This is everyday life on a Missouri farm for three of my grandchildren, Ella, Hannah, and Eli … their Daddy captured a quiet moment at the chicken coop, shelter for the egg-laying hens.
Sep14
Category Archives: critter
Sep6
Our Tropical Jungle
I wanted to share some photos my daughter took of our tropical jungle. Our front and back yards have been lovely, especially since the extreme heat has subsided. The plants are lush green flourishing in the humidty. We had a rainy Labor Day weekend bringing much needed rain to our area. God’s provisions in the midst of the longest drought in years … 
Above: Simply cuttings from our moses-in-the-cradle, swedish ivy, and sweet alyssum planted in a moss basket this spring … this planter loves our humid summer! Below: Patio plants are rearranged and changed up weekly, creating varied vignettes …
Above: A cart full of gernaniums sheltered under the shade of a huge maple tree. They need more sunlight to continue blooming. Philodrenrons, ferns, and peace lilies are scattered about the front yard landscaping. Below: A bird of paradise blooms in full color. Deanna Greens And Garden Art sold this beautiful plant at the Lake Saint Louis Farmers’ and Artist Market last Saturday during our Tropical Plant Sale. 
Aug10
I Felt The Air Change Today
I felt a whisper of refreshing air last night while in the screen house repotting succulents into darling little vintage pots … maybe? Early today I stood by the opened patio door to hear the morning greetings of our feathered friends, and I felt the air change. Yes, autumn is around the corner! Every year for over 40 years, I have said those words “I felt the air change today”. I grew up watching the weather and hearing about it from my farmer father. He would read the Farmer’s Almanac, have a weather ban radio playing in his office every morning, evening, and on occasions of severe weather threats. Mostly I remember the feeling when a shift in air direction and the front would roll in with clouds and sometimes rain with it. And then the refreshing change. Awe! Autumn in 4 – 6 weeks, and saying goodbye to sizzling summer. My oldest daughter remembers these words well, too. Rachel wrote a poem about these words, her mother saying them, and autumn. And we chatted today about those words …
The woods begin to vibrate with gathering and preparation.
The sounds so crisp, electric.
Her words were “I felt the air change today.”
Red, orange, yellow, green, brown.
They dance while falling.
A choreographed waltz.
Every year she said “I felt the air change today.”
Beautiful, breathtaking, loyal.
The Canvas.
I think I felt the air change today.
Aug6
Porch Meals and Hearts Mesh
The rains came twice over the weekend! It was like a miracle! And with it came cooler air, more like normal summer temps, low 90’s. We loaded our plants into the van in the wee hours Saturday morning, to make it to the Lake Saint Louis Farmer’s Market. It was storming, but I kept at it in my rain poncho and Dean with his hat. Our plants seemed happier, as well as their gardeners! Later, I trimmed sun-scorched branches from some ferns, and moved them to more shade under the dogwood tree. Sunday we repotted plants. Our tropicals are gigantic, growing as long as they have water in their roots. They thrive in this humidity. Dean & I met at the front porch on several occasions this weekend. We watched the storms come in and shared porch meals. The green ambiance allows conversation to flow. The electronic devices in the house don’t have that skill! Our hearts mesh when surrounded with nature. Whether camping, walking in the woods, and sitting on our porch bench with lovely greenery and birdhouses surround, life is simpler with plants and birds. At least, most of the time! 
Aug3
Time
“Time, you left me standing there
Like a tree growing all alone
The wind just stripped me bare
Stripped me bare
Time, the past has come and gone, gone
The future’s far away
An hour only lasts for one second, one second
Time without courage, time without fear
Is just wasted, wasted, wasted time
Oh, oh, oh, ooh ooh ooh
Time, why you punish me?”
These lyrics from Hootie and the Blowfish’s song “Time” keep playing in my mind tonight. This post is continuation of my thoughts in my last post written 5 hours ago. I cried when I walked upon that boat dock at Island Lake last week. I felt my father’s spirit with me, though in body he could not be there with me. Valhalla was Dad’s favorite place to do his favorite thing, fish. Such an appropriate name. “Valhalla” is the Viking’s heaven after he dies from warfare. My father has been fighting such a battle. Dad’s days are running short. He is dying of brain cancer, and I keep thinking about his life. Dean & I visited his father, my 96-year old grandfather last evening. Grandpa Earl tells us stories of his childhood and my father’s childhood. Yet he is cognitive enough to ask about his oldest son, my father. A copy of a photo arrived in the mail today from my cousin. A 1945 family portrait of my Grandpa Earl, Grandma Anna, Dad, and Uncle Earl. Mom called this evening on the way home from work. A hospital bed is being delivered to their Bowling Green home. Yes, the bed my father will be in when he passes from this life. God, I am so thankful for my father, Martin Kenneth Bates. He has been strength to this family for many years. And now we are his strength. He will be with You soon. And I will miss him greatly. I do not want pain for him, just Your peace, comfort, and rest.
Aug3
The Big Dipper and the Northern Sky
My Dean & I so enjoyed our stay at Valhalla Resort on Island Lake outside of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. It was a peaceful vacation, time to slow down our pace. Our stay included meals with friends, walks, swims, and fireside chats with tales of old. Friends shared stories of our childhood sparking laughter one after the other. One evening turned into a 1:00am departure from the dwindling campfire. A night owl called to us, or maybe he was talking to the rabbit hiding in the bushes. Bugs chirped. All dogs and cats had long since retired to their favorite beds. As Dean & I walked to our lakeside cabin, we saw the Milky Way. The Big Dipper shone so brightly in the clear northern sky. It brought to memory my father sitting a boat nestled near the dock for that particular summer night, telling a young audience how to tell time from The Big Dipper. My friends recalled this, too. It seemed like yesterday … Dad seemed to explain it so easily that we understood it. Here are a few web links on telling time with the stars: http://www.johnpratt.com/items/astronomy/telltime.html, http://www.av8n.com/physics/star-time.htm, http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~huffman/dtime.html
Jul19
I’m Dreaming of A White Christmas …
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas …” I am! I had enough of these 100 + temp days! How about you? Well, if I cannot have a white Christmas right now, I will settle for milder summer days in the north woods of Minnesota with friends. 
Dean & I are headed there for a few days! Need to hear the loons once again!
Jul16
The Dew of Little Things
“For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed,” Khalil Gibran shares with us. It was a “little things day” yesterday. I awoke early Sunday morning as usual, even after 3 of my grandkids’ slumber party continued well past my bedtime Saturday night, which needs to be at 9:00pm! After perusing the yard, taking in the morning sunlight, I returned to my kitchen to cook eggs, sausage, and toast before the little ones and my exhausted husband awoke. He was up late working on the jeep, trying to take apart the layers to access any engine damage. It looks like it is “fatal” as Dean says. Shopping for a new engine now, or a new vehicle. I let my husband work on those details while I played and relaxed with the grandkids. We watered the plants and played with the hose a bit. Frisbee and the neighbors’ dogs filled up the rest of the morning. After our afternoon nap and quiet time I feel refreshed. We watched a hummingbird visit the canna blossom. We played with a bouncy ball, colored, and watched a movie. I showed my granddaughters how to propogate cuttings of wandering jew and swedish ivy. The slower pace of the children quieted my spirit, even in the chasing after my 2-year old grandson. “The dew of little things …” 
Jun21
June Bugs
This June the Japanese beetles made their way to our yard. (They are not really June bugs, but they arrive in June in my world.) And of course, we have much for them to munch on as our greenhouse is still in reconstruction. These shiny metallic looking green bugs seem to love our basil, and tasted the hydrangeas, geraniums, and hibiscus. We are thankful as the plants’ temporary home, our green screen house seems to capture the little critters. And while they mate on the screen, we capture them into jars that become their coffins. Dean & I seem to have conquered this bug invasion, but are on guard everyday, morning and night for the next couple of weeks. Beware!
Jun5
The Ambiance and Menu
The ambiance and local menu tonight was colorful. My huge kitchen is decorated with vases of our cut flowers and the fireplace mantle is overcome by beautiful blue hydrangeas from my parents’ yard. Dean & I’s dinner plates were filled with roasted spring root veggies and beef farm fresh by friends who allow their cattle to graze in their farm’s natural pastureland. I sit on my patio listening to the evening chatter of the birds and crickets until the summer night sky is dotted with fire flies. I needed some beauty in my life today.
My feline companions bat at the moth and June bug on the patio screen hoping to get a hold of them. Celine and Lily will need to stay inside as the neighborhood Great Horned owl visits our tall backyard maple tree some evenings. This may be one of those evenings. We protect our animals from harm with barriers like screen doors. Maybe similar to how our God sets up boundaries for us. I take in the beauty of our green friends, the plants we care for everyday. Tonight I will not water or trim or plant. I will sit and enjoy the greenery. They endured the sudden hail storm yesterday. Our elephant ear , banana trees, and birds of paradise have ripped leaves now. These plants will come through after some shedding. Is not life like that? We get hammered by hard blows, unwarrantly and needlessly. Yet, we rise again to be ourselves, probably better people for it if we allow. Thank you God for the beauty my eyes behold tonight, and the reminder that the heart heals.
