A Hymn for Sunday

Day by Day
Words by: Carolina S. Berg, 1832-1903; translated by Andrew L. Skoog, 1856-1934
Music by: Oscar Ahnfelt, 1813-1882

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here:
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best-
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour:
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid:
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in ev'ry tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me with-in Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Pertaining To Cows, Goats, and Dogs

The past two weeks have very interesting in the animal realm here at our house. Between stray dogs, rain, neighbors dogs, more rain, goats, and the animals that live here it has been a three ring circus!

To begin with, Sayre moved Billy (the goat) back into the cow pen as the grass in his pen had dried out. Who knows what he was eating but he is sure fat! The cow seems to enjoy having billy around again; they enjoy pushing each other around as well as running into one another!
I'm not thrilled about billy being back in the cow pen, as he is an obstacle that I now have to avoid each time I feed the dogs (remember that the cow pen also houses the dogs). He has horns which he pushes you around with and he loves to jump on you... does anyone want a goat?

"I'm Miserable"
The "dog-food-eating-cow" is starting to wear on poor 'ol Lila belle. The cow will stand with-in a foot away from Lila as she eats and if the dog so much as takes two steps away, the cow immediately immerse herself in the food bowl. So, Lila is now refusing to eat her food unless it is placed in the dog house which the cow cannot get into!

"Laying Siege"
Even though Moo Cow cannot get into the dog house, she will stand there until Lila is done! It really is quite funny to be an eye witness to the conflicts that go on each morning!

"Temporary Additions"
Two weeks ago today these two dogs showed up out at the barn. We thought they were from houses nearby but they wouldn't "go home" even with us chasing them off and hollering at them. We finally figured out that they are strays as they will not leave and are extremely hungry. The black one was in a dog fight just recently which resulted in her ear getting torn and becoming infected. We started cleaning the ear yesterday and she seems to realize that we're trying to help her. Both dogs are sweet hearts and would make great pets for anyone.

"Play with Meeee!!"
In other doggy news, we are watching Duke, Thelma's puppy this weekend! Trevor brought him home Thursday evening and in the space of three hours he managed to escape four times from two different pens!!!! He crawled through the cow pen fence three times before we figured out how he was getting out, and upon putting him in billy's old pen he soon squeezed out of the gate! Both gates are either have pallets or cinder blocks stacked up against them and we have to crawl over the fence to feed and play with them!

"I'm Depressed"
Lila was moved into the pen with Duke but she is extremely jealous and moody. It's almost comical to watch! Apparently my attempts at giving her more attention aren't enough to suite her.
So, we have six dogs running around here, one annoying goat, one "interesting" cow, and thirty some odd rabbits that are the only "calm" animals on this place! I think it's time for the fence at Bull Run to be put up! Am I the only one that feels like we're "going to the dogs"?!

Ramblings

I'm finding that blogger cannot upload my pictures today so this could be a rather interesting post. I'm feeling rather "contemplative" at the moment!!

It has been raining the past few days and the grass is turning green once again, much to our delight! The pond has begun to fill up and the frogs have found their way back into it. I find this interesting for though the pond has been completely dry for several weeks, the frogs came back. I wonder why... how did they know?

I love rainy days! After finishing the housework, feeding people, and doing whatever I need to do for the day, I enjoy curling up with a good book. I recently began a Lamplighter book called "The Spanish Brothers" by Deborah Alcock. It takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and chronicles the lives of two brothers who lost their parents early in life while telling the story of their coming to Christ. So far it has been very good; I'm attempting to take my time reading through it. I developed the habit of reading to quickly to fully grasp the most important points of each book, early in life, so I'm attempting to "slow my eyes down" as I read. I also read way to much in one sitting without letting it all sink in...

The "piano tuner man" visited our abode today. He was a friendly and talkative tuner which was rather nice! The piano was last tuned two and a half years ago and he found that it had gone out of tune considerably, actually he said that it shouldn't have been this out of tune, so he had his work cut out for him.

Trevor began work at the new house site... yes, the NEW house site. He found that it would be best if he moved his house to the other side of the property and so he and Thelma agonized over where and how the house should sit. He began grading yesterday and has had Collin helping him dig footers today (which will be very interesting as the ground is rock hard).
I think it's time to tell you that Trevor and Thelma have been courting for the past several months! She spends at least two afternoons and evenings here each week doing stuff with our family while he does the same with hers! It's been so much fun to have another girl around the house to "plot" things with, cook with, talk with, sew with, and have some great fun with!! Both Momma and I are enjoying each moment that she's here!!

I had better post this before the cat wakes up enough to begin thinking about laying on the keyboard (which she does when I'm on the computer). I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

A Gardening I've Been

For the past few days we have been enjoying some beautiful weather due to (what I'm assuming is now) tropical storm Fay. There has been thick cloud cover which has kept us relatively cool, wonderful breezes, and now we're actually experiencing rain! It's been a delightful weekend with this weather!

I was so anxious to go plant shopping Saturday morning! I had been plotting this little shopping trip all week and since I needed dog food I had a good excuse to head into Greenwood.
Momma had told me that the Jackson Perkins Outlet Store had a "buy six packs of bulbs for a dollar" going on in addition to having a good supply of herbs so I had high hopes for this expedition!

I found that the deals Momma had gotten earlier in the week were still going on, and I was able to pick up quite a few plants. I got three elephant ears, two Gerber daisies, a chocolate mint plant, a oregano, a basil, an aster, and what I'm calling a "pincushion flower". I also picked up three elephant ears for Trevor and two dollars worth of bulbs (twelve packs). To say that I was ecstatic is pretty close to what I was feeling!

I spent the rest of the afternoon planting my finds and tidying the place up a bit. I had finally gotten around to planting the rosemary, parsley, and heliotrope earlier in the week and I was anxious to get things looking completed around their new homes.

I planted most everything in this spot leaving enough room for the rose bush to grow to maturity. I had added compost to this area several weeks ago so it should be "good to grow".

In other gardening news, the sunflowers that I planted last month are beginning to bloom!! Forget the fact that they are only two and a half feet tall... They're BLOOMING!!!! It's wonderful to see new life amongst the plants that have come to the end of their life span.

The caladiums are still going strong. Their bright colors add so much to the shady area of my garden. I have several varieties here; my favorite is called "Gingerland" and they are red, green, and white.

Sawyer has spent several days helping me. I have an old putty bucket that I fill with water for planting and he enjoys giving the plants a drink with the handy dandy cup that I have out there.
I've had to impress upon him the necessity of only riding his dirt bike on the garden paths and not through the plants. It's so sweet to hear him say "dir by own-ee on paf" as he rides through the garden. Time with him is precious!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I do with this little spot? It gets good morning sun and a good bit of afternoon shade. I'm open to suggestions!

As I was watering things yesterday I was rather careless with the hose and accidentally knocked two of the stems from my rosemary off. I brought them in and put them in some water thinking that it would be a nice addition to a windowsill someplace. Today I noticed that they have began to put out roots! I never dreamed that they would do that, but it sure is exciting! I now have two plants that I can put someplace else in my garden!

Quickly...

I'm still here!!

I just needed to take a small break to slow down and enjoy life! :o) Look for a post on what I've been doing in the garden very soon!!

A Hymn for Sunday

"Let Him Have His Way with Thee"
Cyrus S. Nusbaum

Would you live for Jesus and be always pure and good?
Would you walk with Him within the narrow road?
Would you have Him bear your burden, carry all your load?
Let Him have His way with thee.

His pow'r can make you what you ought to be.
His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free.
His love can fill your soul, and you will see
'Twas best for Him to have His way with thee.

Would you have Him make you free, and follow at His call?
Would you know the peace that comes by giving all?
Would you have Him save you, so that you need never fall?
Let Him have His way with thee.

His pow'r can make you what you ought to be.
His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free.
His love can fill your soul, and you will see
'Twas best for Him to have His way with thee.

Would you in His kingdom find a place of constant rest?
Would you prove Him true in providential test?
Would you in His service labor always at your best?
Let Him have His way with thee.

His pow'r can make you what you ought to be.
His blood can cleanse you heart and make you free.
His love can fill your soul, and you will see
'Twas best for Him to have His way with thee.

It's Canning Time

With a half of bushel of peaches sitting in the kitchen, tomato's needing to be picked, and blackberries that needed to come out of the freezer, Mother realized that it was time for us to begin our summer canning.

"The Process Begins"
So the canner was pulled out of the cupboard, jars were sterilized, and we began canning yesterday morning. Momma had me skinning the tomato's while she did the actual canning as well as keeping me supplied with fresh tomato's. Working together made the time go by so much quicker as well as making it so much more enjoyable! We talked while we worked and shared allot of laughs!
After a quick run to the grocery store for more pectin we began to work on the peach and strawberry jams. Everything was finally canned and was cooling by five-thirty so we took a long awaited break.

"A Helper"
Even though Momma and I were the ones doing the canning, we had others who were a big help. Collin went and picked the tomato's as well as taking all the stems off, Sayre kept Sawyer out of trouble and was very willing to go get more jars when we needed them, and Sawyer did little things that were just his size-like carrying the buckets out to the porch. What a blessing to have happy helpers!

"The Fruit of Our Labors"
By the end of the day we had canned twenty-two quarts of tomato's, twenty-two pints of peach jam, four pints of strawberry jam (we have more strawberries to do), and three pints of a peach/strawberry jam mixture. We couldn't believe that the two of us accomplished that much! The fact that we can everything in a water canner makes it even more amazing!

"Blackberry Seeds"
At lunch-time today, Momma began running the blackberries though her berry press so that we can make "seed free" jam. Sawyer and I ate our lunch while watching her and his favorite thing to say was "Oh! look at those seeds!!" or "You good cook Momma!" He also kept asking if the seeds were muddy... not sure how he came up with that one.

How very satisfying it is to see our pantry stocked with goods that we have "put up" with our very own hands.

Odds and Ends

Last Saturday our whole family spent a good part of the day down at Bull Run either watching Daddy or just puttering around. Momma had packed a picnic lunch of BLT's, Cucumber Salad, Chips, and Iced Tea- it was delicious!!

Daddy and Tristan were working on the holes for the corner posts in the fence which was a rather interesting procedure.

With the first hole that they did, the auger got stuck. Two hours later, and after taking the auger almost completely apart, they were able to begin work again. Despite their best efforts, the auger kept getting stuck but they were able to get it out with much wiggling and backing the tractor back and forth. The only thing we can figure is that the bit is so new and the ground so hard that it gets "sucked" in (which doesn't make any sense I know). They were only able to get three and a half holes done which I know was frustrating to them.

Look at our beautiful, fertile, red dirt!!!

Sawyer and I were looking back at pictures from a year ago today and we found some that really brought back fond memories!!!

"Do you remember the post on "One Way To Spend an Evening"? We spent a good couple of hours running down the neighbors' herd of cows that had gotten out!! This was my first encounter with bovines and it certainly hasn't been my last!

All we had to do was to walk behind them and they knew where to go. Who would've ever thought that a year later, we would have the beginnings of a heard in our own "back yard"?

A year ago Sayre was selling extra garden produce out at the mail box! Most of the time we seemed to have a garden stand and a garage going at the same time which I'm sure was very amusing to those passing by! Sayre did quite well at this venture and has talked about doing it again; alas, we have no extra produce this year for him to sell.
Also, a year ago we were having some of the hottest temperatures that we can remember. Every afternoon, for two weeks, the temperature reached 104 if not more. Now, a year later, we're enjoying temperatures in the low nineties.
I'm so amazed to see how different things are a year later and I'm thrilled to see the areas that we've grown in. The Lord is so faithful and I can't wait to see how He works in this upcoming year!

A Hymn for Sunday

Follow On
Words by- William O. Cushing
Music by- Robert Lowry

Down in the valley with my Saviour I would go,
Where the flow'rs are blooming and the sweet water flow.
Ev'rywhere He leads me I would follow, follow on,
Walking in His footsteps till the crown be won.

Follow! follow! I would follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Ev'rywhere He leads me I will follow on!

Down in the valley with my Saviour I would go,
Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow.
With His hand to lead me I will never, never fear;
Danger cannot fright me if my Lord is near.

Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, ev'rywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Ev'rywhere He leads me I will follow on!

Down in the valley, or upon the mountain steep,
Close beside my Saviour would my soul ever keep.
He will lead me safely in the path that He has trod,
Up to where they gather on the hills of God.

Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, ev'rywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere He leads me I will follow on!

Days of Gardening and Fun!

I have spent the past several afternoons working out in my garden. This is the time of year when the plants begin to slowly dry up and without me giving them any extra water, they are really looking rough. It is time for me to "ease" their (and my!) "pain" and pull them up.

" A Tiger Swallowtail on the Anise Hyssop"
I had a pair of these flitting around my garden yesterday afternoon. At one point I was even able to get one to crawl up on my finger, but it only stayed a moment and was back to busily tasting flowers!!

"The Shade Garden"
Last summer Trevor had brought home several peonies that they had dug up from a job site. I adopted two of them and planted them where I thought they would be happy. However, I have noticed that they are becoming rather "burned" in their present location, which is in the full sun. I had a part shade spot that was begging for something to be planted in it so I started digging holes. I also moved a struggling columbine plant and finally planted a Heuchera , or coral bells in this area. I accidentally cut off one of the peony stems so I planted it to see if it would grow. It is looking rather limp at the moment.

"Garden Re-Vitalization"
I realize that I need to be adding nutrients to the garden dirt each fall and with that in mind I began turning the dirt over and adding compost to it. The ground was really hard so this took several afternoons.
Do you see the structure made of logs under the tree? That is my "garden compost bin". It's made from the logs of our former compost bin that were sitting out and which needed to be put to a good use!

"Preparing a Bed for the Pansies"
Pansy season will be upon us before we know it so I went ahead and worked up their bed. I have seeds to start them from and am wondering if any of y'all have started them this way. The package says that I can plant them directly into the soil and that they can take up to a month to sprout. I've heard that they can be hard to start... does anyone have any advice?

"An Adventure"
After Sawyer got up from his nap yesterday, we headed out side to run some of his excess energy off. Me being me, didn't want to just sit and watch.... I wanted to do something! So Sawyer helped me pack up my "sewing utensils" and off to the great outdoors we went.

"Being a Little Boy"
Sayre had found and re-painted this little trike for Sawyer and he absolutely loves it! I made the mistake of calling it a dirt bike and he told me "no, it not dir-bike"; it seems to have changed into a four wheeler instead of the dirt bike that it was yesterday!

"Making the Time Count!"
So while Sawyer played, I cut out the last skirt that I have to make. I was even able to begin work on it before it was time to make supper!

"A Late Afternoon Snack"
Sayre fixed the three of us "saltine sandwiches", made out of ham, cheese, and lettuce, for our afternoon snack yesterday. There is milk in the tea pot and Sawyer enjoys pouring everyone cup fulls. We had a ball snacking in the sewing room!
One of these days fall will arrive and we can have Plantation Gingerbread with Whipped Cream for our afternoon snacks.... That, friends, is bliss!

A Rather Slow Day

Upon awakening this morning we were delighted to find that not only had it rained during but that it was raining right then!!! It rained all the way up until ten o'clock this morning and we are praising the Lord for sending this much needed rain! He is always so faithful to answer prayer!

"Mud Puu-les Ashy?"
I have to admit that at times we act like we haven't even seen rain for we stand in the windows or on the porch and watch it rain!! We'll even exclaim to each other "Hey! It's raining!!"

"In-Complete Project"
Since it is rather wet and humid outside I decided that NOW was the time to paint my closet doors. I had run out of paint before I could get to them and it's just been recently that we were able to get some more. So, that is what I've been doing this afternoon!

"The BEST Afternoon Snack"

When I came downstairs I found that Collin had made a batch of Granola Bars!!! There is nothing like a fresh granola bar when you're hungry!!! They are pretty easy to make and are a sure fire way to give an extra boost during the late afternoon. I'll share the recipe below.
1 1/2 C. Oatmeal Flakes
1 1/2 C. Graham Cracker crumbs or Bran Flakes
1C. Rice Krispies Cereal
4T. Flax or Sesame Seeds
1/2 coconut flakes -optional
1/2C. nut meats (sunflower, pecan, walnut, almond, etc.)
1-2 C. dried fruits
Stir the above together in a large bowl.

1/2C. Butter
1-10 ounce bag mini marshmallows
Melt these together and then pour over the dry mixture. Mix well and then pour into a greased 9x13 dish. Spray wax paper with cooking spray and then use to pack the mixture into pan (you can also use the butter wrapper). Sprinkle with chocolate chips and serve!
Get adventurous and find different things to add! We use different kinds of cereal and add peanut butter and instant coffee -highly recommended!

Another Saturday at Bull Run

For the past several Saturdays I have spent some time over at Bull Run either watching the going's on or taking part in them. Last Saturday was no exception and it was just beautiful!!! The temperatures have been in the lower nineties since late last week and it felt more like fall than summer!! A wonderful respite from the really hot temperatures that we have been having.
Sawyer and I headed over to Bull Run later in the morning to see what Trevor and Sayre were up to and found them occupied putting up the forms for the concrete.

"Prep-Work"
Sayre spent all day helping Trevor who I know really appreciated it!
Just as a side note- Sayre got stung or bitten by something on Saturday and his eye is not quite swollen shut. The poor kid looks absolutely pitiful but it hasn't kept him from causing trouble!!!

"Tools of the Trade"
There are benefits when your boss owns a construction company and you want to build a house. You can borrow his tools!!

"Bush-Hogging"
Sawyer and I next went and found Tristan. He had spent most of the morning pushing the piles on the edge of the field into the gully or at least getting them closer to the edge. He was in the process of bush hogging where the piles had been when we found him. Tristan works for a local dairy and has done allot of haying, bushing hogging, and other such tractor work for them, so he knows what he is doing!
After finding Tristan it was time to head back home for lunch.... Tristan's favorite meal!

"The Graveyard...."
Thelma had arrived while we were gone, and it was a jolly lunch hour that we had!!! After clean-up we all headed back over to the property. I was going to spend the afternoon getting the "graveyard" all cleaned up and Thelma was happy to help!

"Teamwork"
We started out by raking around the "graves" and cleaning a spot that looked decent. We loaded everything into the back of the beast and then dumped it in the gully.

"Help Has Arrived!"
On their way home from the bow shoot Daddy and Collin stopped by to see what everybody was up to and they some how wound up helping us!! Tristan had a chainsaw handy and was willing to cut a few limbs out for us which then turned into "cut down all the rotten trees"!

"Tire Tracks"
I found this picture humorous as you can see where everyone has been driving!!

"Pondering"
Trevor and Sayre came and helped us girls finish up the raking. Thelma had spent some time pruning an old oak tree that stands over the "Graveyard" and she did a wonderful job! It's so nice to have something looking well taken care of!

"The End Result"
Oh it looks so much better!! The landowner next to us does not think these are graves, but they are obviously something. Part of the fun is thinking about what they could be!!!