Fruit of our labors - day 26

A Labor of Love - day 26

I am entering a new art challenge over at In the moment.  The challenge word for this month is "Labor".

Today was the day of the peaches at our house.  

Four boxes of peaches, equals row upon row of sweet fruit

Translating into a labor of love for our family.  

In the cold of winter we can yet enjoy the fruit of another season.  

Sweet Nothings - Day 25

And They Whispered - day 25

Today, I am posting for the challenge over at the Sunday Creative over at Madeline Bea's.  

This weeks prompt was: nothing.

It is always fun when sisters get together!

And they whispered "sweet nothings".    

Sewing Away - day 24

I Can Sew! - day 24

Today, my daughter decided to make a pillow.  She was very focused and intent on doing a good job.

 She likes to use my fleece from the blankets that I make.  

 She sews the right sides together 

She doesn't like to be told to do the dishes when she is busy

She uses a reallllllllllllly long thread!

The LZ - Day 23

Today, I had EMS training.  Just in case you don't know what that is, it is Emergency Medical Service.  I am an EMT up here in my mountain home.  The training today was LZ or Landing Zone training which means we got to set things up to land a helicopter.  We are 45 minutes away from the nearest hospital and it is not a level one trauma center.  So, if the injury or illness is more severe than our local hospital can handle, we have to fly them out.  Today, we learned the safe way to land a helicopter and set up the LZ to ensure there are no mishaps.

Here it comes!

My husband, John, watching as it lands.

It is getting closer

and closer

This was a fun morning!

Macro Friday - Day 22

A Brand New Adventure - Day 22

My sweet daughter received her very first Cello.  She was so excited.  I used my camera and took a macro of it for today's post.  I love the rich color of the wood.  So does she, and that is probably the most important thing of all.  She loves to play her cello.  You can't ask for a more perfect reception to a gift!

Mommy - Could I please??? Day 21

Mommy, could I please have one???

I gave in....

I am pretty sure it is not authentic

But it has sure been fun!

The Bow in the Cloud

A Special Day - day 20

This was an amazing day.  We were privileged to see, not only rain, but the rainbow in all it's glory.

Beautiful Flower - Day 19

Amazing Bloom - day 19

I was driving down a back road and I saw this behind a fence.  I fell instantly in love.  I don't know what it is, I only know that I want one (or 20) for my own yard.  I hope you love it too.

I did not adjust the color or anything.  I just blurred the background.

Little Lion - Day 18

A few pounds of trouble - Day 18

Last year, we bought ourselves a puppy.  It is something the girls have been wanting for a long time.  Sadly, daddy did not feel the same way.  It has taken a long time to find the perfect dog for our family.  After a lot of research and thought, we settled on a small Yorkie.  Daddy named him Yoda.  

We did not tell the girls they were getting a puppy. 

You have never seen such excited girls in your life!

The smiles say it all!

This is Yoda today.  About 6 inches high and thinking he is a very large lion.  He protects us from everything and everyone.  Oh yeah, and you will never guess who he loves best!

That's right, he is daddy's dog.

Abundance of love - Sunday Creative

Love comes in small packages!

Day - 17

On Sunday's I like to join in with Madeline Bea and her Sunday Creative challenge.  Go here to see what others have submitted for this weeks challenge - Abundance.  

My girls have discovered an abundance of love in the joy of helping others

In this case, the help is taking care of a friend's dogs for a couple of weeks.  It just so happens that there are also four really cute little puppies with the mix.  This gives ample opportunities for an abundance of sweet cuddles and kisses from wiggly, squirmy, and really cute little puppies.

I love it when the opportunity comes along to teach values and responsibility in such a fun way!  It has been a couple of weeks of working and playing together.  

Somehow, I think the girls are actually going to miss this.

Hanging out - Day 16

Hanging Out and Having Fun

Day 16

A friend of ours has a hammock in their back yard.  The girls loved playing on it.

So, they call this the spider!

It kept them busy for an hour!

Day 15 - Tree by the way

The Trees By the Way

I loved the way they blended together and reached toward the sky.

Isn't the sky amazing!!  I couldn't believe how well the different textures came out.  

You can see a little bit of this fence in the first picture, just so that you can get an idea of the size of those trees!

Day 14 - Red Caboose!

Little Red Caboose!  - Day 14

One of the old restaurants in town had this little red caboose right outside the doors.  It is a fun thing to look at and is so brightly painted and spruced up that I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures for today.

The weeds are getting rather tall, and truth be told, the restaurant closed it's doors last year, but the caboose still stands as a welcoming beacon to our small town in the woods.

There is just something about a train that makes me want to take a trip!

All Aboard!!!

Day 13- Preparing for Winter

The Wood Pile / Work in Progress - Day 13

The only problem with living in the mountains, is the snow.  It is very expensive to pay for propane or electricity to heat our homes.  So, most of us use wood stoves of some kind or another.  Part of getting ready for winter is the sawing, gathering, splitting and chopping of the wood we will need to get us through the winter.  Here is our slowly growing supply.  We still need several more cords!

As you can see, we still have a long way to go, and a short time to get there!

Flowers along the road

365 Day Challenge - Day 12

These flowers are everywhere.  They are very tiny, but I have a feeling that they are the culprit responsible for all my allergies right now!  Each blossom is smaller than the head of a dime.  This is my favorite picture out of the several that I took.

I actually think they are pretty.  

Redo Day 11

365 Day Challenge - Day 11

So, I took some advice from one of you and re-did some previous photos.  I tried a different time of day and some different angles.  These are the results.  I hope that you agree they are a little bit better.  I know that I am definitely learning somethings as I try and get everything posted each day!

I love this old water spout.  I just wish that real water came out of it!

You can see the elk much better in this picture than you could in the prior ones.  

This one shows him the best of all.  

Baby Chicks! - Day 10

Our Brand New Baby Chicks!

Guess what the mailman brought to our house today?  Yep, 24 newly hatched chickens.  They are all soft and fluffy and many different colors.  This picture was in the chicken house.  The warming light is red, so the picture was originally red to.  I used sepia to tone it down and I liked the effect.  At least it doesn't look like we are raising a bunch of demon birds!

The girls were so excited to get them.  They cuddled them, watched them, watered them, fed them, and cuddled them some more.  

So sweet, so soft, so fuzzy, so new!

I bet you would love one too!

More Time Worn - Day 9

Out My Front Door

Outside my house is a weather vane.  I love it.  It changes when the wind comes in, It makes me feel rustic and rural, and it is something I always wanted when I saw it in the movies.  This one sits in my front yard.  

No rooster for our house!  (We had one once, but he became dinner!)  This is an elk which we get as visitors from time to time.  They like to eat the leaves and branches off our trees.  

This is my favorite yard prop.  It is an old water pump.  The only thing that would make it better for me is if it really worked.  Oh well, I guess I can't have everything!  I do love the picture.  It really does sit slightly tipped over my plants.  

Weathered with Time - Day 8

Today, I wanted to play a little with the evening light.  It was very dusk outside.  No real lighting.  This is the first weathered picture that I took.  It is a half oak barrel that we use for plants. 

This barrel stands up year after year in all kinds of weather.  I have seven of them, and they are all weathered and worn.  I think they look just perfect!  

The next picture is of a "church" for the birds.  It is a birdhouse that is built to resemble one of the churches in town.  I love it.  

The first picture was taken with a flash so that you could see the detail in the old weathered house.  If you  look at this "church" closely, you will see that the door is permanently closed, but the windows are open.  When I see this I smile and remember that "When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window".  Every spring, the birds fly in through the windows and build a nest. 

The second picture I took without a flash and adjusted it to black and white.  

This is my favorite.  I love the shadows and the contrasts.