On the wildflower trail

After a lengthy morning choir rehearsal Jaydon and I headed out to the Wildseed Farm and to search for wildflowers.  It was drizzling on the drive up and I noticed that the flowers seemed to lighten up as we drove north; I was afraid we were too early..  However, there were a few flowers here and there. 

The Wildseed Farm had several patches of bluebonnets so I made pictures there. 

 
I was really wanting to get off the main road and look for flowers on the way home, but the sun had come out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  Not exactly good for shooting pictures and besides, I really wasn't seeing any spectacular displays of flowers on the main road so I figured there wouldn't be much off the main road either. 

We had a good time at the Wildseed Farm.  It was different this year, though.  Jaydon can read now and he stopped to read the signs by the plants.  I think he enjoyed the plants this year, as much as he enjoyed just being at one of his favorite places. 

It came up volunteer

My grandmother used the expression "that just came up volunteer" often, so did my mother, and I do, too.  I don't know if it is really a common expression or if it is just one of those colloquial Mississippi sayings.  But the meaning is obvious, it refers to a plant that just came up.  Usually from seeds dropped the year before or maybe from seeds blown by the wind.  At any rate, it is a freebie and always a wonderful surprise to find something growing that you did not intentionally plant (and it is not a weed!).  

I have several plants that have started to pop up every year this way.  One is a viola plant that started out a few years ago in a pot.  Now it appears each spring in several places, and I always know that it is spring when I see their cheery little blooms.  The violas (or johnny-jump-ups) will last into early June. This year they have appeared in a large pot that has a white-blooming lantana in it. It is an interesting combination. 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if more things just came up volunteer in our lives?  Little surprises that just appear and bring peaceful, gentle moments to us.

Peaceful little violas blooming in the lantana

Leftover from times gone by

Last weekend while at the dog show I noticed this antique fire engine sitting on the other side of a fence along the driveway that let into the Farm and Ranch Club where the show was held.  My curiosity was tweaked, so after I loaded Bentley's gear into the car we walked across the way to take a look.  It was just sitting there on a small concrete slab among some small bushes.  From a distance it had looked like a working, antique fire engine.  Once up close I could tell that it had seen better days. The tires were flat and the windshield broken, but other than a little rust it still was shiny and red.

It made me a little sad to see this once fine machine just sitting there wasting away.  In my imagination I could hear the wail of the siren (yes, the sirens were different on these machines and they wailed!) and see it racing down the street and around a corner to a fire.  I could also see it sitting grandly in a fire house, waiting for the alarm to sound.  Then I saw it in a parade, decorated with red, white, and blue bunting and the firemen riding along, enjoying the day.  I wondered how it came to be sitting in this field for passerby's to see and hoped that perhaps there are plans to restore it to its former glory. 

What doing without does for you

If you read the dogs' blog then you know that I went to a dog show in Houston this weekend.  I found myself remembering my drive east two years ago in April to pick up Sawyer and Blossom.  The bluebonnets were in full bloom, not to mention the azaleas in Louisiana. This year our spring season has come early and the wildflowers along I-10 are just starting to really pop out.  I passed several fields that were just starting to get that bluish tinge to them and the other flowers are just starting to show, too.  Probably by next weekend the show will be spectacular.  And, everything is so green and beautiful this year.  

Quite a contrast to last year when there was nothing but brown, dried up plants and dying trees.  I have to think that maybe going without has made us appreciate the beauty of the green grass and the wildflowers.  The rains came in the fall when the seeds needed the moisture to start growing and then again, the rains came during the winter to water the small plants.  I'm seeing bluebonnets in places I haven't seen them in years, the seeds have been waiting and waiting. After a season of drought we are ready for this early spring. I can't wait to get out with the camera next weekend!

It's time for random thoughts

I really planned on doing an organized post but decided to just wander around a little.  I have three projects due this week for school, so I need to un-organize a little here with this blog.

First thought:  I'm fighting pink eye right now, ugh!  Yuk, major annoying.  I had to miss church yesterday.   I was able to go to work today but am still red eyed.  Go away, pink eye and stay away.

On a happier note second thought is that Daylight Saving Time has returned.  Yippee!  It stays lighter longer so on the nights when I don't have an activity I can stay outside longer.  This is a good thing.

Third thought:  Bluebonnets are popping out everywhere and the mesquite trees are blooming.  So it is safe to say that winter is over.  It is time for sandals and shorts to come out!

Fourth thought:   How did I survive before I had digital photography (or digital music, or digital anything really).  What an amazing invention for our generation.  I can't imagine not being able to just snap away with no regard for how many pictures I'm taking.  I think of my Dad and his film camera that accompanied us on all our journeys.  He had to manually thread the film through the thing, and set up for each picture.  Amazingly, he rarely missed the exposure and correct setting for a picture.  I digress, but the point is that digital photography is marvelous.

Final thought:  It is the season of Lent.  We are preparing for Good Friday and Easter morning.  I find myself wondering if I have really spent enough time really contemplating the meaning of this season.  I've been trying to read through the Bible on a read-in-a year-plan but I think I need to skip over to the New Testament and read the Gospels.  They tell a familiar story but I think I need to hear it again.

Wordless Wednesday, March 7, 2012

This sculpture made from hay bales is part of an exhibit at a local park!

Jaydon's (2nd) Strawberry Plant

Jaydon has always loved the strawberry plants at the garden center.  So last spring I had bought a plant for him. It was late in the spring when we planted it and unfortunately it did not live long.  We planted it in the ground, big mistake in a drought.  It was in the full sun and it just scorched into a dead plant. I felt bad since he had been so excited about having strawberries to pick and eat.

This spring we started a little earlier and planted the strawberry plant in a pot where it gets a little morning sun and good light the rest of the day.  Jaydon has watered and tended it very faithfully every weekend; we were very pleased when the first blossom appeared.  Now the plant has several strawberries and is still blooming. On Friday afternoons Jaydon makes me stop the car before pulling into the garage so he can jump out and check his plant!  Last Friday I made pictures, and will try to add more as this progresses (like the amaryllis last year, which I'm anxiously watching this spring).

The straggly plant on the right is a pumpkin plant.  Jaydon took one of the seeds and planted in the pot with the strawberry plant after he smashed the pumpkin.  I wish I had kept some of the seeds for next summer. That is Lacey admiring the strawberries!

Aren't those fine looking strawberries?  Just one of life's small simple things!

Weekend Pictures

Since I'm way behind on posts I decided that the best way to get started catching up is to just offer some cute pictures from the weekend.

The leaves are falling and Jaydon had fun helping sweep and bag them, but he had more fun playing in the leaves!

Jaydon played a "little music" on the baby keyboard for the girls' enjoyment!

These two little ones are just sweetness and love!