June 29th

Tomorrow, June 30th, would have been

 my Mother's birthday.

She would have been 105!

She was born in 1917, 

the same year as JFK.

Woodrow Wilson was president.

The world was at war,

Her family lived on Royal Street

and she was born in that house.

She was the middle child with an older

sister and a younger brother.

Her Dad was 34 and her Mom was 24.

Always a scrappy, can-do kind of kid,

she did well in school, but had to

leave in her senior year due to the

depression, in order to work 

and help the family.

Then she met the love of her life,

my Dad.

And another war became a heartbreak

of separation for the newlyweds of 2 years.

She followed him wherever she could 

while he was still in the states,

only returning home when he

left for overseas.

When he came back and my sister

and I were born, we lived an 

idyllic life until tragedy struck.

In 1961, she found herself raising

2 girls alone after my Dad's untimely death.

Again, her determination and strength

pulled us through.

She became Mother and Father and 

did the best she could.

She grieved but we never saw her pain.

She suffered silently but smiled 

on the outside.

We made do with her indomitable

spirit, that made her love

unconditionally and 

withstand any trials life had to offer.

Mama,

you saw me take my first breath,

and I saw you take your last.

I never realized how much

I miss you until I reach for

your hand in guidance,

and it isn't there.

So. 

somewhere inside the little girl

who lost her Daddy,

and the woman who lost her

Mom, I hope I can live up to 

your example and make you proud.

*******************************

Our harvest has been good

considering the infernal heat!

The eggplants love the heat,

but need a lot of water.

These are Japanese eggplants,

regular eggplants, cucumbers and jalapeno's

A jar of refrigerator pickles.

More harvested veggies,

and 1 egg!

Thanks Ethel!

There's Japanese eggplants,

regular eggplants,

white eggplants,

cucumbers, peppers and jalapenos.

I canned the cukes the old fashioned way.

This is a white eggplant.

Very tasty!

This is an example of

"low hanging fruit"

that the hens took as an

invitation to snack on.

Watermelons.

They are vines that haven't flowered yet.

Kalanchoe

Close up of the leaf.

That's how they reproduce.

It's also called Mother of Thousands.

Each of those little buds

fall off and plant themselves with

tiny roots. 

Neat plant!

Minew,

about to pounce on a

lizard.

(No, she didn't get him)

Mint flowers.

This one is white, but sometimes they

have lavender or bluish flowers.

Yes, you can eat the flower. 

Basil flowers with

a bumble bee.

Stargazer Lillies 

Birthday bouquet

from the CEO.

💗

Lucy and Ethel

chillin'

and right next to them...

a furry buddy.

***************************

Dear God!,

This was actually in the paper.

So now that I'm 70 I can look forward to this?

Isn't it bad enough that our bodies fall apart

and now we become self propelled!

I love this...

*************************

Here's a great quote:

😀

Young at heart

but

slightly older in other places.

💚💙

 

June 15th

With sadness, we said goodby to 

our sweet Ameraucana hen,

Hazel.

She was the last of the first 5 hens

we started with and would have 

been 8 in November.

She was our blue egger.

A beautiful hen with amazing

feather colors and bluish

gray feet, that loved to be 

around us.

When we called for the girls,

she'd be the first to 

come running.

She passed away today while napping

 on the patio.

We noticed that she had been slowing down

while patrolling the yard

and ever since Nugget

died, she seemed like

she was feeling her age.

She hadn't laid an egg since Christmas.

In fact, we haven't had

any eggs in a couple months.

Our whole flock is geriatric.

That's ok.

I'll gladly run an old hen nursing home.

They are our pets first and

laying eggs is just a bonus.

When any pet ages,

you expect their inevitable death,

but it's always sad.

So, now we go from 3 to 2.

Lucy and Ethel seem lost.

They were our scrawny little

rescue babies that we got almost a year

after the original 5.

Lucy and Ethel are

French Black Copper Marans.

They are distinguishable

by their feathery legs.

💔

Thanks, Hazel, for giving us the best eggs

and your cutest wobble walk.

You also had the best chirpy cluck

when you wanted to be near us

or to be held.

We will miss you so much.

You won't be alone,

you have your sisters to help you

cross the rainbow bridge.

🌈

June 7th

I know I'm a day late, but

I wanted to post this Peanuts

cartoon that the late Charles Schulz

drew as a remembrance of D-Day.

He entitled it,

"To Remember".

It began 78 years ago and there are

very few who are still alive

to attest to a first-hand account

of the indescribable horror

of that fateful day.

It has been immortalized in

the movie The Longest Day,

and several books on the subject.

Yes, I've seen the movie, but

what strikes me most is the 

unthinkable acts of valor

in the face of overwhelming odds,

that these men/boys encountered.

When I see this picture,

it makes me tear up.

I'm sure they went into that fray

with loved ones' pictures, medals,

and other religious pieces

significant to each of them,

and as they died,

 they cried for their Mama.

So,

take a pause for a moment

and say a silent prayer

for those who never 

made it back home.

We'll never know them,

but we owe our lives to them.

************************

At our house, we display

our flags from May thru the end of July.

It's for Memorial Day, Flag Day and the

Fourth of July.

A potted Cyclamen and a Mum.

Yellow Lantana,

Purple Sweet Potato vine

and Sedum.

A close up of the Sweet Potato Vine,

Sedum and Lantana.

I had a little green visitor.

I think he tried to sell me

insurance!

Yellow Gladiola's

A wasp taking advantage of the nectar.

A Dragon Fly hunting aphids.

Red Iresine and a variegated Caladium. 

********************************

The harvest.

Cherry Tomatoes

More Cherry Tomatoes.

We eat them like candy!

Blue Cherry Tomatoes

Blueberries

Jalapenos

Japanese Eggplant

Watermelon

Cucumber

(Pickle Plant)

Cucuzza

Potatoes

***************************

As usual,

Hazel,

my shadow, is following

me all around the

yard.

Lucy is chillin'

in the shade.

Ethel is doing her thing

in the coop.

She's broody, but not laying

any eggs.

She comes out in the morning

 and afternoon to eat some feed

or forage,

then back into the coop she goes.

Minew is off exploring.

I called to her

and heard her meow,

but she didn't come to me.

She likes a late afternoon snack,

so that's when she'll come

looking us up.

******************************

🕮

I have a summer goal.

It's to read some classics

that I've either never read,

or ones that I loved.

My first is 

Ivanhoe

by Sir Walter Scott.

I read it in my early teens,

and I'd like to read it again.

I think almost 60 years

is long enough in between.

Don't you?

Yep,

that's me!

********************

💚💙