The Blessings of a Rainy Day...

It was a different world out there this morning.  The earth seemed refreshed.  There were no dusty cattle trails to follow, and the summer tanager was singing his sweet song.  I really have no other words today.  I am humbled and so very thankful for the blessing of a rainy day.  There really is magic in the water.  I hope it is raining on you too! 

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin'
Singin' in the rain.  

Watercolors and a Journal...

 

Grandma, Grandpa, and me...

Two years before my dad was born, my grandmother painted this.  She gave it to me when I was about ten years old.  I wish I had asked her to tell me about the painting then, but kids don't think of things like that.  Was someone teaching her to paint, or had she just picked it up on her own?  Well no matter, I think it is very good and wish I could do half so well.  I love it and keep it in my Bible. 

 

  

I have been surprised this week to find a few of the poppies still blooming.  I have pressed a few between the pages of a book and used them on a journal page.  

Rain and Other Happenings...

 

Rain!  My what a blessing each drop was.  We were all of higher spirits today.

The day was a hot one however, so that we all sought cooler places.

It was a hot day to come into this world, but mother and baby are doing fine.  I plan to keep this little blue roan heifer for my very own.  She will be a beauty.  I think I will name her Rainey.

It was, however, a perfect day to put in some final stitches.  There's more  over on the other blog.

A Summer Garden...

 

They beg for water.  I give it to them.  They do not know rain.

I am calling this one "Matchy Matchy."  The Critter does match up well with all that stuff in the center ~ stamen and pistil, I think.  It has been a while since Seventh Grade Life Science.

"Where are the Swallowtails?" Well, they are not in my garden, except this one black one.  

But there have been several of the zebra stripes.  Wikipedia says they are closely associated with pawpaws, and are rarely found far from these trees.  We do have  groves of these trees along the small streams here.

 

Even O'Keeffe would love this one.  And, I do too!

I thought bee balm was for the bees.  

Crepe paper never looked so good...

Ahh, there are the bees!  

I have been calling this place, The Land of Little Rain (Mary Austin), but Dan says not to despair for it will rain soon despite what the forecasters predict.  Oh for the power of positive thinking!  

But, for now, I will be out in the garden with my garden hose until dark.

~Mary

   

Just Millie and Me ~ A Hundred Days...

 

Always with my stick...

And my Millie Girl...

Millie and I are making a new little run on the walking thing we do.  We have once again hit the hundred mark.  How well we remember that glorious day when we made our thousandth walk.  (We actually made it to 1,386 before winter blizzards raged and viruses sent us to our beds.)  We had thought we might invite friends and family over for a joyous celebration on that day, but in the end we decided we wanted that day to be no different from all the others...just Millie and Me.  

What Goes On Here Stays Here...

 

What goes on here, stays here...here on this blog, that is.  My other blog is just a nuisance where I don't seem to have time to go.  I am thinking it may be time to say goodbye to Linnie Butts & Co.  I have already taken steps in that direction but have ninety days before it is permanently deleted, just in case I should change my mind.  But, not to worry, for it will all fit right here under one roof at our beloved Hilltop Post, so we'll not have to go wandering from here to yonder.

From the barn lot...

To the Studio...(aka The Sewing Room)

Or to somewhere in between...  

The photo below, Getting Together To Sew,"  was the last one to be posted on my other blog, Linnie Butts & Co..  I had been playing around with some photo editing features where I discovered Edge Sketching, which I am thinking might be a handy tool when drawing or sculpting.  It really drives home the importance of each humble little line.

I even tried edge sketching Millie, but her lines aren't so well defined. 

Thanks for stopping by on this oh-so-hot day.  It's a scorching 103 f .

Until next time,

Mary

Our Little Oasis...

It had not been my intention to do another gardening post today, but the little poppies just keep on coming - all so different and beautiful.  I am fascinated with the centers of each one.  When the snow flies next winter, I will look back and wonder why I didn't post more of them, so maybe I will.

 

I got letters today from the granddaughters at camp.  I had sent them fun letters ~ stamped, cut and pasted, so they were anxious to write back to me.  Blogger friends Kathy and Debra have inspired me to get back into letter writing which I am enjoying so much.  

The older granddaughter wrote that she had been helping with the camp horses, and about the journal she has made.   She promised to bring it to show me when she "comes for tea."  (They are my little tea party friends from just down the road a bit.)

The younger girl, self-described as "the best granddaughter," :~) wrote "I made a pillow for my bed!  I used the sewing skills to make it that you taught me."  Then she sent an Instax FujiFilm picture of it.  It was such fun to get pictures to hold in my hand.  Golly, I didn't know I had done so well with those lessons.  I am already planning our next sewing project, and for our next tea party.  

This little oasis is where the critters hang out on these hot summer days.  Oh, for the wonders of a tree on such a day as this.  It's a sanctuary for the dozens of hummingbirds that come to the feeders, and its shade is a refuge for critters like Millie and me.   

Here in our neck of the woods, it's as "hot as a firecracker on the Fourth of July."  Millie and I are now kicking up dust on the trails, and watering plants every day.  In an effort to stay cool, it seems that Millie digs a little deeper each day, like a barnyard fowl, amongst the bushes and flowers.   

 Despite the heat, there's still a lot of pretty things in the garden.   The poppies continue to delight me even though they last for only a day.   The Nasturtiums are showing off some pretty colors.  The reds are my favorites.  If a red more beautiful than the Nasturtium Red  exists, I don't know of it.  The bee balm, also in a lovely red, is just beginning to bloom, which should please a lot of garden critters as well as the hummingbirds.        

 The summer tanager had not been seen for several days, so I was getting concerned.  Hawks of different kinds regularly patrol these skies, so life is tenuous, at best, for those so vulnerable.  But, not to worry, this morning he showed up on his favorite garden post where I was working.  He seemed to be in a hurry and stayed just long enough to sing one short, sweet song.  He looked a bit haggard and bedraggled in appearance, so I am thinking his parental responsibilities are taking a toll on him, or perhaps it is just the heat.  He definitely seeks me out, for he always alights on a post nearest to me.  As I have said before, I feel humbled that he would do that.