Memorial Day Weekend

It was sure wonderful to have Morgan and Leah come to visit us for the weekend. Leah was especially glad to get out of the car seat after 4+ hours of riding.

Leah is having a great time with the yellow pages.

Tilling the garden last week when it was warm and dry. I didn't get it planted because it started to rain. Darn it.
That soil is so fluffy, but right now you could sink up to your shins in it.

Remember Hansel and Gretel? It was funny, because we had used the stock pot to heat the crab legs we had for dinner on Sunday, and then we found another use for it. It was a great place to kee Leah.

She was very content to sit in it and gum around the edge. It got very slobbery.

Then Alan thought it would be funny to put her on the stove. We should have had a picture of someone (me) slicing carrots into it. (Wicked Old Witch).

Here's our little sweetie pie all tuckered out. I love that she sleeps on her back.

This is a picture of some of the delicious things we had for dinner on Sunday: Crab legs, made by Morgan, Rice pilaf made by Zack, asparagus, made by Morgan, and lemonade, made by Zack. We also had a green salad and strawberry shortcake, assembled by Zack. They did a great job for my birthday dinner which we were celebrating a day ahead. Yum!

Leah met her great grandma and grandpa Baum for the first time this weekend. And of course they think she is the best.

Leah and Great grandpa Baum.

Leah and Great grandma Baum. Look at those faces. I love this picture. TThis is a good one of Leah looking at Grandma Baum. How cute.

We went to the cemetary on sunday evening to put flowers on the graves. Here are the flags waving at the side of the road on the cemetary grounds.

Morgan and Leah at Oliver and Luella's headstone.

Leah at the cemetary. It got a little windy and you could see her little fluffy hair blowing in the wind. How cute.

Standing at the headstone of Uncle George and aunt Dorothy. Dorothy just passed away in March. she had lived a good long life and will be missed.

Alan, Zack and I went to Ironman movie tonight. I liked it. It was different than I thought it would be. Alan did not fall asleep. We had a great weekend and this next week will be busy too. It was fun to hear from you about your weekends too. Glad you all called. It made my birthday lots of fun.

Spring continued

Yesterday in Ashton was beautiful. It was even better today, but I spent most the day in IF for a regional DUP meeting. Yesterday evening I went outside about 7:30 and took these pictures. Click on all of them if you want to have a better view. This is the 40 acres southeast of the house. When we plant, it will be the first one to get done. Kent went out and tried working it this afternoon, but he came back. Must have been a little wet still.
A close up of my spring bloomers. Aren't they pretty? I know you all have had your come and gone, but mine are just starting. I will mow the lawn tomorrow, unless something else comes up to stop me.

I don't know what these cuties are, I dug them up at Alice Brenchley's home last fall and brought them home. I should know, and could go look them up, but I'm not going to do it now.

This gives you a better idea of the state of my flowers. My peonies, columbine, bleeding heart, lupins, iris, poppies, and dianthus are up about 4 - 5 inches. I'm going to dig up most of these and transfer them over by the fence. Then I will plant some bushes (really colorful) to this bed. I want to have most the color over by the fence so I can look at it from the house. I won't take out all of the peonies. Just some.

Yes, my lawn is super green. It usually is, and now it looks even better with the white fence. Can you just picture pretty flowers in front of it. I already have some perrenials set over there. The roses and delphiniums and some other things I also brought from Alice. Just have to get the energy to get started on this huge project. This will be a Shelley project only, because this is one of the busiest times on the farm for Alan. Zack's choices are: shovel with a very particular mom, or drive tractor with an even more particular dad. Hmm, what would you do?

The last of the snow in the yard. It melted a lot today - in fact it is almost gone. I went out to the garden this afternoon and thought I might find some old carrots that I could put in my chicken pot pie (unbeknownst to me, Alan had eaten all our carrots for lunch) but every carrot, and there were lots, was a mushy mess. Pure orange mush. That frost really did go deep. Other years I have been able to get carrots in the spring that stayed in the ground all year.

And on a different note, I thought you might like to see better pictures of Zack, Kayla, and T Jay.

Zack got me to come down at 12:00 midnight to snap some pics of Kayla and him. Kayla was also named the prom princess. She had to wear this dippy tiara and dance a dance with the prom prince, who had to wear and even dippier crown. Oh well, that is Ashton for you. We're just kind of dippy.

Kayla with the two best guys of the night. Afterward they went to her house and played the Wii. T Jay had to get his date home by midnight. So he hung out with Zack and Kayla for the rest of the night.

I think her wristlet corsage was really pretty. It had peach roses and delphiniums, and plastic crystals. Zack told them he wanted the rhinestones to match the sparklies on her dress, but they gave him crystals. Oh well, Kayla didn't complain, so it worked out.

Sometime this week, I have to tell you a story that I heard at the DUP meeting. I'll try to remember and also about the progressive dinner and the interview Zack had with the Ashton Legionaires. I'll try to remember.

Prom and other Spring Flings

First, click on my first song to get the music going. It just goes so well with this first part.

As some of you know, today was Zack's Prom. They all had a pretty good time for the day-date. they did a scavenger hunt at the mall in I.F. Then they went to Johnny Carinos for dinner. They got home to Ashton at around 7:00 and then picked the girls up again at 9:00. They had lots of parents taking pictures, but all we got was Zack by himself. Oh well, I think he's bringing Kayla over later tonight and then we can get some pictures. Alan didn't get the best shots at the prom.

Zack getting ready, trying to figure out that tie.

His blue vest and tie matched Kayla's dress perfectly. The wristlet thingy had peach colored roses and delphiniums. Zack says it was a rip-off. $20.00

Zack and Kayla doing the promenade. He was just a little taller. Kayla is a tall girl. And did I metion she is smart?
Zack and me dancing the Mother and Son's dance. I can't believe how large I look. (AM)
Just call me large Marge. Also notice the orange tuxedo-boy in the background. There were three or four of the hideous tuxedos that showed up (Pink, orange, baby-blue). All I can say is ,"What kind of a mother let's her son dress like a clown for prom?"

On Thursday, it rained and snowed and then it warmed up some. There was an amazing mist that came up off the ground. Alan was outside and saw what was happening and got the camera and got some shots. While he was shooting, he noticed this beautiful bluejay on the west side of the house in the Virgina Creeper. I bet it was eating some of the old berries. He followed it around the farm and got close enough to get some good pictures. click on them to see it closer. The first two are across the street at the windbreak.

This one is when he was in the chokecherry tree in back of our house.

This is of the house with the mists coming up off the ground.

This is from the highway looking south across the 80 acres. It looks like something out of the Lord of the Rings to me.

These lovelies are Western Flickers. We usually get one or two that come in the springtime looking for worms, but this year they are all over the place. They chase each other all over and act all twitterpated. I guess they are. They are a kind of woodpecker, and can really do some damage on the buildings. But I think they are pretty cute.

Female below

Male and a female flickers.