Topsail Beach, North Carolina – Mary Lou Lewis
Topsail Beach, North Carolina – Mary Lou Lewis
Topsail Beach, North Carolina – Mary Lou Lewis
Treasures – Mary Lou Lewis
She – and thus, WE – will leave the beach tomorrow morning. I hope you’ve enjoyed our vicarious beach vacation.
Filed under vicarious enjoyment
Planet Natural
The past couple of days I’ve spent a lot of time outside.
The radishes are finally sprouting. I have several squares of them, in this and other planter boxes.
The broccoli seems to be doing well so far.
I’ll probably start harvesting (and EATING!) some lettuce leaves next week.
The sweet red onions are looking good.
No spinach sprouts yet, but I’m still hopeful…
Today I’m trying to get some flower planters ready to plant. It used to be that I was the one who loved the flowers, but now we both enjoy them. We’re going to start with wave petunias, periwinkles, purslane, and impatiens. If we can get them planted, we’ll see if we need more.
My husband says that deep purple iris have become his favorite flower. They’re blooming in several places in the yard right now.
I really love this time of year!
My husband was getting a maniacal look in his eyes when we were looking at the large tree whose branches were encroaching on the house and our well house recently. As we talked about what needed to be done we agreed that it was too large a job for us.
I contacted HomeAdvisor.com and found Karns Tree Service. Randy called this morning and asked if he would be okay if he came by first thing to give me an estimate. He came with a partner, a big truck, a big mulcher, and tools, ready to work. He gave me an estimate, then lowered it a bit if I would let him go ahead and do our small job while he was here, rather than asking him to come back later.
He and his partner worked for an hour or so. He worked carefully with me on which branches needed to be cut. I saw he really knew what he was doing, and so told him to use his expertise on other branches he thought needed to go. The main thing was avoiding any damage to our house or our well house, which has an a ham radio antenna on the top.
Not only did they remove the branches, they put all the debris through the mulcher so my husband and I wouldn’t have to kill ourselves dragging the branches elsewhere, plus raked to get the smaller stuff.
As we talked afterwards, Randy told me he was also set up to smooth our driveway when needed (ours is 650 feet and steep, and so is another job that needs someone who knows what they’re doing.) He also said he could trim the branches that are sticking out in our driveway if we wanted, and gave me prices for both jobs.
We also agreed that it would be fine if we could agree on projects and then he could do them when he was already in the area or could work them in, rather than having to come from his home.
I’m very pleased with the professionalism, great customer service, and attitude of Randy and his partner and look forward to hiring them again soon.
Click on the link above to see his Facebook page. His phone number is 479-965-6148. He is fully insured and gives free estimates. He has a 65 foot bucket truck, and does fence-row clearing, Stump removal, and brush removal, and will response 24/7 for any tree or storm emergency.
Randy Karns. Karns Tree Service.
Graham Gercken via Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn
Graham Gercken via Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn
Filed under Acrylic Paintings I Love
Topsail Beach, North Carolina – Mary Lou Lewis
Topsail Beach, North Carolina – Mary Lou Lewis
Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Mary Lou, we’re enjoying another day on our vicarious vacation at the beach!
Not only gorgeous, she says the weather may be such that she will sit out with her umbrellas this afternoon! She has promised to kiss a sandpiper for me. :0)
I remember a trip to California one year with my husband. We traveled down Highway 101 beside the ocean all the way down to San Diego. He was nice enough to stop several times so that I could walk along the water. I laughed when I saw the sandpipers! Their legs are so long in relation to their bodies. I LOVE the way they skitter across the sand!
alamy.com
Filed under vicarious enjoyment
“Just don’t quit all the way. You might have to quit a little bit. Just until you can breathe and find some space to move. This is not giving up. This is strategic self-care. Realizing you can stop when you want and start when you want builds trust with yourself. Also, try long walks, good books, and maybe chocolate. Or punching pillows. Whatever you need.” ~ Nanea Hoffman – Sweatpants & Coffee
Magdalena Korzeniewska – via Kathleen McGreal – LinkedIn
*Thanks to Kathleen McGreal who posted this on LinkedIn
Filed under Attitude, Blog Repost - Wonderful Posts, Encouragement
Signed by the artist, but I can’t read the signature. Sorry. Posted by Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn
Ada Dalilah via Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Robert Hagan via Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn
*The horse photos are taken by various talented photographers and posted by Jeff Jett on LinkedIn.
Filed under Acrylic Paintings I Love, Amazing Animals
Bethany Kerr
“Jersey” – Niki Firmin Pet Portraits
Saverio Scoleri – LinkedIn
Se’bastien David – LinkedIn
“Purple” – Paul Militaru Photography
We used to have a 40-gallon aquarium. It, and the metal support table on which it sat, covered one whole side of our dining area. I loved it, but we decided it was ‘too much work’ at some point and sold it.
Now I laugh, because gold fish bowls or tanks take a LOT more work than our aquarium ever did, and we had lots of fish then in comparison. Now we have only 4 gold fish in a 5-gallon aquarium. They seem to delight in making their water cloudy, doing it with alarming rapidity.
If they weren’t so SWEET I wouldn’t put up with it. They don’t do tricks, smile, be affectionate, or anything else you hope pets will do, but they DO pile up in the corner at feeding time – mornings and evenings – wriggling their little bodies and opening and closing their mouths with excitement when they see I’m there. That’s enough to make all this worth it.
I don’t know if they care about their surroundings, but each time I clean the aquarium, completely changing the water, vacuuming the gravel, etc., I also change the decorations.
Although they don’t SAY anything, they are at least 3 times the size they were when I first bought them and brought them home…
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Our vicarious beach trip continues. Thank you, Mary Lou!
Topsail Beach, North Carolina – Mary Lou Lewis
Topsail Beach, North Carolina – Mary Lou Lewis
Filed under vicarious enjoyment
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
Katheleen Broaderick via Elena (Livia) D. – LinkedIn
Nicobar Pigeon – email from Marsha Koenig
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
OnlineHarbour.com
Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Mary Lou, we can all take a vicarious trip to the beach this week!
I believe the name of the beach she is enjoying is “Topsail” in North Carolina.
She is up at 0-dark-thirty every morning to enjoy the sunrise, whether at her home or here, at the beach. WE are the happy recipients of her generosity in sending pics.
I can almost hear the water in these photos! AHHHHHH!
I wish her and her vacation buddies the best time ever.
THANKS for letting us share this with you, Mary Lou!
Filed under Mother Nature, vicarious enjoyment
We live on top of a ridge line outside of Greenwood, Arkansas. We basically own part of the top of it. Our property goes all the way down to the street in front and about half way down in the back.
One of my favorite things is to watch the seasons change in the valley below the house. Here you can see things are really beginning to green up. The red buds are enjoying their last hurrah and our purple iris and wisteria are beginning to bloom.
Here you can also see the dog we made, plus the “peacock” hanging onto the leftover ham radio antenna section we mounted on some concrete.
When you own the top part, you can pretend that you own all you can see. I’m moving from right to left across the back yard to give you a feel for our nice view.
There are the loveliest people who put on a 4th of July display each year. We’ve driven down to see if we can figure out where they are so we can thank them, but so far, haven’t been able to locate them.
You can also see one of the mosaic gazing balls I made a few years ago for the bird bath.
Another view farther to the left. You can also see the ‘weed trees’ with greenery right at the top of each stalk. I carefully negotiate the rocks, brambles, stickers, etc. trying to get rid of these each spring.
To the left a bit farther is our ham radio tower and my greenhouse. There is also three evergreen trees growing together just to the left of this which is the home of lots of cardinals and other birds who frequent the feeders hanging from our deck.
I spend lots of time walking around out here, enjoying the changes as each season progresses.
Filed under Favorite Things, Mother Nature, Views
Inhabitat
Here you can see four of the six planting boxes we built. The wooden ‘boxes’ are supported on metal table-like structures that allow me to do most everything chest-height, without having to bend over or get down on my hands and knees. I really love it.
Other than the lettuce and red onions you can see here, I have broccoli plants, plus radish seeds and spinach seeds. (The spinach seeds in the greenhouse aren’t doing anything and I can’t get any spinach plants locally this year, so I just planted some seeds directly in the garden and will let you know if anything actually comes up.)
Here are the broccoli plants. I have things really spread out. He suggests one plant per square, but not next to each other, to discourage pest problems and disease.
I do follow his suggestions that you keep track of where you plant things each year, and the next year plant them in different squares, a crop rotation thing.
Here’s a close up of one of the broccoli plants. See the baby broccoli head?
Here’s a close up of the lettuce. This says, “Head Lettuce”, but I harvest leaves for salad as it grows and either produces a small head, or doesn’t. My love is the fresh lettuce leaves each night!
Although Mel suggests planting 4 lettuce plants in the same square, my results are better when I spread things out.
This is an 8-foot brick planter on the opposite side of the house from the garden. We converted it to a square foot planter, emptying out all the top soil and filling it with Mel’s Mix (mixture of peat moss, Vermiculite, and as many different types of compost as you can find.) I’m using barnyard, mushroom, and cotton burr, plus any compost I can make from our scraps.
This is a second brick planter that is about 4 feet wide that sits in a nook created by the back of our house and the screened back porch. The tomatoes are more protected here, and usually survive better than the ones that are more susceptible to the wind.
I read a good article on growing tomatoes lately. It suggests planting them deeper than I have been, and then pinching off some of the ‘arms’ that sprout, as well as pinching off top leaves to keep the plants more compact, rather than allowing them to grow as tall as they like. The article says this encourages more fruit rather than so much greenery. Since fresh sliced tomatoes is one of our very favorite things, I’m going to try this, hoping for a great harvest.
boltart.tumblr.com
Jones Robo Works – Etsy
Jones Robo Works – Etsy
Filed under Art From Found Things, Creativity
Wonder Mountain near Toronto, Canada – Jeff Jett, LinkedIn
Filed under Mother Nature, Waterfall gifs
This is the man who ignored me, saying it was a good idea to put 94-pound Amber on the no-pull leash yesterday in areas of high traffic and lots of stimulation. Amber did what puppies do, leaping around to try to get to the wonderful things and people around her.
At the craft show on the square, people were upset when the shock collar worked and Amber cried out. At the yard sale, he didn’t put the collar on correctly, so the shock didn’t happen. Since it didn’t happen, she went after what she wanted – a small doggie – resulting in my husband face surfing on the ground….
We started training last night again with the no-pull collar and leash combination, figuring out what we did wrong at the yard sale. Amber walked around with us calmly, happily with no problems. I’ll keep doing this on a daily basis. Then we’ll also try again in places with very few people, making sure the walking assembly has been put on correctly. We’ll build up again to the vet’s office, and other places we need to have her out of the car.
I will, however, continue to SUGGEST that we NOT let her out of the back seat in places with lots and lots of wonderful things for a dog see, smell, and try to get to – regardless of our ‘hopes.’ Hopefully, this stubborn man will listen…
He’s doing much better this morning, even though he still looks quite impressive. He’s resting, napping, and watching TV today.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Living Well Mom via thenannyleague.com
We rushed around this afternoon trying to get our yard work accomplished before the first rain of many came. We made it with minutes to spare!
My husband mowed the lawn while I planted six tomato plants in the brick planters beside the house that we converted to square foot garden planters, and then I planted spinach seeds directly in the garden, since the ones I’ve tried to start in the greenhouse still haven’t done anything. Then I put fertilizer all around.
I came back to the house just as my husband was finishing the lawn. We got out our pressure washer so that we could get some of the gunk off the riding mower engine and surrounding area, so now it’s cleaner than it has been in quite a while. It started sprinkling just as we were putting the power washer away.
We’re supposed to have several waves of rain – some storms possibly severe – throughout the rest of the afternoon, into the evening and into tomorrow. It feels good to have gotten things done in time. Now we can relax and mindlessly watch TV or read the rest of the day and evening.
Let me preface this tale with the fact that my husband and I agree on very little. We didn’t even use the same salt, when we still used it. So it was no surprise that while on errands today, we disagreed on the idea of bringing Amber out of the car on her no-pull collar and leash in public.
Amber weighs 94 lbs. To say she is exuberant about meeting others is a vast understatement. She loves to go anywhere at any time in the car with us. Her domain is the back seat. We put the windows down halfway so that she can run from one side of the car seat to the other sticking her head out, absorbing all the wonderful smells and sights to be had.
Today we stopped at a small craft type show that was being held on the square. I didn’t realize that my husband was planning to bring Amber out. The shock collar did its job, giving Amber a jolt when she tried to get to a little girl to say “hi.” Amber cried out and everyone stopped as if someone had dropped a whole tray of something in a restaurant. Amber was in control for a second, then found someone else she thought was wonderful. She was shocked again, cried out again, and I had had enough. I finally got my husband to put Amber back into the car. I answered some questions about the collar. People were upset at us because Amber cried out. I tried to explain that usually Amber is trained to stay in step with us and hardly EVER gets shocked anymore – but this was a new situation with far too many stimulants for a partially-trained puppy to handle.
We turned into the street that goes to our home. My husband saw a sign about a yard sale that was being held down the road from our home. I thought we would leave Amber in the car and just be there a very short time. I turned to see my husband with Amber out, on the collar again. I told him I thought there were too many people, little children, plus a little dog, and that Amber might knock something off a table. My husband said I didn’t want him to do anything.
I got angry and went back to the truck. The next thing I knew my husband was on the ground face first, and others were trying to control Amber. I leaped out of the car, grabbed Amber’s leash, which wasn’t working for some reason. A man helped me get her back into the car while someone else brought a rag to wipe my husband’s face. I drove everyone home.
My husband is okay. He looks as if he were in a bar fight and lost. The whole side of his face is scraped and quite red. Amber is fine, too. We figured out why the collar didn’t work at the yard sale. I have promised to practice with Amber, the special collar, and leash in the yard. Then I have proposed we go to the square or one of the walking trails to see how Amber handles that. My husband says I’m wrong and that I don’t want Amber out in public at all.
And so it goes. Part of the reason we are still married is that, though we drive each other nuts at times, we are totally addicted to each other – flaws and all. We will finally come to a bit of compromise on this, as we always do, but the process always seems to be a painful one, with each of us thinking we are right.
Filed under Family, life lessons
TED.com
I have to tell you I HATE snakes. I remind myself that they eat rodents and other icky things, and that the majority of them are not poisonous, but that really doesn’t help much.
Yesterday Sweet Little Elderly, mostly deaf Molly asked to go out. I let her out the front door, only to belatedly see a snake curled up just off the porch pad in the yard. Molly immediately began barking at it, in a frenzy.
When I tried to get her back inside, our 94-pound lab puppy, Amber, dashed out between me and the door, also barking, hair standing up on her back from one end to the other.
I finally got both dogs back in and went to get a pistol. My husband took it from me, went out, looked at the short, fat snake and decided that it might be poisonous, and so shot it. I encouraged him to make SURE it was dead. He then picked it up gingerly and threw it ‘off-the-edge’ of the civilized part of our property.
I then let Molly back out and life returned to normal around here.
Until last night when I was trying to go to sleep. I was suddenly swamped with prickly feelings, the feeling that ‘something’ was trying to crawl on me, memories of the snake…. I ended up going downstairs and reading for another hour until I got sleepy again.
Did I tell you I HATE snakes?
Filed under Perks of Living in the Country
Lily Peppa – LinkedIn
Lily Peppa – LinkedIn
Lily Peppa – LinkedIn
Filed under water paintings
KTRE-TV via K9 Bytes Pet Gifts
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Niagara Falls Canada – Anne-Marie Blacker – LinkedIn
Filed under .gifs I Love, The Art of .gifs, Waterfall gifs
Tiffany Bud
Tiffany Budd says, “So excited that I am, once again, Finalist in the Up & Coming Artist Award at the Fine Art Trade Guild Awards. I am up against some extremely talented artists, and every vote matters. If you have voted for Best in Show, just use your log in details to place your vote for Up & Coming Artist Award.
Up & Coming Artist Award Voting
if the above link doesn’t work, here is the URL – https://lnkd.in/d_Wnt99
Best of luck to you, Tiffany!
Filed under Art Around the World
Tail and Fur
This is the only rainy day we’ve had this week, and of COURSE we have lots of errands to run and appointments to keep in Fort Smith and Greenwood. It doesn’t seem to matter if I have an umbrella or not in the vehicle we’re in, or whether I actually try to USE it, I drown; so I’m resigned that this will be a wet day for me.
When we get home, though, we will have accomplished a good bit of stuff –
Our doggies took care of business this morning not even breaking stride as they rushed out into the rain. They are still wet, even though we’ve toweled them off the best we could, but they seem to be smiling as they try to get close to us. There is nothing more loving than a wet dog.
I hope your morning has been enjoyable.
Filed under Mother Nature
Alice and Jasmine by Niki Firmin
Bonnie and Clyde by Niki Firmin
Filed under Amazing Animals, drawings, Niki Firmin - Pet Portraits
creativeartworksblog 