A birthday party

Our daughter had quite a lovely birthday

celebration over the weekend.  She says that

she had the best birthday ever!  A few things were kept

secret from her and was she ever surprised!

To start her big day, birthday flowers were 

received.

Birthday cake and ice cream was eaten.

Gifts were opened with Stormy taking it all in

 and playing with the tissue paper.

 

Les Bougeouis Vineyards overlooking the Missouri River.

Then, a late afternoon trip to the winery in Rocheport
to meet friends.

A couple of friends were invited as a surprise for

our daughter, who was thrilled to see old friends

that she hadn't seen in a while.  Her college roommate

and an old classmate were among those able to attend.

Same place, just looking away from the sun toward the Missouri River bridge.

When darkness began to fall and it was time to

leave, everyone trekked up the hill to the cars.

But, unknown to Kim, there was another surprise

waiting for her! 

A stretch limousine had been reserved to

take Kim and a few of her friends for a 

cruise around Columbia!  To say she was shocked

is putting it mildly.  I wish I had captured the look on 

her face when she realized it was there for her!  

Her brother did most of the planning for this event.

He wanted to do something special for his 

sister's birthday and it was!!

Kim loved every minute of her birthday and had

a lot of fun with all of her friends and brother, too.

The limo ride was a huge hit with everyone!

Hubby and I didn't ride in the limo, but I did

sit in it and took a few photos of the group.  

It was a wonderful and fun evening for

a special birthday celebration. 

 All too soon, it was time to say....

Good Night!!

Until next time...

A Red Barn for Barn Charm

We passed this red barn on the way to the cemetery over

the Memorial weekend.  I've driven by this barn many times

 and this was the first time I've stopped for a quick shot.  Living 

in a mostly rural area with many barns, I think I take barns

for granted and pass many by.  I'm glad I finally got 

this one, it's been well taken care of.

   Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

* * * * * * * * * * 

Thank you for the nice birthday wishes for

my daughter.  She had a wonderful and fun birthday,

and I'll be posting about a special surprise she got

in a day or two.  It was a lot of fun!  We had a 

wonderful weekend and hope you did, too!

Until next time... 

A May birthday

This month is going by quickly.  The Memorial

weekend will soon be here.  Do you have 

special plans?  We will be celebrating a

special birthday.  Our wonderful daughter will

be celebrating 40 big ones.  

How can that be?  It doesn't seem like it

 was that long ago that we were teaching her

 to drive or attending her graduation from

 high school, then college.

She went through a rough patch in her life when

her 13 year marriage to her high school sweetheart

didn't work out.  But, that's behind her now and

she's doing great.  She has a good job and good

friends and, most importantly, a good heart.

We love her so much.

 

 Happy Birthday, Kim!!

 

If I don't see my blogging friends before next week,

 have a wonderful weekend!

 

Until next time...

Barn Charm Tuesday

This barn in mid-Missouri is sitting downhill from 

where I was shooting.  

An all too familiar sight, an old and unused barn left 

standing all alone. 

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

Until next time...

My list, so far...

Good Monday morning!  It's another beautiful day

and a cooler one, too.  We had a nice, but hot weekend.

 Finger Lakes State Park near Columbia 

We didn't get the rain that we thought we might.

A little bit would be nice. 

 I'm heading outside to water the flowers just as 
soon as I get my list made of what to do or 
what needs to be done.  It's slow going for me this
morning.  But that's okay.  I prefer slow these days.

My car needs to be taken to Toyota for an oil change
and inspection this week.
  Remind me to stay away from those lovely places
that sell flowers when I go.  I don't need any more!

A roofing contractor is coming tomorrow or
Wednesday to give us an estimate on roofing our
house and rental building.  Now comes the moment
of decision.  What color shingles to choose.  We've
decided against painting the brick, at least for now.

I also need to schedule a haircut this week.
And take my aunt out for lunch.  
That's just a few of the things I have on the
agenda.  Now to get on the phone and make the
appointments.

 I must add that I started this post
a few hours ago and have gotten sidetracked. 
 
What is on your list for this week?

Until next time...  

It's a beautiful spring...

Peter Cottontail basking in the evening sun.  He

  was washing his face as I watched him.

The weather has been just wonderful here.

I'm loving being outside working in the

flower gardens and watching the animals and birds.

This is Socks, our neighbor's kitty who thinks 

this is his second home.  

Socks thinks the bird bath is for his drinking pleasure.   

I think that the flowers need to be pushed in a 

little.  It was getting dark when I finished this pot

the other day and it shows!

My camera has a mind of its own, I've discovered.

I was trying to capture the wildflowers and the 

bee which you might make out in the lower 

right corner.  Instead, the camera focused on the

bud in the foreground.

The wildflowers are numerous in the pasture behind

our house.  As I stood at the edge of our yard and

shot a few pics, I heard loud bird chatter not far

away.  

 Mr. Meadowlark and his wife were raising a fuss

because they thought I was too close to their nest

which is in the pasture.

The pasture will be mowed for hay soon, so I hope

their young are ready to fly before then. 

 I bought a few more flowers and a nice, new pot to

plant them in yesterday.  It seems I can't

stop making new flower gardens.  There is much

to do inside, but it's not

going anywhere and will be there for me to do 

when I get to it.  

How about you?  Wouldn't you rather be outside

when the weather is nice?  

Until next time...

May Note Cards

 

I think I'll call these my Lavender Blue, Dilly, Dilly note cards.

Does anyone besides me remember that old song?

When I was a young teen, my very favorite

color was lavender.  I still love this color even

though a few other colors are now my favorites.

I'm linking to my blogging friend Vee's Note Card

party.  She hosts this every third Wednesday

of the month and this is my first time at the party.

We are to select 4 photos that have already appeared

on our blog that would make a nice set of note cards. 

Hop on over to Vee's to see more Note Cards here.

Until next time...

A Red Missouri Barn

I don't remember exactly where this red barn is, but

it's in mid-Missouri.

I'm linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

Until next time...

A Beautiful Day

Here are some of the many volunteer petunias that 

came up in various pots this year.  

The weather has been simply gorgeous lately and 

today is another beautiful day.  I've

enjoyed many afternoon breaks and evenings

sitting on the patio.   We grilled yesterday and

ate outside and it was so nice!  

 

A new little bird has been visiting the back yard

this spring.  I think this is an Eastern Phoebe.

I've been having to try several times to get each

photo uploaded to my blog.  This is not the

first time.  Is anyone else having this problem?

Until next time...

Happy Mother's Day!

To the world you might just be one person,
but to one person you might just be the world.

 ~Author Unknown

My two wonderful children are the world to me.

I love them both more than words can say,

and I thank God for giving me the privilege of

being their mother.

Until next time...

Once again

 

Because it's Thursday and I'm really busy this week, I'm going to

show again my favorite sunset photo that was taken in May, 2010.

That's all I have for today...have a good one!

Until next time...

Where Am I?

This weathered old barn sits all alone in the middle of

nowhere.  Well, almost alone.  There is a business not too

far from it on a busy highway.  I'm wondering if anyone

from my state will recognize it.  I'll tell you next Tuesday

where it is, unless someone guesses correctly!

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

Until next time...

A few random shots

Most of these flowers are still awaiting

planting.  I did get the Knockout Rose and

the Salvia planted and a few of the Wave Petunias

you see behind the Salvia.  I should have them

all planted by now, but I've gotten sidetracked.

 

The cheerful looking Gerbera Daisies were the only 

spot of sunshine after the thunderstorms and rain

 began after 2 pm yesterday. 

It was a clear night Saturday night for Full Moon viewing.

This is a hand-held SOOC shot using, of course, the zoom.  

I will try to remember the tripod and use it next time.

 

The Robin is making himself heard in the back yard.

I hadn't seen the Goldfinches for a few days,

but noticed in between rains during the 

afternoon that a few of them were at the feeder.

 

The Honeysuckle is blooming now and smells so good.

What's blooming in your yard?

Until next time...

From the Patio....

Today I'm showing a few of the

interesting things I see from my patio.

This groundhog was seen in my neighbor's 

yard.  He stood as still as a statue for

the longest time.  

I tried to get a better shot, but he took off to the Back 6 

so I only captured a part of him.  Someone asked me 

recently what kind of camera I had to get the closeup 

shots.  It's a Canon PowerShot SX 30 IS.  It has a 

35X wide-angle zoom, which is what sold me on this 

particular camera.  It's called a point and shoot 

camera, but it's bigger and heavier than what I've

 had before in a point and shoot.  I like it very much, 

especially as I can zoom in on things that are quite 

a distance away without having a camera that

 requires separate lenses to carry around.  

I still have a lot to learn with it.

This plane is at least 6 miles up.  I think the

flight pattern between Kansas City and St. Louis

must go over our house.  When hubby got home

from work, we both sat on the patio and noted 

that in the space of a few minutes we had seen

5 or 6 go overhead in one direction or another. 

Of course, we noticed this since I had the camera

in hand and was trying to zoom in for a decent shot.

I took another shot of the scene of the crime yesterday.  If 

you didn't see my post Wednesday, I showed a black snake

 slithering up to the Bluebird's house and getting the babies 

inside.  I was happy to see one of the parents, but he/she 

(the light wasn't right to tell for sure) looked sad to me

and sat there on the wire for quite some time.  I've 

gotten some good advice from Betsy in TN from Joyful

Reflections on what we might try to hopefully keep

snakes from trying to climb the pole.  Betsy has just

recently lost a Bluebird family to an unknown intruder. 

Nature can be so cruel sometimes. 

Looking at the sky one more time before I called it

an evening and went inside, I noticed the moon

looking nearly full.  You may have already read about it, 

but tomorrow, Saturday, the Full Moon will be the 

closest and largest of 2012.  I hope it's a clear night!

Until next time... 

A Shocking Discovery

What a windy day we had yesterday!  

I looked out my window to see what was

happening around the bird feeder and

saw this pair of White-crowned Sparrows

sitting together looking like they were 

having a conversation.

They sat this way for ever so long.  Maybe they 

were discussing what I was about to observe

and what I am about to show you.
  

WARNING!!

The photos I'm about to show you contain a 

disturbing image that may or may not

distress you.  Just so you know.

Here they are:

 Since I had my camera in hand, I thought I'd

check on my Bluebirds who had a nest in this 

old house.  Imagine my shock and horror 

when I zoomed in on this snake wreaking

havoc on this little family!!  I was just

devastated!

If I thought I could have gotten there in time,

I would have gotten a garden hoe and gone to 

work on this Bluebird destroyer!

I had just remarked recently that I hadn't seen

 as many Bluebirds this year as I normally do.

Now I believe I know why.

I feel so bad for this little family.  I didn't see

Mr. Bluebird the rest of the day that I was at home.

I'll watch for him and his Mrs. tomorrow.  I do

hope that they will be able to have another family 

this year.  We need to get that birdhouse down and

clean it out and maybe put it elsewhere.

Mr. Bluebird has been so busy recently with tending 

his family that I've not been able to get a good,

crisp shot.  He wouldn't sit still for long.  I wonder if

he'll sit still now while he's grieving for his young?

Until next time...