Wednesday, May 11, 2011

May!

This morning I went out on the front porch swing to face the morning sun and soak up it's warmth.



I watched the dogs running around playing with each other in the front yard. I listened to more birds than I could count (doves, sparrows, cardinals, finches, thrashers, etc.). I could smell the moisture in the soil from the little bit of rain we got yesterday. I looked out beyond our yard and saw a perfectly blue sky, the beautiful Catalina mountains, and the green mesquites. All of nature is happy this morning...everything is green and growing.




The many plants on the front porch and in the planter just beyond the porch are leafing out and flowering. The roses are happy.



The fern is happy.



The begonia is happy.



The iris and Jennifer's house plant are happy.



The plants and flowers in the flowerbed are happy.



This is a new little tree that I'm going to plant soon...I just don't know where yet. I know it will provide a lot of shade when it is grown, and I don't want it to crowd out the fruit trees (which, by the way, are happy, too, and will produce fruit for us this year...yea!).



The garden provided us with vegetables this winter and is doing well this spring. There are strawberries, radishes, tomatoes, peppers of several varieties, squash (yellow and zucchini), onions, cilantro, garlic, and a grape vine (I think that's all).












Life is good! The kids and grand kids are well, Jennifer and Nicole are signed up for school, and Nathan and Sarah and finishing up their time in Germany.


There are several things that I haven't blogged about this spring that I will just mention briefly. My mother turned 83 in February. Aunt Jo was here to visit for a couple of weeks (Uncle Herb passed away in December). Mom is still quite independent and able to get around, for which we are grateful. The pictures below were taken at Easter (Mom, Joni, Susan, and I, and then Don and I) when we had the family together at Mom's house.








Don did not want to have a birthday party this year...just the family. He just turned the big 5-0 and doesn't want anyone to know (oops!). lol


Mother's day was great. I got to talk to Nathan and the grand kids, and then, after Church we came home to the wonderful smells of dinner being cooked by Nicole and Jennifer. YUMMY!


We are looking forward to our anniversary (on Thursday) and time on the land. We are back in the thick of doing wildlife jobs...and grateful for the work. It sure keeps us busy! We are so blessed in every aspect of our lives, and I am glad to have been able to take a few quiet moments to reflect on that this morning.


Oh-I almost forgot. Don got a street-legal dirt bike (dual purpose: transportation and fun) which I occasionally ride with him....but that's a blog for another day.