H.O.T.

It has been hot. HOT. Warm. 105 heat index and humidity through the roof kind of hot. We are getting used to the heat and working like crazy, but still. It is notably hot. These turnips were hot - we decided to have mercy on them and pull them up yesterday. Adam ate two of them for lunch today. Pretty, aren't they? The beans are hot... and hungry...and thirsty

Same for the watermelons here...

He so loves his garden.

Mondo says see you tomorrow...

dulce swuenos....sweet dreams

Dog Days in June...

The dahlia's have been blooming for a couple of weeks, but the red ones are always later. I found them yesterday... Are these persimmons?? And if so, do raccoons eat them? If you know the answer to my question, please email me!! www.music.farm@hotmail.com

Evening on the front porch.

Adam is calculating for his chicken coop roof building. He said to me yesterday, "Baby, this is gonna be the most complicated roof I've ever built." Watch out. When this comes together well, he'll be wanting to make buildings just to try different roofs! I love him... and am quite proud. Neither of us are any kind of carpenter and despite ourselves it seems as though we're building something that a)won't fall down b)will keep the rain and sun off of the chickens and c)has a cool roof :) and d)will, when we are finished, deter predators such as owls and raccoons. (Notice this is not the first time I have mentioned raccoons in this post...more on that later...)

We measure twice and then hopefully only cut once. That has been the case thus far. See the new coop in the back kind of? The walls are done and we framed out a door. Now for the roof. Today is gonna be a busy day, folks.

We could buy stock in kiddie pools. This is the new "pond" for the chickens. We put the block in the middle so that it didn't blow over and it has turned into a little island. ("No chicken is an island", ya know... ) I don't know why it makes me happy that they stand on that concrete block. It just does.

The chickens have been so SO HOT in this hundred degree weather we've been having. They just pant. Did you know that chickens can't sweat? Really. I'm not joshin'. When they get really hot the hold their wings out from their little bodies and let them droop. It looks funny, but they might catch a breeze like that. They drink lots of water (we add fresh water a couple times a day) and they open their beaks and pant and just sit or stand real still in the shade until it cools off.

Bee Balm Blooming By the Barn

Have a wonderful day!

M

Mornings

This is my new morning spot. Complete with flowers, coffee, and a book. You can go out in the morning and hear all of the birds talking to each other, watch the deer and turkeys in the neighbor's pasture, and pretty much forget that anything else exists for a while. My little garden boquet. Chamomille, lavender, yarrow (white and yello), and bee balm. Sometimes the most unlikely flowers look beautiful when put together. The same could be said about people, I suppose.

I hope you have a beautiful, flowery day. :)

Love,

Malinda

what i have to say today...

Sometimes lemons are just lemons.


What makes you who you are is what you do with them....


Lemonade is not always the answer

A Name and A Boat

Adam calls me Lindy a lot. It reminds me of when I was little. My granny would call me Lindy Lou. I like it ok. He has a lot of names for me. (MOST of which are good.) Sometimes he calls me things just to see if I like it or not. For instance, the conversation will go as thus. "Hey, Sweet Potata, what's for dinner?" And I say, "I don't like that one, dear." And then he goes on and on about all of the valid reasons he had for calling me a sweet potato ... excuse me potata. Then I say, "Just putting an "a" on the end doesn't make it ok. You have tons of names for me that I like - just call me one of those." Then he says "Ok, my little chicken." And then I tell him that he can fix his own dinner and I'll be in the garden. By this time, we are both laughing so hard that it is impossible to pretend that what we are talking about is serious anymore.

So I am driving to a city far, far away to teach and I end up at a red light and I look at what is in front of me and see this:

I wondered if that man had any other names for his wife...

Call somebody something silly (not mean!!) today. See if they smile...

love,

Malinda

Busy is Good

The peas are but a fond memory... They were good while they lasted, but I tell you I am GLAD to have the room in the garden. Adam took down one trellis and I (yes ME) took down the other. He tilled the beds while I was teaching yesterday. The chickens got the vines...

The little chickies did, too. They are growing like crazy and we are mostly done with the coop. Have to get some shade cloth and chicken wire and that project will be OVER. Thank the good Lord.

Here is the garden from the back. I'm excited about the corn... mmmm....

Adam planted a new kind of cucumber this year called White Wonders. They are groing well and we are excited to try them.

The bee balm by the barn is blooming. It is so pretty.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Love,

Malinda

Umbrellas, Cats, and Jack

Meet Jackson Riley. Otherwise known as Jack. He is the son of our two good friends, David and Brandi. Their cute little family came over for dinner this past Friday and I was worried that Jack would get bored. But I think he had an ok time :) He was really excited about the four legged critters... The umbrella twirling was a big ordeal... I think they'd both still be there twirling if it had been up to them...

He got to see the "tats" and the chickens and a really, REALLY big dog (guess who?).

I do believe that a good time was had by all - even the two year old!!

Ramblings

We started another "swimming pool garden". When we put peppers in the ground they die. We've tried and tried and then get no peppers. And we REALLY LIKE peppers at our house. Sweet ones, spicy ones, red ones, yellow ones, heck - we even planted brown ones this year! So... the swimming pool garden was born. The one out back is doing great and I found some really tiny pools in town the other day and brought one home for the jalepenos. (Thanks for the wheel barrow, again, Mom and Dad...you made this post possible...) These are out front so Adam can dote on them. He goes out before he teaches for the day and takes care of his babies out front...

Here is part of the big garden out back. and Bojangles... isn't he pretty? I think he sees something.

That is his "I'm gonna get that cat" look.

Problem is, they can climb trees and he can't...

For Every Action there is an equal and opposite reaction...

Let us study this picture. At first glance, it's a pretty good picture of ol' Mondo (a.k.a Bad Dog). Then you see the drool...then the pile of fur that I combed off of him in less than five minutes. Then I see that his ears are perked up. That is never a good thing, people. That means he is contemplating. Mondo contemplating ANYTHING is NEVER a good thing. Ever. He just looks like he's getting ready to a) run just for the fun of it, b) run because he wants to sniff a kitten, c) run because he wants to jump in my neighbors pond, or d) run becuase he wants to kill chickens. Today it was c) run because he wanted to jump in my neighbor's pond and then come put a wet, St. Bernard shaped muddy spot on my kitchen floor. This made me feel not so good... Let us now discuss this picture. It makes me feel REALLY good...

g'night

Ladybugs and Coneflowers

So Adam and I are sitting on the front porch one evening last week. We are talking. The bad dog is hangin in the yard and the other three are sprawled all around us. The kittens are playing (does anybody need a kitten?!) and I look to my left and see the echinacea (a.k.a. purple coneflower). I am thinking about how pretty the flowers and how they change as they grow. Then I decide to take a picture and Adam realizes that I haven't heard anything he has said to me in the past five minutes.

The "cone" part of the flower starts off like this. As the petals get bigger, they droop down and the red part actually does form a cone. I love this stage, though, because the petals are pale and the middle is bright red and I can stand like a silly person and follow the geometric patterns in the middle of the flower. Then I take another picture and another until I realize that I need to actually respond verbally to what Adam has to say to me.

Then this morning I am trying to decide what to blog about and go ahead and resize my flower pictures. Then I saw..... Mr. Ladybug!! Do you see him?? The only thing I love better than taking pictures of ladybugs is finding ladybugs in pictures I have already taken...

I hope you all have a wonderful day today and are enjoying the beginning of your summer. Keep a smile on your face - you never know who might need to see it....

Family Reunion Fun...

A friend from church asked if we would come and play at his family reunion this past Saturday. Of course I said of course and we ended up having a great time. Danny and Marlene's son, Mark, played with us and we jammed for quite a while. Of course I am not actually IN any of these pictures, but I was there. See? My chair is there by Adam's. There is Mark with his guitar slung over his shoulder. He usually does not play traditional music and followed along like a champ. Even sang along once he got the choruses down.

See? There is my empty seat again!

And a good time was had by all!

Festival Time.... almost...

We played at our friends family reunion yesterday. It reminded me of how close we are getting to festival time. I love everything about it. How hot it is (I actually do wear sunscreen - I buy a can on the way!!), how there is music everywhere, the people who go to hear and see and do, the kids running around in their cute little square dancing outfits.... I have the most fun with the Lovin' Husband. We visit with our musician friends, look at the art booths, sit in the shade and pick, eat greasy food, and then start all over again!!

I try never to live for certain days, but I find myself so excited to attend these festivals that I'm thinking about them awfully hard!!
Have a good day!!!!

M

Something to Say...

I had a conversation via facebook and am still thinking hard about it. Not in a bad way. My feelings weren't hurt or anything, but sometimes things come out of left field and catch you unaware. I responded, but then got to thinking some more and have this to say, too.

Part of being a Christian is the choice. If you take the best from each religion, what do you have FAITH in? God? I think that makes it harder for God to have faith in you. The faith is the key here. Not knowledge. Knowledge is good, but faith first. It will lead you to desire to know more.

Furthermore, does one have greater faith if they don't subscribe to any one particular religion? I am thinking that this is kind of an educated copout. (Said lovingly here, folks.) Really, though, I don't claim to be much. I just try to live my life in a way that makes sense to me and gives me peace and makes me feel right inside.

If you are going to be an architect, you read books about architecture. If you are going to be an accountant or a web designer, you read books about those. If you are a Christian, you NEED to read books about being the best Christian you can be. To always learn, to always challenge what you believe. Sometimes we get stagnant and need someone we don't know to tell us to get up off of our collective butts and DO something. Said lovingly, it is always better in print!

I do not think that Jesus was a fundamentalist. I do not think that I am either. I would be insulted if someone called me a "fundamentalist Christian". I desire to be a radical Christian without ever having to say a word unless someone asks me what I believe and why I do.

ok. I'm done now. If you feel so led, I would love to know what you think on this subject. What does your faith say about you??