The Beauty of Nature

It's been a busy and productive day.  I love these days where I have an abundance of energy and motivation and can get things done without running into snags!

I did have a relaxing morning with Country Boy before he headed off to work some overtime at our local fair.  We sat on the front porch and watched the birds swarm the bird feeder station.  It seems more and more are arriving daily and sticking around.  That makes me very happy!  I really enjoy hearing all the different chirps and songs from the various birds and watching them.  The hummingbirds are also arriving and it looks like I'll have to change their feeder every couple of days!

I was able to capture these two different hummingbirds the other day.  They're grainy but I wanted to share them with you...  Jim, these are for you!

One day I hope to get a clearer image for you.  It's a challenge I've put upon myself!

After Country Boy left for work, I picked up a neighbor friend and we went out for some lunch, visited the local library and then did some grocery shopping.  Oh yea, can't forget the trip to the ice cream shoppe!  Yum!  It took me five trips from the car to the house but I finally managed to get everything in the house and put away.  And I didn't even buy that much!  Oh well, I can always use the exercise (especially after eating Cappuchino Crunch ice cream!  Maybe that's why I have so much energy *smile*).

I started some supper (I had to cook tonight so that Country Boy would have something to take to work tomorrow!).  I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn.  While that was cooking, I spent some time catching up on Facebook, email and the blogs I follow.

After I ate, I mixed up the ingredients for Dutch Oven Bread courtesy of Jayme the Coop Keeper.  For the recipe and bread tutorial click HERE.  I've never made it before but she made it sound so easy that I just had to try it.  I've been wanting to make my own bread for quite some time now but I haven't found a recipe that I like.  This sounded good and easy.  I'll let ya' know how it goes!  It's rising now.  It does have a long rise time but you can mix it up at night and let it rise overnight - perfect!

Hmm, what else did I do today... oh yea, I had to mix up some insect repellent to spray on our flowering pear tree, apple, orange & tangerine trees to keep the little black worms off.  I found a recipe online.  If it works I'll share it with you!

On our 'after morning coffee stroll' to check on the crops, I came across this beautiful sight!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...

These are our grapevines coming back to life after winter.  I walked over to the arbor and saw these beautiful dewdrops on the edges of the new leaves.  So cool!  You can even see the reflection of the grapevines in the dewdrops.  Of course, I had to go all the way back up to the house to get my camera!  I should just start carrying it with me at all times!

I guess that about sums up my day.  I have a date with my photog buddy tomorrow!  We're going to meet our husbands (who work together) for breakfast and then we're going to a couple of locations to shoot some photos!  Should be a nice day for it!

So what do you think about my hummingbirds and grapevines?

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Till next time,