I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

Hello readers!

Garrett here. Just an update that mom is still on her trip.

I got a great picture of her today taking beans to some locals along a canal.

We have a friend who is keeping his hives on the land.  About a month ago he was here….working them. I do not know much about bees.  He told me he would be glad to let me suit up and he would let me get right in the middle of it.   I’m not that brave yet.

I do find it most fascinating….

He uses this thing to smoke the bees….then he can get into the hive without getting swarmed.  It makes them a little loopy I guess…or maybe I should say passive.

Here he is using it….I wanted pictures…so Billy volunteered to get closer for me.   Years ago Billy had some hives…before I came along.  That is why he volunteered, he isn’t scared.

Here he was pulling the chamber out….there are several chambers to a box.

YIKES!  That is why I didn’t suit up….and that is why I didn’t want to get too close.  Look at all those bees.

I have to admit….the smoker looks like it did the trick.

He was checking the hive very closely, looking for parasites and anything unusual.

I am very curious…and maybe I will get the nerve to suit up one day.  But….one little bee decided he wanted to get in my face.  Oh, there were arms swinging and I began to dance a jig.

I will have to think about that really long and hard.

The bee keeper told me that they were more aggressive at that time because they were protecting the hive during the colder weather.  Now that it is warmer weather the bees will be busy going back and forth to the flowers and they won’t really bother you.  Lately I have seen them, and they truly are busy.

Yesterday I noticed about 4 honeybees getting a drink of water from a little rain puddle that hadn’t dried up yet.

Strange and amazing that a little creature like that can be so important  for the plant life.  It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, according to what I have read.

Everyone that has seen the hives have been asking about the honey.  Most everyone loves honey….that liquid gold.  I also found out that honey does not spoil.  It can crystallize….but it doesn’t ruin.  They have even gathered some from Egyptian tombs and it was still edible.

There is an older gentleman that lives in our area.  He saw the hives and told me a story.  He said there was an old bee tree down here (as he pointed), years ago and when we cut it, it had honey all the way to the first branch.  He said it was just full of honey.

I like to hear him tell stories from the past about the area we live in.  It gives me a mental picture.  You can see the sparkle in his eyes while he is talking.

I can’t wait until we get to try the honey out.  Although I may not of helped with working the hives, I did  help plant some of the flowers!

Maybe that will be worth a jar of HONEY!

I posted a while back that Holly and Chris were on a trip to Kenya.  They had a great trip and were able to experience some awesome things.  They were with the group Kenya Relief.  Kenya Relief started with a very heart warming story.  If you would like to know more about that go to Kenya Relief .org .

Thanks to Brittney’s beautiful heart…..this ministry was formed.

Brittney’s father….now loves on the people.

He has provided a place where others can come and help meet the physical and spiritual needs.

Holly and Chris took that opportunity.

The people walked for miles to come to the clinic.  They actually spent the night…so they would be there when the clinic re-opened the next morning.

There were many needs….

People of all ages came.

Can you imagine how you would feel if this was your child? That hurts just to look at it.

Thank the Lord for those with the skills to handle such…..

Now to recover….

Amazing how people make do with what they have on hand.

There are other needs as well….little by little they are being met.

Clean drinking water will help prevent a lot of health issues.

They are beautiful people….

living a hard life.

The animals are amazing.

And the landscape….stunning.

Through this ministry they are able to touch one another’s lives in a special way.

The hearts and lives of Holly and Chris will never be the same.

Thank you for your prayers as they traveled….please continue to pray for the people of Kenya.

Our granddaughter Riley turned 7 years old.  I cannot believe it….time really does go by fast.  Riley is our oldest grandchild.

I was blessed to be able to keep Riley for two and a half years, while her mother went back to work.  When her baby brother Andy arrived, their Mama Lindsay, was able to stay home with them for a few years.

Since she was the first grandchild, she was the one who gave us our names.  I am called ME…and Billy is called PooPa.

We sure have enjoyed the last seven years.  She has given us tons of laughs, and thousands of hugs and kisses.  We are blessed.

Riley wanted to have the party on our land this year.  Her Mom and Dad rented a blow up bouncy thingie…..

And there was a pinata…..

and lots of candy in that pinata!

These are Riley’s great grandparents…and her Poopa.  (And Trixie the dog)

She had a lot of fun with all her friends, but after they left….well….the big kids got a turn!

They took more breaks than the little kids did….

Now some of us were cleaning up…..but when we finished……we joined them!

This is Layla’s mom-Ashley, Riley’s mom-Lindsay and Riley’s grandmother Sandy….You go Granny! (That is the name Riley gave her)

Then it was time for “ME” to go…Woo Hoo…        Appreciate the push David and Garrett….

There was sidewalk chalk ….

And tether ball

the little kids looked like they were playing nicer than the big boys….

And swinging……

and climbing…..Gooooo Lindsay!

And then it was time to call it a day…By the looks on their faces….Andy and Layla weren’t ready to leave.  However, Riley…well… she smiled all day.

We had perfect weather and lots of fun.  We are so glad we could celebrate with Riley.

What a blessing to have all our grandchildren together.

I hope they will always be close and enjoy each others company.

Below, I compiled some pictures for a slideshow of Riley through the years.   Happy Birthday Riley….we love you so much…Poopa and ME.

A digital slideshow by Smilebox

I remember Easter as a child.  All the excitement of coloring eggs, being creative with the colors.  Even ending  up with a gray egg if you got too creative.  And it seems like there is a whole lot more candy to choose from now then there was then.

We always found a nice sized solid bunny in our basket on Easter morning.  It didn’t have foil on it, it was just a bunny with really long ears that stood up.  That of course was the first thing you had to bite off.  Peeps and Jelly beans were a regular as well.  I often wonder how in the world my Mom did all she did as a mother.  There were four of us kids.  That meant anything she had to do…she multiplied it times four.  She always had us dressed and ready for church each Sunday, Easter…… had to be a little harder.

Saturday nights were bath night, I remember sitting on the floor Indian style while she put my hair in pin curls.  Usually while watching The Lawrence Welk Show.  My sisters all had the pin curl treatment too.  That was one thing that my brother got out of, but he still had to have a bath.

Easter morning usually meant everyone woke up and got out of bed without having to be told.   Full of excitement, we would run to check out our baskets.  Then I am sure we begged for some candy before breakfast and all that stuff….times four.  Bless my poor mothers heart!

She had outfits ready for us, a lot of the time she had made our dresses.  My brother always had a suit and tie.  We had shoes that were set aside for Sunday shoes.  Somehow, someway she would manage to get us all dressed and to the church on time.

We enjoyed the fun that went along with the Easter bunny and getting all dressed up in our new clothes, and shiny shoes.  But we also learned what the real meaning of Easter was all about.  There was a time to sit still and listen about the story of Jesus.  We didn’t just hear about it at church, we were taught the truths at home as well….all year long.

I think the older I get, the more important it becomes to me.   I’m so thankful for that I grew up in a Christian home.  I am glad that we went to church and worshiped as a family, even though it had to be hard, carrying that out each and every Sunday.  But that is just it…I saw that the relationship my Mother had with Jesus wasn’t just an Easter thing.  The dressing up wasn’t for show, it was out of respect.  We were going to Worship the Lord.  He deserved our best.  In our outfits….and our behavior.

If I had not had the upbringing that I did, I often wonder how different my life would be now.

I am thankful for all the sacrifices she made for me.

I am especially thankful for the sacrifice Jesus made for me.

HAPPY EASTER!

Spring brings lots of different kinds of weather for us.  Yesterday was no exception.  We have had a warmer than normal Winter and Spring thus far.

The flowers and tree buds have burst open due to the nice temperatures.  Yesterday, I saw the first flower from the lily pads in the goldfish pond.

My older sister Charlotte came over the other day, we watched a huge bull frog enjoying the pond.  We laughed while we reminisced about younger years at my grandparents house.  We would row a boat and lean out amongst those lillies and catch big ole bull frogs.  We weren’t afraid to put our hands into the midst of the lillies.  Nor were afraid to grab the biggest frog around.  We gathered them and had races with them across the lawn.  Then my grandpa would  try to delicately describe cleaning  the frog by saying that he  would  “take their pants off”.  After we accumlated enough frog legs….my sweet grandma would fry them up for us.  I still remember seeing them jump in the frying pan as she cooked them.    They were delicious.

It seems like yesterday and then again it seems like a life time ago.  The years have ticked on and those days went by the wayside as we all got older.  As I think about it now it seems rather weird that we would eat frogs.  Actually, it is weird that I eat chicken nuggets that have been made into shapes.  Now that is not normal.

Living in the country has brought me back to seeing the cycle of life.  Even those chicken nuggets had to come from somewhere…before they were pressed and shaped.  I have found it interesting that most kids have no idea where the food comes from.  They think you just buy it….past that they don’t give it much thought.

The older generation that grew up living off the land knew a lot about a variety of  things.  For instance predicting the weather by using a Pig Spleen, or Wooly Bear Caterpillars or even a Persimmon Seed.

The Farmers Almanac has some very interesting things in it.  Yes, there is a lot of Folk lore, but there is a lot of truth to watching the earth and the signs that it gives through nature.

We were told two different days this week by the weathermen, that it just might hail.

In the country, one might say…they are calling for a hail storm.

About dinner time it happened.

Billy took a short video of it.

It was small hail, but it came down hard and fast.  The lawn and flower beds were white in just two or three minutes.

I scooped this off the back porch …… so interesting …….

It filled the flower pots up.  Thankfully it was small enough not to beat them down very much.

The day lilies were pushed over some.

And these cyclamen, I was afraid would not fair well. However, they came through it standing…and this morning they look alright.

The yard looked as if a light snow had fallen.

Today, the air is really cool and crisp.  It actually feels like Spring again.  Like Spring should feel around this time of the month.

I am going to have to get a farmers almanac and start learning how to tell what the weather will be.

Meanwhile I am listening to the weathermen.

There calling for beautiful Easter weather!  WOO HOO!