Checking the Crops

The other night Country Boy went out to check his crops so I decided to accompany him with my camera in hand.  We had just had an awesome day of rain so I was sure that there would be something out there to photograph!

This is what I saw through my lens...

I think this is a female dragonfly simply because it looks like she has lipstick on!  Just sayin'!  This dragonfly is on our poor apple tree.  We planted it a couple of years ago and it's only about 5 or 6 feet tall and has not produced any fruit yet.  The poor tree is constantly putting out new leaves because the deer seem to think the leaves are quite yummy! 

Tomato Blooms

Corn Silk

Peek-a-Boo

The original photo of this Dianthus was not all that great so I added two Kim Klassen textures...KKpourvous and KKStainedLinen.  If you love textures, check out her button on my sidebar and sign up for her weekly Freebies!  Great stuff!

I hope you are having a great weekend!  

Till next time,

Randomness

Is that actually a word?!  I don't know but I like it and I'm going to use it today!

I must have been more exhausted than I thought from the Mini-Mother's Day-Makeover that my sister, Country Boy and I did this past weekend because I had the hardest time waking up this morning!  I should have brewed up some fully loaded coffee this morning... decaf just didn't cut it!  Speaking of... I think I'll go brew some now; yea!  Oh, and it will be decaf because I SURELY don't want to be up all night!  I'll be right back...

OK, I'm back!  I tried something different... adding a teaspoon of Stevia to my otherwise black coffee.  It's not bad but I think I'll stick with black for now!  I normally use just cream but the diet that we're on does not allow for that *sad face*!  BUT, the good news about the diet is Country Boy has lost a total of 11 lbs. and 1.5" around the waist and I have lost 6.2 lbs and 5" around the waist in just one week!  And, we're feeling great!  Yippee!  I can do this for another four or five weeks!  I'm so happy to be fitting into my clothes a little more comfortably!

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I spent the morning catching up on the blogs I read after not blogging all weekend!  Lots of good stuff out there. I love Bloggerville!  Lots of great people, good ideas and just pure enjoyment!  Then it was time to make a grocery list.  There are not a whole lot of things we can eat right now but I spent time reviewing recipes and coming up with ideas for some variety.  I was also waiting to see if a neighbor was going to give me a call.  She's a wonderful lady whom I think of as my own Grandma especially since both of mine have passed.  In fact, that is what I (and several of the neighbors) call her.  I just had a feeling she was going to call and if so, I was going to see if she wanted to go out to lunch and stop by the grocery store.  She did indeed call so I finished up my grocery list and we took off to town.  We had a nice salad at Wendy's (I took my own chicken and salad dressing!) and then it was off to a produce stand, the Christian bookstore and then Winn Dixie.  We had a great time visiting and a couple hours later I dropped her back home.

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I am trying to get motivated to get some more items ready for the yard sale.  I really don't know why I have been so lacking in the motivational department lately.  Usually, I have an overabundance of it (just ask Country Boy!).  But, for whatever reason, it's gone missing!  I need to find it quickly though since we're planning on having it in the next couple of weeks.  Yikes!

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Today marks the day when I got my 25th follower!   I was thrilled!  I always get so excited when I see a new follower... like a kid in a candy store!  And Thanks to all my followers!  You are awesome and your lovely comments are what keeps me motivated to keep my blog going!

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Enough of the randomness... I promised you some more photos from our fishing trip last week.  Enjoy!

We hadn't gone very far down the river when this little (approx. 3-4 feet) guy popped up out of nowhere!  We heard him earlier (it's mating season so there is a lot of grunting going on!) but didn't know where he was.

He was about eight feet from our boat and he was keeping an eye on Country Boy's cork.

We thought he was waiting for 'the catch' and would grab it when Country Boy pulled it up but all of a sudden...

He lurched forward and chomped down on the cork!  It happened so fast that this was all I could get!  During Country Boy's attempt at trying to pull the cork out of his mouth his cane pole broke and needless to say, the gator got to keep the cork!  Already such excitement and the day had just begun!

As we headed further down the river, a huge raucous started.

There were several geese in someone's backyard and they were just a-squawking up a storm.  They make great watch-dogs, er watch-geese!  After a bit they all settled down and all was quiet again.

Some vegetation along the river bank.

A dragonfly chillin' on a lily pad!

As I mentioned before, it was very difficult getting decent shots when there is constant movement on a small boat!  But, I like how the wind was lifting up the lily pads!

This is the second cork!  We were out on the lake now and the wind was picking up.

I have more to show you but I'll save the Common Moorhens and the Limpkins that we saw for another day!

I hope you enjoyed my randomness!

Till next time,

Briefly Speaking

Just wanted to send out a quick post since I haven't posted in a couple of days (and I miss it!  This blogging is so addictive *laugh*!).  And those couple of days have been chock full of activity!  On Wednesday, Country Boy and I went to our former pastors memorial service and visited with old friends over a yummy potluck for hours.  Speaking of potluck, PURE TORTURE when you're on a strict diet *sigh*.  But we prevailed, even found two items that we could eat and it was all good!  (Update on the diet this weekend!)  Later that evening, we met a couple for dinner at Red Lobster (yes, there are items on their menu that is on our diet, YUMM!) who used to work where Country Boy and I met!  We had a great visit with them and promised to do it again soon!

Yesterday, Country Boy and I got up early and went fishing.  Actually, he was fishing and I was taking pictures and reading.  It was a beautiful morning and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together on the water!  Country Boy caught several 'keepers' and also caught some he had to throw back.  Do you know how difficult it is to take a decent photo on a small jon boat?!  Every time I saw something I wanted to photograph, Country Boy either cast his line and rocked the boat or he decided it was time to move to another spot *sigh*!  Somehow, I still managed to get a couple of decent shots!  He fished until noon then we headed home.

Here are a couple of shots from yesterday's fishing trip...

The water was very clear in some spots!  This is under water vegetation.

This dragonfly stayed on Country Boys hat for quite a while!  Then after I took this photo, it flew to the edge of the boat and posed for me...

I have lots more to show you but they will have to wait.  This was supposed to be a brief post *hahaha*!

I had laundry to do that afternoon which I enjoy doing.  I know... must be something wrong with me *smile*!  My efforts at hanging the clothes on the line to dry and the fact that we haven't had to turn the AC on have helped our electric bill and I am thrilled!  As I've mentioned before, I actually enjoy hanging the clothes out to dry!

After that we watched the movie How to Train Your Dragon.  Cute movie!

Today, Country Boy and I are heading to my Mom and Dad's for the weekend.  They are going on vacation and we, along with with sister, are going to do a mini-makeover for them while they are gone.  Just some painting in the Master bedroom, the kitchen and family room.  In the eat-in kitchen, we're going to hang some wallpaper and border and install some wainscoting.  In the Master bathroom, we're going to lay some vinyl tiles.  That should keep us out of trouble for most of the weekend!

I will try to update you on our progress if I can get online!

Happy Friday!  I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Till next time,

Be Who You Are

I saw this phrase in an email that my Mom sent me today and it says exactly what I have been contemplating all day...

"Be who you are and say what you feel....

Because those that matter... 

don't mind...

And those that mind... 

don't matter."

As many of my wonderful blogging friends and followers know, I had a very rough confrontation with one of my neighbors about a week and a half ago whom I thought was a friend.  She was very mean and ugly to me that day and proceeded to tell the other neighbors about our spat, why, I don't know other than to try and turn them against me as well, who knows!  That just proved to me what kind of person she is and I'm glad to have the friendship severed although I did not want it to end that way.  I have had to do a lot of praying to get over the hurt she caused.  I have been doing much better and thought I was over it but today, for some reason, I'm feeling a little blue.  I need to memorize that phrase and keep praying!  I'll be OK!

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While I was enjoying the Bathing Beauties the other day, a dragonfly landed on the tree next to where I was sitting.  I believe he took a power nap since he was sitting there for quite a while!

I've heard that dragonflies are a symbol of good luck so I looked up the symbolism of the dragonfly and came across this...

The meaning of a dragonfly changes with each culture. The main symbolisms of the dragonfly are renewal, positive force and the power of life in general. Dragonflies can also be a symbol of the sense of self that comes with maturity. Also, as a creature of the wind, the dragonfly frequently represents change. And as a dragonfly lives a short life, it knows it must live its life to the fullest with the short time it has - which is a lesson for all of us.

I love dragonflies!  I think they are beautiful!

I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday!

Till next time,