Last week I shared that I helped Jane turn her dining room into a sitting room. And in case inquiring minds want to know,

this is how it turned out. She can sit there, drink her coffee, and enjoy her beautiful cottage gardens without even going out in this heat.
Last night I asked her if I could come this morning and take pictures around her place. I told her that I would be there if it wasn’t raining.
When I headed that direction, I wasn’t too sure what the weather had in mind.

As I drove along the road that followed the bayou,

it began to sprinkle a little. But I decided that there is no such thing as a day that is not beautiful, so I continued on my way.
After I arrived at Jane’s little piece of heaven, it only sprinkled briefly, so I was able to have myself a fabulous photographic face off with the flora (and what it surrounded).
So, here’s what I saw.

Then she hollered out the back door and asked if I wanted breakfast. Well, what do you think I said?

Cereal was the day’s special, and you know what?

I believe that was just about the best cereal I have ever had.

I can’t allow the chickens to roam free. Well, I can…and I have, but they have gotten me in so much trouble. The vegetable gardens, Josh’s lilies and Joel’s flower beds are temptations that they can’t seem to get a grip on. So today, I decided to make them a little lawn.

I built a frame out of treated 2×4’s and positioned it in their pen. Then, before I left for water ballet, I filled the frame with top soil. I knew better. As soon as I closed the gate,

those birds began having themselves a fabulous time.
When I got home, I just added an little more dirt,

then went to the back of the property to dig up some grass.

When I thought that I had dug up enough, I came back and installed it in the frame.

and covered the frame with wire. That way, they can eat the grass, but not scratch it up.

I watered it in good, and as soon as the hose was turned off,

they knew just what to do.

Now they have curb appeal.

This afternoon I decided that I would pay a visit to the Tamp and Grind. I don’t know why, seein’ that I don’t even like coffee. Maybe I was feeling a little culturally deprived…or something. I’ve been there before, and people are in there reading and doing studious stuff. So, I packed up my journal and several pens and headed to the ‘cultural district’ of downtown Alexandria.
As I crossed the tracks on my way out of Woodworth, I said out loud, “What in the world are you doing!” But I kept driving and before long

I turned right on Fourth Street,

home to the Tamp and Grind.
I went inside and ordered an Italian cream soda

and a brownie, neither of which I needed, and sat at a table for two, alone, to write in my journal.

They were pretty busy.

People came,

and people went, and I watched, and listened, and wrote.
Most of the people were not there alone, but were enjoying the company of friends, which seems like the way to go in one of those places.
And then I left……..just like that.
I walked back to my car, which was parked in front of a car

with a very interesting hood ornament.
As I crossed the tracks in Woodworth, I breathed a sigh of relief. When I got home, I walked straight to the lily garden

and sat down at a table…

with some friends.
It wasn’t busy at all. There was this one guy

who came, and went, and talked on the phone. But other than that, there was only the sound of ducks and birds.
Oh, the Tamp and Grind was nice, and so were the people. But…I guess I’ve just been on the farm too long.

About as soon as God

turns the light on every morning, and the lilies

open their eyes, things start getting busy around here. How busy? Ohhh,

about as busy as a bee in a squash blossom.

Josh is always eager to check out the day’s blooms, and some of the animals come out

for their morning meditation…

or to wait around for something to crawl out of the lilies.
This morning, I had to go into town for

for goat groceries. I also began collecting supplies

for a floating ‘duck deck’ that I want to build.
By the time I got all that done, it was time to think about lunch.

Naaa, maybe tomorrow.

After an unusually cool spring, it’s beginning to get a little warm and humid here in Woodworth, Louisiana.

The ducks are in and out of the water all day, so its entirely possible that they are the only ones around here that know what to do in this heat. That is, unless you’re one of those who sits in the air conditioning all day long. That can be tempting, but you just miss too much.
A friend of ours was watching some wild horses graze in the forest one day, and he said, “God gives us so many beautiful things to look at”. He was right, but you can’t look at it if you stay in the house.
The daylilies are in full bloom, so I would like to share some of the beautiful things on our property that God has given us to look at…just for today.

“Consider the lilies…even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28,29)

This morning I went to Forest Hill to one of the nurseries and bought some lantana

to put in a tire planter that I made yesterday and hung on the corner of the hen house.
After that, Donna and I

got our cowgirl hats and headed to the market.

Debbie and Mrs. Phyllis were there and so were

Lisa and John Delaney. I found out that Lisa has recently purchased a loom and gone to weaving. I’m going to have to pay her a visit and check out her creations.

They were handing out free cucumber samples, which the girl said tasted like summer. She was right, and I bought a couple of them. I also got a bag

of broccolini among other things.
After we got home, I worked in the garden for a bit.

I hoed around some of the vegetables, and noticed that it won’t be long

until we are picking some squash.
About that time Jane called for me to come over. She loves gardening,

and has a beautiful place. Recently I learned that she is also an avid furniture rearranger, thus the reason for her call.

I had agreed to help her take her dining table apart so she could turn her dining area into a sitting area.

And that’s just what I did. We had us a fabulous time moving furniture and visiting. Then, not long after that,

the circus came back to town.

Things went well last night. Around six this morning the boys came into my room and said, Mammy it’s light outside, so that means we can get up.” I think one of their house rules is that they can’t get up until God turns on the light. Before long they were hungry and wanted pancakes with lots of syrup. As they walked out of the kitchen, I heard one of them say, “And I hope you put colors in them.”

I did. Somehow the purity of the color gets lost in the cooking process,

but they seemed to be happy.
Then they wanted to make cardboard figures. They decided that they would make knights. I suggested that they be done like paper dolls and that way they could design different armor and swap them out. It seemed like a good idea, but since these knights were treated as action figures, their outfits kept slipping off.

We finally just taped the armor on Hudson’s knight. The process kept them busy for most of the morning.

They designed,

and colored,

and taped,

and colored some more. They had a great fun. There was one time when Hudson was so excited that he took off running through the house making strange noises at the top of his lungs. Denton looked at me and smiled and said that Hudson had issues.
After they had lunch and things were picked up a bit, I drove them to Meme and Pawpaw’s house for the second leg of their adventure. But they’ll be back…after all, tomorrow is another day.

This morning I went down to the barn to feed the goats

and see what I could rearrange that might keep Willow off the barbecue pit. I decided to take down this feed trough,

which was in a stall next to the gate,

and relocate it in a place where it could not be used as a step ladder. I also took out

this little trough for the same purpose. I think that Willow knew that I was on to her tricks,

because she took notice of the remodel. I hope this solves the problem. Keep your fingers crossed.
Josh is the main speaker at a regional daylily conference this weekend. So, this afternoon he and Nikki and Josie left for Alabama. The twins didn’t go…guess where they are. When they came over with their stuff, Denton said, “We have to stay with you for a while. Momma and Daddy had to go somewhere to preach about daylilies.”

They played in the yard for a while.

But, before long it started to rain.

We had planned to build a fire outside and cook hamburgers. Since that wasn’t going to happen,

we made a fire in the house and went on with our bad selves. Everyone enjoyed their hamburger. That is, everyone but Hudson.

When he wasn’t looking, Matilda ate his.
They asked me where they were going to sleep. I told them that they would be on a pallet in my room. Denton said that he just wasn’t into sleeping on the floor, so I got out the blow up bed. That way, they are on the floor…but not really. And, they’re not in my room.

I hope that’s the way it stays.

This evening just before dark I got a call from Josh informing me that one of my goats was out and almost in his daylily display garden. Immediately, I felt the presence of the dark angel of intestinal unrest.

I quickly jumped into my cowboy boots and headed out the door. As I rounded the corner of the house, I met Hudson and Denton herding Willow (I should have known)

back toward the barn. They said, that their daddy said, that if Willow had gotten into his daylilies, he would have had to give her a whipping. I’m sure that’s what he SAID, but I’m also sure that’s NOT what he meant.
I don’t know how that goat got out, but I feel like it involved climbing. Anyway, I know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow.

I stayed outside all day today…well, except for when Mrs. Pattie Monk and I went over to the cement pond for our water ballet lessons.

I burned brush piles,

watered one of Joel’s gardens,

mowed under the fruit trees,

and mowed a little behind the pond.
Later in the evening, I decided that I would eat out. For me, that means cooking and eating outside. So…..

I retrieved some worms from my worm bed,

and went to the little pond on the south side of the property to catch my supper…

with success I might add.

Donna joined me and before long, we had dinner for two.
Then we came back to the house and cleaned those babies (because that’s what they were)

and cooked them over a fire that we had prepared.

We threw a few ears of corn on the fire too.
The food was good. The company was good. The evening was pleasant…until the mosquitos discovered what we were doing. And that was the end of that.