Ooooooooooh my

I finally got to use my lens the way I wanted to.  This little female ruby throat is fattening up for her migration

Filling up

Male cardinal

Click on this picture and tell me what you think is going on with his feathers

We're supposed to get a frost tomorrow, so I went ahead and picked the biggest ones left in the garden

October 2, 2010 Trip to Trunnell's

I took the boys down the road today to Trunnell's.  It was a beautiful day, then the wind started up and the temperature dropped by nearly 15 degrees.  By the time we left it had started to sprinkle.

Ranger in the corn maze

Ranger and Maverick LOST in the corn maze

Ranger on top of the hay mountain

Maverick on the hay mountain

Hay mountain was quite tall!

Pumpkins and gourds and corn.... oh my

Oh I was in heaven

Maverick doing the duck races

Hmmm, just how does he get out of this thing?

Maverick pulling double duty at the duck races

Sneakin' a peak at Mom

I wanted one of everything!

Mums, pumpkins, gourds

You'll see why his shoes were off in a minute...

How cute!

More goodies!

You know fall is here when you see these

Kickin' up a dust cloud

At the top of the slide

Autumn ecstasy

And now you know why the shoes came off...

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Trunnell's.  We had a blast!

October 2, 2010

I cannot believe October is finally here.  I've been waiting and waiting for fall and it's finally here!

I got a nice surprise yesterday.  Joe came home with a new lens for my camera.  I can't wait til tomorrow to get outside and play with it. 

If anyone knows what kind've tree this is I'd love to know!

I snapped this from my back porch with the new lens!

This is the fence line between our yard and the neighbors. 

Maverick LOVES his pepper!  He cracks me up because he loves to mix all his vegetables together and then give a stout douse of pepper!

September 26, 2010

Fall is finally here!!  The boys and I went to visit Nanny and Papa in Tennessee.  Unfortunately there are no pictures from the trip as I forgot my camera.  I was so disappointed.  The camera was not the only forgotten item.... there were several!

Mom and I managed to get some tomato juice canned up during the weekend activities.  Saturday was Cemetary Day at Price Cemetary.  Members of the community belong to the association where the cemetary is and they had their annual meeting.  I was privileged to be able to attend.  The rest of my weekend amounted to lots of studying. 

There's a 30% chance of rain over night and a 40% chance tomorrow.  Where was this rain during the summer when we needed it?  Mother Nature was holding out on us.

Joe went hunting this afternoon I'm waiting anxiously to see if he was lucky enough to harvest a deer.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Hummingbird - Rubythroat I think

Male Cardinal

House Sparrow - I think

Chipping sparrow - I think

September 21, 2010

I'm home today with Ranger.  He woke up fine, then complained of a stomach ache, which resulted in a... well, let's just say he's home sick today.  Although he's feeling better now.  He said he thought he just ate his breakfast too fast.  I've emailed my classmates so I can be sure to get today's notes, so I'm in good shape.

In case you didn't know today is the Autumnal Equinox.  I've been waiting impatiently for autumn.  I love the browns, yellows, oranges and reds in the trees.  The crisp leaves crunching underfoot.  The smell of pumpkins and bonfires, the crisp morning temperature is something I've been longing for.

My mom gave me the start of a flower and after doing a little research I think it's actually called Datura.  Some call it Jimson Weed, Devil's Trumpet, Angel's Trumpet and Jamestown Weed just to name a few.  It blooms at night and it quite spectacular.  You've got to be quick with your camera if you want to catch a picture of it's blooms.  If anyone knows for sure what this beauty is, please let me know.

 I was hoping to have a bonfire this weekend but there is a county wide burn ban, so I'll just grill the hot dogs and figure out how to do the smores on the grill!

September 17, 2010

Good evening!  When I got home from school today I was able to get the yard mowed and 5 more quarts of tomato juice canned up.  I have enough tomatoes to get another 5 quarts tomorrow and some green beans to pick.  I hope there's enough to can a few quarts!

Joe is scheduled to work tomorrow.  He's had to get up at 3:30 and it takes him an hour and 45 minutes to get to work.  I'm glad he's got the work, though.  That's one of the reasons I've been canning, freezing, and dehydrating all summer!


Here's a few pictures of a special trip  the boys and I took with Nanny and Papa to Reelfoot Lake.

Bald Eagle

The resident nut!

This little fella's wing was broken

September 15, 2010

Good morning!  I wanted to let you know that I will likely be MIA over the weekend.  I have two major tests to study for (Monday tests stink!) and I need to mow and get some canning done.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

My childhood play house . . . long gone now

If it quacks like a duck . . .

Tobacco harvest in Hico, Tennessee