Annabelle

Eight years ago, I brought home the first set of ducklings to the farm.............

with one of these being, Annabelle. Only 2 inches high, soft, pale, yellow fuzz, bright orange tiny feet, a pale pink beak, and louder than all of the rest. As the years went by, she laid many eggs, and tried to sit one out to be a mother..............for ............30 minutes..........then gave up, for a refreshing dip in the pond...............never to return to the egg or to motherhood. Somehow through all of these years, she has managed to escape death from sickness and from predators, unlike her other duck family, and has lived to see many new chicks and ducklings arrive to the barnyard. I have noticed in these past few months, the limping, the slow pace she walks instead of running, and the more settling down to sleep, instead of chasing bugs..............and I knew..............any day now.................. No matter how much I know that death will come, and no matter how much I have seen it happen, it always hurts even worse than the first time around. Death to the creatures that live here is just something I suppose I will never be able to get used to. I found Annabelle, the other morning, very still and peaceful, with the all familiar duck smile still on her beak,..................gone............... to some other happy pond. The barnyard is quiet, with only the crowing of the roosters, and the low chattering of the drakes that was once Annabelle's company. I still look for her, to be floating in her pond when I come home at the end of the day, I think I still her her loud protesting quack at some hen who has invaded her nest................

Maybe............next spring...........new ducklings will arrive and each will touch my heart............as they always do.............but I know there will always be a place in my heart for Annabelle.

I came home today..................

completely exhausted from the hurry pace of prepping, orders that never seemed to end, and the smell of hamburgers and fries still lingering on me. So tired, in fact, that the idea of finding a spot to close my eyes and to shut the rest of the world away, tempted me..................however, that doesn't happen, as there is so much to do when I arrive.................home

The second my feet step upon the porch, I see this, and all of my tiredness seems to melt away, and I am greeted by Salem, who has waited all day for me to return..........................home
I go out to walk the grounds and my tired eyes see a wonderful splash of color. The zinnia are dancing in the wind as if they were singing a welcome" home" song to me. What a pretty sight...............isn't it?

Out in the pumpkin patch...........everything is whispering.........."fall will soon be here"..........I am delighted to see the white Casper pumpkin I have planted. It is supposed to stay white, while having the regular orange pumpkin meat inside.

The decorative gourds are competing for my attention, showing off their spots, stripes and different colors, and making me feel so wonderful that I am "home".

Tonight I made homemade pasta for a meal of spaghetti, meatballs and bread sticks. Even though I cook all day at the diner, I don't bring food home from there. I want "comfort" food, ................food that says "you're home".

How about you? What image comes to your mind when you think of home?

What waits to greet you at the end of the day?

I would love to hear.

What Comes With The Rain

For the past fourteen days......................

the west Texas sky has looked like this.

Rain.................wonderful, long lasting, good soaking ,

rain.

Thank you, Hurricane Alex.

When we get rain............along comes the great things, like cool breezes, thick green grass, and a slow down on outside work....................and..............

large swarms of gigantic ants. These ants are in the middle of moving their colony................this year ............to our house. They took over the whole yard and the concrete patio was completely covered.................


as well as the outside benches..............with thousands of these winged creatures.

Also, beautiful and unique things spring forth. I have seen many mushrooms on the grounds, most of them are large, round white balls. These soft, buttery, yellow mushrooms came up in a pot that once grew decorative kale.

This has also been a time of harvest. I pulled up the remaining onions and have dried and stored them away.

The cabbage has now formed it wonderful "cabbage heads" and the plants are getting very large. I just love this plant!

The beets have all been harvested and have been passed to a friend who just loves fresh beets. She has reported that they taste wonderful! The seeds to these, as well as the cabbage, all came from Hometown Seeds.

The rain has also given my flowers a much needed boost. Everything along the flower beds and porches looks like this.

The rains are almost gone, although we have just gotten another shower. I watch the storm across the prairie and I feel gratitude to have gotten so much of this needed moisture. How about you? Is your area getting rain, heat, or even weird swarms of creatures? I would love to hear!

Time For My Creature Feature

My life, here on the farm ,would not be what it is without my feathered and fur ball critters that I have around me. For me.....................

it's also the wild and crawly creatures that make life so interesting here. Some are pretty creepy and threatening. But if you look past that............see the blue/black sheen, the copper head, the soft yellow legs?..............so colorful.

The spikes and horns on these horned toads look intimidating,..................like ferocious little dragons............... . Their legs, feet, and neck have perfect scales. I have always felt that they have a somewhat "western design" on them. They look like they are prepared for battle,

Yet, these are one of the most docile lizards ever.

The brilliant colors of this grasshopper is so striking....................that even though it's probably the one who has been leaving holes on the leaves of my flowers..........I can't bear to end it's life.
Can you see the little leopard print wings and the leaf design that goes up the leg?

This large grasshopper crawled out from the watered leaves and allowed me to look at it's intricate design. If one looks really close................one would be surprised at how much beauty is in the make up of these little creatures. This is what inspires me in my embroidery. Can you see the dots on it's back that run perfectly in line? It's small dotted wings also stand out. I am ready to get my embroidery floss out and to capture this beauty with thread and needle. How about you? What do you think has beautiful design and color in nature? Butterflies or birds perhaps? Any insect lovers out there? I would love to hear!