Another trip home

The boys and I spent a little over a week back in Tennessee.  I am not sure if the boys have been home a total of 2 weeks since school has been out!  We helped Nanny celebrate her 63rd birthday!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I really do have the best mom in the whole world.  She does so little for herself and so much for everyone else.  She still works full time for the department of the blind.  She and her sisters are taking wonderful care of their mom (my beautiful grandmother) daily.  Mom helps take Grandmother to the doctor, runs errands, etc.  She proof reads Dad's newspaper articles, cooks him wonderful meals, and takes care of the house.  She comes at the drop of a hat if either of her daughter's needs or wants her.  No matter what.  Every time.

I want to share just a few of the nearly 200 pictures I took this week.

Angel on bridge

A field of sunflowers on the old Barrett property

A common sight - corn with morning glory climbing

Cute cousins with Rosie the dog

I sure wish I had that buck on the wall and the meat in the freezer - yes Molly I am that redneck!

A beautiful doe

This picture does not do justice for the beauty that I woke up to one morning.  Out in mom and dad's backyard, a soft mist of fog was softly hovering over the corn.

Fog over the corn

I sure wish this picture was a little lighter.  Click on it to make it bigger.

How many of you grew up on a gravel road like this?

The old church is now gone, but will forever be memorialized.

It doesn't matter where you go in the south, kudzu is everywhere.

It takes over the trees.

And the valleys.

And still more trees.

My lil one.

Mom opening up her Heckle and Jeckle salt and pepper shakers for her birthday.

These hadn't opened yet.

But a few hours later they were in full bloom.

Dad and The Relaxed One.

Dad and my cousin's youngest.

My lil smoochies

Rosie likes getting snuggled.

Rosie

Silly cousins

Pouty cousins

Smith Farm

Smith Farm

Pretty flower growing alongside the road

Another pretty wild flower growing along the road

And Nanny's beautifully decorated cake.  The boys did great, don't you think?

Canning Day

I got a recipe from my mom for cucumber relish.  She got the recipe from one of her good friends who just happens to be a great cook.

I ended up with 8 jars of cucumber relish, 8 pints of dill pickles and 3 pints of strawberry jam.  The house is permeated with the smell of vinegar.  So much so that hubby says his eyes are burning.  Hmmm, it doesn't bother me.  I LOVE it.

I hope that my garden produces much, much more so I get to can all summer long!

Here's the recipe for the cucumber relish:

6 large cucumbers
4 onions
2 green peppers
2 red peppers (I didn't have any red, so I used all green)
1 Tbsp canning salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar
1 Tbsp celery seed
1 Tbsp mustard seed


Peel and seed cukes, chop onion, cukes, and peppers into small pieces.  Add salt and mix together.  Allow to sit 30 minutes and then drain.

Add rest of the ingredients and cook until thick.  Pour into jars and seal.

A walk around the yard

While hubby and I were outside today hubby spotted this insane looking bug.  After doing a bit of research, I believe it is one of the almost 20,000 varieties of leaf hoppers.

Check out those yellow eyes!

These little guys popped up after last night's rain.

I use fresh basil year round

and fresh oregano.  I keep them both in a pot by the back door.

Lemon thyme from my mom.

Mystery flower, dill, and garlic.

The main garden full of purple hull peas, green peppers, watermelon, and tomatoes.

The small garden full of sunflowers, jalapenos, and cukes.

Yellow and red zinnia

Another yellow and red zinnia

Pink geranium

Zinnia garden

Mystery flower

Another mystery flower

Cosmos

Indian red sunflower

Orange sunflower

Red zinnia

Sunflower garden

The flowers on the right are from my friend Sue over at A corner garden.  She was generous enough to share seeds but now I can't remember what they were!

Thanks for taking a walk around the yard with me!  Hope you enjoyed it.