What I Should Be Doing

I Should be cleaning my house, it's filthy.
I should be making banana nut bread because the over-ripe bananas in the fridge are nearly past their prime.
I should be educating my children and I won't go into detail there or I might embarrass myself...further.
I should be checking on my chickens as their wonderfully ambitious egg laying efforts have gone south lately.
I should. But I'm not.
Instead, I've chosen to play on the computer while my children watch a "How to Draw Animals" DVD on the TV.
We don't have cable.
I don't know why I threw that in...except it's funny when I'm talking to some people about "doing without" during tough times and they always seem to mention they don't have cable.
"Oh, we don't have cable." they say with all seriousness.
Like I'm going to respond with, "Oh, man, that's gotta be tough, you poor soul!"
Paleeze, "doing without" is going without meat every other day or something akin.
And it goes without saying that TV rots your brain and robs kids of their imaginations.
Excuse me a moment while I switch the TV back to the DVD player, I think the kids are watching Curious George, again.
Back to me.



So I took this photo of one of our cursed Honey Locust trees that grow around the house and pasture, played with it and came up with:
Honey Locust in Color!



Pretty cool, huh?
Okay, now I'm starting to feel guilty.
Enough time playing here.
I should be doing something of significance.
Have a great week!
Julie

Where I'm At, Sort Of

The first sentence in a new entry can be the most difficult one.
And for me, a homeschooling mom, I tend to be a bit too tough on myself regarding what others perceive of my writing ability. I mean wouldn't you agree that we homeschoolers are held to a higher standard...
Or maybe it's because I can be a bit intimidated by some of the heavy hitters, you know, those bloggers out there that generate a ridiculously large number of comments...you know, like The Pioneer Woman (unfairly talented in a big way) or Tim Challies at his site Challies (very provocative...the comments are as good as his posts), and now I've stumbled upon a new one. Her name is Amy Scott and bless her heart she's a Calvinist, just like Tim Challies, but I love her. I mean I love her style of writing, her honesty, her humor, and oh boy is she one smart chickadee. Her site entitled Amy's Humble Musings is one I find myself clicking over to quite often. You're probably already aware of her site and once again I'm the proverbial kid that has missed the bus or if you need a better word picture the last one in line, the last to hear the "big news",...oh well, enough! I think you got the picture...word picture...picture...whatever.

And now for some photos for your visual entertainment:

I call this first one, Deception I.




This is Deception II.



Okay, so I know what you're thinking (okay, not really). Why did that quirky woman entitle these photos Deception I and II ???
I'll wait till the end of my post to reveal the answer.
Another photo!



Yes, we have a cow's skull hanging off of a post at the corner of our calf pen. It's there to remind them what happens to naughty little calves that push their luck (don't believe in it) too far.
Actually, I just think it looks cool.
The horses don't though, because they keep knocking it off! They're such dumb broads (sorry, it's the kind of mood I'm in today, you'll understand after this next picture).

Next photo, Jules!!!



Those that know me just groaned, really, they just groaned.
Because now it's all becomming very very clear why this post has such a cynical and dark tone.
That's right, you got it...another animal has been purchased and now resides here at our increasingly-growing-smaller due to over-population little farm.
Wailing and gnashing of teeth couldn't have prevented this from happening, it was beyond me.
He is a two-year-old gelding.
Tim wanted him.
And really Tim deserves him.
He's a sweety. The horse or Tim, you ask? Well, both...but I was actually talking about the horse.
I'm still trying to wrap my feeble brain around the whole concept of having yet another mouth to feed, but I'm comin' around, I think.
So the next time your kid asks for a fish, a hermit crab, or even a puppy for crying out loud...remember me and remember, It could always be ....a horse ((gulp)).
That's all for now except for my explanation regarding the leaf pictures entitled "Deception I and II''.
It's not a falling leaf but is hanging mid-air attached to an upper branch by a spider web.
Last picture...it's bright cheery and helps me to remember that everything in my life is really great.
I am blessed, really!

Oklahoma Fall Color: Part 2

A truly bright colored plant that adorns our Oklahoma landscape during the fall months is Smooth Sumac.
This species of sumac is actually found across much of the United States and the variations of red, orange, and...I've even seen fuschia colored leaves...give our countryside and pastures that extra splash of color in our Autumn landscapes.
I personally find that Smooth Sumac is that welcomed bright spot in the Fall foliage comparable even to the flowering Eastern Redbud  in the Spring.
So, if I may ask, what do you enjoy about this particular season?
I've put a poll in the margin out of curiosity. Please participate if you have time.
Fall is a wonderful time to get out and enjoy the beauty of our Lord's creation.
Be refreshed! Julie

Oklahoma Fall Color: Part 1

When my husband and I were first married, we moved to eastern Tennessee.
I was lonely.
Neither one of us had relatives or friends there.
And I was a new mom and VERY hormonal.
Oh, and we were poor...okay not REAL poor like third world country poor, but lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches poor.
Did I mention I was lonely and hormonal???
I'm sure my husband deserves some serious kudos for putting up with me through those lean years and well, visa versa.
We were determined not to go into credit card debt.
And we didn't.
But for all the hardships we perceived, we were surrounded by lush Tennessee beauty.
Eastern Tennessee in the Spring is a Thomas Kinkade painting...breathtaking to say the least.
Dogwoods, Redbuds, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, and every imaginable flowering plant carpet the hillsides and forests. For a brief time the kudzu is not as obnoxiously making it's predatorial presence known.
Sometimes, I miss Tennessee's lush plant-life.
But just sometimes.
Because I adore the wide open space we are afforded here.
No kudzu here...yet.
And no hillsides to block the sun's rising and setting, ahhh.
The native grasses are golden right now and the leaves just beginning to change into their Fall wardrobe.
Maybe, I'm just an Oklahoman at heart, but I wouldn't want to be anyplace else but here.
Where ever you may be, I hope you're enjoying our Lord's creation also!
Blessings, Julie