Signs of Life

The farm is blooming with life. It is such a pleasure watching each new thing appear, and solving the mysteries of the wild life. We finally figured out why the deer are always in the bramble on the edge of our farm. Wild berries everywhere!

These gorgeous trumpet vines are starting to cover everything. They look so pretty but they are choking out the rest of the growth. A dilemma for sure. 

Our green, green front pasture. So beautiful this time of year. On the right side you can see the marsh, it's own separate ecosystem in the tidewater region where we live. It often floods with water from the Currituck Sound in NC. On the left, our lovely old black barn. 

A birdhouse and some art on the tree. Only the finest birds hatch here. 

Do you see the scary looking green and white plant growing up through the rest of plants? Looks poisonous, but is it? Who can tell me? 

An old Coke machine we found in our woods. Very, very fragile and rusty, but we are going to try to reclaim it and use it as a planter near the barn. The other side is still red. I hate when people dump their junk in the woods, but perhaps this find will be a serendipity. 

Copper dragonfly. We do love these guys. We have hundreds of them, filitting around us all day, and swarming every evening when the mosquitoes come out. They also appear  in shades of red, blue and green,  and they are blessedly eating up all the troublesome mosquitoes. Gorgeous and helpful  little creatures, they have allowed us to sit outside in the evening without the aid of chemical (ugh) mosquito repellent. 

They love to light on the poles in my garden, and they will sometimes step right off the poles and on to our fingers. 

Speaking of the garden, I got the pathway stones in place, and look at the veggies and herbs growing in the greenhouse boxes. The screens that cover the greenhouse boxes keep away the deer and the insect pests, and allow me to grow completely organic vegetables. They are called Grow Camps and come from Costco online. The vinyl covers on top will enclose the whole thing when colder weather arrives, and extend the growing  and planting season.

Oh how I love these. Love, love, love. A blooming rose can sweep me away. I am hoping they succeed here, because if they do, there will be more. Oh yes. 

And here, the first tomatoes are showing. Can't wait to taste them. 

Cody is curious about the turtle digging a hole in the woods. 

She is quite focused on laying those eggs and seems completely unperturbed by us. We are finding little hatched nests of turtle shells everywhere. Our pond is full of the hatchlings. 

Joe and Cody in the Chapel of the Pines. That's what we call this peaceful, symmetrical, cleared place in the center of the woods.  It only needs benches, a campfire and a cross. 

This is what we see when we look up. 

Aidan's tree stump fort is overgrown with a huge variety of unfamiliar plants. I love the way it looks with these beautiful white flowers growing against the rugged stump. 

Pots at the front steps. Beautiful shapes and colors that always make me happy. I am a flower girl. No doubt about it. I never tire of them and wish I could buy them all. 

Inside the front door, on the entry table: more flowers, an old empty turtle shell we found in the woods, and a bag of bird seed. This is a microcosm of my summer life. 

We do get out occasionally. This was last Sunday at Isabel's dance recital at Chrysler Hall. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures during the performance. I raced to take a picture of her in costume when she returned to the dressing room,  but she changed so fast, we had to be content with this. The red lips, the flowers, and the stuffed koala in a white tutu,  are the only evidence that she did, indeed, have a recital. 

Here I am with two of my sunshine girls. My children and grandchildren are simply my reason for living.


Lamentations 3:22-24 
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."