4/1/2012 I took this picture…

I took this picture but I wasn’t in the picture so….  I fixed that with a little Photoshop April Fool’s magic .  I can see myself living here…. at least in the summer time.                                               

3/31/2012 Do the best job you possible can the first time!

There’s nothing like a “new” house and yard.  Everything is bright and shiny, full of promise.  A “new” yard has lots of “promise” rather than “problems”.  It is way more fun to plant a yard with your design in mind  than to cut, pull and rearrange the current reality. It has been 5 years since we finished the house and moved it.  Just this past week we re-did the floors…. so much harder than the first time.  Lesson learned…. do the best job you possibly can the first time!

3/30/2012 Southern Magnolia

I have always thought that the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandi flora) was the most gracious, lovely tree of the South.  The Magnolia grows to enormous heights, is evergreen no matter how cold the Florida nights might go, has the most gorgeous, aromatic blooms and later vibrant red fruit pods.  I love this tree!  The Magnolia is like several southern ladies that I know.  They lift their lives up to enormous heights, they are ever ready to help and their “Fruits of the Spirit” are known by many. One day I hope to be compared to such a tree.

3/29/2012 Sometimes in relationships it’s hard to tell.

Are they buttin’ heads or are they just trying to see eye to eye? 

Sometimes in relationships it’s hard to tell.

3/28/2012 Somethings you can’t “buy”.

A long time ago, down a dusty dirt road in Levy County, Florida, I saw this set of mailboxes. It kind of struck me that I liked the rough, folk art feel of the boxes. I know that they sell gorgeous mailbox covers, they even sell ugly fish mailboxes… but this was simple and home done. Something made me stop and take a picture. Somethings you can’t “buy”.

 

 

 

3/27/2012 Friends are one of life’s treasures…

Even the youngest know the support         and encouragement that friends offer.

 Remember the old saying …                          “To have a friend you have to be friend”.

Friends are one of life’s treasures.

3/26/2012 Thank You, GOD!

Somethings just don’t require words, they just stand on their own.  Tulips on a warm, spring Tennessee morning might just be one of those things.  Thank you, God!

3/25/2012 We’re gonna smoke some salmon!

Every fisherman in Alaska has their own special recipe and process for smokin’ salmon.  We were taught by the best, Guy Stewart.  Guy took us under his wing and taught us the way he had done it for years.  Smokin’ takes all day… first brine the fish over night and then hang it out to dry while you get the alder wood going.  Slow and low, all day and then yummy eating for the next year!

3/24/2012 Lessons learned from a duck!

The last summer that we stayed at Islands Lake, AK  there was a family of ducks nesting in the grasses under the float plane ramp.  One afternoon I was kind of tired and maybe bored and I starting chasing the ducks.  I noticed that they bunched “together” and moved away from me “together”.  Not a single duck strayed…. lessons learned from a duck!

3/23/2012 Give the caterpillar time….

Butterflies were probably created on day 5 or 6.  It doesn’t matter, GOD was the master designer.  Nature needs them for pollination and we enjoy their visual beauty.  We love the way they flit around and the magnificent coloration of their wings.  They are more than insects….  they are magical!  Butterflies have 4 stages… only the last stage is the gorgeous, magical stage that we adore. The next time you see someone who is still a “caterpillar”  give them time… they just might turn into the most beautiful butterfly you have ever seen!