Tug of War Winners!

This is my class this year;  we were the victorious winners of the annual school tug-of-war.   I have never had a class to win at this fierce competition.
It's a tradition carried on here for many years; I told them to be sure to never give up, and they beat out the other 5 classes in 4th grade to be the champs! 
Way to go, kids.

Snake of the Day...

Yet another snake making his way through my yard.
This one is around 5 feet long.    He was definitely unwelcomed by the mockingbird who was trying to scare him away.
He turned around and slithered into the cedar tree;  Maggie and I watched the whole process.

Family Art

Maggie created this family art work.  So creative; I love it.

Sadie, lovely then and now...

Sadie:  age 4, and age 16

What good memories and fun times we have had.    You were so much fun as a little kid; you are still fun now.
I love you!

They are together, again.

This is a picture of my husband, Keith, in the middle of the photo, with his parents.  I selfishly still want him here with us; but it is a comfort to know that he is with them again.   This picture is comforting, while it makes me cry, too.

Snakes......

These little gray snakes really like my yard.   This is the second one I have seen so far this spring.
They don't hurt a thing, and aren't that scared of people.
This one was hiding in my garden, and went under a stepping stone when I saw him. 

My early days as a mother...

This family portrait was taken in the year 2000.  Little Sadie was, and is, such a joy to us.
Happy memories....

Our own Peter Cottontail...

We have always had little wild rabbits at our house; our yard and surrounding yards are a good habitat for them.  This little rabbit, though, has one torn ear, and so we can tell him apart from others.  He (or she) has been hanging around for a few years now.  He also is not very afraid of us; he will usually just sit still as we are working in the yard.  I am sure he feels that we don't see him.
Just one of the many little things that makes our home so special to us.

Roses, and more Roses

I am sure when you think of Texas, you think of beautiful roses, right?  Well, probably not.  But this spring has been exceptional for gorgeous roses in our little town.   Rose bushes all around town have been loaded down with tons of beautiful roses.  I planted a Knockout Rose this year; they are very fast-growing and don't need a lot of attention.     I also planted more wild roses that only bloom for a few weeks each March to April, but are so carefree they are worth it.    I think my love affair with rose bushes has begun this spring.  

Raised Bed Gardening

This is my first year to try using raised garden beds.  I purchased these Garden Blocks by Evolve to use in making my beds.   The front round bed is for my Knockout Rose bush and flowers.  The others are dedicated to vegetables.  I also have irises planted around the round beds.  I hope this method will make weed control easier.  I also added my mother-in-law's old laundry wash tubs to hold a few more squash plants.  The bed in the background is blackberry bushes.  They need to grow this year and next; we hopefully will get berries again next year.    They were stressed and damaged by the old house being torn down.
Seeds are planted; more pictures to come. 
I planted butternut squash in addition to yellow; I have never tried butternut squash before.  Hopefully it won't be fussy.

Tornado Ready

Since we live in Tornado Alley, we recently had a storm shelter installed in our backyard.  It's a little added peace of mind for those of us in the path of potential tornados.  It  was amazingly quick to install.  The folks who installed it were here for only part of a recent, sunny afternoon.