good evening...

hope you had a very sunny Monday...

we got it here...

going to answer a couple of questions openly tonight on here...

questions from others...

how to do a blog...

well, there is no one answer...

its totally up to you...

the first advice is to just be yourself...

don't try to copy someone else...

do what you know best...

being yourself is easier to do and less work...

its more fun and you are more likely to keep doing it...

its about sharing...

sharing your life, your faith, your God...

your joys, your sadness...

that's what, I think, people connect to...

it doesn't have to be perfect...

no one is...

its nice to see something that's not right out of a magazine...

share with us your hopes and your dreams...

all the little things in your life that make you smile...

take a chance and just throw it out there...

your words are good enough...

if they come from the heart...

your photos are good enough...

show us what you see...

take the leap of faith and give it a go...

and then let me know you're up and going...

I'll be the first one to visit...

hope this helps you...

its really not that hard...

promise...

now, any of you fellow bloggers can add to this in the comments...

help me encourage those who haven't taken the plunge yet...

everyone has something to share, something to say!

hugs...

;)

another busy morning...

and another cloudy day...

look at all those maple trees coming up in the corn field!

our flower beds would look like this if we didn't weed often and pull the maple twirlers out as much as we can...

DH had this all cut up yesterday, but its too wet to pull the truck back there yet...

we have taken 2 loads to the dump and it looks like a couple more to come...

just went out this morning to dig some lemon balm for the wheel barrow...

and one thing led to another...

so this over grown monster was tackled...

we cut out a mulberry...

by this photo most of it is cut out already...

and we potted some more lemon balm for the deck area...

there were so many trees coming up in this...

but we pulled weeds and grass and trimmed up the remaining sapplings...

and it started shaping up...

so while DH and I finished out there...

I sent Craig off to dead head the iris...

there is still more work to do out here...

but it needs to dry out a bit first...

right now, there are day lilies, yucca, lemon balm and lavender in here...

and we left the maple and walnut trees...

we caught up with Craig out here...

and the peonies are just wonderful this year...

and while we were at it, I thought some limbs needed to be removed out here...

so we worked on that and then took a walk...

came back and Craig had loaded the limbs out here into the truck...

so we cleaned up as it started drizzling...

grabbed the keys and camera...

and headed out for the dump...

we had a full load...

our water tower...

and the lake...

the fire trucks went out while we were doing clean up and we found where they went on our way back home...

we saw a round hay bale on fire...

not sure if there was a shed there or not...

our neighbor had taken off pretty fast right before we heard the trucks...

he is a volunteer for our FD and this was his uncle's house...

the clouds were still hanging around today...

we have a very good fire department and ambulance crew now...

we came back home and ate pancakes for lunch...

threw a meat loaf and baked potatoes in the oven...

later on, I took a nap...

;)

one of my favorite things...

and then I got up and ate again...

doesn't get much better than today...

things done, rest and good food...

sharing it with my guys...

hope you had a good and restful day...

;)

started out raining this morning...

so we were grocery shopping before 8am...

and then did the deli run just in time for an early lunch...

hot BBQ sandwiches were ate on the way back...

when my hands were finally free, I took a few photos on the way...

river hill...

the corn is coming up all over the place...

got things put up and headed out again...

the rain had stopped and the sun kept trying to pop out...

its not been out much, though...

one of the last columbine...

I always let mine go to seed...

the peonies are loving the little rain showers we get...

but the rain makes them so heavy, they droop terribly...

DH sawing the limb up in back...

thank goodness there's no butt crack showing...

she looks so muddy...

I think a good scrubbing and a new paint job is coming for her...

azalea are blooming now, too... 

the fire pit is filling fast...

and that's just the small stuff in the south yard...

we do sit out here quite often...

sticks everywhere!

some are hidden and you have to look really hard to find them...

the lilies will be opening very soon...

progress...

just too wet to drive the truck back there today to load it up...

hauling the debris to the city dump...

and the logs will be stacked to dry to use next year in the fire pit...

looks funny...

kind of naked with the center gone...

my view from the deck when I am in my chair...

we raked and raked and had to rake some more...

DH can finally mow the south section...

its supposed to be nice and dry tomorrow...

I think I am going to grab Craig and a couple of paint cans and head back out...

DH is napping...

have a good weekend and I hope the storms missed you...

we could get rain today and tonight...

but then it should be done for a day or two...

happy weeding!

;)