"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Years ago, I named this farm..........Pleasant Prairie Farm............

Because of the wind that blows across the prairie, filled with wildflowers that fills the air with a pleasant fragrance, and for the peacefulness that settles upon us.
At this time of year however, the landscape can look anything but pleasant................
the west Texas temperatures have been reaching up to 106 and the rain that we do get is immediately drank in by the dry parched ground.

yet.............if one will  take time to look beyond the dry packed earth,
they will be amazed and amused by the life that thrives in what can be somewhat harsh conditions.

The hot, high winds, and the gnarled trees do not prevent the many different species of birds from making their nests and raising their families.

The scary looking, but harmless, tarantula ambles along in search for his day's meal.

Out in the prairie, the sunflowers grow wild and they are visited by various bugs and buzzing bees.

The purple Prairie Aster is in full bloom and attracts butterflies of every shape and color.

Every thing seems to grow a little larger here........including the jumbo grasshoppers.

All in all,  Pleasant Prairie is ............pleasant..........
on any given day............it just takes a little extra effort to see it.
How about you?
What kinds of blooms and bugs are visiting in your back yard?
I would love to hear!




25 comments:

lil red hen said...

Queen Anne's Lace and brown-eyed Susan are the wildflowers blooming along the roadsides now. They seem to be able to withstand the drought we're in.

Such a pleasant name for your homeland; there is a place named "Headache Acres" in our area. :)

Mary Ann said...

And I thought WE were dry! You still have such beauty on your place, and this was a well-thought out post that I'll try to duplicate sometime this week. Thanks for the idea!

Connie said...

I love the wildflowers you have there, Kathleen. The tarantulas would make me more than a little nervous, though! Haha! Lovely post and photos. I hope you have a good week ahead and some rain comes your way soon. :)

Terry and Linda said...

There is a place called Poverty Flats in our area...it is a very run down place...I think a name should reflect the beauty of the place so the beauty will continue, not decline.


Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

Debbie said...

It definitely is a different kind of beauty Kathleen. It reminds me of western towns and covered wagons for some reason. I grew up near there and we didn't have air conditioning. So you see many rattlers?
Deb

Lynn said...

I enjoyed my visit to your prairie! There is beauty everywhere if you only look for it. It's dry here in the summer too, but we pump water up from the creek to keep our gardens going.

Hill Top Post said...

You seem to have a talent for seeking out (or creating) beauty. The blooms in your last picture look so much like those of gailardia which I planted in my beds. It seems to me, when I look out across your prairie picture that one might just fall off the edge of the earth... accustomed to seeing tree-covered hills and mountains in the distance whichever way I look.

Sunny said...

Hi Kathleen. Your posts are always uplifting and inspiring. Still loving your blog :)

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Wonderful photos, Kathleen, and very true observation - there is always something good if we only take the time to look.

romance-of-roses said...

What a nice post. Well all we have right now in our garden is ants and more ants. We do get some birds in our fountain but not many for we have cats, think they know it. I was given sunflower seeds so they are going in tomorrow. My gardenia was blooming, not much this year, however. Plenty of roses, that's for sure. Hugs...Lu

Country Gal said...

There is beauty in every type of land ! Wonderful post and photos . Hope you get rain soon and enough to give all a drink of mother natures nector ! Lots of blooms and nature going on here thats for sure and I love it all ! Have a wonderful day !

Bev C said...

Hello Kathleen.

Lots of sweet flowers and not so sweet critters.
Thanks for sharing your part of the world.

Happy Monday.
Bev.xoxo

Debra said...

Oh I love seeing where you live!
Do you have to watch out for poisonous snakes???
I have never been very far from home here in New York state, so looking at your farm is lots of fun for me. Thanks so much!

Vickie said...

It IS beautiful and pleasant there on your place, Kathleen. I always love your pictures of your rugged landscape - so much different from the landscape here in the eastern part of Texas. It's always amazing to me that Texas has such contrasting landscapes - I think we've got just about everything!
Love your blanket flowers - I want some...

Diana said...

HI Kathleen, It's lovely there! Right now our lace capped hydranea are blooming and I can smell them in the backyard. Also the red trumpet vine just bloomed today, a wild vine growing in the back. Take care.love,Diana

Karen Sue said...

I'm reading about the Prairie and you're living on it!!

Stickhorsecowgirls said...

Texas has such beautiful wildflowers! We had a good soaking rain last night! Pray that TX will not have the severe drought and record temperatures as last summer. My garden is somewhat overgrown at present, but we have so many trees that flowers don't do so well in the shade. I'm hoping to have some large trees too close to the house for comfort, taken down sometime soon! When it rains, our yard doesn't dry out properly which is another problem. It's all about balance, isn't it? Love your photos, Kathleen!
V

Glenda said...

Oh, you found such beauty amidst the dry prairie! We do have to make an effort to see it sometimes, don't we? I'm glad you shared what you found with us!

Nancy M. said...

I'm not sure I could find as much pleasantness as you! I am scared of the tarantulas and the giant grasshoppers. But I do love seeing the flowers and everything else! We've been finding way too many wasps around here lately and my oldest has been stung 3 times in the past couple days.

Julie Whitmore Pottery said...

Hello,

Its alot like life, isn't it, sometimes you have to look for the good, and of course its always there.
Some of those blossoms are so wonderful, that shade of dark pink, and what a grasshopper! This year we have more deer than ever, doves right in the garden, and I'm planting more salvias and sages to attract the butterflies.
xx
julie

Paula said...

Your world is a beautiful place, Kathleen~ even if it is dry.
But I'm glad we don't grow spiders that big in Tennessee! *YIKES*

grammy said...

I had fun catching up here!!!
Sorry... I would not like seeing a tarantula .. harmless or not (o: We have had one or 2 days at 95... not like you...no rain and mountain fires!!!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Kathleen, looks like the prairie could use with a good rain, which is what we've had plenty of here the past couple of weeks. Blooming in our yard are lots of cornflowers, day lilies, daisies and black eyed susies...thankfully no tarantulas or jumbo crickets. Have a good weekend.

A Colorful World said...

Your prairie is not unlike my desert...a first glance tells you it is dry and bare and then you look closer and you find unending beauty.

Jen's Farmily said...

When I see pictures of your area with no grass, it always reminds me of a barren place. Then you delve in a little deeper with your photos and I realized it's not that way at all!

Also, tarantulas aren't harmful? I guess I didn't realize that!