on the trees, and now I think they get to much shade because of the leaves on the trees. We shall see.

This is still a transition year for all my fruiting plants. I got a decent amount of strawberries this year. I harvested 25 pounds in all. My harvesting was cut short because of such dry conditions. My blueberry harvest was around a pint for all three plants combined. Next year I will net them to keep the pesky birds off of them. My red raspberry harvest has totaled around a quart. I look forward to the next couple years when the amount of fruit I harvest should grow in leaps and bounds.

In Honor of My Hubby!

This past month we got to celebrate Daddy Day! One of my favorite things about my husband is what a great daddy he is to our  kiddos. Justin & the boys got to start off the special day with a Father/Son  Breakfast. Before they headed off to get their belly full I snapped a few pictures.

 

 

 Julia and I waited snapped a couple pics while we waited for the boys to come back home.

 Daddy and his favorite little gal....

 The kids insisted that we get a picture as well....I LOVE THIS MAN!

He makes us laugh, he makes us think, he works hard, he is a great example (even if he's a little ornery sometimes), he's spontaneous, he's prayerful, he's reliable, he's trusting, he's compassionate, he's devoted to his family, and so much more. WE LOVE YOU!

THREE Camps in THREE WEEKS!

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made our schedule out for the month of June....really I'm sure I wasn't thinking at all! The end result of that brain lapse was THREE different camps, one following the others for THREE weeks in a row. Whew! I am glad to report we did survive without any major meltdowns..but this mama does NOT plan to repeat such a crazy schedule anytime soon.

Twas' the night before all the camp schedules would begin and this is how my boys felt:

 This is Lance's second year to church camp, although last year he went to another nearby camp.

 This was Caleb's first year to go to camp...a whole week away....I think he's excited!

The camp the boys went to came highly recommended, and they had an absolute blast! We were able to send them e-mails that got delivered to their cabins each day. It was fun to let them know what we were doing and that we were praying for them while they were away.

 Here we are at "drop-off" day...they were both in Cabin 4, but on opposite sides of the Cabin.

 Here is where they had Camp fire time at night.

This is one of the many beautiful views they got to enjoy all week.  They got to take a boat across the lake to enjoy some hiking on the other side in the woods. HOW FUN!

 After a whole week without each other......I think Zach was glad to have his roommate back!

The boys had such a great time they were ready to sign up for next year before we left. I am so thankful for such wonderful ministries that help my boys grow in their faith, and enjoy some "boy time" with others their age. Other Camp posts coming soon...........