Sheila's This N That

How to Take Pictures of Hummingbirds

2017-04-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird

I think most everyone who like to take pictures, wants to get a good picture of a hummingbird. That is not always an easy task! They are fast little birds and don't stay in one place for very long.

I can get pictures of them at the hummingbird feeder, but like most everyone else, we want something that is more natural. I found an easy solution!

I do have a hummingbird feeder hanging from the eve of the house, right outside my dining room window, so I have hummingbirds coming close to the window most of the day. Sometimes they will land in one of the trees close to the house, bit it just isn't close enough or its to high to really get a good picture.

Here is what I did. I found a tall tree branch that had fallen from one of our trees and I stood it up against the house, close to the feeder and in front of the window. It has several small branches extending from it, so the hummers have lots of places to sit while waiting for the turn at the feeder.

Now, I just wait for the sun to shine on those branches and I break out my camera and snap away!

Nature Abounds

2017-04-03T05:51:00.001-07:00

Turkey Tail Bracket Fungus

Nature truly abounds everywhere! While walking through the woods looking for morel mushrooms yesterday, which I did not find, I came across a fallen tree limb with this beautiful bracket fungus growing on it.

This type of bracket fungus is called "turkey tail". It gets it's name from the shape of the fungus as well as the stripes of colors which make it look similar to a turkey's tail. It had just rained earlier that day, so the colors are so rich and vibrant.

I will be going out again today to see what other of nature's beauty I can find!

This shot really made a beautiful rustic picture and can be found on my Pixels.com website as well as turkey tail bracket fungus art for sale on Fine Art America.

Funny Face Giraffe

2017-03-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Are you taking my picture?

A trip to the Arbuckle Wilderness Park is a great spring, summer or fall treat. There are so many different types of animals there, some that have been rescued from bad situations. This is everything there from lions, tigers, and even giraffe!

This friendly giraffe had stuck his head inside the car window and we gave him some feed out of a large cup that we had purchased at the entry to the park. I don't remember how much it cost, but I know it was not expensive at all. We bought several cups of it!

The giraffes are in an enclosure just tall enough to keep them inside, but low enough that they can stretch their long necks over and down to your car. The drive through the park is really a lot of fun.

Arbuckle Wilderness is located near Davis, Oklahoma and is right off of I-35. If you get the chance to stop by, you will have a great time! Be sure and take your camera as there will be lots of opportunities for some cool pictures!

This picture is for sale at my Pixels.com website or for you can find more giraffe art for sale at Fine Art America.

Purple Bearded Iris

2017-03-11T04:51:00.001-08:00

Photo Source: Sheila Brown aka Rockcreek Photography

If you are looking for some beautiful color in your spring flower gardens, this beautiful purple iris is a must! I only wish I knew the name of it!

These iris were already planted here when we moved in and I have no idea of the name of them, but they are stunning when they bloom alone or in a group. They also have a very sweet scent and you can smell them by just walking by.

My iris have not started blooming yet this year, but should be very soon and I can't wait to see and smell these beauties again! If anyone knows the name of this beautiful bearded iris, please let me know as I would love to get more of them!

If you enjoy the picture, it is really beautiful in a matted frame and is for sale at Fine Art America under purple bearded iris art for sale .

The Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City

2016-10-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

Beautiful White Cascading Orchids

If you are planning to take a trip to the Oklahoma City Botanical Gardens, be sure and visit there during the spring, summer or fall months, Hubby and I went at the end of last winter, just because we were nearby and we were quite disappointed.

They had several varieties of plants and "hot house" flowers inside, but not the variety we expected. They did have a beautiful variety of orchids growing inside along with some tropical plants, but I had expected to find more colorful flowers inside.

Beautiful pink orchids

Zebra Plant

They were also supposed to have a variety of butterflies inside, but we only ever saw one species, the zebra heliconian, and they were so few in number and stayed so high up in the trees that I never got a decent picture of one.

Just a note to self, don't bother to stop by in the winter season.

Remember, if you like any of the photographs here, they are for sale on my website:

Sheila Brown Pixels.com or you can find more white orchids photographs for sale, at Fine Art America.

Our First Rattlesnake of the Year

2016-09-18T12:02:00.001-07:00

Well, hubby found our first rattlesnake for this year! This velvet tail rattler is about 4 feet long and had 7 segments to his rattle. He is not the largest rattler we have seen here, but he was pretty big!

Hubby was working down at his shop and walked around behind a flat bed trailer to be met by Mr. Rattlesnake. He came running through the living room and when I asked him what was going on, he said, "snake, big rattlesnake!" He grabbed his rifle and ran back out the door.

Now he knows that I am a little weird and I like to get pictures of the snakes we find BEFORE he shoots them, but he was afraid this one would get away, so had already shot him once before I got there with my camera. I got a couple of pictures before he finished him off with another shot.

Hubby has left some snakes alone, like bull snakes or garden snakes, but the rattlers have to go! I do keep their rattles and have quite a collection of them!

Juvenile Blue Jay on Tree Branch

2016-08-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

Juvenile Blue Jay

I was asked recently how I got so close to the blue jay to take this picture without them flying away. The person asking said they can't even begin to get close the these birds before they see him coming and off they go. I completely understand! I have gone out walking and try to catch a picture of one of them as can't get near close enough.

Well, my answer to him was.... I cheat! I don't really think it's cheating, but I don't go looking for them anymore, I make them come to me. What you don't see in this picture is the table that the dead tree limb is laying on, or the sunflower seeds that are spread out on the table.

When I know I am going to have some time to take pictures, I let my bird feeder to dry and put the bird seeds on the table nearby. Then I found a dead tree branch and laid it across the table, so the table wouldn't be in the picture. Then I went in the house and set my tripod up and just waited a little while.

You do need to be sure that there is no "junk" in the background, the green in the background here is just the grass in my yard. Once you zoom in on the subject, the background will be blurred anyway, but I usually like a "clean" background.

The picture above is available on my website: Pixels.com website as a canvas print, acrylic, or metal print as well as pillows, tote bags, greeting cards and more! You can also visit Fine Art America for more Blue jay photographs for sale!

Tiny Little Tree Frogs Can Be Dangerous

2016-08-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

Tiny Little Tree Frog

Yes, I know....this tiny little tree frog is just so cute, right! Cute can be deceiving!

As some of you know, I enjoy sitting out on my back porch early of a morning had having my coffee, watching the wildlife and working on my lap top. Little did I know, I was about to have a very unusual morning!

It was a very warm summer morning and I had on a tank top and shorts. As it was very early and the sun had not come up yet, I had the back porch light on, which attract many little flying insects that make a great breakfast for a little tree frog.

Well, as I am typing away I feel this cold, wet, "flop" feeling on the back of my shoulder! Yes, this tiny little tree frog had just jumped onto my back. I don't know here he came from, but his feet were cold and clammy!

Needless to say, I jumped to my feet with a bit of a squeal and almost knocked over the patio table and succeeded in spilling my coffee. Now I and am flailing my arms like some kind of crazy person, trying to reach this little fellow with the cold feet. Just as I think I have him, he jumps....right down my back!

Now I am doing some kind of crazy dance thing, trying to get my shirt off as quickly as possible. I feel his little cold, wet body against the skin on my back and I can't get my shirt off quick enough! My dance leads me to the edge of the porch where I scrape my toe on a planter sitting there. After saying a few choice words, I get my shirt off and throw it to the ground.

In the mean time, the frog has fallen to the ground and hopped away. Now I am left on my back porch with spilled coffee, shirtless and with a bleeding toe! I swear I heard that little tree frog laughing as I went in the house!

Don't let little and cute fool you! These tiny little tree frogs can be dangerous by just making YOU hurt YOURSELF!

This cute little guy is available on a greeting card on "My Zazzle Store" .

Vacation at Lake Murray State Park Oklahoma

2016-07-12T18:04:00.002-07:00

Tucker's Tower-Lake Murray, Oklahoma

Life has been busy and I have been away for a while. I really have too many "irons in the fire",but now I am going to add another one and get back to my blog!

Hubby and I went on short vacation a couple of weeks ago and spent some time at Lake Murray State Park here in southern Oklahoma. My oldest step-son, Aaron and his family camped out there also, so we go to spend a lot of time with the grand kids. Of course, our daughter Jenna and her new husband and Jazzy and the new baby, Ariel spent some time out there with us as well.

We all had a great time, the kids did a lot of skiing, tubing and swimming. Aaron's wife, Kim had prepared all the dinner time means for us, it was great! Hubby and I did take a relaxing late afternoon boat ride around the lake and I took few pictures.

I really liked this picture I took of Tucker's Tower. With the late afternoon lighting, it all had such a golden glow. I just wish the water looked blue! One of my new "irons in the fire" is selling my photography at Fine Art America where you can find this picture as well as many other beautiful canvas prints for sale.

For more information about Lake Murray State Park and all the great things to see and do, visit Come Visit Beautiful Lake Murray State Park in Oklahoma

Creating Art From a Walk in the Woods

2015-12-15T05:44:00.001-08:00

Our treasures from the woods.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. I love all the beautiful fall colors or red, gold, orange and yellow. Sometimes, I want to bring it all together and create something from all of it.

During a walk in the woods with our granddaughter, she would spot a pretty leaf on the ground, a pine cone or an acorn, among a few other things that I really didn't want to bring home. We saved the "good stuff" and when we got back to the house, she spread them out on the table to admire what we had found.

I decided then that I wanted to show her how we could create something to keep our memories of this walk forever. We arranged and re-arranged our treasures until we came up with the picture above.

She thought that was pretty cool and we printed the picture out for her to take home and show her mom.

You never know what memories become precious and walking among nature is always special to me. I hope I instill this in my children and grandchildren.

If you like the picture that Jazzy and I created, I have also used it on some products in "My Zazzle" store

Bacon Cheeseburger Pie - A Delicious Quick and Easy Meal

2015-12-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

Delicious Cheese Burger Pie

Are you looking for something a little different to fix for dinner? It seems like sometimes I cook the same old things and if I get bored with it, I know my family does. This is a quick and easy meal that is a little out of the ordinary and my kids loved it! This bacon cheeseburger pie has everything that we love in a bacon cheeseburger, bacon, ground beef, cheese, mustard, pickles and you can leave out the onions if you prefer.

This recipe takes about 15 minutes to prepare and another 15 minutes to cook, so you can have a delicious meal that your family will love in just about 30 minutes!

Ingredients:
1 regular pie crust
4 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 pickle, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bake the pie crust as directed, but just until it begins to brown, then set aside.

2. Brown the hamburger meat, drain and mix in the salt, pepper, dry mustard, bread crumbs, pickles, onion, bacon and 1/2 of the can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of the shredded cheese, mix well.

3. Pour this mixture into the pie crust top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake this at 425 just long enough for the pie crust to finish browning and for the cheese to melt.

4. Mix the remaining tomato sauce with the Worcestershire sauce and pour over the top just before serving.

Now you have a delicious meal in a flaky pie crust! Add a healthy green vegetable or a salad and you have a quick, easy and healthy meal that is not the "same ol thing"! I hope you enjoy!

A Herd of Turkey

2015-12-08T04:47:00.000-08:00

A Large Rafter of Wild Turkey

Actually, a group of turkey is called a “rafter”, but when I called hubby to the window yesterday I told him there was a whole “herd” of turkey in the front yard. For some reason, that just sounds more appropriate to me! From what I could tell, this is a group of “jakes”, which are young male turkey.

The light wasn’t very good for taking pictures of them and you can’t see the beautiful colors of their feathers, but they were really quite colorful. Females don’t have the coloring that males do, the females are a rather dull brown.

These turkey were on the move and there were so many of them, they were hard to count. Several of them would take off running, chasing bugs or each other. They best we could count, there were 32 of them passing through the yard. That is a lot of Thanksgiving dinners!

Apple Blossoms in Spring Tote Bag

2015-12-06T05:41:00.001-08:00

This is the newest addition to "My Zazzle" store. This is a small tote bag with a picture of apple blossoms from our apple tree. I took this picture this past spring while out tree was in full bloom.
This would make a really handy tote bag to give as a gift, or keep for yourself!

If you haven't visited my Zazzle store yet, come and see everything I have to offer there. There are products of all kinds and you can even customize them!


Cardinal in Snow Christmas Card


Pink Cone Flowers and Bee Mouse Pad

Too Many Coyotes?

2015-12-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Photo source: sgbrown aka Rockcreek Photography

This picture was taken several years ago, but it is the best picture of a coyote that I have. As I'm sure most people know that coyotes are very shy creature and are mainly seen either early in the mornings or late in the evenings.

Coyotes tend to hunt at night and usually hunt in packs. Coyotes can be heard "yapping" and "howling" at night in many part of North America. They hunt mainly smaller mammals, such as rabbits, squirrels, mice and sometimes small deer or even small dogs and cats.

I have been noticing that there are not very many squirrels, rabbits or even deer around out place lately, but I have been seeing more coyotes than usual. I am wondering if we have too many coyotes in our area and they are killing all our squirrels, rabbits and other small animals.

TSU – Is it the New Google+

2015-11-13T04:20:00.000-08:00

As anyone who knows me knows that I love taking pictures. I will take a picture of anything from a beautiful sunrise to a snake in my yard! I just love photography! I used to take wedding pictures and sports pictures, but I didn’t like the stress of it. Now that I am “retired” I just take pictures of what I want to.

I love nature photography, landscapes, flowers and animals. I do sell some pictures to stock photography companies and I use my pictures on a site called Zazzle where I can create and sell products, such as mugs, t-shirts, tote bags, greeting cards, etc. I make a little money here and there on Zazzle and it’s fun to create things there using my photography. If you would like to check out my “Zazzle” store, the link is: http://www.zazzle.com/sgbrown56

I have now found another site where I can make a little money with my photography and that is a site called Tsu. It is pronounced, “Sue”. It is a lot like Google+, where you can post just about anything you want and share it with people who follow you on that site. The big difference is that on Tsu, you get paid for it!

You make a fraction of a cent per view, but the more followers you get, the more views and comments you will gather and the money just gets better and better. One of the main things I like is that I can view others photographs and get ideas or learn something new from them.

You can post anything you want! Some say it is the next FaceBook. I don’t know about that, but I am really enjoying posting there and making a little money at the same time.

If you enjoy taking pictures and sharing them with others, you may want to check out Tsu. If you decide that you want to sign up, I would appreciate you using my referral code: https://www.tsu.co/sgbrown

My Newest Creation - Fall Flowers Greeting Card

2015-11-04T06:51:00.000-08:00


"I Don't Need an Occasion, or Even a Reason to be Thinking of You This Beautiful Fall Season

My latest addition to "My Zazzle" store. These are some chrysanthemums that I bought a couple of years ago to decorate my porch with during the fall season. I love their bright yellow petals, trimmed in red!

I think this made a beautiful greeting card! I have also made several other products using this picture, such as a serving tray and coffee mugs, pillows and more.

You can visit "My Zazzle" store here:
http://www.zazzle.com/sgbrown56*

Names of Baby Animals and Groups of Animals That Will Make You Smile!

2015-10-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Hummingbird in Flight

Did you know that a group of hummingbirds is called a "charm"? Find out more about names of baby animals, what females and males are called and what they call a group of certain animals.

If you want a chuckle today, or to scratch your head in wonder, read this article on amusing names of animals. Some of them are just down right funny, but you understand where the name came from. Others, you do have to scratch your head and wonder how in the world they got this name!

Funny Names of Animals is an interesting and educational article that you may want to share with your children.

You may also enjoy:

The Beautiful and Graceful White-Tail Deer

The American Bison or Buffalo

The Caracal - An Elusive Wild Cat

Kissing Deer and a Photo Bomb

2015-10-22T04:15:00.000-07:00

Are these deer actually kissing?

I couldn’t resist posting this picture. This came from hubby’s field camera he has put up at the back of our place. I downloaded it to my computer, cropped and enhanced it just a bit as field camera usually don’t take very good pictures.

Kissing deer, who couldn’t resist this picture! What looks like an 8 point buck “nose to nose” with a doe. Are they really kissing? It looks like it to me! Perhaps Mr. Deer is saying “Good morning.” To Ms. Deer, or maybe he is introducing himself as the “rut” or mating season should be beginning. In all actuality, he is probably licking the rice bran off of her nose.

While Mr. and Ms. Deer are getting to know each other, another young buck decides to step in and gets “photo bombed”. Still, I thought it was too good a picture to pass up posting!

You may also enjoy:

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Beautiful-and-Graceful-White-Tailed-Deer

Photo of the Day – A Young White Tail Deer

The Last Signs of Summer

2015-10-17T04:44:00.001-07:00

Orange-barred Sulphur on Red Impatiens

It won’t officially be fall for another week, but the weather has cooled off, the days are shorter and the leaves are beginning to turn their beautiful hues of red, orange, yellow and gold. Spring and summer are full bright colors and warm days. Fall does let me rest from watering flower beds and mowing the grass but I will miss the beautiful flowers and butterflies as they disappear for the long months of winter.

As I walked out on my back porch, I saw this beautiful yellow butterfly as he flew from plant to plant. As far as I can tell, he is an orange-barred sulphur. They favor plants with red flowers, which was rather obvious as he only visited the red impatiens I had in pots on the back porch.

Beautiful yellow flowers of the goldenrod.

The bright yellow flowers of the goldenrod which is often blamed for hay fever in many humans. The pollen causing the hay fever is actually produced by ragweed, which blooms at the same time. The goldenrod pollen is actually too heavy and sticky to be blown very far from the flowers and the plant is mainly pollinated by insects.

Leavenworth's Eryngo look like little purple pineapples.

Leavenworth’s Eryngo is also a late summer blooming plant found mainly in the central parts of the US. It is a prickly plant with a beautiful purple hue. It stands tall over the dried grasses and is broadly branched. Its flower resembles a pineapple with a small tuft of purple spikes at the top of each flower head. I like to combine these with some goldenrod and bring into the house for some last of summer color.

Snow on the Mountain

I can’t leave out the Snow on the Mountain. This is a common late summer blooming wildflower that is native from Minnesota to Colorado and Texas. It is also a tall growing plant with oblong light green leaves with broad white margins. The flowers are actually small white blooms in the center top of the plant and don’t really compare to the color and beauty of the leaves.

As the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, these are all beginning to disappear for this year, but I wanted to appreciate them before they took their rest for another season.

If you have enjoyed my pictures, you can find these and many more in "My Zazzle Store".

Guinea Fowl – A Rather Interesting Bird

2015-10-09T18:06:00.001-07:00

Guinea fowl hanging out with wild turkey.

A while back, I wrote a post on a guinea fowl that was hanging out with the wild turkey that were coming through our place, Does This Guinea Think He Is A Turkey? I did some research on this unique looking bird and thought you might enjoy reading some of what I learned.

The Guinea fowl is native to South Africa where it is commonly raised for food. They were introduced to the US as well as many other countries for their meat which is mostly dark meat with a slightly wild taste. They are also raised for their eggs. Guinea eggs are higher in protein than chicken eggs and are about twice the size of a large chicken egg.

Close up of a guinea fowls head.

The “helmeted” guinea, such as seen here is about the size of a large chicken. It has a round body and its head is small for its size. It is similar to its cousin the turkey as its head is featherless, however the guinea has a crest on top. It also has bright red waddles similar to the turkey but the guineas waddles are around its beak. Their plumage is quite beautiful with their dark gray or black feather and white polka dots and is very popular in clothing and jewelry.

Guineas are famous for helping control garden pest such as grasshoppers and many people use them instead of chemical pest control. They are also wonderful for reducing the tick population and with threat of Lyme disease we can always use fewer ticks around!

Helmeted Guinea roosting in a tree.

Guineas are also very territorial birds and do not like visitors or any kind. They will “alert” by screeching and let you know when unwanted visitors such as skunks, opossum, raccoon, fox, coyotes or other such predators come around. Guineas have even known to group together and catch and kill snakes. They will also alert you when unfamiliar humans come calling as well!

Guineas watching themselves in a mirror.

The guinea can be a rather comical bird at times. Watching them as they chase grasshopper and each other around can be quite amusing. Guineas also love to watch themselves in the mirror. I’m not sure if it is because they think it is an unfamiliar guinea and they want to run it off or if they just enjoy looking at themselves, but many people have placed a mirror in their “guinea yard” and watched the birds as they try to figure where this “other” bird is.

For more detailed information on the Helmeted Guinea, click on the link below:

The Guinea Fowl - Interesting Facts and Information

It is Official - It's a Girl!

2015-10-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official! Jenna is going to have another girl and her name is Ariel. They haven't picked out a middle name yet. Jazzy is super excited about having a little sister and I think she might have had something to do with picking out her name.

The picture above is the "reveal" that Jenna did on FaceBook. Jazzy dipped her hands in paint and place them on her mommy's tummy. The "reveal" was the pink paint. I think this was such a cool idea!

We are all very excited about another sweet little girl coming into our lives. Colby had blonde hair when he was little and both he and Jenna have blue eyes, so I am guessing she will have both blue eyes and blond hair.

She is expected to arrive on February 26th, which is only 2 days away from Jenna's birthday. I know it would be a wonderful birthday present, but I really don't want them to have the same birthday. I know mom will always get shorted.

The Mountain Lion, Cougar, Puma or Catamount – Facts and Information

2015-10-04T10:02:00.000-07:00


Mountain Lion, Puma, Cougar, Catamount Photo source: sgbrown

The mountain lion, scientifically known as Felis concolor. It is one of four wildcats native to North America. The average size of a mountain lion is 3.25 to 5.25 feet in length, not including their tail. Their tail can be from 23.5 to 33.5 inches in length. They weigh around 136 pounds on average and are extremely powerful animals. Adults have a tawny colored coat with no markings but they young is born with spots that will disappear as they get older.

These beautiful lions once roamed most of the US, but over years of being hunted by farmers and ranchers who would lose much of the stock to these powerful hunters, their number have drastically declined. Their range has almost disappeared throughout the Midwest and Eastern parts of the US. With the increase in the white tail deer population throughout the Midwest, the numbers of mountain lions are on the increase with some sightings in Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas. There have also been sightings reported in Oregon and Washington State. The mountain lion is considered to be an endangered species. The Florida panther was almost wiped out in the southern parts of the US, but is on the rebound.

Mountain lions will prey on smaller mammals such as raccoon, porcupines, beaver, rabbits, mice and squirrels. They will also prey on larger mammals such as whitetail deer and coyotes. They are night hunters and might be seen during the late evening or early morning hours. They stalk their prey until the moment is right then pounce, biting at the back of the neck.

Mountain lions need a lot of room to roam. Their range can vary from 10 square miles to 370 square miles. They are solitary animals and are rarely seen by humans. Statistics show that there are only an average of four attacks on humans each year in the US and Canada, mainly people out alone or small children who are unattended.Other than man, the mountain lion has no natural predators. The largest threat to these beautiful big cats is habitat loss and poaching.

My Unwanted Visitor – An Armadillo

2015-09-03T18:23:00.001-07:00


Nine-Banded Armadillo

This little critter is a nine-banded armadillo. They are common in the southern parts of the US and can be a real pest. This little guy is nosing around our barn one evening looking for his evening meal of insects.

Armadillos are mainly insectivores and eat larvae, ants, worms, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and just about any other insect they can find on the ground. They love to hang around our barn at night as we have a light on the barn that comes on every evening and it attracts all kinds of insects.

Armadillos have very strong claws and will dig with their holes in the ground and root around with their nose to find any underground insects. This can leave holes all over your yard. They will tear up your grass and dig up the flowers in your flower beds looking for a meal.

Armadillos also dig large underground burrows as their shelter. There have been several times that when I am mowing our field that I have had to mow around one these large holes in the ground to keep one of my lawnmower tires from falling off into a burrow.

Luckily, this guy seemed to just hang around the barn and wasn’t bothering my yard or my flower beds, so I left him to his evening foraging.

You may also enjoy:

My Late Night Visitor

Meet Zoe - The Rare Golden Zebra

The Caracal - An Elusive Wild Cat

It's Been a Crazy Spring!

2015-06-14T05:52:00.001-07:00

Our front pond is full and over flowing.

It has been a crazy spring this year! Spring seemed to show up on time this year, unlike last year when it stayed cold or chilly through May. We have had some really nice warm weather and unlike the last 3 or 4 years, we have had a lot of rain. Did I say we have had a lot of rain? We have had a boat load of rain and it doesn't look like it is going to let up anytime soon! The picture above is of our front pond. This pond hasn't been full for at least 3 years, now it is over flowing.

Turner Falls Park in Davis, Oklahoma

After getting about 10 inches of rain in just a couple of days, many places in this area were flooding. Hubby and I took a drive to the Arbuckle Mountains to see Turner Falls. Turner Falls is a beautiful waterfall that is always more than a trickle, but rarely a roaring downfall of water. The park itself was closed because it was all flooded. At the bottom of the above picture should be a swimming area, but it has all flooded over into the parking lot and picnic areas. It was really a beautiful thing to see and the sound of the water roaring over the falls was awesome!


Last years vegetable garden.

The picture above is of our vegetable garden last year, not this year. With very little rain last year, hubby and I still managed to have a great year for our garden. This year something happened that I didn't imagine could. Our garden rotted. This year our garden continues to get so much rain that it doesn't have a change to dry out and our onions, potatoes and mustard green have rotted in the ground!

Flowers I haven't been able to plant yet.

My favorite Mother's Day present is a trip to The Garden Station, where I buy all the plants and flowers I want to put in the yard. I spent about $100 on Mother's Day and I haven't been able to plant any flowers in the ground, as it has been nothing but mud since. I still have a $40 gift certificate to The Garden Station yet to spend, but haven't used it yet. I have re-potted some of the flowers and set then on the porch, just to keep them from dying! I really don't like hot, dry summers, but I have had enough of the rain for a while!

You may also enjoy:

Iris Flowers - Growing, Facts and History

Seven Hardy Flowers for Summer Gardens

Hosta - Beautiful Shade Tolerant Plants

Teach Your Children to Appreciate Nature

2015-04-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

Photo source: sgbrown

God has given us so many gifts in nature, we need to teach our children how to appreciate them. Teach them to “stop and smell the roses” sort of speak. I have always loved nature and have taught my children to appreciate it as well. Now hubby and I are teaching our youngest granddaughter, Jazzy, to appreciate even the smallest things in nature by simply taking her for walks on our place in the country.

We are fortunate enough to live on 40 acres in the country in southern Oklahoma. There is nature all around us every day and I want Jazzy to appreciate even the smallest of nature’s beauty. As we walk up our driveway, I take us across a field of wildflowers. She found some tiny little flowers and told me to be careful not to step on them. I had her pick one so we could take a picture of it.

As we walked through the woods, we came across this rock, draped with moss. Jazzy said it looked like it had on a coat. I had to agree with her, it looks like a cloak of moss to keep the rock protected from the cold. I’m glad she uses her imagination when she looks at things. So many children don’t really use their imaginations much these days.

I wanted her to feel the softness of the moss and appreciate its beauty and texture. She said it was soft, but it still tickled her hand a little. She asked me if these were little trees and I told her no, that this was more like the “carpet” of the woods. She wanted to walk on it, but her Papa told her no, that we would find some rock that didn’t have “carpet” on them to walk on later.

Jazzy especially liked the “fluffy white flowers” on the blooming trees. I’m not sure what kind of trees these are, they don’t get any fruit on them and they really don’t appear to be dog wood trees, but they are beautiful in spring! She didn’t want to get too close to them as there were bees buzzing around all the blossoms. I explained to her why the bees were buzzing the flowers and how important to us they are.

I think she finally started getting a little tired. I know Papa and I were wore out! We took a little break and sat down for a few moments before we headed home. When her mom got home from work, Jazzy told her all about the “cool” things we saw while we were on our walk. I was glad she enjoyed the walk and I think she learned a few things at the same time.

You may also enjoy:

The Beauty of Nature in Spring

Encourage Your Children to Use Their Imagination

Taking a Walk in the Country