Rain

 Our town had quite a rainfall last evening.  It was pouring.

Lasted a good long while too.

From our sons house, 8 miles away.

Two and a half inches of rain.

You can see one of their many pumpkins growing; see the orange?

Our backyard water gauge.

Right at One and a half inches.

With ours being on the fence and theirs being much more out in the open.

No matter, it was a lot of much needed rain.

My daughter-in-law says her garden is very happy.

This is from just one day of picking from their garden.

She often sends me pictures.

I have been given a quart of sweet pickle chips.

Her family mostly eats dill pickles; but she went and made me my own jar.

(The top of the jar says peaches...she was recycling her lids.)

I also have some sweet tomatoes to eat like candy.

They are so delicious.  

My daughter-in-law was born and raised a farm girl.

Gardening is just a way of life to her.

They have chickens too!

These are the newest to the coop.

They will lay dark brown and green eggs.

They have to stay in their own space until they are larger

and then will be added to the chicken coop with the rest of the chickens.

I get all the eggs we want.

I really notice the difference between store bought and fresh eggs.

This is their chicken coop my son built.

My husband helped my son run electricity to the coop.

Now the light comes on at sunset and the chickens know

 it's time to go in and roost.

My son just recently built and added on the cupola

and weathervane.

I so enjoy getting to see the garden and chickens.

Seems like a lot of work to me but they love it.

And my granddaughters are growing up just the same as their mommy did.

I think that is a very good thing.

Victorian Lantern

 

Have you seen these 3D wooden puzzles?

My husband surprised me with this one called

"Victorian Lantern".

As you can see it has 210 pieces of very delicate wood pieces.

He bought it for me to build; but it was beyond me.

My husband lovingly spent an entire weekend putting this together for me.

I helped.  ;o)

The puzzle has a light in it and the center section spins

while playing "You Light Up my Life" tune.

Here are some more pictures.

Right side view.

Left side view.

If you noticed on top is a heart?

You can pull it out and it has a secret compartment...

to slip in a ring!

I love that my husband will sometimes surprise me for no special reason at all.

He knows I love Victorian treasures.

Hope

 Never give up on "hope".  It can surprise you.

I have had an African Violet for years that would not bloom.

This morning was the day I saw a flower!

This brings me such joy.

I found a teacup that matches the color of the bloom.

Hold on to all your hopes and dreams.

Be patient and one day you may just get surprised.

~

Sometimes it is the littlest of things that can bring us happiness.

Peaches and Blueberries

 It's the season of peaches, and blueberries are always a fun treat.

I did some cross stitch on a tea towel.

"Peaches and Blueberries" a summers end treat.

Prairie Rose Teacups

 I was thrilled to find that there are "Prairie Rose" teacups.

I have two teacups and saucers; both called Prairie Rose.

This is my most recent purchase.

I love how this one fits right in with my home.

Wishing you a happy and blessed week.

Enjoy a cup of tea.

The Prairie Rose

~ What I have learned from google ~

 The Prairie Rose is often called the Wild Pink Prairie Rose.

The roses can be found in pastures, along roadsides, 

and in native meadows across the state.

It has five pink petals

 with a cluster of yellow stamens in the center.

The prairie rose blooms from May through September.

The flower is fragrant and has red fall color

and rose hips that turn bright red.

~ also from the internet ~

The wild prairie rose became a favorite of students of the University of North Dakota back in 1889. The school’s first graduating class realized their school had no official colors. So they chose pink and green, the colors of the prairie rose. They noted that the colors were suggestive of our green prairies and rosy prospects.

The North Dakota Federation of Women’s Clubs voted for a state flower in 1898, followed by a vote by North Dakota school children. Both groups favored the wild prairie rose. The wild prairie rose was adopted as North Dakota’s state flower on March 7, 1907, four years before the state flag was adopted.

~

I chose my blogger name, and my blog titles after the Prairie Rose.

The little pink roses touch my heart.

There's more about Prairie Roses;

and I will share that in another post.

Humble Garden

 

We have yard sale furniture.

We use recycled materials.

I did purchase some flowers to plant in my garden; and seeds were planted.

This giant pot of zinnia's came from four packets of seeds.

The large wood flower box came from my husbands work.

It was a large crate that carried equipment.  They are asked to dismantle and throw away.

My husband took the wood from the top and made the border that goes all around.

He used 2 X 4's so that my flower pots could be dropped down inside.

If you notice the black spools?  They are a hard rubber and also come from his work place.

Instead of putting all this in the landfill we are using it for our patio and garden.

We have so much trouble with rabbits and squirrels

 that lifting flower pots up high discourage them from trying to eat all I plant.

Most important it is easier to garden standing up!  ;0)

I would like to make a special note too that my daughter-in-law

made the two cushions on my swing.

She bought the foam and we bought the cloth and then she

created this wonderful set of cushions.  Our swing is many years old.

It has a fresh new look and gives us many hours of enjoyment.