The Dog Days of Summer

This was quite the summer. A bit too busy for my preference but weather wise, I don't remember a nicer one. Only within the past week has it really felt like a "real" summer. Most of the time it was so balmy and cool that we were able to keep the house open and air conditioners off. It  was lovely but didn't allow the garden to produce like we had hoped. The garden looked lovely - it just didn't produce very much.

The chickens are doing wonderfully and we had one hen who started laying about three weeks ago. So far she's the only one but she's produced 19 eggs in 20 days. When we opened the first week's eggs to have fried eggs one Sunday evening, we discovered that in the first week she'd laid two double yolks. Since then she's also laid one other one.

We've discovered that the really big ones she lays are the double yolks.

The layer is one of the Silver Laced Wyandottes.

We started homeschooling early this summer since little boys without structure will create drama just to have something to do. It was nice to knock out some of the English and Math lessons before starting full bore. Now God's Bible School and College classes begin tomorrow and thus starts another school year. It's nice to have campus "come alive" again and we're looking forward to God's transforming grace working in our lives this year. There are good days ahead. Happy end of summer everyone! 

Wrapping up summer

Now that summer is winding down, I'm getting my kitchen window sills back!

We harvested the apples last week and they were beautiful and delicious. I'm very impressed with the size and quantity on just a three year tree.

Earlier in the summer I redid the ironing room painting it a light tan and putting up a picture and one of my favorite scripture verses.

The jury is still out from what I might do with this Stella Cherry Tree. Last year I posted about it's weirdness and after some research I lopped the entire thing off at 5 feet tall. This year it started branching out really nice and then the deer came up and ate almost all the branches off from 2 feet - 4 feet. So once again it looks very lopsided! I may just whack it off at 5 feet again this year and see what happens. Cherry trees have to be pruned vigorously but as of yet, I'm not sure I've been doing it correctly - we've not had any fruit off of it - not even a blossom. After the deer ate the bottom branches off the boys thought it looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

This and That

Late yesterday afternoon we got a call from the Cincinnati Police Department letting us know that our car that had been stolen in June had been found. It was just down the hill from us in Over The Rhine. Nothing was taken out - car seat, ratchet set, tape deck - but it had been hot-wired so it now starts with a screwdriver! It sounds terrible....they evidently ran it pretty hard and probably so as not to draw attention to themselves just parked it. But it's nice that we get the money for the metal instead of someone else. 

This was one of my projects last week after discovering that the little leak I was seeing at the wall by the dishwasher was actually a big leak. But after replacing the motor (since the gears were almost stripped and it also needed new O-rings) it's working like a charm - and I discovered that I'd forgotten how long it takes to wash dishes by hand. So blessed to have a dishwasher!

We hosted a picnic for the Ministerial Division at our house on Saturday and a good group was able to come. So glad to have the students back!

The Grillmaster

Then we took some friends to a presentation on the Second Amendment and a Gun Safety lecture for a quick field trip. It was very bright that day and no one wanted to look at the camera - at least Uriah and Josiah looked.

The couple doing the presentation raised chickens so Allan got to hold one.

Squirrels stripped one apple tree of all but three apples and took about 20 off of this one before I finally was able to stop them by putting a plastic paint drop cloth around the bottom branches. So far they've left it alone...but I did holler at a two footed creature who was checking them out over the weekend.

This is a fall garden.....dying......very much in need of the attention ....looking really pathetic. It's good I got what I could before school started. I could use the excuse that this is my cover crop........  Just need to pull the carrots and onions and then wait for the broccoli and cauliflower to produce.

So looking forward to fall and am starting to see some leaves changing and the cooler weather seems to have settled in. Lazy, fall days - love them!

Summer Days

Where have we been? Enjoying a very busy and full summer!

The first of June found us in Tennessee talking about marriage and child rearing - our boys weren't thrilled about those topics but they were thrilled to spend HOURS here:

Then a quick stop at Cades Cove - we just missed seeing a bear.

Then on to the Smoky Mountains for camping.

We went back to Mile High Campground because the views there are unbeatable.

We had a very nice secluded camping spot and that is happiness for little boys. Through the week we saw a total of 11 elk that came through our campsite - one not even 10 feet away - that's a little too close for comfort. One morning we woke up in the clouds and that was really neat.

While camping there were times to walk through bamboo forests

and wade in streams.

This time we learned a very important lesson: when you leave on a hike, no matter how pretty the sky looks - close your tent. A thunderstorm can develop very quickly in those mountains and if you leave your tent open, everything will get wet. Thankfully Cherokee, North Carolina has a laundromat that made quick work of pillows, sleeping bags, blankets and clothes so that by the time bedtime arrived, all three monkeys had a warm dry place to lay their heads.

Then back for a few weeks to focus on caring for the garden and working on some painting projects.

 Some baby birds in the Boston fern on the porch.

Then a trip to AL for Pell City Camp but....the new camera I was given never left it's case. But when we got back I did take a picture of Daniel who lost his first tooth.

Then my nephew came for a visit and asked for a "Hobbit Hole Cake" so I dug out the cake decorating materials and did my first Hobbit cake. From my son's reactions - I'll probably have three more over the next year. (And just as we were about to walk out the door one of my boys gasped and said, "Mommy, you forgot the golden doorknob." So we remedied that before it was delivered.)

It was then time to say goodbye to a great friend who is leaving to do an internship for the next year. How we will miss Darnell's laugh and stories but so thankful forwhat God has been doing in his life and looking forward to what God has ahead for him.

Then a few days away in Amish Country to celebrate 12 years of sharing life together with this man:

And enjoying some beautiful, relaxing, country scenery before the rush of another school year returns.

And now Philip is away preaching his last campmeeting, the boys and I are home picking blackberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers. This next week we finish preparations for the first day of school. Such a busy summer! But what a great one!

Month in Pictures

The best way to document this past month may be in pictures:

Many battles have been fought - some in a cape with a hidden sword tucked in the belt under cover of darkness...

and some out in the open. 

More demolition demonstrations. 

Xylophone part in a second grade special during chapel. 

"The Project" - after selling my cake decorating inventory, I put those monies into doing raised beds in part of my garden this year with hopes to expand in the future. All six beds are now in place and have the dirt in them (long story there!) and if we can keep the cats and squirrels to stop using them as litter boxes we just might be able to grow something.

We had the neatest experience of watching a bee hive "swarm". One hive got too big so another queen was chosen, the colony split and this was the result - a basket ball size of bees surrounding their queen waiting to choose a new home. The beekeeper who came to get them said there were probably about 8,000 bees in that mass.

Over Philip's spring break we were able to go on a camping trip to Red River Gorge in KY were there were a lot of climbing opportunities for the boys (mommy just took the pictures).

Beautiful views -(if you're not afraid of heights)

And strange twists of nature - like this tree that was growing totally on top and around a rock.

And lots of happy memories (and no major accidents!).

We were well protected the entire trip.

Allan celebrated birthday #8!

Celebrated Easter.

Smiled at the prospect of apples this year.

Hatched some butterflies.

And so many more wonderful, exciting, "spring-ish" doings! We've been planting seeds, replanting seeds, working on schoolwork and housework, just all the things that make up life. We're so very blessed.