A Relaxing Place at Home?

Really? Who has that? What does a place like that even look like?

I have to admit, I really did not know. Though our porches are lovely and relaxing, we do not linger on them very long. Certainly we do not sit there two hours at a stretch.

I do recall the pool at my mother’s farm was a delightful, relaxing place. Of course there were times it was chaotic with all the grandkids. Yet even in that chaos, we found relaxation. Having lunch by the pool was enjoyable. Who cares about crumbs? The dogs and birds will clean up after us. Soaking up the sun, sitting with dangling feet in the cool water visiting with family or quiet, early morning coffee poolside all made for relaxing time.

It was the one place where everyone, regardless of age, could play together. Who doesn’t laugh while playing Marco Polo? Or enjoy any of the water games? Who wins the swim race? Who can find the penny? All our kids learned to swim in that pool. Dear memories were formed around it. Unfortunately, we do not have one here at our farm.

While visiting with my daughter recently, we made a trip into town for an errand. It was not the normal route for me. That’s when I saw it! A beautiful fire-pit. Situated in a lovely part of the yard, near trees and yet open. How inviting it looked, with 6 matching Adirondack chairs surrounding it. I asked her to slow down so I could get a photo.

“Don’t you think this would be great here on our farm?” I asked my husband as he looked at the photo.

He did! He picked a terrific spot too. An old, neglected garden bed. He transformed into a delightful fire-pit! He even kept the one old blueberry bush.

Not knowing it at the time, I do believe we now have a relaxing place. Long evening hours are spent around the fire. The dancing flames, sparks flying to heaven, the crackles of the wood burning create a comfort and dreamy atmosphere as the evening grows into night that everyone enjoys.

Fire-pit all built and ready to enjoy. We left the blueberry bush.
Who doesn’t enjoy an outdoor fire?
Relaxing hours are spent around it.
Enjoyed by everyone as the day grows into night.
The pit ring is locally made and adds to the dreaminess.
This interesting piece of art our son made. He calls it The Tower of Fail. He welded broken car parts and broken tools together into this fun art piece.
This ‘face’ looks like a sunflower. It is the clutch from his Festiva. Turned into art!

The magic, fun and mystery of a fire-pit. Can it really be all that?

You betcha!

Would You Ever Notice?

Our time is not our own anymore, or at the very least, we have given it away. Knowingly and willingly we daily spurn our limited, precious hours away. How? Think about it. Chart the course of your own typical day. Keep an account of just how you spend every hour of it. Be honest with yourself. What did you find?

Perhaps you discovered hours of your day has been willingly given away to your device. Do you own your own time, or does the device own it? Do you even care?

Truly, our time is not our own. It is a gift. It has been given to us and can be taken away in a moments notice. We all know someone who has suddenly died.

So then, do we treat time as if it is an unlimited commodity, or worse yet, as if it were nothing?

Here is my ultimate question and point of this blog post:

If the birds stopped their singing today, would you even notice?

A beautiful Mockingbird singing his melodious songs.
Love the Kiptopeke birds.
A sassy King bird.
Eggs of our sweet Plovers.
Gorgeous Meadowlarks.
Our beloved Barn Swallows.
Our amazing Hummingbirds.
Never forget our State bird—the Cardinal.
The sweet, sweet Kildeer (aka Plover).
Our gorgeous, sharing Bohemian Waxwings.
And last but surely not least, our diminutive, cheerful Goldfinch.

I ask again—would you ever miss them if they stopped singing?

Do you hear the birds?

The Bloom of Winchester

We locals call it ‘The Bloom’. Winchesters Annual Apple Blossom Festival. Celebrating our 99th this year!

A week chock full of events, parades, pageants, crowning of the Apple Blossom queen, midway, music, luncheons, etc., etc. Truly something for everyone. Our whole city is involved in one way or another. Streets, homes, businesses and area folk are all cheerfully dressed in pink and green. It truly is an event our fair city loves having!

The Prayer Brunch is a popular event. So big is the response that only two churches can manage the crowd of about 500 attendees. One of those two is the church my husband and I attend. Fellowship Bible Church. The other is Winchester Church of God. Years of hosting are alternated between the two.

This year was our year, and I volunteered. I do every year. To help make the tables, with food, gifts, and flowers, beautiful for those attending is satisfying. Who does not enjoy a well-set, thoughtful brunch?

The smiling, happy faces of the guests is infectious, and I absolutely LOVE the creative ways folk dress for this special occasion. So much pink and green!

I believe you may just want to visit Winchester during Apple Blossom and join in the fun of The Bloom with us!

Pink and green everywhere!
Our church and only one other is large enough for the attendees.
Bomb dogs pass through before event starts.
Setting pretty tables and food!
Door prizes were terrific!
Place settings for 500 attendees.
So many smiles dressed in pink and green.
So festive, pretty and joyful. A welcome relief from news of today.
Standing for Pledge of Allegiance. Beautiful was the sound of all those voices.
Perhaps you may come next year?

Here is the website: the bloom.com

How Big will it Get?

Handing me a small bag of sunflower seeds one morning last summer my neighbor informed me, “These are Mammoth Sunflower seeds.”

I have seen huge sunflowers at our county fair for years, and marveled at them, but have never cultivated any. I suppose because of the sweet, little volunteer ones that spring up all around our place from the bird feeders.

This will be fun to see how big they get, I thought while planting.

I have to say, if a rating would be given on germination, I would have to give those seeds a poor one. Only a couple grew at all. Much less big to any impressive height. Perhaps I did something wrong?

At any rate one did grow, and grow and grow and grow. I felt as if I had a Jack-in-the-Beanstalk plant in the garden!

Several times I thought to cut it down and enter it into our fair. But I did not. I simply watch it grow. Literally, I could stand in its shade from the huge leaves.

I wish the photos gave a better ‘feel’ for its size.

Our jolly green giant.
It’s huge leaves provided shade!
We have lots of pretty little sunflowers all around from the bird feeder.
They are bright and cheerful. This one is from a different place, I just like it!
Isn’t the design and movement stunning?
Pointing water sprayer straight up in the air was the only way to reach the flower.
This is not near the ground where the stem was around 4″ in diameter!
See the other ‘mammoth’ growing in the other bed?

It was cut down after the flower head passed its peak. My husband said the flower head was about 18″ in across, and the stalk was at least 4″ in diameter. It stood 12′ tall. He used a saw to cut it down.

What fun it was to plant and watch grow. Have you planted Mammoth sunflowers? How did yours turn out?

I may just try again.