Friday Fotos

 

Welcome to Friday Fotos!

💖💖💖

Thank you everyone for the kind words yesterday. Y'all are the best.

I took a stroll around the property. I have a new FujiFilm XP camera (water proof & shock proof) I had to try out. It's supposedly just like the other yellow one I accidentally dropped in the woods when the land clearing was going on. The chipper chewed it to itsy bitsy bits. So, these are the images that stood out the most. Enjoy!

First attempt. Maggie moved. She was looking so cute too, all curled up and snuggly. Little stinker.

Of course, I had to snap a pic of our "pretend" veg garden. Yeah, ok, it's 90% flowers. I admit it. The veg's are on the corners. We're mostly carnivore's anyway. That's how we've both lost 45 pounds. I'm down to 160 from 205 now! Woot woot! 🥳💃

The Windmill

Down by the road (above)

Royal Purple Petunias (below)

Yellow Petunia's (above)

White Petunia's next to my old chair (below)

Petunia's in an old repainted wheelbarrow (above)

Petunia's next to the gate keypad (below)

The Catalpa tree bloomed this year. (above)

Confederate Jasmine (below)

And, last but not least:

Steve is changing the oil and filter then performing general maintenance on his motorbike (2018 Honda NC750X). I think his is prettier than mine. 😎

Then, lastly, my nearly constant companions. Maggie in the foreground, Sam next to her (white) and Jack next to the junk pile. I circled him because in the bright sunlight he nearly disappeared! I didn't notice that at the time.

I hope y'all enjoyed the tour. We've got places to go and people to annoy. 🤭 Prayers that the rest of your day is pleasant, profitable, edifying and full of the joy we receive from the Holy Spirit. Every day is a gift from God. I hope I always remember to enjoy it. 😇🙏

Ride Safe, 

From Pain To Gain

Ziggy

Something wonderful has happened. The crippling pain in my hands, and subsequently my wrists, seems to be subsiding. But let me back up a bit. Last  April 22nd, I dutifully visited the Orthopedic doctor to address this problem. He listened to the ailments. Then after many more questions, and hmmm’s and uh huh’s, Doc diagnosed the pain as “Lesion of left ulnar nerve with trigger finger”. Fancy words, huh? This resulted in two very freakin' painful cortisone shots in the palm of said left hand though! Which resulted in me whimpering quietly out of the office with both wrists encased in large black braces, trying to act like an adult and therefore keep what’s left of my dignity intact. Also, on the advice of a former blogging colleague who is a retired Nurse, I’ve also began taking an over-the-counter vitamin called Turmeric (i.e. Saffron pills). Well, it’s taken several weeks of rest but I think there’s a breakthrough. I’m actually typing this missive without having to stop and hold the left wrist in agony. And that includes using this goofy laptop with the broken “s” key that slows me down to a crawl. Who knew so many words have an “s” in them?! Oy.

Hey, look, there's a cute elf weeding

in the garden so I don't have to!

Thanks to seasonal rains, the vegetable garden and the flower areas are prospering. So far we’ve already enjoyed many meals of Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Bell Peppers and Red Potatoes. The Tomatoes are a disappointment, but, I can live with it. Oh, and we now have a herb garden consisting of Basil, Cilantro, Dill, and Rosemary. I didn't realize that fresh herbs truly are a tasty accompaniment to a meal. We’re not financially rich but, doggone it, we sure eat good.

Image From Insurance Journal

(Doesn't this little guy look like our Sam III?)

There’s a lot of birthdays in our small circle of friends and family in May. Today is my 60th. Our plans this year are to stay home and have a cookout. Hubby plans to grill juicy Rib Eyes from the local IGA topped with cooked buttered mushrooms. We will also dine on baked Idaho potatoes (gotta smother them in butter and sour cream, don’t ya know) and eat more of those scrumptious fresh squash. He’s also baking a homemade apple pie. *picture me dreamy eyed and drooling* Oh yeah … that’s one of my favorite sweets! I’ll share the loot gifts next post.

Speaking of dogs, the Boys, the Jack Russell Terriorists Jack and Sam III, are both healthy. They’re still actively ‘protecting’ the property from those nefarious bushy tailed intruders. I feel so safe now. *giggle* That first year I thought I'd got run away from home trying to discipline those two cuties but now they've finally turned into two really fine dogs.

For Wrent

Hubby has started making Blue Bird houses. He’s given some away to fellow Sunday School attendees. The nest boxes have become so popular, he’s having a hard time keeping up with requests. I think he’s on a one man quest to reestablish this lovely bird back into our area. Works for me. (As long as he doesn't start tilting at windmills, I won't worry.) They’re one of my favorite local winged creatures, alongside the Carolina Wren (their song sounds so sweet to me). We have several nesting on the property every year. I see God in nature, don’t you?

Preparing for the 200 mile ride to

Valdosta and back.

Now that my wrists have improved, I’m even back to riding more often. The F.A.I.T.H. Riders sponsored a local ride over to the Smoke ‘N Pig again. Their BBQ is worth the trip folks. Afterwards, I was so physically drained, that the whole next day all I wanted to do was rest, but, gosh, it felt good to be back in the saddle.

God is indeed good to honor me with so much answered prayer. He answers ALL prayers, of course, but being able to ride and type again is especially sweet. Anyway, even if the pain returns making surgery necessary, I know He loves me and cares. All He wants in return is our FAITH. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

I’m truly blessed all around. It is indeed good to be back on-line! Whole hearted thank yous for the prayers, kind words, and patiently waiting for my return. May the LORD bless and keep you too.

Mount up! LET'S RIDE!

Throw Back Thursday: Our Love Was Once In Tents

Hubby and Sparky

In 1979, we were newly wed, full of the moxie of youth, bright eyed with great hopes for the future. Gainful employment was easy back then. Jobs where plentiful. The future was bright. We weren't rich but we weren't broke either. Whatever life was to throw at us, it didn't matter, we where ready. And, ultimately, loves conquers all.

Our first trip together was on a shoe string budget, so, we planned for a location close to home in western North Carolina. This trip we spent a lot of time camping and hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville and all parts in between.

Hubby brought a vivid blue two man pup tent into the marriage. This was the start of a long love affair for me with camping. Soon after this trip, we 'moved up' to a 6 man Hillary canvas cabin tent sold by Sears. It gave us many years of faithful service and happy memories. Many years later, tired of sleeping on the ground, we bought a towable Recreational Vehicle. Now that we live in the woods, an RV was no longer exciting. I really miss being outdoors on our trips, though, but Hubby grew weary of all the work. Can't say that I blame him.

Above is the dear man during his salad days sitting by a stream on the Blue Ridge. I fell in love with that charming smile the first time we met. I am happy to report that he is still that wonderful guy and more.

Thank you LORD Jesus for all our wonderful years together.

 "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." Ephesians 5:31

Throw Back Thursday: Canon City, Colorado In June 1984 #tbt

In June of 1984 we where still living in Jacksonville, Florida. It was one year before becoming landed property owners in Southeast Georgia. We where both still fit at the respective ages of 28 and 36 but poor of pocket, but we both had gainful employment and hungered for a little adventure that summer. Rather than staying in expensive hotels hubby had the grand idea to rent a Coleman Pop Up Tent Camper. So, with our nice new Sable Brown 98 Oldsmobile, the Pop Up was pulled across country to Cañon City, Colorado, for two weeks of fun and frivolity.

There we stayed at a nice campground called Indian Springs Ranch. It was a working ranch owned by the kindly and generous gentleman Bennie "Pop" Thorson, Sr. He took in strays (as he called it): young men down on their luck and coming dangerously close to being jailed. The Judge would recommend certain fellows that needed guidance and he gave them honorable work with pay and they came out of it real men with direction in their lives.

Since it was a working ranch, we got to see the day-to-day operations involved in running such an enormous place. One "chore" that we city slickers really enjoyed was "punching cows".

This is my husband riding an appaloosa aptly named "Appy". I remember, my horse's moniker was "Little Buddy". For some reason, our horses did not like each other! Every time I'd pull up beside my husband to talk they would nip and bite at each other. Sometimes it would get a little heated. I had to maintain a safe distance from Appy so Little Buddy wouldn't start the argument all over again. In recollections it was quite funny but at the time at bit annoying.

The Ranch has the appearance of old, scrubby Bad Lands but is actually rich in ancient fossil beds. Some dated to at least over 450 million years old. The beds displayed microscopic fish eggs, dinosaurs, and ancient fish. The Royal Gorge is also nearby. We rode the Route Railroad through the passes, drove a few scary narrow canyon roads, visited museums, where entertained by the horde of Broad-tailed Hummingbirds at the campground feeders every evening, and even had an old timey photo taken that reposes on a bedroom wall. It was a wonderfully memorable trip.

On the return we over-nighted at Fort Mountain State Park in Chatsworth, Georgia, near Dalton. By then, we where road weary. But I have only happy memories. I feel so grateful to be married to such an adventurous man. I hope we have many more years to explore our lovely, always fascinatingly diverse United States.

Ride Safe,

Winfield Farms Vintage & Now Shopping Spree #antiques

We enjoyed a lovely lunch today with good friends at the local Garden Cafe' in downtown Blackshear. After engorging ourselves on their delectable fresh homemade sandwiches, chips and sweet ice tea and a hour of friendly conversation, we all took our leave to go run errands. However, upon leaving the Cafe, I noticed a new antique store in the little strip of businesses. Yep, made a bee line for it too!

The store uses the title of Winfield Farms Vintage & Now. I meant to ask them if they where Winfield's but was so excited about the new finds, completely forgot myself.

Oh, yeah, life is good.

Also, prayers for all the families and friends with loved ones on the airplane in the terrorist attack in the Ukraine today. Our thoughts are with you.

Ride Safe,

Press Any Key To Continue Putting Out Fires ...

What a day this has been! We've been trapped inside like hamsters in a cage due to a weather system dragging up copious amounts of rain from the Gulf of Mexico. It has literally poured all day. Not being in a cleaning mood, I figured it was a good day to get our new Windows 8 computers up-to-speed.

Not to brag, but I was quite proficient on the XP's. I had all that right clicking and such down pat. Now it feels like I'm having to start all over again with learning how to use the Windows 8.1. It took me a week to figure out how to have a word processing program again. These things aren't sold with MicroSoft Works anymore (cheap skates). My beloved Lotus 1-2-3 program that I've used 'forever', well, at least since I graced the business world, is no longer compatible. Lotus had the best SpreadSheets hands down. Oh well. So, I googled what to do about it. The Windows 8 had pre-installed a free WordPad program. It's not fancy but it gets the job done. That's what I'm pecking away at right now. I've even taught myself how to 'pin' programs that I use consistently to the bottom taskbar. [patting self on back] If you can recommend any other word processing programs, preferably free or cheap, I'm all ears.

My husband is enjoying his new 10" HP Laptop. He's only yelled at it a couple of times.

So far. [smile]

We're both having to resave all our favorite bookmarks. That's been fun. [not] At least I had the presence of mind to copy down all the bookmarks before shutting down the old XP's in an e-mail and send them to myself. Now I have permanent files of all my if I don't have them I'll get even weirder needed haunts.

And that's been our day. Busy work that doesn't amount to a hill of beans. My brain is now fried and I could use a good soak in the tub. Maybe with a glass of wine?

Maybe the bottle ... ?? [just kidding]

I may take out the metal steed for a nice spin tomorrow. I have an Orthodontist appointment in a neighboring town. It is suppose to be beautiful with highs in the mid-60's. That's a little chilly for April in southeast Georgia but I like it. I'll have to wear the thick Mercury jacket. Alas, I'm sure it will become more like the South again with steaming hot weather. Dreadful Summer is not too far distant. I do so dislike that time of year.

Two Wheeled Musing

The weather was perfect for two wheels: slight wind, hazy enough to tone down the bright sunshine, and 70 degree temperatures. Can life be any more perfect? Me thinks not!

First to Baxley to lunch at Captain Joe's Seafood.

After a scrumptious meal of fish sandwich and a turkey burger, the trusty steeds carried us to a drug store to purchase a birthday card for our brother-in-law. Cards always brighten my day, so, I assume it's a joy for others. I hope so.  

After insuring aforesaid birthday greetings was safely winging it's way to beloved brother-in-law, we took the long way around the barn home through the Bacon County countryside. Bacon county has some of the most interesting motorcycle roads in southeast Georgia. We had so much fun that we put more than 120 miles on the bikes.

It was truly a good day.

What was your day like?

Grazin' In The Grass Is A Gas And Diggin' In The Soil Is A Toil

It's still a little chilly in SE Georgia for March almost April, but this is what we did today.

Started the vegetable garden!

Hubby planted Blue Lake Green Beans, Fordhook Lima Beans, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Straight Neck Yellow Squash and 6 Beef Stake Tomato plants. The garden should produce more this year because we spent more time preparing the soil with fertilizer and composed cow manure.

I also planted Giant Zinnia's next to the water hose, seeds left over from last year. So not only will there be food, there will be color.

Oh, and furry kids helped.

Sam (8 1/2 months)

"Throw it Mommy!? Huh? Would ya?!"

Jack (left) and Sam taking a breather from the

exhausting work of supervising a garden! *lol*

While Lucy, the one good dog, looks on ...

I'm also learning how to use my new Windows 8.1 HP Desktop computer. I finally gave up trying to "save" everything to an external hard drive. Starting over is just so much less drama.

I hope everyone had a lovely, happy Sunday. What did you do today?

A Ride Through The Country: Our Day In Pictures #Motorcycles

The floors need cleaning. The yard needs raking. The laundry is piling up. But the weather is so pleasant again we took the bikes out for another spin. I figure all these things will still be there tomorrow and the memories will last forever.

Enjoy the ride. ~:)

Not far from home, we stopped on Tyre Bridge Road at Fishing Creek (near Big Satilla Creek) and snapped the last three photos.