24 June 2013

Winning

My baby girl played softball for the first time this spring and guess who came out a winner?

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The Lollipop Stranglers!!!

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23 June 2013

Outdoorsy

We took a long weekend to the cabin again and this time it was a little more relaxing because we didn't take our kids.

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We had a couple of projects to take care of, but most of the time was spent getting away from it all.

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06 June 2013

Paradise

Spring has not been kind to many in Oklahoma but the rains have transformed our place.

Remember this sad pond 2 months ago?

Full
April 2013
It's now getting crazy with the water hyacinth and pond lettuce. I have a feeling we'll be fishing some of those plants out for the compost pile on a daily basis while the growing season is upon us.

Pond
I like it!
I bought a pretty black diamond crape myrtle pictured in the lower right corner there and I'm not sure where I will plant it yet.  Maybe right there or maybe to the left of the pond where I am extracting a voluntary tree. I think it will be a beautiful addition to the yard.

And the figs are growing!

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Yum! Yum!

We harvested a few asparagus spears and then one day when I wasn't looking,  I had asparagus ferns!

Now, when I walk into my back yard I am surrounded by the aroma of magnolia blooms.  From the shallow end of the pool, the Lavender is intoxicating and at the diving board, it's a tie between spearmint and lemon balm. I took some samples from my yard to take the scents indoors to enjoy a little  longer...

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My back yard is a sanctuary that is quickly getting out of control and turning into a jungle.

I have sweet potatoes growing in every available pot. Actually, I have decorative sweet potato growing in 2 pots out back, and organic yams growing in some pots on the porch. I don't know what to expect this year, but I am enjoying things so far.

Last weekend we were releasing a wayward bullfrog into the creek behind our property - she was trying to take up residence in our back yard and we were just not that into her - when we heard the Barred Owls talking to each other. One was high in a tree to the West of us hooting and another answered from the South. And then another joined the conversation. It was neat hearing them again.

And then yesterday, I was down at the creek capturing some pictures of the bamboo when I heard a rustling in the bamboo. I thought maybe it was another fox, but upon further examination, I saw it was a DEER!

Deer

Closer Look

This poor girl got herself trapped in my neighbor's yard it seems. I am guessing that she wandered into their yard or jumped the fence and doesn't know how to get back out. I heard her at 2:56am making an awful panicky sound trying to find her way out. I thought she might have made her way out this morning, but tonight Aubri and I ventured down to the creek and saw here still there. Poor thing.

03 June 2013

Cabin in the Woods

Last weekend we spent a nice long weekend at my friend's cabin in Muse, OK. Last time I was there was in 2009 for a Girls Weekend. This time it was to get away from it all with the family.

There were scorpions and lizards and s'mores and chiggers and ticks. Thankfully this time we did not see any water moccasins.

Marshmallow Lizard
The Elusive Marshmallow Lizard


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Sexy

Kindle Time

01 June 2013

Night and Day

When we first moved in several years ago, I was just happy to have a place to stow our dirty laundry and washing machine/dryer out of the way, but with each passing year, I am MORE thankful for our bomb shelter, aka basement.

Last night we were threatened again with severe weather in the area so we spent 2 hours down there.

Mammatus (Breast) Clouds

And after seeing the devastation recently from the tornadoes to the North, we've taken some extra measures lately with the kids.

In the basement
Playing on Mom's Side of the Basement


Now I am grateful for this wonderful safe place where my family can hang out comfortably until the dangerous storms pass.

In the basement
Playing on Dad's Side of the Basement

At around 4am another storm blew through and dumped a bunch of rain on us so this morning I found this in half of the basement.

Flooded Basement
So glassy and smooth...

I think the capture looks cool, sort of glassy and heavenly but I was not thinking heavenly thoughts when I was vacuuming up all of that water.

The water seeps in from the window wells if we get a sudden downpour and the ground is too saturated. Luckily this only happens on Scott's side of the basement and also luckily we store the carpet shampooer down there and can make quick work of the drying out. Plus we invested in a dehumidifier when we moved in just in case....that works well to dry out the basement AND is nice when we shampoo carpets to get them dry again quickly.

Today I took care of a project I'd wanted to get done before another flood happens - get stuff off the floor onto a movable shelf. Check.

Drier Basement

Now I just need to get a few more loads of laundry done and put away....