The July 4th Weekend

What a fantastic 3-day, July 4th Holiday we had down in the south this year.  Perfect...perfect....perfect!!! The weather was absolutely, positively wonderful!  Cool nights with mild, sunny, low humidity days.   PERFECT!

JR and I traveled to a John Deere Dealership about a 90 minute drive from our home. (Nothing new about that - JR dreams in green and yellow.)   But, while we were there, I witnessed the birth of our nation.....REALLY!  See for yourself......

JR found a tractor he really, really, really wanted.....not to big and not to small.....Perfect!

He even liked the yellow seat with lots of extra bounce added!  GREEN + YELLOW = John Deere!

Uh Oh!  There he goes ...........

....... riding off into the sunset......well, the bean patch.  "HEY!  Come back!  Don't leave me here by myself!"   Now what's a girl to do when her farmer goes riding off into the soy bean patch?

I watched and waited for JR to come riding around the backside of the dealership.  And I waited......and I waited..... and I waited.....NO JR.

I had to keep myself entertained so I wouldn't panic.  I mean....what if the "bean monster" surfaced and gobbled up JR along with the beans?  How would I get home without a key to our van?  Would the "bean monster" spit the key back out and if he did would I be able to find it buried in the acres and acres of beans?   OK..."calm down" I told myself.  Take deep breaths and focus on the gorgeous sky.  And that's when I saw it....the actual birth of our nation.....

See the cloud right behind the flag?  Look to the right of the flag pole.  See the two baby legs beginning to emerge?  

See the baby floating right on top of the flag pole?  He has a head, a body, two arms and legs!  He looks like he has his arms stretched out wanting to be picked up and held.  Awwwww.   Kind of how I was feeling at the moment.....all alone, stranded in a strange town miles and miles from home!

I continued to focus on the sky and the ever changing pictures.  Here I saw the Loch Ness monster chasing after two other sea creatures.  See his hungry mouth open and the two humps on his back?

Right in the middle of this picture, in the sky, I saw a snail on his way to a very important function. (Still no JR!)

I love this picture...It could be a crab or a dinosaur, or a small puppy barking at a butterfly.  (Still no JR!)

Here comes Micky Mouse with one of the chipmunks chasing him on the right. (Still no JR.)

Here is a goldfish.  Actually a Gold Fish Cracker.  By this time, I was getting very, very hungry.  (Still no JR)

Eventually, after an hour or so, JR came riding back in on the green machine oblivious to my increasing anxiety.....not to mention my increasing HUNGER!  So, after parking the tractor and telling the salesperson he would "think about it", we headed home but not before stopping for a huge bar-b-que sub sandwich.  YUM----MY!

Once back home, it was time to check the cattle to make sure they had  plenty of drinking water and no birthing difficulties.   

Here come a few strays....wanting a special treat from the treat bucket!

Cows will follow you to Siberia and back if they think they are going to
snag a snack from the special treat bucket!

The 4th of July continued with Meme T, and Papa G, and family, opting to go four wheel riding with some friends......

Checking out the bumpy trail that leads to the top of the mountain....That's Big A with the white shorts on and Papa G right behind him.
  

The view was definitely worth the bumpy ride.  Here you see Papa G and Big A enjoying the mountain scenery.  

Over the long weekend we also celebrated Pooh's birthday (#22) with cake and ice cream and a little bit of golf!  (This photographer was so busy baking the cake and planning the day that she forget to take a picture of the cake!  Maybe next time she will have her act together - maybe.) 

Wee Bob and Big A getting in a little pregame practice.

Pooh teaching Wee Bob how to take a swing at the ball....

Mr. B positioning the ball "just right" for Wee Bob to hit it..

"Okay everyone....I believe I can now to do it myself !"

"Watch me!....Ready, set...a hole in one for sure!"  Is he a natural or what???

A little sidewalk chalk art rounded out the afternoon.

Our good friend "Micky Mouse"!

Now here was an original piece of art!  

It wouldn't have been the 4th of July without sand, sunshine, and tractors!

SEE YOU SOON,

Dee Dee

Picking and Puddle Stomping!

Oh, the wonderful sound of summer rain.  But what to do with a two-year-old when the rain is pouring down buckets and buckets of cool, clear, life giving water?  Time to crank up the old imagination!  Time to  remember what it was like to be a two-year-old boy.  Since that was about impossible, I decided to close my eyes and imagine being two again and getting to do all the things that would have had my parents looking for a big switch! (That's "southern" for paddle.)  Now, with those thoughts floating around in my water logged brain,  I developed a plan......

Hours and hours of rain.....no end in sight!  But who cares?  I have a PLAN!

Remember the slinky?  It still works its magic on kids of all ages!  It still bounces down the couch cushions. It still hops down steps.   It still needs to be untangled about once every 20 seconds!

Here was another idea.  How long can a toddler balance on a ball while playing with cars, trucks, trains and tractors?  Ummm....not as long as I had hoped since two-year-old boys don't play time games very well.



Finally, after eating lunch, reading Thomas the Train and Digger books multiple times, assembling and reassembling puzzles, and taking a nap (not without a bit of resistance), the rain stopped.  Just in time too since I had just about used up all my "inside" resources.  Now it was time to continue with the "plan" -- put on "puddle stomping" shoes and hit the gravel road!

Hurry, hurry, there's a puddle waiting.

What could be more fun than walking through the puddles?  Unless it is.......

.....doing some serious "puddle stomping"  and slinging mud all over your clothes, or........

.....trying to find the perfect rock!  Or a whole pocketful of rocks!!  Wet, gooey, slimy rocks!  So many rocks that these little shorts were dragging the ground.   

Time to visit JR's office and grab a Popsicle.  Nothing beats an ice cream on a rain drenched, humid afternoon.  It's even better when the ice cream melts all over your clothes, hands, knees, and toes.  STICKY is good for the soul!

Then it's time to visit the sand pile.  It was a "dab" wet but the little cowboy didn't care.  The more sand that can stick to his little toes and take up residence in his hair the better he likes it!  

Blackberries.  Did someone mention blackberries?  Grab a basket and join the little cowboy and me as we hop on the four-wheeler and make our way to the wild blackberry patch.

My intention was to kill two birds with one stone.  First, entertain the little cowboy and second, fill a basket with blackberries and surprise a friend so she could cook up a batch of blackberry jam.   Guess what?

Try as I might, the more blackberries I bounced into the basket the faster this little cowboy pulled them out and popped them into his mouth!  Purple, purple, everywhere!  My shorts are forever printed with purple fingerprints.  I guess my friend is going to have to wait 'till another day.  Or better yet, visit the Smuckers' Farm!
A TISKIT, A TASKIT, I BROUGHT HOME AN EMPTY BASKET!!

It's back to JR's office to play "Pappy".  Oh no....TWO PAPPY'S!  Hmmmm...maybe this little Pappy will write me a nice, big check!  (Wishful thinking on my part.)

Under the desk, the little cowboy found some packing bubbles.  POP! POP!  POP!

After a hard day of "picking and stomping" it was time for a BATH!  How do you convince a two-year-old it's time to go inside and clean up?  Well......you don't.  Here on the farm we just visit the 

HILLBILLY SPA!

Best of all, it's free and totally kid friendly.

On days when the little cowboy is only a "wee bit" dirty, he takes a dunk in the 'classic' version of the spa.

Sometimes, he will be still for two whole minutes enjoying the warm, sudsy water.

But on days when he has puddle stomped, played in the sand, smeared ice cream and blackberries from head to toe, only the 

      DELUXE VERSION 

will do!  It comes complete with a toy and fishing pole! And it's guaranteed to give five or ten minutes of peace and quiet!  Ahhhhhh!

Hope your summer days are filled with  farm spas,  RAINBOWS, and little cowboys!

Dee Dee

Early Morning on the Farm!

Here on the farm/ranch the day begins early......like 5:00 AM early! Getting up and out before the sun pops over the mountains is a necessity during the summer months or we would all melt like Popsicles in the sun.  Heat and summer humidity wait for no man --  or woman.  So, as summer progresses,  my 6:30 AM walk has become my 5:30 AM walk.  And oh, the things that I see.........

I see lots of cattle.  Sometimes I carry my trusty whip to make sure they stay away from my path.

This stubborn cow refused to retreat.  No matter how many times I cracked the whip she just kept on munching!  She didn't even blink an eye!!

Sometimes I see wild geese looking for a place to take a quick bath.

Sometimes I see wild clover and grass with drops of dew clinging to their stems and leaves.

Most of the time on these early morning walks, the mist plays tag with the mountains.  First  it will rise up to the top of those hills then settle back down in the valley.  Up and down, up and down, up and down it goes until the sun gobbles it up!

Sometimes the donkeys will trot over to meet me thinking I have a pail of sweet feed for their breakfast.  

Sometimes I see old, lazy Mr. Turtle.  He was totally giving me the "eye"!

One of the best parts about walking early is smelling the unforgettable scent from a mimosa tree.  I could stand near by for hours just breathing in that intoxicating aroma.

Then there is my new friend Mrs. Killdeer.  She has a nest of eggs that she has been sitting on for several weeks.  Can you spot the eggs?

Mrs. Killdeer definitely gets her feathers ruffled when I get to close!  Smile for the camera Mrs. Killdeer!  (Her eggs are right behind her tail in this picture.) 

See if you can spot Mrs. Killdeers eggs.  She flew off trying to divert me from her nest.  

Sometimes I see "Miss Bunny".  When Pooh was very little she had several  domestic rabbits that escaped one fateful night.  I like to think that the rabbits I spot are the descendants of Pooh's runaways.  

 Sometimes I see a bumble bee zeroing in for his breakfast.

 Nothing like a drink of wild nectar to start the day!

This morning I saw the most gorgeous lace looking leaf caught in a tree branch. Why, oh why has the leaf  turned red?  It can't be autumn yet can it?

Sometimes I see a rainbow after a quick morning shower has chased me back to the house.  Look closely and you will see it is a double rainbow.  After the rain stopped, I searched for hours for that pot of gold but, alas, it was nowhere to be found.  Those little leprechauns must have beat me to it!

Hoping you have found your "pot of gold",

Dee Dee