Limited Help

The sun was unusually large this morning when I headed out to walk the grounds, filling the sky with hues of gold and tangerine. It's funny, no matter how hard I try and no matter how many different ways I try to photograph it, it never looks more than just a dot in the sky.

Everything around me is silent. Inside and outside. The only one eager to go out and walk around with me......
is Sophie.

Boo, is still in deep slumber....even though she slept all night, all the day before and the night before that.......

Old Max, is stretched out in the coolness of the porch.

He's been up since 5:00 AM and already the day has caught up with him.

Max has 7.....yes....7 toes on each of his feet. Those big paws used to make everything that crawled or flew.....terrified. Now they rest........

Abbey has been out all night.....making me worry about whether she would return or not. Cats that stay out all night around here, usually do not return. Thankfully, she has, and she is exhausted.

Salem has been on the prowl since 5:00 AM this morning...chasing, taunting and sneaking up on the birds and rodents that criss- cross through ......his eyes still have a little life in them as he lies down to catch a nap....

This is Homer. He showed up about a week ago. It is unusual to see a pigeon out this far. He has a band around his leg......so I assume he has escaped or someone let him fly, thinking that he would return. He seems content to stay...eating with the wild birds.

My zinnia garden is starting to grow well. These are the few rolls I planted a few weeks ago. This morning I added 5 more rows, filling the garden space up.

Many are already getting buds on them.

Just a couple have bloomed. I think my dream now leans toward a pumpkin farm/ zinnia farm....they do have flower farms don't they??

Wait a minute.......what's this???? Sophie......

the day has caught up with her as well..

Guess I'm on my own for now.

Closed Doors

(An old door on our well house)

We need to learn to praise the Lord as much for a closed door as we do an open door. The reason God closes doors is because He has not prepared anything over there for us. If he didn't close the wrong door, we would never find the right door.
God directs our path through the closing and opening of doors. Once a door closes, it forces you to change your course. Another door closes, it forces you to change your course again. Then, finally, you find the open door and you walk right into your blessing.

Knock and It Shall Be Opened Unto You
Matthew 7:7

My hope for you is that you find your blessing behind the door you come upon along your journey in life.

I Remember

Whenever I see these.......
and these...........
I am taken back to a time when my brother and I were quite young, and to a place deep in the middle of woods and mooing cows. My grandparents lived in an old white house, way out in the country, surrounded by old mesquite trees and cow stalls and barns. When my family would go visit, my brother and I would head off to the woods to an old cow stall/barn that we decided would be our club house. We would spend the day, bringing in old buckets for chairs, and other odds and ends, to make our club house the perfect space. ...........

now those cookies and cokes are tied to another part to complete this memory........


My Grandmother.
The day would be hot......we would be banging and clanging about, and we would hear her sweet voice calling to us. We would look out and there she was, walking all the way out with 3 cokes and a bag of cookies in her hands. We would happily invite her in, where she graciously sat on an old rusty bucket and shared her cokes and cookies with us........to me....that is one of the sweetest of many memories I have of her. Her name was Pearl. The photo above is one of her when she was 14. I have other photos of her and as how I remembered her, but they are stashed away and I have to do some digging. She passed away when I was 16......... I have missed her since.


Now...........go way, way back in time......what is a favorite memory of yours? A family member...a loved one.....a pet.....a friend???? Does any object or smell bring that memory back to you??
I would love to hear!

A Long Walk In The Caves

Here is Sophie, watching Sweetie and our son get the car ready and packed, as I explain to her that I am going on a long walk...........

without her. ............... It's been years since we have "gone away" on a trip.......the main reason of many......we enjoy staying home after years of traveling when our children were small and I have animals that have to be put safely up for the night away from predators. We live so far away from everyone, it's impossible to get someone to come out every morning and night to take care of them all. So it's almost imposssibe to be gone overnight and no way that we can be gone for days........ However, we live close enough to the New Mexico state line, that we decided to take a trip to Carlsbad Caverns. It is close enough that we can go there for a fun time and be back in the late night hours . We have been there on many occasions,......... when we were newly married, and when our children were little.
We took the route closer for us, through Seminole TX, then Hobbs NM, and then Carlsbad NM. The view of the flat dry country was not much to take photos of, however, the peach orchards in Seminole stole my heart away. As you can see, no one else was interested, I had to take the photo through the window of the car. I had dreams and plans going on in my head all the way to Carlsbad about the apple orchard I would one day want to start.

I love old towns with their old buildings. On the corner I spotted this old clock.......which was still telling the right time! You can click on the photo for a better look.

Soon the flat ground start turning into the Guadalupe Mountains.

Here is a view from the top of the cave in Carlsbad.

We arrive! I can't wait to start walking....wishing Sophie could have come........but, NO DOGS ALLOWED.....
The last time we visited Carlsbad Caverns, I had to carry our youngest son, still a small toddler all the way down.....750 feet.....in my arms, because baby strollers are not allowed. I was in my early 30's at that time, and it was nothing to carry him and enjoy the walk.

This is the beginning path that winds it's way down, down. The gravity of the downhill walk started to make my feet and legs to complain.....and I wasn't even holding a toddler this time! It is a 2 1/2 hour walk to get to the bottom.

This is the roof of the top entrance. The smell of damp cave and bats fill the air and my heart beats in anticipation. My camera did not want to cooperate in the darkness so the photos did not come out good enough. You can visit the cavern's website and look at some beautiful photos of the amazing structures by clicking on to this link http://www.nps.gov/cave here you can read about the cavern's history as well.

We were a couple hundred feet down and I snapped the last picture of the opening entrance before we wound on down to where it can no longer be seen. There were so many visitors from so many places! The license plates were from Delaware, Washington, Montana, California, New Jersey, Florida, California, Michigan and on and on. As I walked the path, I noticed I was using the hand rail......something I had never done in the earlier years, and by this time, I had parts of my body that I didn't even know I had, screaming for me to sit down somewhere. Instead, I just kept moving along, in awe of the beautiful cave and formations in front of me. Finally, we made it down to the bottom floor.....and took the elevator back up to the top entrance. A fun time we all had. We roamed around Carlsbad, not too much going on in the town itself...and then decided to journey home. We got home just before sundown and just in time to tuck all of the animals into bed. Sophie and all the cats were so happy to see us! I went to sleep knowing I had much weeding to do out in the garden the next morning...........




however.........

6:30 A.M comes and I roll out of bed, and quickly realize I have even more body parts I did not know I have!!! How sore I am! I still made myself go out and weed....and now...I am even more sore than when I started out. Now my question to you.......have you heard of Carlsbad Caverns?......Do you have any type of Caverns around your area? Have you been there? I would love to hear!

For Where Two Or Three Are Gathered Together......

Have you ever seen an image or something while you are out and about and it brings to mind a favorite verse or passage from the Bible?

("For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."Matthew 18:15-20)

We have an old church pew on our front porch......whenever I look at it, I think about the many people who gathered at church, sang in worship, and prayed. Three crickets were gathered together on the top arm of it today.....and it just brought to mind the verse out of Matthew 18:15-20.

What is your favorite verse and why? What makes you think of it? I would love to hear!

Celebrate Your Freedom!

It's the time that we all gather and reflect on our freedom and privileges as Americans....a reason to celebrate!So get your grill ready.........tell all friends and loved ones what dishes to bring........if you want a wonderful coleslaw, you can get the recipe from my cooking blog...just click here...http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com


Spend time with your children and pets......and all dear loved ones near and far. Reminisce about the days when things and times weren't so free......

Get together with your best friends, talk....listen.....share......laugh.....and most of all......


celebrate!!!

Have a wonderful holiday!

On A Hot Summer Day

The days have slowed down a little, due the the extreme heat of the day. I am up when it is still dark to water and weed the garden, before the heat of the day sets in.

The two little birds I have been taken care of flew away last week. Healthy and happy to start their life on their own.
The chicks are almost grown and the terror of snakes, hopefully, has been forgotten.

They have now been able to leave their hutch and roam the chicken pen yard.

My zinnia garden is starting to do well......

and I have found some unusual leaves in my flower gardens. This morning glory looks like a butterfly...don't you think?

And I am sure you all have the heart shaped leaves of morning glory surrounding you by now.

Out in the pumpkin patch, eggs lie in wait on a crispy green leaf. By 10:00 A.M. the heat of the sun drives me back inside...

where I spend much of the day doing what I really love......the little quilt top has come together

and the embroidery is falling into place quite well....I will leave the outdoors

to the other creatures.....

that are trying to find moisture and shade.

The heat has slowed Boo down as well, at 14, she spends much of her day napping.....

Max, at 13, is really getting shabby looking. He still spends the morning hours exploring the woods, but by the time the sun is in the sky, he has taken his retreat to the coolness of the front porch.

Abbey, almost 7 , is still active, but enjoys a good cat nap anyway....

and young Salem.....well....there are trees to climb, birds to chase, and soft green grass to roll in.....naps can come later....

Sophie.......patiently she waits by my side,....as I stitch......waiting for the late afternoon to go on a long walk.

I have been reading on many of your blogs how you too, have been struggling with the heat. My question......what do you do in the extreme heat of the day?.......watch a movie........take a nice swim.........sit out in the coolness of the porch? I would love to hear.