Ranch Rounds ~ So Long, Farewell

Out at the pond:  

This youngin showed up a few days ago just floating around in my pond like he owned the joint.  Big, big, BIG thank you to USFW (USDA, I'm not exactly sure which one)for giving him a lift back to the river.  He was 5 feet long, and the guys thought maybe he got kicked out of his congregation by older males.  Very territorial, I assume. 

            

Bye bye, little dude. :)

Out in the yard: 

Sorry so blurry!  I got to see my Purple Martin babies lined up before they all took off for South America.  They left a little early this year for some reason. I miss their chirping at dusk and their singing during the day.

front porch: 

Speaking of territorial ~

Sometimes you just have to call a truce...if only for a second or two.

 

sharing with   Michelle for Thankful Thursday &  Eileen @ Saturday's Critters

Ranch Rounds & Storm Clouds

 

Mark's garden is doing well, 

considering the amount of rain we have gotten. I'm thankful for that rain. 

  That's a Sonic billboard tarp under his gro-bags. 

:) 

Purple hulls are about to turn

Bitter melon

(Someone at the farmer's market gave it to him)

This little girl was watching me mow. 

She appeared to be a statue, just frozen. 

One of our baby martins that just wasn't quite ready to fly. 

I'm imagining it's hiding from it's family because 

they will dive-bomb the heck out of it to make it fly

(He finally took off)

I didn't get any photos, but we have a couple of hawks that are very interested in our babies.

I've listened to them screech out front and the other day they tried to cruise over the houses but thankfully  the martins came out in force and chased them away.  

Just a few more weeks and the birds will all take off for their winter vacation.  I will breathe a big sigh of relief that the predators here didn't kill any.  

I'll finish my rounds with these storm photos from the other day. 

Nothing came out of them for us, but others got a ton of rain. 

I'm thankful for small blessings- here, there and yonder. 

Have a great weekend, y'all! 

sharing with   Michelle for Thankful Thursday ,Eileen @ Saturday's Critters,Yogi for Skywatch Friday, and NixPixMix for Sunday Best

Thankful Thursday

I finally got a mum to survive over the winter.  

(recognize her? Pumpkin pie mum from November!)

and my Limelight Hydrangea is still struggling, but slowly coming back to life. 

I'm thankful today for small victories, and maybe I have earned
one green stripe on my brown thumb? 

HA HA 

sharing with   Michelle for Thankful Thursday 

Time Travel Tuesday ~ 1900's

 

This bible belonged to my great-great grandfather, James Nichols 

He was born in Tennessee in 1837 and lived the majority of his life in  Hot Spring County Arkansas, passing on in 1903.  

The cool thing about this bible is all of the notes and family lineage that over the years was added to pages in the front and back, but also stuck in here and there between the pages.  

I found this yesterday: 

 I wish I could read whatever 

letter the person cut up to make this.  I also wish I knew who made it.  

I think that is a Celtic knot pattern, and maybe it was a super 

easy project, and I just think it looks intricate and time consuming. 

I sometimes wonder (and wander) backwards in time a little too much!

Ranch Rounds & Glen Campbell

 

In flight, this bluebird is beautiful!  I captured this pose after I snapped a few pics of him beating the heck out of a worm on top of a fence post.  I'll save you that yuck. :)

Lil Man loves to stick his head through the fence and get a good scratch on.  Over time, he has broken wires, and snapped off brackets and pushed the t posts out of whack.  I'm waiting for him to just walk right on through.  It's time for a new fence, and that's why I reckon it looks the way it does.  

Second week of algae in the pond.  We're trying to get an extension agent to come out and give us info on what to do. (Some of you suggested red algae and that's also what we think.)   Peep the wretched turkey vultures (on top and sides of the dam) whom I am blaming this whole mess on.  

On a happier note, the martin babies are hatching and that means parents flying all day long catching bugs and dragonflies.  It won't be long and the babies will be learning to fly and then they will be gone until next year.

My grandson and family have moved to a new place and we attended a birthday party yesterday for little Bo. He just turned 3! 

Afterwards, we decided to drive by and see Glen Campbell's grave since it was so close by.  It was a really nice little cemetery.  While we were standing there reading the sign, music started playing.  

and it was a perfect ending to the week. 

sharing with Eileen @ Saturday's Critters

Monday, Monday ~ Pond Woes

 

Move it or lose it, geese!

We have a problem.  Don't know what it is yet, but definitely not good.

Google Lens thinks it may be some kind of algae, or industrial waste.  Good heavens, there is no industry within twenty miles of here, so probably algae.  Now, how to get rid of it? 

These vultures showed  up a couple of weeks ago. (no algae then)  I see them daily now, and I don't understand the attraction.  There isn't anything dead out there that I have seen, but who knows what lurks out there in the tall grass. 

Can I blame them for this red stuff?  (HA HA) 

Have a great week, y'all! 

Sunday Vibes

 

Me at Three 

Recently I have discovered that if I had only listened to my mother's advice 

on how to stand like a lady, shoulders back and stomach

 in; I might not be in such pitiful agony today, 60 years later. 

This is my third back brace, and it seems to be a little more sturdy than the Wally World brands, but not by much.  The top is supposed to make your posture better...(excuse me while I guffaw).  My posture is beyond hope.  I sit with my shoulders hunched over, and the only difference between pre-purchase and post-purchase is now I know I am sitting with my shoulders hunched and standing with my belly out. 

Enough whining!

Have a great week, y'all! 

Back Porch Views

 

I am so thankful that we live in the country. This morning, I saw 3 young bucks playing in the tall grass just on the other side of my fence.  Very unusual to see them this close, but it was early.  Every few seconds they all would stop, alerting  to every little noise and seemed ready to bolt.  Little Man didn't seem to be worried about how close they were to him, but I imagine he sees them a lot more than we do. 

sharing with   Michelle for Thankful Thursday and Eileen for Saturday's Critters

Thankful Thursday

 

If I had to choose a favorite color, I probably couldn't do it.  

I do love purple though, don't you?

Now, throw in some white dots...

almost looks like someone splattered paint on the blooms. 

Today I am thankful for a trip around the moon, better news about baby Tyler, lower A1C score, a new series to watch (The Pitt, but not sure about it yet), that the awful green pine pollen is out of here, my martins have arrived, and last but not least, one tiny hummer showed up last week, at last, at last.  

Easter was full of blessings and lots of family. 

I've been gone a spell, but I am so glad to be back. 

Have a great week!

sharing with   Michelle for Thankful Thursday 

Foto Friday 17 ~ On a Wing & a Prayer

We've been a little under the weather here lately, but the sun is out and hopefully the ice and snow will all melt soon.  This storm has been a wild one.  

Little Man doesn't seem to mind the cold, but he sure was front and center for supper every night. 

It was a not so graceful landing on our frozen pond for these geese.

Takeoff went a little smoother,

Better luck on the next pond fellas. 

sharing with  Eileen for Saturday's Critters,  Michelle for Thankful Thursday,  Yogi for Skywatch Friday, and Mersad for Through my Lens

Tyler Z is finally here!  

He's had a pretty rough go of it- arriving a few weeks early,

 two weeks in the NICU, low bilirubin and a blood clot in his heart. 

I am so thankful for Arkansas Children's Hospital and their NICU nurses.

The kids will find out in February if the lovenox

 shots are working and the clot has dissolved.

  Praying it is gone and he is finally well.

Thankful Thursday

 

Thankful today (and every day) for my husband.  49 years!  He is the brave to my fear, the calm to my crazy, the happy to my sad, the positive to my negative, and the patience to my impatience. 

We decided to forgo anniversary cards & gifts and just go out to eat after riding around the lake.  This photo was taken from the boat ramp at one of the camping areas.  We kept getting closer and closer and this bird was not moving. You can barely tell that there is water beneath him because it was so dreary out. 

I hope everyone has recovered from Thanksgiving. I am trying to get started on Christmas but I seem to be spending more time on planning that actual doing.   :)

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

 

sharing with   Michelle for Thankful Thursday and Eileen for Saturday's Critters

Reflections & Critters

 

Lots of reflections on the still water downstream from dam.

sharing with James for Weekend Reflections

Invasion of the green heads

Cowbirds/Grackles?  

I have no idea, but they sure are loud in the tree tops 

and when incoming to our field. 

Ever hypervigilant, and always a bit psychotic.

My son Michael sent this video to me. 

Squirrels are such a nuisance, but I thought they are so cute!  

Rats with tails, I guess, but still. :)

sharing with  Eileen for Saturday's Critters

Thankful Thursday

 

Thankful for my littles.  What a blessing they are.  Hadleigh stayed with us a few days last week.  She loves horses and was not happy until her Pawpaw let her meet Little Man up close and personal. He is the last horse of the bunch, and the orneriest, meanest, stuck-uppist, mule-ish horse of all and there they stood- tiny tot to quarter pony.  You see Pawpaw is between them and even has a hand on him.  She got to feed him carrots and was just as happy as could be.  Man behaved himself, but he really had no choice. :) 

I hope everyone has wonderful holiday, and even if you aren't celebrating Thanksgiving where you live, just have a wonderful day.  Life is so short, we can hardly blink away a second of it. 

Thank you for reading my silly little blog!

sharing with Michelle for Thankful Thursday

Time Travel Tuesday~ 1940's

  

1940ish

Rural Southwest Arkansas

My grandmother & grandfather on my dad's side-

Lela & Clarence.

I assume the gun and tote bag means 

he had been squirrel hunting.

The truck is a good old Chevrolet, 

I think called a stake truck, but I could be wrong. 

I know they had that truck for a long time because 

I have photos of all three kids standing beside it 

and they were in their teens. 

My grandmother is wearing a dress, which was her norm 

until after my grandfather died, I believe. 

She made all of her own clothes, and her daughter's also. 

This shirtwaist dress was pretty popular back then 

and on up to the 60's or later. 

She added the rolled up stockings later on and 

I remember those well. 

They were thicker than regular nylons. 

Lela was the daughter of  Earnest Luther & Harriet Cox 

Barrett and Clarence was the son of  James & Linnie Clark Sutton

I miss them both. 

 

 

Foto Friday 17 ~ Flashback

The sky was gorgeous when we got home from the 

concert last night. 

A rare southern glimpse of the Northern Lights. 

 Sooooo pretty. You could even see the reddish tinge 

without the phone camera. I can't imagine getting 

to see this all the time up north.

Another rare (to us anyway) sight...a yacht used as a camper. 

To each his own.  :) 

My beautiful granddaughter- she's going to have a BIG baby. 

 He's already 5 pounds and she is only 30 weeks here. 

We went on a small leaf-peeping tour to Albert Pike last weekend. 

 The leaves were just starting to turn.  Camping is not allowed here anymore 

(that I know of) since lives were lost in a flash flood. 

 It sure is a beautiful place. 

Last, but not least, Happy Veteran's Day to my dad- twenty years in 

the Air Force and I could not be prouder of him. 

I am thankful for all branches of our military, and 

especially thankful that there are still men and women who are 

brave enough to serve and protect our country.

sharing with Michelle for Thankful Thursday,  Yogi for Skywatch Friday, and  James for Weekend Reflections