My Head Hurts

I've been researching and researching a new digital camera and about now, my head hurts!

This is the camera I have now. For the most part I have liked it quite well. It takes good pictures of the kids and our everyday shots. I can usually get relatively good results with my macro setting for flowers and insects. What is lacking is a decent zoom. I like to take pictures of birds and other wildlife and the zoom on the Canon just isn't enough.

I'm beginning to think I am asking too much of a point and shoot...good speed for kid shots, a great macro and a relatively high zoom. Before everyone jumps in about a DSLR, I am not ready to go that route. I need a good everyday camera and I don't want to be changing lenses or lugging around all that camera.

This is the camera I keep coming up with, but I'm still not sure. One thing that is holding me up is that I have gotten very used to the flip view screen. This is so handy when taking pictures down very low or at strange angles. Also, I am not sure about the size. It isn't as large as a DSLR, but still quite a bit bigger than I am used to and it certainly won't fit in my pocket!

Anyway, hubby spilled some coffee on my Canon and now the flash won't work, so I think I need to make up my mind soon. The camera is still under warranty, but I cannot be without my camera, as I am sure I will need to send it away to be repaired! So...the race is on to find the perfect (well, as close as I can get) camera.

So, anyone have a camera they just love that will fit my needs? I'd love to hear about it.

Rainbow Gazing Ball

My blue gazing ball broke last fall. We took a trip to the statuary place and bought a new one. I was looking for a different color this time, so I picked out this one called Jewel. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with this very colorful, bright ball. Maybe it will grow on me.

What do you all think?

A Closer Look at a Little World

I pulled out the microscope yesterday and Gabe and I had a great time checking out all the little creatures that are living in the pool. I'm not sure what everything was, but some of them are down right alien looking. We will get a book from the library and try to make some positive IDs.

Baby Tree Swallow

The baby Tree Swallows fledged this week.

Here is one of the little guys checking out the big wide world. They would take turns peaking out of the box, waiting for mom and dad to come back with a treat. The next day they took to the wing and were gone.

I'm not sure if it is too late for the Mr. and Mrs. to raise another brood or not. We shall see.

A Few Blooms from the Garden

Coreopsis "Autumn Blush"

Brian often buys me miniature roses. You know, the little potted plants from the supermarket or box store. They are lovely in the house and bring so much color and beauty to the long dreary winters.

One spring I planted the little rose in the garden and much to my surprise, it lived and did well. I now have four of these little beauties in various colors thriving in my perennial border. Aren't they just perfect? They will bloom on and off all summer. I love them.

New Garden Project - Trellis

We have many garden and yard projects in the works this summer. Brian, Bess and Gabe worked on a new trellis to be placed on the back of the garage for two new Clematis plants we recently bought.

Bri gives Gabe some instruction Gabe loves this...power tools, everyone boy's dream (big and small)
Some primer and paint and we'll be good to go.

Creation Club for June

The kids had their 2nd month of Creation Club this week. The topic this month, birds. Karen had some great eggs for the kids to look at including an Emu egg. I knew they would be large, but had no idea they were green...really green!

The kids made wild bird treats and had "bird seed" for snack.

A tremendous thunder storm rolled through, so the outside games were brought inside. One of the games called, Robin wants a nest, was a fun version on musical chairs, sort of. All the kids were Robins and there were nests (paper plates), one less than Robins. One "Robin" was in the middle and would said "Robin wants a nest" and you had to get off your nest and go to another one. Each time there was one less nest for number of Robins. A very fun game and even the littlest kids figured it out.

Gabe spreading peanut butter for his bird treat

Dan seems to be eyeing the peanut butter. I'm thinking quite a bit of it

ended up in Dan and not on the bird treat.

Having the bird seed snack (cereal, raisins, nuts, pretzels and sunflower seeds)

Nothing Says Summer Like S'mores

Sunday evening, we had a nice fire going in the pit and made S'mores. Yum!

Dan doesn't like to roast the marshmallows, (they always burn) but he sure likes eating the S'mores.

I think Gabe eats quite a few marshmallows inbetween the ones he actually uses to make the S'more.

Bessie takes her time and gets a nice brown marshmallow...just right!

Doesn't that fire look perfect!

Picnic With Friends

Last Saturday we had a picnic at a friend's house. They had invited four other families that either have or are in the process of adopting children. It was a terrific day. We had a warm sunny day, tons of scrumptious food, a pond for swimming and kindred fellowship with those that have a heart for adoption.

Brian even found out that one of the moms went to the same highschool and was in his class. They spent quite a bit of time reminiscing.

There were 18 children there, representing five countries, USA, Haiti, Guatemala, Korea and Philippines. We made a very colorful group.

The kids had a ball paddling the boats, catching frogs and tadpoles and swimming in the pond.


This nest was right on the edge of the pond and the mother Red-winged Blackbird was not particularly happy with our group making so much noise.

What a view from their pond. A beautiful day, great food, fun, laughter and Christian fellowship. What more could you ask.

I saw this test on Dorothy's blog. This explains why I always feel like such an oddball...I'm in the wrong decade, by several.

100 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Pool or Pond?

We had hoped to have our pool fixed weeks ago, but with Brian's heavy schedule away from home and difficulties with measuring a pool that is 25 years old, there have been plenty of delays. As a result, the water that is left in the pool, about 3-4 feet worth, has attracted all sorts of wildlife. Gabe goes almost daily down to the edge and nets for what he can find. Yesterday we caught several tadpoles and all sorts of other creatures from mosquito larvae to water beetles.

I'm going to be sad to have to drain this habitat when the new liner comes (well almost). A new larger garden pond is in the works. I'm not sure if it will get done this year or not, but soon we will have a much larger pond for similar creatures to call home and for Gabe to enjoy.

Gloves or No Gloves?

There were a few new things blooming in the garden this week. This little coral bell is a wonderful dark pink color. I love the delicateness of coral bells. They don't make a big splash in the garden but they are so dainty and lovely.

This yarrow is coming nicely. There are still a lot of buds still to open, but there were several blooms to brighten things up today.

I have to confess to being a glove wearer. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, I just don't like the clean up after. It seems to take days to scrub all the dirt from around and under my nails and then just to start all over again.

I have two pair of garden gloves plus my heavy work gloves that I use regularly. One of the garden pair is a nice medium weight that works well for general garden work. The other pair has rubber palms and fingers. These work really well for fine weeding or when the garden is wet and muddier. The other two pair in the picture belong to my oldest daughter who likes to help in the garden. I thought these made a very colorful display on the line.


It takes me a few weeks to get all of the flower beds edged, weeded, fertilized with manure and mulched each spring. Bessie and Brian help and we are almost done. This will hold the garden well through most of the summer. Except for light weeding and edging it again in the late summer, the rest of the summer we do what I consider to be the more enjoyable garden work, buying, planting, dividing, fertilizing and general puttering around.

Of course, this is just for the flower beds. The vegetable garden is a different ball game. This year we put in all new raised beds and are trying the Square Foot Garden method, so hopefully there will also be less work there.

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck?

We have had a woodchuck living in the wild grapevines between our property and the neighbors for a couple of years. We would see it now and again. As long as it left the gardens alone, we were content to let it stay.

This week, we saw the woodchuck and she had came with company this time. Across the road she came with two little ones in tow. One was spooked by a passing car and ran back into the field, but this one stayed with momma. They were so cute and what an exciting time for the kids to watch them as they trotted behind momma through the bushes.

Now we will see if she continues to stay out of the gardens!

Sticky Toes

Isn't this little guy cute?! He is a Common Gray Treefrog. Gabe found him in our pool today. Well he wasn't actually in the water as the pool is only half full, but what water is there sure is attracting a lot of wildlife.


Look at his little disk shaped toes. They are very sticky and he clings with little effort. He was very unconcerned and didn't try to hop away. He just sat on my hand.


He had very interesting markings on his back and bright yellow on the underside of his legs.


We let him go in the perennial garden. I wasn't sure if he would be able to get out of the pool area or not as it is quite a ways down. Hopefully he will be happy there.

Bloom Day

I am a sloppy garden.

My garden looks okay, not too weedy and I manage to divide plants as needed, plant new things relatively promptly, fertilize and water as needed, but I am terrible at keeping track of what I plant and where. I never keep tags and often I shop late in the season or get plants from friends and I just don't know what they are.

I can usually figure out what type of plant the are, but forget about which cultivar. So, here is my bloom day post, but with not too many scientific names. This is my garden and what is growing.

Wielgila (my sister-in-law gave us this many years ago)

A few red poppies leftStella d'Oro Daylily (I love this behind the pond)
A lovely yellow Columbine

There are quite a few roses blooming right now.

This rose is trussed up with rope. It is quite large and hangs way over the pathway. Brian is building an arbor to go here, but isn't finished yet.

A few Irises
This Iris was much more purple than this, but no matter how I tried to photograph it, it kept coming out blue. You will have to use your imagination.

I love this Peony. My mom and Dad gave this to me. It came from their yard where my grandfather planted if many, many years ago. My dad does not remember a time when it didn't grow in their yard and he is 72 years old. I love the older plants and the memories they carry.

To see more wonderful gardens and what is growing, check out Carol's May Dreams Gardens.