Country Roads

Over the weekend my husband and I walked up a country road.


Up and up . . .

and up. . .


and finally down. . .


to a place nestled underneath the tall shade trees.



A peaceful and secluded place that was selected long, long ago to be the resting place of my ancestors. All in a row are my grandparents James and Lucy McMillion and four of their children.


My gr grandparents Elijah and Emily McMillion are also laid to rest up on top of this hill. A broken pine tree limb hangs close to the ground over their graves.


Another uncle and cousins are also there on top of the hill.

Many, many more of my ancestors are there. But, the only signs of their presence are sunken places and old rocks at the head and foot of their graves.

I wish they had left their names on those rocks. Now I can only guess and wonder who they were, while I walk on the ground where my ancestors once stood and said their good-byes to their family and loved ones.

When I'm up there, I don't want to leave. I want to linger and reminisce.

I remember the times I climbed that hill when I was a child. There was no road then and we climbed up a winding path through the woods. Grandma would put together bunches of live flowers cut from the bushes in her yard and we climbed to the old family cemetery and placed them on the graves.

That Time of Year

We did a little running around today. Before I left, the field in front of our house looked like this:


Yes, it's that time of year. . . May. That's when the farmers do their first cutting of hay in our area. It was all cut and fluffed up when we left. When we returned, it looked like this:



and this:


I think a hayfield looks so pretty, but I have been sniffling a little today. I wonder why?

Also before we left, the mommy robin was standing guard over her nest. She decided to lay her eggs in the bird feeder at the end of the grapevines. The babies are very big now and ready to fly out.


When we returned, they had left the nest, but were still looking for their mama to feed them.
.




This is the second family of robins we have watched grow up and leave their nest. There is another one in the blackberry patch where the eggs haven't hatched yet. I'm starting to feel like our yard is a robin motel. . . with no vacancies!

Bird Housekeeping 101

I think the birds have been around me too much this spring and I am rubbing off on them.

They are terrible housekeepers!

But, they are also wonderful mothers, and when it gets down to it, that is what counts!


Their houses may be messy, but the mothers are always close by watching over the youngins! The mother of these baby robins flits around in the pine tree nearby whenever anyone gets close to her babies. She doesn't bother you or swoop down on your like some of the other mother birds, but she just makes sure you know she is around!

And as a side note. . . I keep looking where I walk in our yard. My eyes are always on the look out for these little blue people called the Smurfs! With so many little mushrooms popping up, there's sure to be a few of them around. Don't your think? If so, I have my camera ready!

"Rainbow of Colors"

Iris comes with a lot of history. The flower dates back to Greek mythology. The Greek goddess Iris was the messenger of the gods who was believed to be the link between heaven and earth.

Iris is Greek for "rainbow."

Iris stands for faith. . .




hope. . .




wisdom. . .




courage. . .




and admiration. . .




I love irises and I am glad they are a strong, sturdy flower. Otherwise, they might not have stood up against the wind and hail storm we had Friday night.

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Sons, Garden, Baby Birds

I thought I'd play a little catch up with what's been going on around our house.

Here is a picture of me and my three boys taken on Mother's Day. I think someone should have told Andrew to smile.


Here's me and my hubby working in the garden before the rains came. We finally got the potatoes and tomatoes planted.



And, I've been watching my baby robins grow. I have a robin nest at the back door where the drain comes down and one in a bird feeder at the end of the grape vines. This nest is in my blackberry patch.

Tiny

Still Tiny

I Want Food!

Three growing babies all in a row

And this morning, they are out exploring the yard and. . .


playing hide and seek in the berry patch!
Click on it to see a close up.

Yes!

I just posted an announcement on my writing blog.

Go here and check it out.

It is official.

I have signed a contract with 4RV Publishing for my middle grade manuscript titled, Family Secret.

I am so excited. It will be a long time before it is actually in the book stores, but I have started on the path toward publication.

Yes!

Smell-a-Vision

I wish my blog had Smell-a-Vision!


If you ever get a Peony, get the deep red ones. . .



their smell is just plain H E A V E N L Y!