Liam Kent Stenberg - 5.22.2008 - 7lbs 1oz - 20 inches long

precious one...

Weeds are Flowers, too...

The definition of the word "weed" to many gardeners these days is, "Any unwanted plant".

When I first saw the plant below, I classified it as a "weed" - something that I should eradicate from my garden, herb and flower beds, and life with great fervor and satisfaction.























Then I watched it grow...





















and grow...the sun stayed up for longer and the days got warmer...























It then bolted... (see above) ...and then it did the most amazing thing...

































Last year, Adam and I found these flowers next to the chicken pen...I vowed to let that very patch grow so that this spring we could identify the plant in it's vegetative stage. We let the patch grow up, but I only noticed it after it bolted. :) BUT...while weeding one day, I noticed the similarity in the leaves of the "weed" I had already pulled out of my garden aisles 30-THOUSAND times and the leaves of the pretty flowering plants that you see above. I think God was teaching me a lesson - and not just in plants...

Sidenote: Penny, the Walker Hound, needs a lovin' home...she was lost on our road and Adam found her half starved about one half of a mile from our home. She is loyal, faithful, and loves other dogs, big people, and kids too - just ask Wiebke!!

Love So Sweet

Congratulations Audrey! You did it...we are so proud of you and we love you so much.

Flowers...I love flowers...

This is version #2 of this picture. My good friend Cheryl edited version #1. www.mylifesrhythm.blogspot.com I really like your frame, Cheryl. I decided that no other frame would compare, so here is my framless picture! These flowers were (still are) in front of Riverside UMC in Columbia, TN where we gigged with our good friend Jenny and the rest of the crew (different post, for sure).

Introducing....Matoike and Fuzz Slaughter

This is what we see of our cats most of the time. Fuzz is on the right and Matoike is on the left. Our garden is like their very own oversized world in which to romp. They never really harm anything and keep the rabbits and rodents away so they pretty much have the run of things around the place. They have a pretty cool mom who is teaching them all the finer points of being legendary mousers...Voodoo really deserves her own post, though.And yes, they ARE stalking one another amongst the walking onions...(which are also a whole other post unto themselves - if an onion can have a "self").

Garden cats...everyone should have them. Gardens and cats in case you're wondering...

Garden Therapy

Our garden is my therapy and when I feel the most spiritual a lot of times...I like to watch seeds sprout and grow. It happens so quickly - all of the sudden you have this plant in your garden that is giving you fresh beans to eat...Mmmmmmm. Thank you God for beans, and their seeds, and the pretty flowers that they make. I would like to have the patience to snap pics until they produce and then do this post, but I don't have that much and I don't pray for it anymore... :) We all know what happens when we pray for patience...

How Does God Feel When He Looks At Us??

So tiny, Ants. I often wonder if in God's scope, if that is the size that I am. Tiny, but with my own purpose in such a large creation. Important, yet part of something way bigger altogether.. And Happy Birthday to the big sis...Love you Abby

A Small Red Barn

I love the shed in my backyard...Actually it is one of the things we see the most on a day to day basis, so I gave myself the mission of making it a reflection of us...Alone it is just a small red barn, but stick it in the middle of a garden, add some signs and flowers and it is beautiful...It brings me peace and calm when I look at it.
All things grow with love...
The sun and moon are a gift from the lovin' husband...I love them. Sometimes the garden spiders weave around them and the webs look like clouds. Next time I see one do it, I will take a pic...

My flowering sage and thyme...I put them there four years ago when we first started our gardening venture and they are still there. A good reminder of how far we've come, I think. We planted the violas last year and they reseeded this year and were (and still are) soooo pretty! Also mixed in with the violas is the chocolate mint...

Eggs in a Basket...

My Dad got me an egg basket last year after we got our chickens...I would just like to say...thanks, Daddy! Everytime we go to get eggs, I think about my Pops, smile, and know that I am loved...

ok, so, notice the dirty eggs... they are what they are and that is ok...eggs aren't perfect, so don't judge them from the outside ... well,for that matter, people too!!

Thank You God for Cheryl...

I took this at a gig a few months ago...I don't know if I like the editing...Cheryl isn't really a black and white kind of chick, but I loved the idea of the drum being the focus of the picture because it is one of the ways in which Cheryl identifies herself. One of the windows to the inside of Cheryl. What makes her tick...That is why I left it that way instead of fixing it differently. I like the things one can tell about Cheryl by just seeing the picture. The depth and the peacefulness being the two main things...

Ladybug, Ladybug

I took this picture on the side of Flat Creek Road while Adam was jumping his car battery with mine...It had just rained and I hadn't been home yet from my weekly Tullahoma trip and was looking for the good in a not-so-enjoyable situation. I looked out the window of my car and saw these pretty guys all over the place and couldn't resist snapping some pictures...I like how the little buggie is between the two twisties on the stem...(do you like my technical terminology??) When I was editing the picture, I tried to capture that. Thank you God for Ladybugs...

The River

I was really wanting to go somewhere and take pictures and the lovin' husband suggested the river....he knows that is my FAVORITE thing. We like to find and identify different native plants and see if we can happen on the snapping turtles catchin' some sun and fishing. Which we did...

How many turtles do YOU see?? Several jumped off before I took the picture.
Looks like a mushroom cocktail!!
This view always takes my breath away...I love the river....

Onions...

This is a multipier onion in the fowering stage. It is so pretty to me and I like how the picture turned out which is why you are looking at it now...what we eat (the good part) is what is underground, but the seed comes from what we can see. Let us just call it the "face" of the onion. I like that I can compare that to how people see each other. The "good part" is not always visible, but the seeds planted are seeds sown...

Today

Broccoli and onions...
Mustard Greens...
my cilantro tree...not really a tree, but a huge cilantro plant...
Adam is thinning turnips which are on the other side of the sugar snap peas (which will be ready to eat soon!!)
Red Cabbage...Mmmmmm - Good Cole Slaw!

New Camera...

Granny's Coral BellsPretty irises...

The yellow one surprised me...I didn't know we HAD yellow irises! It is so pretty and has tigery striped petals. I like the bell with the bluebird house - it reminds me of my Grandpa Painter.

Isn't it pretty???

My friend Paul surprised me with a gift last night...he got me a new camera!!! I was shocked to say the least and went outside first thing this morning (literally) and took some pictures of the flowers that are blooming in my yard. Thanks Paul - I don't know what to say so I will just take a lot of pictures instead!!